Concern raised over Dorset tourist information after council cuts

Dorchester was one of the towns where the tourist information centre was shut in 2021

Tourist information services in Dorset have struggled since being transferred out of local authority control, councillors have said.

Dorchester, Sherborne and Wareham's Tourism Information Centres (TICs) were closed in 2021 and town councils took over their roles.

Sherborne councillor Matt Hall said there had been a "cut and run" approach by Dorset Council.

The council said it was providing "ongoing support" to the three towns.

They were each given a one-off payment of £20,000 when they were handed control of tourism information provision, following financial cuts by the county council.

'No idea'

Speaking at a meeting reviewing the changes, Mr Hall called for more financial support, given the county has more than 12 million day visitors each year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It's talking about a service the town council had never run, never looked after and had no idea about. To try and move it in a few months, doesn't give the best ending.

"I think that should worry us ...we can't make a system work with millions of people coming here," he said.

He said one of the problems encountered had been the need to make changes to a tourism leaflet - but it took months to find the master copies, missing the busy Easter holiday period.

A council report highlighted new VisitSherborne and VisitWareham websites, as well as a new heritage tourism strategy for Dorchester.

It said there was a volunteer-run information point at Dorchester Post Office and volunteers were also providing visitor services in Sherborne.

"Dorset Council has provided assurance to all three town councils of ongoing partner support, sharing information and resources including support from our Visit Dorset Tourism team," it added.