Information Centre Manager – Tourist Information

Also known as: Tourism Centre Manager, Senior Tourism Information Officer,

Tourism information centres (TICs) are located in most major cities and towns where there are a lot of visitors from the UK and abroad. They provide information about public transport in the area, local amenities, visitor attractions and emergency services.  As an information centre manager your responsibility is to co-ordinate the activities of the centre, and engage with its stakeholders.

Your day-to-day duties may involve:

• training new and existing staff
• liaising with suppliers
• liaising with local visitor attractions
• implementing a marketing strategy to improve publicity
• advising visitors about local activities

The role of the manager is to oversee the operations of the tourism information centre. You will work with your team to ensure the centre is a welcoming environment that provides visitors with accurate information about public transport, attractions and local amenities. You will regularly liaise with the supervisor to ensure that the centre is always well stocked with brochures, postcards and maps, and that your team members are always welcoming and happy to assist visitors.

A tourism information centre provides a range of brochures and advertising material from hotels, tourist attractions, shops, restaurants and leisure facilities. They will also sell maps, books, postcards and souvenirs. The manager will also oversee the bureau de change and accommodation booking facilities if they are on site. A marketing strategy is crucial to raising the awareness of the tourism information centre. The manager will implement marketing strategies to engage its audience and raise the profile of the tourism information centre. This could be through promotional material or liaising with local visitor attractions.

The manager will be in charge of staff training and development. It is their duty to support the supervisor recruit new staff, and encourage training within the existing team members. The manager may arrange trips for the whole team to visit popular local destinations – this way the team can advise the visitors from first-hand experience.

The manager may be asked to represent the area at travel trade events, to entertain and brief travel writers, and make arrangements for journalists to sample the area’s attractions.