Dorset Council will propose to stop funding their last three Tourist Information Centres (TICs) in Dorchester, Sherborne and Wareham that it currently runs, and investigate alternative ways of providing these services in the future.
Dorset Council cannot afford to continue to fund TICs. There are five other TICs in Blandford, Bridport, Shaftesbury, Swanage and Wimborne which are run by other organisations, such as Town and Parish Councils. Some areas in Dorset no longer have a TIC at all, such as Weymouth and Lyme Regis. Evidence shows that it is mostly local people who visit the TICs.
The three TICs in Dorchester, Sherborne and Wareham that remain funded by the Council cost around £200,000 each year to operate and employ 12 part-time workers. Around 30 million people visit Dorset annually, with approximately 93,000 people visiting one of the three TICs during 2019/20.
In a report being taken to the Place and Resources Overview Committee on Thursday 25 February, Members will hear how the Council proposes to continue to support the popular Visit Dorset website, work with local organisations to find solutions and consider one-off funding to reduce the impact of potential closures on local people.
A recent consultation showed that there is a strong level of support for TICs and the service offered both to residents and visitors.
Of almost 1,000 respondents, 85% were from Dorset residents and 11% completed by visitors to Dorset. 82% who completed the consultation stated that they use a TIC, with nearly 40% visiting over five times a year. The top three purposes for using a TIC are to find out information about the local area, buy tickets for a local event or festival and/or buy retail goods.
Submitted comments frequently mentioned the importance of encouraging tourism for the local economy, the value of offering a face-to-face service, working with other organisations around sites and having knowledgeable staffing.
These results provide strong support for finding a different way to provide TICs by working with other organisations – not just Town and Parish Councils, but potentially local businesses and other service providers. Improving access to information will also be incorporated into work on a new customer strategy and other transformational plans.
The proposal is to continue to work with the three town councils to agree what alternative arrangements can be put in place. However, this is not about replicating the current TIC service offer as councils and other organisations may want to develop their own local offering.
Cllr Jill Haynes, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customer and Community Services, said:
“It’s always a difficult decision to reduce services we have historically provided, especially in the current climate and when jobs are potentially put at risk. However, our financial situation leaves us little choice but to review the provision of all services we’re not legally required to deliver.
We cannot afford to fund tourism support activity at a local level across communities in Dorset. The Council’s role is to promote Dorset as a destination, so we will continue to develop the Visit Dorset brand to support the visitor economy and promote sustainable tourism as part of our Economic Growth Strategy.
The consultation has demonstrated that TIC services are still considered to be important by local people, visitors and businesses. It’s important that Dorset Council investigates all potential options for how these services could be provided in the future.”
This is a sad state of affairs. How can I get hold of a breakdown of the cost of running the Sherborne TIC? £200k is a lot of money and it would help to know the level of salaries, rent, and all outgoings plus any income?
Mike – it costs around £200k to run all three TICs, not just Sherborne. Costs are mainly staff and premises.
I completely understand all the issues of funding for this very important community service. it is very important to all the events, businesses and visitor attractions that they have as much publicity as possible for obvious reasons. The TIC in Sherborne sells tickets for events(for a commission on each ticket) paid for by the event, attraction etc; this is a very useful service.
It is a very useful service for those prospective visitors to our county when then are planning a holiday, weekend or day trip to make the most of their time in our beautiful county.
Should stay open in some form
If Dorset Council sorted out the shambles of the Wareham Crossing they could save about £120,000 a year which would enable the Wareham TIC to remain open.
To clarify Rod, issues around Wareham Crossing are not of the Council’s making – we’re just trying to fix the problem.
Meanwhile the lack of progress is costing Dorset Council and therefore Dorset Taxpayers £120,000 a year. Of course the issues around the Wareham Crossing are not of this Council’s making but of previous councils who ceded the right-of way. One could say progress was glacial but that would imply movement.
I would suggest that the Portfolio holder for Tourism, when restrictions are lifted, takes a trip across the Channel and has a look at how most small towns in France have a tourism office which always supplies a mass of free information, free maps on the area. In addition to can obtain free WIFI facilities through the tourist department. If you wish to expand in business you invest and come up with new ideas.
Seems to me that face-to-face services are going to be one of the big losses in the ‘new normal’. Local Chambers of Commerce and other larger businesses must be part of the conversation of who we promote Dorset’s hinterland. The coast seems to fare quite well because of its outstanding reputation.
