Industry News – New Welcome Centre to Open for Cowes Week

Visit Isle of Wight is to open a pop up Tourist Information Centre opposite the West Cowes Red Jet Terminal from this Friday, 1st August 2014. The “Island Welcome Centre” as it is being known, will operate during Cowes Week from within the former confectionery shop opposite the foot passenger arrivals gate from Southampton in West Cowes. The initiative is being sponsored by Red Jet.

The opening times of the unit are likely to be 10am until 6pm from the 1st of August. The Centre will be staffed by members of the Visit Isle of Wight team and will focus on travel information, places to stay and things to do whilst visiting Cowes week. The Centre will also feature additional information about Cowes and the surrounding area and the latest details about Bicycle Island and the forthcoming cycle festival.

Cowes Week visitors will be invited to download the new Isle of Wight Official Tourist Information App and also enter a competition to win a luxury break on the island in 2015. Visitors will be able to call into the centre and request information about where to stay and what to see and do from a manned information desk within the Centre.

A large display of how to travel around the Island without a car will be one of the central displays within the Tourist Centre, catering for the foot passengers coming off the Red Jet and hoping to explore the Island during their visit to Cowes Week.

” Good News for growing the Island’s Tourism Economy”

This temporary Tourist Information Point is the 14th created by Visit Isle of Wight with assistance from the IW Council and private sector partners including Wightlink, Red Funnel, Southern Vectis and South West Trains. David Thornton CEO of Visit Isle of Wight explains, “Although our number one focus is promoting the Island on the mainland, we recognise that it is very important to provide information to visitors once they are here. The Tourist Information Point network we started to create last June is a private / public sector partnership solution to that challenge, and one that we think we can grow and develop over the next few years. The Isle of Wight is famous for it’s warm welcome and it’s even warmer seas, so the more we can do to make visitors feel special and cared for when they’re here the more chance there is that they will return again.

The Red Jet Terminal is strategically very important because of the high number of foot passengers that travel across to us this way, it’s an ideal time to tell them about our “drive less and see more” messages, including details about cycle ways and coastal paths visitors can explore. Having an opportunity to promote the Island to Cowes Week visitors is good news for growing the Island’s tourism economy”.

Local businesses is Cowes and the surrounding area who would like to see their products, events and services promoted for free in the pop up unit during Cowes Week should contact abi@visitwight.org for further details. The Unit will be officially opened by Red Funnel and Visit Isle of Wight on Friday morning.