Bath Tourist Information Centre and Bath Box Office to join forces in refurbished Information Centre

25th October 2011

Bath Tourism Plus and Bath Festivals are delighted to announce that their full visitor information and ticket sales operations will operate side by side from February 2012 within a newly designed ‘Information Centre’ in Abbey Square. This will give both residents and visitors to the area a ‘one-stop shop’ for all cultural and arts events tickets, destination information and accommodation bookings, as well as tickets for bike hire, tours, attractions and major destination events and festivals.

The new Centre, which will act as a showcase for the destination and reflect Bath’s already established position as the busiest and most successful Tourist Information Centre in the country, will be located on the site of the current Centre in the main abbey square just off York Street.  It will also provide a new home for the Bath Box Office, run by Bath Festivals, who will move in from their current base on Church Street, Abbey Green.  Bath Box Office provides a vital service selling tickets on behalf of more than 90 cultural organisations in and around Bath. 

Planning for the refurbishment began in May and, following a comprehensive tender process, retail design agency MWorldwide was appointed to design the new Centre. The agency was selected due to its track record of high profile retail projects - including the Roman Baths shops and the Natural History Museum in London - as well as for its understanding of the Centre’s operational requirements. The shop-fitting element of the programme is currently out to tender, with the appointment of a contractor due to be made within the week.

This will be the first major refurbishment of the Tourist Information Centre, which currently welcomes over 535,000 visitors per annum, since it moved into the premises in 1995. Fiona Humphreys, Commercial Manager at Bath Tourism Plus, says:

“The Information Centre is often the first port of call for the many visitors to our city. As such, it acts as a showcase for all that Bath and the surrounding area has to offer. Interpreting that sense of place, whilst responding to the operational needs of such a high footfall outlet, presented a real design and planning challenge.

‘This is a major project for us, and we are grateful to Bath & North East Somerset Council for facilitating this. We now look forward to creating a Visitor Centre that reflects the heritage, culture and values of the destination and extends a warm welcome to all our future visitors. We are also delighted that the Bath Box Office operation will be under the same roof, offering visitors and residents alike the chance to take full advantage of the destination’s vibrant cultural scene and rich heritage offer.’’

Belinda Kidd, Chief Executive of Bath Festivals, added:

“Bath Festivals looks forward to all the opportunities that this move presents.  The new facilities will provide a great base for us to deliver our excellent box office service for local residents.  We are also excited at the prospect of making sure that visitors to Bath know all about the fantastic cultural life on offer – and can more easily buy tickets for the wonderful range of events going on in the local area throughout the year.” 

Works on site will commence in early January 2012, with the new Centre due to be open by the February half term.

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Notes to Editors:

For further information please contact Lucy Ryder at Bath Tourism Plus on 01225 477441 or email: lucy_ryder@bathtourism.co.uk or visit visitbath.co.uk, the official tourism website for Bath and the surrounding area.

Bath Tourism Plus
Working with the public and private sectors, Bath’s destination marketing organisation, Bath Tourism Plus, takes full responsibility for co-ordinating the work of a busy tourist information centre, the marketing of Bath and the surrounding area to leisure and business travellers, PR activity to attract the nation’s top travel writers, a conference office, and development of Bath’s official destination website www.visitbath.co.uk

The Bath Tourist Information Centre
The Bath Tourist Information Centre (TIC), run by Bath Tourism Plus, is located on the ground floor of Abbey Chambers, in the heart of the city alongside the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. The Centre is one of the three busiest Centres of its kind in the UK, currently welcoming over 535,000 visitors per annum. The Centre is an official partner of the national tourism agency VisitBritain.

The Tourist Information Centre provides comprehensive visitor information on the destination, and offers accommodation bookings, ticket sales and a retail shop selling maps, books and gifts. The Centre has undergone only minor refurbishment since 1995.

Bath Festivals 
Bath Festivals brings leading international performers, writers and thinkers to Bath every year to inspire, entertain and challenge audiences of all ages and artistic tastes.  Our festivals champion diversity and collaboration, celebrate the fusion of the traditional and the contemporary; open people’s minds, and showcase the work of both established and up-and-coming performers.

We produce the Bath International Music Festival, the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature and the Bath Literature Festival, and provide year-round learning and participation opportunities for children, young people and adults.  We also act as a central hub for the arts in Bath & North East Somerset, serving over 90 festivals, events and local arts organisations through the Bath Box Office.  

www.bathfestivals.org.uk  www.bathboxoffice.org.uk