Six made redundant as Exmouth's Tourist Information Centre closes and service switches to Travelworld

EXMOUTH'S TOURIST INFORMATION Centre in Manor Gardens closed yesterday (3 October). Six members of staff have been made redundant and are to receive redundancy packages, while the building in Manor Gardens is to be returned to its owners, East Devon District Council. But despite the TIC's closure, the Centre's work is to continue. The service will be taken on by Travelworld, a travel agency in The Strand...

The Chamber of Commerce, which had been running the TIC with support from Exmouth Town Council, says it closed the Centre due to changes in the way tourists plan and book their holidays, cuts in council subsidies and a rise in maintenance and staffing costs.

"We very much regret the redundancies, and are hugely grateful to the TIC staff who have kept things going so well for so long," says Chamber Chairman Ian MacQueen. "The huge increase in numbers of tourists using the internet, satnav and mobile phones to get the information they need, meant that a new approach to the service was essential.

"Public opinion has long been that the TIC provision should be in the centre of the town, and run during full business hours, but TICs are closing everywhere because they can't stand alone as viable businesses. We have therefore had to look at a 21st-century solution to the problem. Housing the service within a successful tourism business in The Strand was the obvious answer."

There will be a two-month transition as Travelworld "assumes all the functions of the TIC".

"We have been happy to help support the TIC for many years, but if Exmouth is to remain competitive as a holiday destination, we must move with the times," says Exmouth Town Clerk John Wokersien. "Hannah and her team at Travelworld have offered the town a perfect solution."

Chamber Chairman Ian MacQueen believes that a further benefit to the town will emerge. "For a long time, the members of the Chamber executive have had to divert a great deal of their attention to the TIC. Now we will be far better able to focus on our core function, which is to support and represent the businesses of the town."