This just in from the council. Ed
The Isle of Wight Council is pleased to announce that Southern Vectis, the Island’s bus company, will be delivering a new focused Tourist Information Service across the Island. The council will be supporting the work of Southern Vectis as part of its coordination of the tourism marketing and promotional campaigns.
From April, Southern Vectis will provide ‘Visitor Information Assistants’ in Ryde, Newport, Yarmouth, Sandown, Shanklin and Cowes. Their role will be to provide visitors with any information they require and to advise them on the range of activities available to them.
Visitor Information Points in Ryde, Newport and Yarmouth
Visitor Information Points will be created from April in Newport Bus Station, Ryde Bus Station and Yarmouth Bus Station in a move that will offer a combination of tourist and travel information in these key entry points to the Island. In Newport the current bus travel centre and waiting facility is set for refurbishment, and in Ryde the former information office is set to be refitted to re-open after Southern Vectis agreed a lease for the office and the bus station itself with Islandline trains.
There are also plans to open an office within the Bus Station in Shanklin subject to planning and highway approvals.
Roving assistants in Cowes and Sandown
In Cowes and Sandown, Visitor Information Assistants will be provided in the Pontoon and in the High Street area respectively, providing a presence on the street in the busiest areas.
Tanya Simms, Commercial Manager for Southern Vectis said, “Transport information is a vital ingredient in providing comprehensive visitor information and the combination achieved in this partnership is a logical step. As well as maintaining the provision of Tourist Information it will also offer bus passengers a much improved information service in a range of important locations. The timescales are short and we are now working through the practical requirements as quickly as we can to ensure that as much of the service as possible is in place by April.”
Will replace current Tourist Information Centres
The new service will replace the Island’s current network of Tourist Information Centres and will return the service to its core role of providing information, rather than selling souvenirs and booking tickets for off Island transport, events and other performances and shows.
Cllr George Brown, IW Council cabinet member responsible for tourism, said: “This arrangement demonstrates that against a background of huge financial pressures, we can find innovative and smarter ways of delivering key services without the historic costs.
“Southern Vectis are providing this integrated travel and tourist information service at no cost to the council and it is an exciting and novel approach.
“We are pleased to be supporting a major private sector service provider on the Island to deliver services that would otherwise have disappeared.”
