They say all publicity is good publicity, but right now, Kiama is blessed with bloody great publicity.

And it’s all about people wanting to come here from somewhere else.

A couple of months after The Australian crowned us as Australia’s most liveable town, The Sydney Morning Herald has got in on the act, labelling us “a stunning place to visit”.

Last week, the Herald’s Traveller sung Kiama’s praise as the perfect place for a family-friendly weekend getaway:

“The range of accommodation…the vibrant community feel…the astonishing natural beauty that surrounds it all and all the activities makes possible.”

On top of that, they singled out a smorgasbord of great places to eat, name-dropping Olive & Vine, Silica, Miss Arda, JJ’s, El Corazon Cocina de Mexico and Hanoi on Manning.

It's nothing locals don’t already know, but it’s exciting to see in newsprint, nonetheless.

It also points to an important truth: tourism is the lifeblood of Kiama’s economy.

According to Tourism Australia, travelers bring in $244 million to local coffers every year.

And the number of people coming here is on the up – average annual visitor growth was 4.3 per cent between 2013 and 2019.

We asked the Kiama Council what most of them were coming to see.

Unsurprisingly, the blowhole is the most popular spot for visitors, attracting more than a million people a year.

The second most popular spot is the beach while, over on kiama.com.au, the top two search terms are “Kiama Coast Walk” and “Markets”.

It's The Bugle’s view that the more people visit Kiama, the better. We should do everything we can to encourage people to come for a weekend.

But one thing we ought to have a conversation about is making sure people who spend time here spend money here too.

According to the Council, the average spend for domestic tourists who come for the day is $95.

We should be aiming to double the daily spend.

We don’t just want to see Sydneysiders drive down to look at the blowhole, we want them to ride around town on a rented e-bike from Kiama Cycles & Sports, grab fish and chips for lunch from Jaws and browse the offerings at Bombo Clothing Co.

The Bugle thinks this should be the goal of all tourism advertising: don’t just come for something, come for everything.

We look forward to putting this to the Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, when we interview him shortly.