Dorset Council has launched a consultation to help develop the future of its Tourist Information Centres (TICs).
COVID-19 has highlighted how people need more information and advice about their local area, including services and support. During this time, we have worked closely with town and parish councils, strengthening the work we do together. We want to build on these efforts when delivering local information in the future.
The three centres – based in Dorchester, Sherborne and Wareham – were closed to the public earlier in the year as the pandemic took hold and lockdown restrictions were introduced. Although employees were not in the office, they remained available from Monday to Saturday to provide services.
TICs have re-opened for face to face service with appropriate COVID-19 safety measures in place to protect both customers and employees.
All other TICs in Dorset are currently provided by other organisations and volunteers.
TICs are a traditional way to provide face-to-face service for visitors and residents. However, their use has dropped with recent developments in technology, especially online information.
We want to know how and why Dorset residents use TICs, and the value of these services to you. We also want to know if you think we should continue funding TICs separately, or whether the service could be provided in another way.
The survey should take around 5 to 10 minutes to complete online, or you can request it in another format by contacting Tracy McGregor on 01305 224458. Paper copies of the survey will be available in the three TICs.
The results will be considered before any final decisions about TICs are taken. It is expected that the council’s Cabinet will make a decision during 2021.
Take the survey at www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/TIC-consultation until Sunday 29 November 2020.
Cllr Jill Haynes, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services, said:
“Before we make any long-term decisions around our Tourist Information Centres, it’s important for us to measure the importance these services hold with Dorset residents and how people choose to access this information nowadays.
Whether you represent a business or you’re an individual who uses these facilities, either frequently or once in a blue moon, we want to know your views.
I would encourage as many people as possible to fill out the online survey as soon as you can. It doesn’t take long and will help us when we come to review the provision of TICs in the future. Thank you in advance for your participation.”
I first came to Dorchester as an evacuee in 1940, returned in 1953 to nurse at D.C.H, married and have lived here since.
I think moving the TIC from Antelope Walk was a big mistake because it was in a central position in the town and accessible to everyone.
Now it is situated in South Walks it means visiting coaches coming into Top of Town car park means the passengers on them now have to walk from one end of the town to the other for any local information the need.
As visitors are of great benefit to the town, some thought should have been given to this aspect when the move was carried out.
I first came to Dorchester as an evacuee in 1940, returned in 1953 to nurse at D.C.H, married and have lived here since.
I think moving the TIC from Antelope Walk was a big mistake because it was in a central position in the town and accessible to everyone.
Now it is situated in South Walks it means visiting coaches coming into Top of Town car park means the passengers on them now have to walk from one end of the town to the other for any local information the need.
As visitors are of great benefit to the town, some thought should have been given to this aspect when the move was carried out.
We need TIC in Sherborne, as the lovely staff are always so helpful to visitors and locals alike! We are an historic town, and many tourists visit, who require maps and help with recommended accommodation and activities. We can book tickets through them too, and buy mementos of the area. It is such an essential part of being a friendly helpful very special town.
Even though I am a local resident, I find our local TICs very useful and helpful and did so even before I moved to the area
I believe strongly that the tourist information centre should be easily accessible to all our visitors a point where people can go to get up to date information on places to stay , places to visit things of interest in the Town or local area, Bus timetables , medical information such as doctors/ local treatment centre.
There is a wealth of information that can easily be freely given that will make our visitors really interested in our Town and hopefully want to return and give them good memories.
When I go to a new place the local tourist information is my first point of call
They always need to be well signposted and in a central point.
I have used TIC in Sherborne regularly. I have found the service very useful and the staff friendly and helpful. It would not be the same if there was not an office to see them directly. I have bought tickets there and got advice and information. They have helped advertise Sherborne Science Cafe to the community
Dorset is reliant to a great extent on tourism. The three TICs that you mention are I think essential to the communities in which they are sited. Not only do they provide information on local facilities to visitors, they also provide a centre of information for their resident population, as to what is going on in their community and in neighbouring communities. To close these TICs would be exceedingly detrimental to the recovery of their areas when the current Covid crisis is over. They are well worth keeping open. This has been shown by the example of Wimborne TIC, threatened with closure by a remote bureaucracy. As Dorchester is to these TICs
Could tourist information join forces with post offices and pubs in the area ? The people that run them are a mind if information
I think the TICs are passed their sell by date – in the light of this Covid 19 world we now live in – so much has been driven on line , access to information, shopping , banking, booking tickets for events, travel , etc the information is at the tip of your finger . Why would you drive somewhere to access this and more importantly want to see someone face to face ? I doubt very much if they went whether anyone would miss them, all they provide is available on line, which is quicker and more efficient to access . Add into this the running costs of this service to the tax payer plus what the physical sites may be otherwise used for? Also my understanding is that footfall to the TICs is declining . The resources used to fund this service could be better used elsewhere .
Primarily regarding Sherborne TIC but pertinant to all TIC’s I feel Dorset Council need to be aware of the vital work and link with not only those local and resident in Dorset but all who visit Dorset. The knowledge and help given, by all, but especially Sherborne TIC, is second to non.
To deprive not only visitors, but residents of this vital service would be a severe blow when so many services are being drastically cut or done away with, to the detriment of not only Dorset but all who use the services of the TIC.
Creative thinking is required here – how about housing the library, TIC and council offices in the much underused police station and redundant adjoining court building. Am sure a smaller building could be found for the present police presence in Sherborne
I cant understand how the county town doesn’t have a TIC . We are an area of outstanding beauty and full of history yet the visitor has no where to go to ask about any of it . Not all of us have I-pads or phones .
I’m a local , chairwomen of a local ladies group and have in the past used the TIC for information on outings , local places to visit , plus on a personal note I buy my national express tickets there , and have friends who top up their parking permits etc —pure MADNESS to keep it closed –I volunteer is 3 of the local attractions and are for ever being asked for details of this or that so the TIC service is very much needed as I said pure MADNESS ,
I think it is essential to keep the TIC’s open.
The siting of the present one in Dorchester…now consigned to a dark back corner of the library is very poor, compared with the vibrant, welcoming centre which was housed in a perfect location in Trinity Street, en route for many visitors arriving by bus, at the bottom of Trinity Street, by train or at a Car Park…particularly those in Trinity Street.
The large well-lit premises enabled them to offer for sale quality goods produced by makers from all over Dorset. We regularly purchased gifts for friends and family living in the UK and abroad. It was a brilliant place to promote local businesses.
With its demise, Tourism in Dorset is sadly not provided for in the same way.
We are a major tourist area with thousands visiting our fine beaches, towns and in particular the Jurassic Coast. Please retain and reinstate this in a more
prominent place in our County Town!