By David Jones | Public Affairs and Policy Manager, Business Sydney | Mob: 0448 285 996
Business Sydney today called for the establishment of commercially run visitor information centres in Sydney as it joined Cruise Media Australia in celebrating the first anniversary of the comprehensive Sydney Travel Guide.
Executive Director Paul Nicolaou said the success of the travel guide, which is now being carried on board Sydney taxis, 200 hotels and 450 cafes, highlighted the need for visitor information centres.
He called for one to be located at The Rocks near the Overseas Passenger Terminal, and another at Sydney Airport.
Centres of this kind, acting as a one-stop-shop for international visitors to buy tours, book restaurants and purchase theatre tickets, are what travellers expect to find in global cities,” Mr Nicolaou said.
We currently have nothing like this in Sydney other than a 1980s style visitor desk staffed by volunteers at Customs House but located well off the beaten track for tourists.
Chances are visitors will arrive at a commercially run visitor centre having found things they want to experience and see in the Sydney Travel Guide. The more we can do to assist visitors to our wonderful city the better.
The Sydney Travel Guide has become a huge asset for visitors wanting to make the most of their time in Sydney, especially cruise passengers flocking to Sydney during the summer cruise season.
It is widely available at hotels, cafes and in the cabs of Sydney's taxi drivers, who are part of our city's cheerleading squad in having the guides displayed prominently in their cabs.
Sydney Travel Guide publisher, Peter Lynch, said the guide - available online and in hard copy and with a brand new website - filled an information gap for visitors to Sydney.
"Visitors to Sydney are hungry for information so they can plan their stay and fill their time in our city with memorable experiences," Mr Lynch said.
"We published the guide after Business Sydney highlighted the need for a proper platform to welcome overseas visitors and at the same time put them in touch with local businesses.
In coming months, hundreds of thousands of international cruise passengers and other visitors will be arriving in Sydney.
The guide will help them make the most of their time here with plenty of information on what to see and do.
It's a vital link between these visitors and our city's businesses.
But there is more work to do. Go to any European or American city and you will receive a free guide to the city at your port of entry, be it a cruise terminal or an airport. The guide is available at Sydney's cruise terminals but it is a sad fact that permission to offer it at the airport was declined.
Thanks to the NSW Taxi Council, we are able to reach tourists with good information about our wonderful city by disseminating our guide in cabs."
NSW Taxi Council CEO, Nick Abrahim, said he was proud that Sydney taxi drivers are playing an important part in distribution of the guide.
"Sydney's cabbies love our city and they love having visitors on board and helping them discover what Sydney has to offer," Mr Abrahim said.
"The Sydney Travel Guide helps our cabbies tell the story of our wonderful city."
.png?ext=.png)
David is a Walkley Award-winning journalist with a distinguished career spanning more than half a century in print, television and radio journalism, political and corporate affairs and high-level media relations including incident and issues management. Media Enquiries - David Jones M: 0448 285 996