From Monday 22nd June, York’s Visitor Information Centre on Museum Street will be reopening its doors for local residents and visitors. Providing a range of information services, the Visitor Information Centre will be open daily, with new social distancing measures implemented to ensure the safety of staff and visitors.
The new safety measures that have been put in place, following a full external risk assessment, will include new signage, floor markings, control of the number of visitors in the space at any time and a one-way entrance/exit system to ensure the Government guidance on social distancing is implemented. Staff will have recommended PPE and hand sanitiser stations will also be available for visitors.
The Visitor Information Centre team will be on hand Monday to Sunday to give locals and visitors a warm welcome and provide information on a range of areas including travel advice, guidance on what is open locally, and expert insight on how to make the most of their York experience. Free information leaflets and city guides will also continue to be available in the main shop area and a range of York merchandise, maps and gifts will be on sale.
The Visitor Information Centre team will also be on hand to provide the latest advice on visiting the city’s attractions as they start to reopen from 4th July following current Government guidelines. With many attraction admissions pre-bookable online with timed slots, the team will be able to assist with planning visits and booking tickets in advance. More information about which of the city’s attractions are open can be found on the Visit York website.
Sean Bullick, Managing Director of Make It York said: “The Visitor Information Centre offers an invaluable resource and information point for locals and visitors to the city, and so we were keen to reopen as soon as all the necessary safety measures could be put in place. With many of the city’s attractions and hospitality businesses looking to reopen over the next few weeks and retailers already starting to trade again, we felt it was really important that the Visitor Information Centre team were back in place to support residents and visitors with information on the wonderful and unique experiences we have available in the city.
We’ve been working hard behind the scenes over the last few weeks to ensure that we have all the safety measures in place to ensure both our staff and people coming into the Information Centre feel secure and confident in the space. We will continue to monitor the Government guidance on this area and will react swiftly as this develops over the coming weeks should we need to make any further changes.
The whole team are very much looking forward to welcoming people back into the Visitor Information and reconnecting with local residents as they return to the explore the city centre.”
Cllr Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure & Communities: “Covid-19 has had a significant impact on businesses in our city and around the world. Over the past few days, it has been encouraging to see more of our businesses reopen and residents supporting our retailers by visiting shops across the city and following the public health guidelines.
“We have laid out plans for the city to build back better and are working at pace with our partners to deliver on this. With public health at the heart of our recovery plans we are working to encourage more active travel, as well as adapting and expanding our footstreet areas so people can move around the city whilst keeping socially distant from others. The reopening of the visitor information centre is another encouraging sign that the city is reopening for business.
“We are closely monitoring government guidance regarding the wider reopening of the tourism and hospitality sectors and are working to help them adapt to the new advice, as we have with retailers. To find out more about our recovery plans visit www.york.gov.uk/letsbeyork.”
The Visitor Information Centre will reopen at 10.30AM on 22nd June. The shop will be open daily, Monday to Sunday and residents and visitors can also continue to access the support of the Information Centre via calling 01904 555670 or emailing info@visityork.org
ENDS
Images: Visit York Tourism Information Centre: https://we.tl/t-2E5hg3w8kB
For further information please contact:
Amy Goodman – Consumer Communications Manager – Make It York
Email: amy.goodman@makeityork.com
Ana Ignatova – Communications Executive – Make It York
Email: ana.ignatova@makeityork.com
Notes to Editors:
Make It York
Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management, festivals and events, business support and inward investment.
Visit York is a part of Make It York and is the leisure tourism brand
Under the brand Visit York, Make It York’s aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York.
Key tourism facts: 8.4 million visitors annually, £765 million total visitor spend, supporting 24,000 jobs
