ON THE MOVE: Julie Gillis, centre, from the Redlands on Moreton Bay Information Centre in Cleveland, shows maps to John Capell and Stevie Hadley, right. Photo: Melissa Gibson
REDLAND City Council will move its Visitor Information Centre to IndigiScapes at Capalaba after it terminated a contract with Stradbroke Island Holidays to run the centre.
The $175,000, one-year contract was due to expire on August 11.
At its July general meeting, council decided to take back control of the city's tourism centre while it overhauled its tourism strategy.
Stradbroke Island Holidays marketing manager Heather Truman, involved with the tourism information centre since 1985, said she was surprised with the decision.
"We don't make any money out of the information centre and now the council wants to take back control," Ms Truman said.
"Indigiscapes is a long way from Cleveland's CBD and the train station and the places where the majority of tourists go when they come to Redlands.
"I hope the council eventually finds a more centrally located place to house the centre," she said.
The centre has been located in the Raby Bay Harbour Complex on Shore Street West, Cleveland, since 2004 and is open every day except Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Mayor Karen Williams said the information centre would be "temporarily housed" at Indigiscapes, which is on Runnymede Road, which runs off the main Redland Bay Road.
Cr Williams said the interim measures would allow the council to retain its state government "dotted i accreditation" while it assessed the best way to deliver visitor information.
"We're going to look at how the city delivers tourism and whether information centres are still current with the changes in technology and whether we should be looking at virtual technology," Cr Williams said.
"We will look at everything from electronic applications through to physical spaces, and mobile spaces.
"Councillors will have to work out if this (tourism strategy) is the best way to spend ratepayers' money," she said.Cr Williams said discussions about terminating Stradbroke Island Holidays' contract had to be held in secret to safeguard confidential contractual information.
The mayor said she was not concerned about claims Indigiscapes was "off the beaten track" and said 97 per cent of visitors to Redland travelled by car.
"As IndigiScapes is located off a main road (Redland Bay Road), with direct access from Brisbane city and airports, this is a convenient location," she said.
"It is likely this will not be the only location for providing visitor information in the long term."
In the 2011-2012 financial year, the council spent $461,000 on tourism strategies, including $88,000 on tourism industry development, $123,000 on destinational marketing and $250,000 on tourism management, which includes payments to Brisbane Marketing for exposure.