Three 'VIP' touch screens have been installed in Lancaster and Morecambe as part of a revamp of tourist information in the area.
The touch screens have been named Visitor Information Points (VIPs) and have been unveiled as part of a £294,000 Lancaster City Council project to help visitors find out what to do and where to go in the district. The VIPs have been installed at The Platform in Morecambe, and The Storey and Williamson Park café in Lancaster.
In September 2023, the council closed the Visitor Information Centres (VICs) at the Platform and the Storey, with the loss of jobs, due to budget cuts as the VICs cost them £250,000 a year to run.
Read more: Support mounts for local Visitor Information Centres as closure date looms - Beyond Radio The council instead announced they would move towards promoting tourism online, and there would still be access to tourist information at council buildings.
Their plans include the new touch screens, as well as a new visitor website, new social media channels, and more dedicated marketing campaigns to draw in tourists - funded by the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Further 'VIPs' are planned for Lancaster City Museum and the Maritime Museum.
The council said the screens are designed so visitors can browse and find out more about Lancaster, Morecambe Bay, and the district’s rural destinations. They also carry events listings and suggestions of what to see and do, plus essential travel and transport information.
Here is Councillor Catherine Potter using one of the touch screens.
“The city council is firmly committed to encouraging more people to visit the district and spend money in our many excellent attractions and venues to support the local economy," said Councillor Catherine Potter, cabinet member with responsibility for the visitor economy, community wealth building and culture. “The installation of these new touch screens is just the first phase and I’m excited to see that they’re ready to go. The next phase is the development of a new and improved destination website, which we expect to launch in the next few months and which will showcase our district to audiences far and wide. “We’re also working with a range of different organisations to ensure that easily accessible information is provided in areas of high footfall across the district, to complement the existing tourism marketing undertaken by the council and other partners."
There was a public outcry against the closure of the VICs and there has also been criticism of replacing the personal touch of the centres, with digital features such as the touch screens.
In August 2023, campaigner Sue Saunders told Beyond Radio: "It’s such a shame as it is a much needed resource not only for locals but for the many growing number of people who visit the town and surrounding areas. "I know organisations etc are into the internet apps and social media and say it’s the way forward but there are many other people who either by being unfamiliar, choice, age, financial or disability reasons can’t or won’t use them." The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6bn of funding for local investment by March 2025.
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