Lakes Entrance - does it stack up

Lakes Entrance is a great place to live, it provides us all with so much to be thankful for, the access to water, the views, nature and its natural attractions close by, even the weather, the worst of which seems to miss us and go out to sea or up in the ranges to our north. I love living here.....,

Lakes as it should be busy & vibrant

But how does the town present to the visitor?  Is the town responding to changes in the visitor market?  What needs to be done in order to attract more visitors and a resultant rise in business activity? A vibrant town will attract more visitation, more business, more prosperity, but a town with empty shops, a town with tired signage, a town with low visitation fails to attract.

I have long been involved in tourism in this region and others. I honestly and passionately believe our region, our town, has so much to offer and yet many opportunities lie almost untapped. From what I hear around town of late, things are not as perhaps they should be, occupancy rates are down, visitation is down and businesses are finding it harder to survive.

Great place to live and work

Our recent power outage brought this home to me when I drove up the Esplanade at around 10am, it was like a ghost town, and  I noticed some very bewildered visitors looking around and obviously wondering what on earth they had come to. So how does our town look to the visitor?  I have to say at present not that good.

Not the look we want

Not the look we need

15 empty shops with main street frontage (Esplanade and Church St) and more in the arcades and side streets. A total of over 20, we have to ask why? We have to maintain our local businesses to remain an attractive proposition for the visitor.  Some do it well, others just get by, some are tired and many are for sale. Why?

• Are rents too high?  
• How do they compare with elsewhere?
• If rents are that high in comparison, so can they be reduced or at least adjusted for seasonal changes in trade.
• Are rents coupled with high outgoings (Council rates,  power, permits, licences etc) killing any business viability?
• Can the outgoings be adjusted in a similar fashion to ease the financial burden in the off season?
• Are businesses failing to plan financially to cater for the ups and downs of trade in and out of season.
• Has the town the right mix of businesses for its resident demographic and for the visitor?
• Is there an overall marketing plan for the town?
• Is any promotion done outside the region to attract visitation to Lakes Entrance?
• Are we aiming at the right target market/demographic in any marketing and promotions?
• Are businesses and organisation relying too heavily on the internet for their promotions?
• How do our shops look from the outside, do they need smartening up, do they attract business?
• Are our businesses providing the level of service expected in today's retail environment?
• Are planned changes to streetscapes etc., projected to allow for the seasonal visitation?
• Do the planners making those projected changes ever take the time to fully understand the town and its specific needs, or is the plan just another one out of the file? 
• What is the local business group (LEADA  see:-https://www.leada.com.au) doing to address these problems?
• Has the regional business and tourism group (BTEG  see:- https://bteg.com.au) any plans to assist in this area uses the funds provided from the public purse?
• What effective and ongoing promotion/marketing of the town has been instigated by East Gippsland Marketing Inc.(EGMi see:- www.egmi.com.au), again from the considerable funding from our council?
• What Lakes Entrance specific promotions and or marketing plans have Destination Gippsland Ltd (DGL see:- destinationgippsland.com.au  )provided to Lakes Entrance?
• Are business owners/operators willing to work effectively as a team in order to advance the town as a whole?

  

  Is the sun setting for business in Lakes?

These and many other questions must be addressed to prevent a further decline in business activity in the town. If action is not taken soon, more Lakes Entrance businesses will close, there will be more empty shops and fewer visitors. Once the ball starts rolling it is difficult to stop and has a snowball effect on business. This cannot be allowed to happen to Lakes Entrance.

Are we looking towards the sunset of the town?

The organisations listed above together with East Gippsland Shire Council are well placed to auspice real action to stop this decline, to instigate actions to re-stimulate the local economy. In a number of cases this is what they are there to do, and funded from public funds to do it.  Action is needed now to address these concerns and to bring Lakes Entrance back to its vibrant best.

Together - cross the bridge to grow Lakes 

I hope that by highlighting these issues, Lakes Entrance's business community can come together to advance the town once more and take its rightful place as a "mecca" in East Gippsland and beyond.

Images copyright John Munns 2018