‘You can’t just replace people with a computer’: The sad demise of the tourist information centre
Jess brings Aberdeen alive. “Hi, how can I help you?” she beams in welcome, as she produces the kind of oversized map of the city too big to print at home.
She listens patiently to where I’ve already been on a dozen previous visits and marks half a dozen more places on the map I’ve not. Sadly, it seems there’s no longer room in 21st-century Britain for people like Jess. Visit Scotland recently announced plans to axe its last 25 tourist information ‘iCentres’ within two years.
The tourist board has form, scything down 39 centres in 2017. It’s a no-brainer, according to outgoing chair Lord Thurso. “It would be remiss of me not to prepare the organisation for the future,” he says. “We must look at where we can invest our resources and expertise to make the greatest economic impact.
“After conducting an extensive review, we can do this by focusing on providing information to visitors before they leave home. The world around us has changed and we have no choice but to change with it.”
Lord Thurso assures that there will be no “overnight change” and all the iCentres will remain open until at least September. He also says there will be no compulsory redundancies, but that is not the whole picture that unfurls when I walk into another iCentre and ask the staff – who prefer not to be named – how they feel.
“Only the full-time staff will be retained. All of us seasonal workers will go,” says one. “It’s devastating for us and for the visitors who use the iCentre, especially more mature ones who are less tech-savvy. We help people with maps, accommodation and tips.
“But so much more, as people love that personal contact. Scotland is renowned as a welcoming country and we are the face of that. It’s something you just cannot get online.”
As if on cue a Dutch visitor and her daughter chime in to agree how useful they’ve found this iCentre, stressing that “you just cannot replace people with a computer”.
You may not be able to fully replace people with computers, but that likely won’t deter other tourist offices trying as part of a wider trend for online over in-person.
Yet Scotland also offers lessons for positive solutions to the absence of expensive government-backed in-person services in the form of community-led tourism.
SCOTO (Scottish Community Tourism) and its network are at the vanguard of this growing trend. Executive director Carron Tobin highlights several community-run information centres: “These are run by passionate local people keen to provide a warm welcome to their community and face-to-face responses to questions – you’d be surprised what people ask! Yes, people are making decisions and booking online before they travel, but once they arrive, that local welcome and ‘here and now’ advice is what matters.”
Case in point Bùth Bharraigh Ltd (a community social enterprise providing goods and services for visitors and local people) on the island of Barra stepped up to the plate when the Visit Scotland tourist information centre closed in 2017. Manager Sarah MacLean explains: “For nearly a decade we have been providing tourist information and accommodation finding services for Barra and Vatersay.
“We also have laundry, bike hire, free Wi-Fi with tea and coffee and printing services. Our service is vital to provide people with information and also to help them make the most of their time in Barra.”
It excels beyond what an official centre ever could. “When the ferry is late it’s an issue for people,” adds MacLean. “They might be a single traveller coming to an island for the first time and feel a little daunted. We will stay open to welcome them with a smile and help them.”
In recent years, I’ve spoken to dozens of SCOTO members. The phrase I keep hearing is “temporary locals”, the idea that community tourism brings visitors closer to the community in a symbiotic relationship. Another shining SCOTO member is the Loch Ness Hub. When this Visit Scotland tourist information centre closed, few dreamt of redemption. The local community, though, had other ideas. After coalescing around a passionate village hall meeting, the centre re-opened in summer 2021.
“When people walk in, we want to give them a proper local welcome and savvy local advice,” says the Hub’s Russell Fraser. “We want to be their first point of contact and for them to go away having had a good experience. People remember when you go above and beyond.”
Perhaps encouraged by the success of these community-driven projects, other tourism agencies are reacting. Visit Aberdeenshire’s CEO Chris Foy has already overseen a community volunteer guide programme to greet arrivals in Aberdeen’s new cruise ship harbour. “We’re looking at having a small pop-up space there, being more nimble and reacting to demand without the need of a large landmark information centre,” he says.
