TIC plans underway (From Salisbury Journal)

TIC plans underway

4:01pm Tuesday 23rd October 2012 in News By Elizabeth Kemble

STEPS to transform the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) in Salisbury by “bringing it into the 21st Century” have begun.

Under the new proposals, the centre will become an open space, where staff can interact with visitors and use tablet style computers to provide advice.

There will also be a WiFi hotspot, public access computer terminals for visitors to use and an overhaul of items on sale, with only Salisbury-manufactured products on offer.

At a city council services committee meeting on Tuesday, clerk Reg Williams said: “TICs are changing, they’re not the animals they were 15 or even five years ago, they simply don’t do what they did.

“The days of the TIC in its traditional sense are behind us and we have to move with the times.”

From April 2014 Wiltshire Council will cease to contribute funding for TICs as they become the responsibility of each host town or city.

As part of the new plans, it will be rebranded as the Salisbury Information Centre and be fully integrated into Salisbury City Council with a shared reception area, and its opening hours increased to include Sundays and a 9am start on weekdays. Further staff will also be taken on.

City council leader Jo Broom said: “We should regard this as a brilliant opportunity to get a unique centre for Salisbury, a place that we can develop for the people of Salisbury as well as for tourists.”

Mayor John Collier added: “TICs are changing and we can’t afford to ossify ourselves into something that people are comfortable with when it’s not effective.”

At the meeting 11 councillors voted in favour of the proposals, with two against and one abstention. It will now go before the policy and resources committee for a decision to be made on funding.