What could be more of a travel essential than a toilet? But, as any traveller will know, sometimes the experience can be a little more whoah than whoop.
But this shouldn’t be the case – not only because comfortable toilet experiences are pleasant (and smell better) but because a bad one represents a missed tourism opportunity, according to Bronwyn White of MyTravelResearch.
“Toilets come up in every focus group as something really front of mind and important – people will stop in a town if the toilets are great,” she tells KarryOn.
“They stop, go to the toilet, maybe go get some lunch then walk around town – we call it toilet tourism because it’s not just going to the toilet but spending money in the local economy.”
So what are we all doing about upping the toilet ante? Not a great deal overall – the area has been much overlooked despite significant research showing the benefits of focusing on the area.
That’s why MyTravelResearch has launched the International Toilets Tourism Awards. The event, which was launched on International Toilet Day, aims to grow awareness of the importance of decent, even outstanding, lavatories by showing the link between adequate provision of good toilets and success in a visitor economy. It also hopes to raise awareness of sanitation and toilet provision, especially in developing economies.
So how does Australia track on the global scale?
“Quite poorly,” says White.
But that said, there are also some great examples such as the New South Wales Southern Highlands town of Mittagong, where visitor information is made available inside public toilets – a voiceover tells users about events and attractions in town and there’s also an information board.
“It actually does drive people into the town centre to enquire about things they heard while on the toilet,” she laughs.
But, no country has implemented an “all-of-destination” approach to toilets, White continues.
“It’s all so haphazard and individual,” she says.
That can make it even more delightful when you stumble across an unexpected gem.
Take the “shell toilet” in the Philippines as an example.
Or, closer to home, the “loo with a view” in Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Image credit: skateboard.com.au
Then, there are the toilets worldwide that are “architecturally brilliant” such as those featured in Lonely Planet’s Toilets: A Spotter’s Guide.
The bizarre Krafla toilet in Iceland. Image credit: Lonely Planet
The winners of the International Toilet Tourism Awards will be revealed at the Travel and Tourism Research Association international conference in Quebec, Canada, 22 June 2017 – if you’re a toilet afficionado, maybe hold off on booking your next holiday until then!