Norwich Tourist Information Centre closure

The centre has been closed since December 2020 due to the pandemic but has continued a telephone and email advisory service. Although tourism is set to increase now lockdown measures are easing, the pandemic has escalated the trend of people accessing information online both during, and in advance of their trips to Norwich.

VisitNorwich, the destination management organisation for the city, and who are partly funded by the city council will continue to offer extensive online visitor information.

Nikki Rotsos, director of strategy and culture said:

“As with many council services over the last few years, and especially so in light of the pandemic, we had been looking at what the future held for the tourist information centre in a growing digital world.

“More and more people are choosing to find local information elsewhere and our in-person visits have been decreasing even before the pandemic hit.

“The team at the tourist centre have done such an amazing job and I’d like to thank them for the pride and passion that they’ve shown for Norwich.”

In-person visits to the tourist information centre have been falling for many years with 2019 showing a 50% reduction from 2012. This is against rising visitor numbers to the city; 6.9 million in 2012 to 13.1 million by 2019 (Economic impact of Tourism reports).

When the TIC opened up its doors again last year, in-person visit figures from August - December were less than 10% of those recorded from the previous year (2019).

The tourist information centre has been in The Forum since November 2001 and has been previously located at the Guildhall and Augustine Steward House.

Closing the Norwich TIC will create a saving for the council of around £110,000.

Tourists and residents should head over to the VisitNorwich website (www.visitnorwich.co.uk) or follow them on their social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date information on exploring our fine city.