Chesterfield TIC is Top
Chesterfield Tourist Information Centre Grabs Gold
Chesterfield's Tourist Information Centre (TIC) has been awarded gold in a prestigious national competition that promotes quality standards in the tourism industry.
Chesterfield TIC, run by Chesterfield Borough Council, scooped the top award in the finals of the Enjoy England Excellence Awards at the National Railway Museum in York last week.
The Centre fought off stiff competition from rivals in Colchester and Royal Windsor to win gold for best Tourist Information Service for the second time, four years after the team first clinched the award in 2005.
Huw Bowen, Chief Executive at Chesterfield Borough Council said: "This is a fantastic achievement for the TIC and one that is well deserved.
The TIC team work extremely hard in providing a first rate service to residents and visitors and this national award is a real boost for the town's ever increasing popularity as a tourist attraction."
As part of the judging process the TIC first applied for the East Midlands Regional Award and as one of the nine regional winners, was then shortlisted for the national awards. The TIC was assessed for its customer care, the range of services offered, customer feedback, accessibility and environmental standards. The judges were particularly impressed with the friendliness of the staff and their knowledge of Chesterfield and the surrounding area and the introduction of the new Chesterfield town centre audio trail.
David James, Chief Executive at Visit Peak District and Derbyshire said: "We are exceptionally proud of Chesterfield TIC which has consistently provided the very best in customer service over a prolonged period of time. This recognition of being the best in England is well justified and deserved. It supports our whole visitor experience in the Peak District & Derbyshire, where we warmly welcome every single visitor."
The town's TIC is an extremely popular facility with over 160,500 people using the centre in 2008, of which 60% were local residents and 40% were visitors. The centre also dealt with 9,711 telephone calls and 1,359 emails.
