Squadron Leader Frank Tierney was greeted with applause and
jubilation when he entered Harrogate's Tourist Information Centre
last week becoming the 750,000th visitor to the Centre since it
relocated in 2000.
The staff at TIC presented local resident Mr Tierney with
a gift bag full of treats including Harrogate Toffee and
complimentary tickets to various local attractions including Ripley
Castle and HIC. They were visiting the TIC to gather information
about local accommodation for their extended family, who are all
coming to Harrogate later this year for a big family party.
Harrogate's Tourist Information Centre is operated by
Harrogate International Centre. There are four TIC's across the
district with further Centre's in Ripon, Pateley Bridge and
Knaresborough. Harrogate is one of the busiest TIC's in North
Yorkshire and experience increased footfall during major local
events such as the Harrogate Flower Shows, the Great Yorkshire
Show, and increasingly there is demand for information and bookings
for the Scarborough Spa Express, which runs from Leeds to
Scarborough via Harrogate during the summer months.
In 2007 the TIC handled over 162,000 enquiries, made over
3,000 bed bookings and answered just under 30,000 telephone calls.
With a staff team of 6 the TIC deals with enquiries from across the
country from people intending to visit the area. From the local
perspective, the most popular destination enquiries are for the
Lake District, Scotland and Northumberland. The tourism website,
www.enjoyharrogate.com
also logged over 200,000 visits for the year to 31 March
2008.
Conference and exhibition delegates also use Harrogate TIC for
accommodation bookings. The bookings team headed by Catherine
Geraghty is in regular daily contact with accommodation providers
and able to offer business visitors the most suitable accommodation
according to individual requests and requirements.
Also available at the TIC is a range of gifts from postcards,
branded mugs, Harrogate toffee and tea towels to Royal Hall
memorabilia.
Harrogate Tourist Information Centre is open 9am - 5.30pm
Monday to Saturday and 10am - 1pm on Sunday. The three branch
offices are open 10am - 5pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am - 1pm
on Sunday.
Editors Note: Photo details - from left to
right: Helen Suckling, Visitor Service Manager at TIC; Frank
Tierney; Gilly Bendtson, Visitor Team Manager at TIC
