The $2.5 million Natural Heritage Visitor Centre in Curio Bay will be opened by the South Catlins Charitable Trust in October this year.
Trust chairman Paul Duffy, who is also an Invercargill city councillor, said the trust was looking for tourism operators for the site.
"With the increased pressure on our busy tourism locations ... dispersal to the outer regions is an essential part of New Zealand's overall tourism strategy.''
Cr Duffy said the trust sought applicants who understood the value of the development of tourism in the region to lease the associated business opportunities.
The new centre offered an opportunity for a lease holder, or holders, to become a "cornerstone of ecotourism in the Catlins''.
The trust put in a lot of work to get the facility and upgrades completed.
Expressions of interest will be considered for one or more of the leases to be held by a single organisation.
The centre was largely funded through lottery grants, trust funds, and community and regional funding.
The heritage centre was a project which the trust and local community had worked towards for the past 15 years, Cr Duffy said.
It was supported by the Southland District Council, local iwi and the Department of Conservation.
Construction on the centre, including an upgrade to adjoining camping infrastructure, has begun.
