Nine Tourist Information Centres (TICs) have been voted the best in England and will go through to the Excellence in England Tourism Awards 2004, in association with Enjoy England*. The winner of the Tourist Information Centre of the Year category will be announced at the national awards ceremony at Kensington Palace in London on 22 April 2004, on the eve of St George’s Day.
The finalists have all come through rigorous awards run by England’s nine regional tourist boards, where they battled it out against hundreds of other entries for a chance to win the Excellence in England Tourism Award accolade for Tourist Information Centre of the Year.
The winner will have shown commitment to providing an excellent service and customer care with innovative ideas on promoting the local area as well as strong environmental policies. They will also have invested in staff training and development and made provision for disabled guests in line with the new Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)* coming into force in October this year.
The Tourist Information Centre of the Year national finalists are:
Alston Moor – Cumbria Tourist Board www.visiteden.co.uk
Alston Moor Information Centre is at the heart of the local community. The extended use of information technology, excellent stock of literature covering a wide geographical area, regularly updated displays of local attractions and facilities for disabled visitors ensure excellent services for Eden District residents and visitors alike. The Council run centre has invested heavily in training resulting in enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very helpful staff.
Bury St Edmunds – East of England Tourist Board www.burystedmunds.gov.uk
The Bury St Edmunds TIC is situated on the beautiful Angel Hill, just opposite the award winning Abbey Gardens. The centre prides itself on the services it offers. Things like: a holiday shop that stocks brochures from all over the UK, exhibitions by local craftspeople, organising ‘Buddy Day’ Christmas shopping day for the disabled and elderly where volunteers escort people around the shops, and the hosting of the ‘Cards for Good Causes’ Christmas cards scheme. Staff always go that extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction. Two examples are: an accommodation guide in Braille and a tactile ‘armchair tour.’
Chesterfield - Visit Heart of England www.visitchesterfield.info
Chesterfield TIC opened in a new, fully accessible and 'green' building in November 2002. Staff are extremely helpful, welcoming their customers with sherry and mince pies at Christmas! The TIC has gone high tech with a computerised destination management system, but still offered a cheerful and friendly service to more than 190,000 visitors last year. The Centre supports Derbyshire businesses with its ‘source local’ policy and works in partnership with attractions, hoteliers and other Tourist Information Centres in the area to make sure that visitors get all the information they need for an enjoyable stay.
Britain and London Visitor Centre – Visit London www.visitbritain.org
The Britain Visitor Centre was renamed the Britain and London Visitor Centre in June 2003. The centre runs an innovative programme of activities for tourists, including a ‘Taste of Britain’ month, the launch of the VisitBritain Harry Potter map and a football competition that ran throughout 2002. The Premier League competition was held weekly and visitors won tickets to see a Premiership football match.
Hexham – Northumbria Tourist Board www.hadrianswallcounty.org
The market town of Hexham is at the centre of Hadrian’s Wall country. Hexham TIC moved to a new purpose-built building at the gateway to the town in the year 2000. Its bright and spacious premises are fully wheelchair accessible, with induction loop, lowered counter, adjoining RADAR toilet and a range of literature detailing accessibility in the area. Displays and literature focus on Hadrian's Wall and the surrounding countryside, a year round Holiday Information Service, and locally produced gifts and crafts are on sale. TIC staff are pleasant and smiling and very willing to help, and every year they go more than the extra mile when they try out the area's many walks on summer evenings after closing time.
Rochdale Tourist Information Centre www.visitrochdale.com
Rochdale TIC is open seven days a week, including Bank Holidays. It is located within the towns’ newest attraction – Touchstones Rochdale – an arts and heritage centre housing art galleries, museum, local history library, performance and education studio and café. The Grade 1 listed building which is located within a conservation area has a state of the art energy management system and is fully wheelchair accessible. Staff at the TIC are friendly and helpful and have been commended for actively encouraging visitors to find out more about the town and see other areas of interest in the Borough of Rochdale.
Salisbury - South West Tourism www.visitsalisbury.com
Salisbury TIC, refurbished in 2003, has a made a real effort to be accessible to disabled visitors and has made the most of limited space to ensure easy wheelchair access. The customer enquiry desk has been lowered. Sensory disabilities are well provided for with a portable hearing loop, telephone amplifier, a Braille guide to the area, and staff are British Sign Language trained. There is also an entry bell and an Access Guide to Salisbury. Much emphasis is placed on environmental issues – there is energy-efficient lighting and staff are encouraged to reuse and recycle whenever possible by their Environmental Champion.
Winchester – Tourism South East www.visitwinchester.co.uk
Winchester TIC is centrally located in a Grade II listed building which also houses a café and gallery. It is completely accessible for visitors with disabilities, and an induction loop was recently installed. Staff are Welcome All trained, and the centre stocks large-print publications, a Braille city map and a Visitor Trail by Wheelchair. The trail was tested by TIC staff using Shopmobility buggies to improve their understanding of the visitor's experience of Winchester 'on wheels'. The team pride themselves on offering high levels of customer care: two assistants spent their day off visiting a popular local attraction by bus to produce a handy information sheet - a case of literally going the extra mile for Winchester's visitors!
Pickering – Yorkshire Tourist Board www.ryedale.gov.uk/tourism
Pickering TIC moved to bright, new, ground-floor premises in June 2000, looking ahead to being accessible and welcoming well in advance of 2004. A partnership has been formed with the local Disablement Action Group in order to provide purpose-researched area information for visitors, funded by the TIC's charity appeal which has been generously supported by visitors who have benefited from making use of the free wheelchair-loan service. The advance booking service for all types of accommodation is by far the most successful service, both for the TIC and its customers, and as revenue earner for the area.
