Steve Cooper (CEO of SCDL) with staff members Holly Horder, Cinzia Ramella and Emily Lund at the Maroochydore Visitor Information Centre

Nine Visitor Information Centres (VIC) on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will now be run and managed by Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd (SCDL) to improve marketing strategies.

The Sunshine Coast Council led an independent report which recommended that VIC be managed by a tourism industry organisation.

This would allow for, “a greater focus on tourists, a greater focus on the needs of the tourism industry, a more effective and efficient model, improved synergies with tourism marketing and a better experience for tourists,” according to SCDL.

SCDL chief Steve Cooper welcomed the collaboration and said tour operators and VIC would benefit from a more tight-knit working environment.

“While the trend towards visitors researching and booking holidays online continues, these same visitors also value personal recommendations once they're in their destination,” Mr Cooper said.

“That's where the local knowledge, guidance and friendly welcome provided by VIC staff and volunteers can make all the difference. VICs are the frontline of our region's tourism industry.”

Although nine of the seventeen VIC on the Sunshine Coast will be run by SCDL, six will still be managed by community groups and two by Tourism Noosa.