WE ALL KNOW THAT SAFFRON WALDEN IS A LOVELY PLACE TO VISIT, SO WHY DO WE NEED A TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE?

Several aspects of the TIC immediately spring to mind. At the front desk, staff and volunteers are on hand to welcome visitors to the town and provide information about attractions, places to eat, accommodation and transport.

Visitors may be here for any number of reasons: holiday, business, family, even medical – but they all appreciate the benefit of local knowledge, whether they are British visitors, or from overseas.

However the front desk service certainly doesn’t end there. In Saffron Walden we are particularly fortunate to have such a centrally located TIC. This means that residents enjoy multiple benefits. For example, the TIC runs a very successful box office service, poster display system and window hire for all sorts of local events, including, of course, Saffron Screen.

It provides publicity for events in the ‘What’s On’ booklet, distributed widely across the region. It offers photocopying and fax services, kitchen and garden waste bags, free magazines, and a central point from which consultations, competitions and surveys can be carried out.

Local, regional and national information can be obtained from the TIC, and journeys can be planned by trained members of staff who are always happy to help. It is an important outlet for suppliers of local publications and products, who may otherwise struggle to compete at regional or national level.

Whilst all this benefits the local economy, consider another aspect to the TIC. In the back office staff work to generate more visitors to Saffron Walden and the surrounding area. Not only are emails, telephone enquiries and correspondence being handled on a daily basis, but the staff are also promoting the town as much as possible to the global community.

In 2011 this means developing a good web presence as well as producing the more traditional paper-based publicity.

The website www.visitsaffronwalden.gov.uk is a continual work in progress, with recent additions such as information in foreign languages, and a link to the new online Saffron Directory. The home page displays a Twitter window where the two most recent tweets from www.twitter.com/swtic are shown. There’s also a link to the TIC’s new Facebook page www.facebook.com/saffronwalden . Check out Saffron Walden on TripAdvisor, Yelp and Gogobot and you’ll see evidence of the work of the TIC’s team. On paper, look out for Saffron Walden publicity in the Cambridge Guide, note the new Official Guide and the new Mazes leaflet, and consider the successful Saffron Walden Antiques Guide, Food Leaflet and Galleries Guide. These have all benefited from an input from the TIC. Watch to see if Saffron Walden appears in the next edition of Lonely Planet. Note articles in magazines, observe film crews in the town. Editors and producers are almost always in contact with the TIC beforehand.

Finally consider the networking contribution of the TIC. Approximately 2000 referrals to local businesses are made annually. Individual members of staff belong to the Saffron Walden Arts Trust, Saffron Walden Initiative, and Saffron Walden Business Forum. Links have been forged with Audley End Station and Essex County Council’s Passenger Transport section. As a result, the staff are well-placed to help assess and assist with projects such as (for example) the filling of empty shops with temporary art displays, improving bus stop signage, and sourcing funding for the marketing of Saffron Walden.

Be in no doubt: the economic benefits of having a Tourist Information Centre in the heart of Saffron Walden are there for the whole community to see and enjoy.

In 2005, the total value of tourism to the district of Uttlesford was estimated by East of England Tourism to be £142,206,000. This figure represents the latest data and was calculated in terms of the total local business turnover supported by tourism activity.

Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre is now operated and funded by Saffron Walden Town Council. You can assist the TIC in promoting the town by adding reviews to websites such as TripAdvisor and Gogobot. You can also contribute to the discussion and share your own photos showing the town at its best at www.facebook.com/saffronwalden