The elimination of the Tourist Information Centres is absurd. Dorset Council will live to regret it. At such a time tourism, and tourists, need more help than ever. Dorset Council – whose very existence depends upon the tax payer – is doing a radical disservice to the beautiful area they represent and we all live in. The TIC should have remained in Antelope Walk. Its subsequent move to the library just reveals the contempt Dorset Council feel. And the TIC’s elimination proves it.
Could the TIC’s sell local products and tea and coffee to supplement their income? Leaflets about local events, accommodation and attractions are essential to positive visitor experience in Dorset. The redevelopment of Weymouth train station could include a TIC office surely. There are masses of empty shops too.
Would like to see Visit Dorset employees manning them to get value for money.
Local crafts, produce and souvenirs were all sold in Dorchester TIC when it was located in Antelope Walk. It was a busy hub for the our COUNTY town then. All this ceased when it was relocated to the library.
Tourism is very important to the Dorset economy, but the Council has to consider why the majority of council-tax payers, who live in places with either no TIC , or a locally self-funded TIC, should subsidise TIC’s in just 3 places, when those council-tax payers might well prefer potential savings such as this to go toward more vital services – such as child care for example – which are in desperate need of funding across the Council area.
You spend millions on new Council Offices in Dorchester for a few people and are proposing to de-fund TIC’s which support thousands of local people. Your priorities are wrong.
South Walks House in Dorchester was built for the now-defunct West Dorset District Council and opened back in 2014. It was not commissioned by Dorset Council.
This seems the wrong time to reduce spending on encouraging tourism to our county. Bizarrely, at the time of greatest strain on the public purse, it is the remainder of 2021 when these services will be required most. Foreign holidays are unlikely to be permitted and the majority of UK nationals will be looking to ‘get away’ to attractive areas of our green and pleasant land. We now have a unique opportunity to showcase our county and persuade people to spend more time here, particularly in low seasons, for years to come.
As usual with many local politicians, no joined up thinking. TIC’s are an essential service for the locality, I for one have always found future events / shows etc publicised in my local centre. Other options should be explored before any decisions are made – local councils or organisations which could take them over.
I am a resident of Dorchester. I have lived here for 18 years. When we first came the T.I.C. was essential in getting to know the town and surroundings and events associated with Dorchester.
In recent years we have had many visitors , getting leaflets, timetables and events around have been important to us. e.g. Yellow book for garden festivals, screen bites etc.etc.
No wonder the T.I.C. is not used much as it is hidden at the back of the libraryand closed at 1pm on Market Day!
I don’t think that Dorset Council has the slightest concept of how much importance a TIC has. Try looking at it as a concept or business instead of just another figure on a balance sheet.
I use TIC’s regularly when I am off touring and know just how important they are, especially to a struggling industry. I use my local one as well.
If it is merely a matter of rent and business rates, then why not allocate the Sherborne TIC a counter/display area within it’s excellent library?
This strikes me as a bad idea, especially in places of high tourism, such as Weymouth, and especially where there are elderly visitors. The latter may not have access to IT and it is wrong to assume that they do. I do not understand why the information office could not have been put on the first level of where the new toilets are in the town centre.
I would dispute the basis of the survey mentioned above where you conclude that it is mostly locals who use the tourist information. Obviously visitors are not here in the same number so the answers will always show this.
Most regrettable
My husband and are are deeply disappointed by the council impetus to close Dorchester Tourist Information centre. When there was a proper centre in Dorchester, not in the library as it is now, there was also a small part of the facility devoted to selling local tourist items and so on. It was a friendly, welcoming place for many people who found themselves in Dorchester without much local knowledge. Now with the lockdowns which have happened for the last year, the county town has been hollowed out, with so many empty shops. A new model will certainly have to be chosen to come back to the vibrant high street. How about a model of a new tourist centre, in one of the many empty shops, with a big facility for selling local products? This could be a council and local business mix, which might diminish the cost to the council. Otherwise, we will just go further and further down the road of losing local jobs and amenities. Maybe volunteers could be incorporated into the mix, and that is usual in the charity shops around town. Here’s hoping the Council will reverse it’s decision, at least for Dorchester.
It seems counter-productive to close the TICS when UK holidays will very likely be taken this year by more people than ever before. If DCC cannot fund a dedicated TIC and premises, then would it be feasible for one of Sherborne’s many coffee shops to take on the TIC function? I am sure with some imaginative thinking there is a mutually beneficial business opportunity here.
I speak to a lot of people everyday and they have all said the council isn’t doing anything to support the local parishes. This is absolutely absurd and the council is useless, that’s being nice.
Surely the council should have something in place before closing them and making yet more people jobless.