Tourism trouble Concerns that ‘pod’ is not enough for festival town
THE borough council is under fire for not providing Cheltenham with a traditional tourist information centre.
Some residents believe that the recent introduction of a small pod in High Street, which has lately been locked and unmanned, is not enough for a town that tourism chiefs say attracts more than two million visitors per year.
Cheltenham used to have a tourist information point in the Promenade before it was moved into The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum in Clarence Street.
But after that was revamped this summer, it was removed and not set up anywhere else.
Council bosses argue that most visitors can get the information they need about Cheltenham online and also say they plan to change the set-up at the pod shortly. But critics are not impressed.
Commenting on the Next Door social media platform, one person said: “I went into the new Wilson Art Gallery today to discover the town no longer has a tourist information centre. This strikes me as mildly scandalous.”
Many people agreed, with one saying people enjoyed talking to a person rather than just obtaining information online. Another said: “It’s crazy there’s no tourist information point for what is known as ‘The Festival Town.’”
Councillor Max Wilkinson, the borough council’s cabinet member for economic development, culture, tourism and wellbeing, said: “I’d like to thank the users of Next Door for raising this issue, because it’s important that local people have an eye on our town’s tourism marketing activities. Promoting Cheltenham as a place to visit is one of our most important priorities.
“But it’s also important to highlight that nationally many local areas have moved away from traditional tourist information centres to alternatives. This particularly includes online channels, given that 84 per cent of British adults have a smartphone and will typically use Google or other search engines to find information.
“The council has invested in Marketing Cheltenham to promote the town to visitors with a successful website and social media accounts too.
“Prior to the pandemic lockdowns, tourist information was housed in The Wilson, but that could not be described as a tourist information centre.
“As part of the successful redesign of The Wilson and the work to boost the local area after the pandemic lockdowns, the decision was taken to open the Visit Cheltenham pod in the High Street - a more central location.
“The initial trial period has been extended, but as part of the extension we are rethinking how the pod can best work for tourists, local community groups and businesses too. People can expect to see more developments at the pod in September.”