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Thank you for being open BY KAREN PERROW, MANAGER OF DARTMOUTH VISITOR CENTRE
“Thank you for being open.” That was the top message from visitors to the Dartmouth Visitor Centre this summer. Some had travelled only a short
distance for a day away, but many had come from further afield to ‘grab a holiday’ and others even from overseas. But all were unanimous in their praise. And everyone was grateful - even
delightedly surprised - to find the door open and to be met with a warm greeting by our volunteers armed with information and a cheery smile to banish any woes in a world grappling with a pandemic. It was on July 4th that the
Dartmouth Visitor Centre decided it would step up to the challenge, dust off the shelves, take down the shutters and support other businesses in the town following three months of lockdown due to Covid 19. Despite being a self-funding
organisation, our directors were in no doubt that we should spare any expenses in introducing strict safety measures within the centre, both for the protection of our volunteers and customers. We spent a weekend in
preparation of the big lift off, installing an automatic hand sanitiser at the entrance, marking out social distancing signs throughout the shop floor and making sure there were sufficient masks and face visors and hand washes for our staff and volunteers. The majority of those who help
at the centre are in that elderly or vulnerable bracket - and who could have blamed them for thinking twice about coming back to work. But return they did. And I cannot
underestimate the admiration I have for our small but dedicated team who have shown such bravery and selflessness in the face of the unknown.
Their actions are perhaps
even more admirable when you compare the situation to what happened in neighbouring towns like Kingsbridge and Totnes, where TICs remained closed for most of the summer, and even our national charities (the National Trust and RNLI) seem to have struggled to get
Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall last month with manager Karen Perrow and chairman Hilary Bastone outside the Centre with the new Mayflower 400 & AONB information boards
a central information point for a town in Covid transition. Our comprehensive visitor
guide - probably the best ever produced - has continued to receive praise from visitors, including those more discerning groups who like to be labelled ‘knowledgeable travellers’. One in particular said he had
traversed the world and not found a better guide. During the summer the directors
As a self-financing centre, we need the business community to recognise the extent of our role
a proper handle on the balance of re-enlisting volunteer support and re-opening premises. Between July and October we
have welcomed around 35,000 people through the doors of the Dartmouth Visitor Centre as the town has consistently recorded healthy footfall. The majority of those visitors - both those familiar with the town and those who came here for the first time after their holiday abroad was cancelled - said they were enchanted by what they found and want to come back. Daily changes to attraction opening times, timetables and car parking requirements were all enquiries we had to handle as
took the decision to launch a new website -
visitdartmouth.uk - in a move to produce a quality platform for advertisers as well as generate better income for the visitor centre. Starting a new business venture
at these difficult times was always going to be a risky decision but we believe we must adapt to change and recognise new opportunities. Dartmouth is a stunningly beautiful destination. But a community without a heart is empty and alone. And never before has there been a more important time to pull together to promote the town as a destination and protect the place where we all live and work. Sadly, visitor information centres
are vanishing from high streets and so, in a community that relies on tourism, we believe local businesses must recognise they cannot survive without the help they receive from TICs. It may be fair to say that, while only a few visitors arrive without
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