09 August 2010
New Visitor Centre unveiled in Chester Town Hall
A revitalised visitor information centre was officially opened
in Chester this week.
The Town Hall outlet offers a showcase for Cheshire’s visitor
economy to its half a million visitors per year. These
visitors have access to high quality service and information
designed to help them make the most of their visit to Chester &
Cheshire.
The revived centre is the result of a partnership between the
Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Visit Chester &
Cheshire and Cheshire West and Chester.
Visit Chester & Cheshire’s Director, Karen Balmer outlined
“This is a timely improvement to the quality of information
facilities which will encourage visitors to stay longer, spend more
and return more often to explore the vast range of Cheshire’s
visitor opportunities, among them food and drink, accommodation,
events and gardens.”
The centre, which soft-opened at the end of May has already
welcomed over 72,000 people. The team from the centre, which
is operated by destination management organisation Visit Chester
& Cheshire, have already noted the popularity of the exclusive
Chester and Cheshire souvenirs and the limited edition ‘Rhino
Mania’ merchandise.
The centre staff, who collectively boast over 130 years of
tourism experience, have also noticed a change in the type of
visitors, witnessing an increase in foreign exchange students -
mostly Spanish and Italian.
Councillor Richard Short - Portfolio Holder for Culture &
Recreation, Cheshire West and Chester Council commented “This new
facility will help visitors and Cestrians alike to discover all the
great things there are to see and do in Chester and the surrounding
area.
Local businesses will benefit from the improved booking for
accommodation, tours and box office services. Visitors will be
encouraged to spend more time (and hopefully money) in the area, to
come back again and to tell all their friends what a great place
Chester is to visit.”
Nick Brooks-Sykes, Director of Tourism, Northwest Regional
Development Agency said:
“Visitors to England’s Northwest are spoilt for choice when it
comes to the depth of products and experiences in the region and it
is important that up to date information and unrivalled local
knowledge is available through our Visitor Information Centres.
“Improvements to Chester’s new visitor information centre are
the latest in a number of projects to revitalise the region's
tourist information services. Tourism is worth £1.4 billion to
Cheshire and Warrington, which translates into 36,000 jobs for the
sub-region itself. It is our ambition to ensure tourism remains a
key industry for the regional economy, with an overall target to
invest £2 billion by 2015.”
[ ENDS ]
Notes to Editors:
Visit Chester & Cheshire lead tourism and destination
management for Cheshire and Warrington within England’s Northwest.
Funded by the North West Regional Development Agency, we help to
grow the visitor economy and help shape the region as a place of
distinction. This is driven in partnership with our valued 400
members, from public, private and not-for-profit tourism
providers.
For further information visit www.visitchesterandcheshire.co.uk
Our consumer websites are: visitcheshire.com
visitchester.com
tastecheshire.com
chesterandcheshireforgroups.com
Our business tourism
website: meetinchesterandcheshire.com
Issued by Kevin Ellis-Baxter
Corporate Communications Executive, Visit Chester &
Cheshire
T: 01244 405621
E: k.ellis-baxter@visitchesterandcheshire.co.uk