A secret test of all 322 tourist information centres across England by a national tourist organisation has placed Swindon’s centre in 15th place.
Enjoy England’s annual ‘mystery shopper‘ survey measures customer care, the quality of service, the warmth of the welcome, knowledge, and speed of response.
The centre, in Regent Street, attracts more than 120,000 people every year with a further 8,000 contacting the centre by telephone, e-mail or letter.
As well as giving information on places to stay, sports facilities, entertainment venues, and places to eat and visit, the centre also acts as a ticket agent for both local and national events.
The Enjoy England survey was carried out by testing the Swindon centre’s response to an e-mail, a visit and a telephone call and marks were given to verify the quality of the information on offer.
Swindon was just pipped to the crown of being the best in Wiltshire by Salisbury’s centre, which bettered Swindon’s 93% score by just 1.5%. The South-west winner was Gloucester, with the overall winner Nottingham.
Cllr Fionuala Foley, Swindon Borough Council cabinet member for Leisure and Corporate Services, said: “This is recognition the manager Janice Leard and the staff at the centre fully deserve, because they give everyone who comes to them for advice and information a first class service.”
