Why you need a visitor information centre

Visitor information centres are important to show the ‘face of safer tourism’ and provide accurate information to visitors and emergency services in the case of incidents.

They are usually the first point of contact for tourists and visitors who depend on reliable and up-do-date information on places to visit, attractions to see and activities to engage in while on their trips. A visitor information centre promotes a sense of place within the community for locals and visitors, and provides a unique space for visitors to become engaged with the history, heritage, culture and tourism offerings of the state, city or region.

Here are 3 reasons why visitor information centres are important:

1. They provide on-site visual, digital and physical customer support service to visitors
2. They provide practical and ongoing information about attractions, tourist services, and emergencies (if need be)  
3. They boost visitor confidence and provide safe directions for travel within the community.

In times of emergencies, visitor information centres can be responsible for disseminating accurate public information and carrying out emergency response activities. These services are usually free of charge, so the visitor does not have to bother about paying an extra fee.

Queensland Visitor Information Centre, Australia

To illustrate how important a visitor information centre is, there are 11 visitor information centres along the 400-series highways in Ontario, Canada.  These highways span close to 2,000 kilometres in length. Strategically positioning each visitor information centre along that highway network has helped travellers get important information about their travel route and obtain necessary help in case of an emergency.

Africa can do well to emulate this. As part of our vision to promote and sustain domestic tourism and hospitality service quality across the continent in line with global standards and best practices, we need to look at designing visitor centres and support desks across board for visitor information, complaints and feedback.

Who can have a visitor information centre, and where best can it be sited?

1. Major points of entry into a city – airport, train stations, major bus terminals, etc.
2. Hotels
3. National and Local Museums
4. Tourist Destinations
5. Townhalls or Public Administrative Buildings

Now, over to you – We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments on why destinations, public spaces and organizations need visitor information centres.