Private businesses are watching events closely too. “There will be a real gap with the closure of Visit Scotland,” says Iain Fenwick of the Perthshire Local listings app. “We connect visitors and businesses in a direct way and that works very well on the ground. When people realise we have the local knowledge and that their spend is going straight back into Perth they love using our app and don’t miss the traditional centres.”
The Visit Scotland closures then, while disappointing, offer an opportunity, enthuses SCOTO’s Tobin, “to recalibrate tourism in local areas and explore community responses to providing much-needed local information and inspiration, as well as showcasing local authentic experiences.
“The next two years will be ample time to scope out the possibilities and mirror what has been successful in other places.”
The UK tourist information centres under threat
Scotland is certainly not alone in the closure of tourist information centres, with a swathe shutting down across the UK or at risk.
Norwich
Information centres run by individual cities in England are under threat too. In 2021 the decision was made to close Norwich’s once-popular city centre resource due to budget issues, with the move to acknowledge what Norwich council called a “growing digital world”, saving over £100,000 a year.
Morecambe and Lancaster
The closure of the Morecambe Visitor Information Centre and the Lancaster Visitor Information Centre, which each cost around £250,000 a year to run, was announced last year. The council has been quoted as saying the closures come as part of a
“long-term review of how the council provides tourist information, both online and in-person”, with talk of funds being used both for high-tech information systems and increased marketing.
Peak District
As reported by Telegraph Travel in spring last year, a quartet of visitor centres in Bakewell, Castleton, Edale and the Upper Derwent Valley were under threat of closure at a time when the UK’s national parks have never been busier. These centres in the Peak District collectively attract 400,000 people per year, and provide a personalised information service.
In June 2023 the park authority announced a surprise and welcome reprieve after a charity stepped in to provide three years of funding while alternative plans are formulated to avoid permanent closure.
Winchcombe
This tourist information centre housed in the Winchcombe Museum building was funded by Winchcombe Town Council, who took the decision to close it last month, due to “changes to the way customers are now accessing tourist information”. Instead they are looking to “direct the money towards other ways of promoting Winchcombe as a tourist destination.”
Chesterfield
Chesterfield Borough Council have defied over 4,000 campaigners signing a petition to make the decision to close the centre this year, explaining that “the service is to be digitalised”. Campaigners had argued not everyone can access the new digital-only systems and might find them confusing even if they could compared to in-person contact.
Totnes
The council decision to close the information centre in Totnes was based both on community consultation and only receiving 2,279 in-person enquiries in 2023, while www.visittotnes.co.uk received over 330,000 visits. The council estimates that the closure will save around £95,000 a year.
Medway
This information centre run by Visit Medway offered visitors the chance to “pop in for local information, to visit the art gallery and to grab a souvenir”. It brought life and information to Rochester High Street. It closes for good on April 19, 2024. Local resident Daniel Parsons says: “It’s a real shame as when I had any friends visiting we would always pop in here for a friendly introduction to the area.”
Caerphilly
Coffi Vista, Caerphilly town’s popular tourist information centre, opened in 1995, had morphed with the times, adding a coffee lounge and changing its name. That has not prevented a decision to close this popular hub this spring, a decision made by Caerphilly County Borough Council as it battles a major hole in its finances. Staff members have been quoted as complaining the closure is a “backwards step” at a time when the Welsh Government is trying to grow tourism.
Centre for Alternative Technology, Corris
The Centre for Alternative Technology, an innovative information centre, has been based in Corris, near Machynlleth in Wales, since the 1970s. It is a “showcase for solutions to tackle climate change” and an information centre too. Over the decades it has attracted thousands of tourists and brought in educational visits. Run by a charity, it closed to day visitors in 2023.
Northern Ireland
While no plans to close official tourist information centres en masse like Scotland have been announced, local travel journalist and radio host David Gordon says: “There is no doubt that the local authorities in Northern Ireland will be watching what happens in Scotland very carefully.”
The official ‘Visitor Information Plan for NI’ sounds ominous. It “seeks to maximise the potential opportunities of the changing scope of visitor information and the opportunities provided by the existing Visitor Information Centre network.”
