Your theory sounds right, but the funny thing is that I have sometimes used tourist information offices. For example, in Estonia, the staff there were so friendly and helpful (I started off in Narva in the east where I was welcomed as practically the first Australian tourist to ever visit) that I kept popping in to them whichever town I visited – they gave such nice, personalised advice. And to be honest I rather like to browse the walls full of brochures (a whole lot more than are just at the hotel, and somehow easier to “see” than online). All this makes me sound a bit old-fashioned but I’m normally a total net addict … so my opinion is split.

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Darren I think you are forgetting that in some destinations, the tourist information office, is the centre of the community.

We have used a lot of tourist offices on our travels to help us with the public transport, and directions.

Yes, you can do that on the internet, but you have to print things out (not environmentally friendly) instead of going to the tourist office and getting the advice from someone who spends a lot of time there.

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To add I think you need to visit a tourist information office because they have had to radically changed and sell tourist gifts, sell tickets and have expanded to what you think a tourist office used to be.

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Interesting theory Darren. I think the intersection of web services and mobile devices is where they’ll end up – for example the audio tours many tourist offices offer will be offered as downloads for phones or mp3 players. That would deal with Rohan’s reservations about paper too.

TOs will remain a touchpoint for travellers – may even become more of one – online. But to be fair this won’t happen until we get widespread, reliable internet access and GPS on mobile devices. The technology is there but it doesn’t have sufficient penetration yet.

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Why even bother going away at all….just do a virtual trip.
Go to tourist offices, talk with real people, help them stay employed, let them help find a little out of the way inn, a favorite restaurant, an insider’s un-spell-checked view of their community.

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It’s nothing to do with real vs virtual people or trips. That’s far too general a reading. We are talking specifically about the most effective way to deliver a tourist information service. One that is distributed across a city through web/mobile devices is demonstrably more useful and more accessible than one whose resources are concentrated in one location.

The content is still going to be created by real people (real insiders, most likely), and you’ll still be coming into contact with locals.

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I love the tourist information office. When I arrive by train to some unknown city, need a map, can’t decide on a hotel, just want to find out some obscure fact, see what’s on… even in places I’ve traveled frequently, like Vienna, the tourist information is a required stop – to get transit tickets, to pick up a new subway map, to get the arts calendar. I would be sad if they were replaced by machines and this wired, seasoned traveler thinks they’re invaluable.

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Believe me I have read some travel sites in my time but I have not seen anyone reply to every single comment as you do. Well done.

I cannot believe though that you think tourist information offices should close. I agree with Rohan, in lesser known destinations it is vital that these offices are kept open.

It isn’t just tourists that find these offices a godsend but locals too.

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I tend to go into them when I get into a place to snoop around but with the advent of mobile internet, everything i need to know is at the push of a button.

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@darren:

done.

and how abouy your thoughts on my recent post?

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Hi Darren, I think there will always be a segment of travellers who value local, face to face information as more authentic and trustworthy, just as others of us flock to blogs and user generated content.

Stephen and I were running focus groups with regular travellers a few weeks back and while they all agreed that the internet was now completely indispensible to their travel planning process, for some this was tinged with regret at the way personal contact has been squeezed out.

For some the personal aspect (from the visit to the travel agent, to talking local knowledge with tourism information staff) is a part of the travel experience and it would be a shame to use technology to shoehorn people in to the same solutions when their preferences differ.

Mind you – last time I asked for tourist information “I have half a day and no car, what can you recommend I do”, the answer I got was sit by the pool and get drunk. OK!

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I cannot remember the last time I used a tourist information office. LIke a few of you have mentioned I use the internet.

If I am booking my holiday I always use a travel agent for the human contact.

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I agree that there is no longer a need for tourist offices to have high street offices as the need for drop in visitors have declined over the years. The need for lots of glossy brochures have been replaces by the internet. However, there will always be someone who will need the above services and one must be able to provide this service if and when needed.
Tourist offices can now spend more time marketing and promoting their destinations and having a voice through Associations such as ANTOR and other industry bodies.
But the tourist office will always need to exist to liaise with the trade and therefore will need representation so that travel agencies, tour operators and airlines are updated on destinations around the world. The trade in return will then have to ability to continue (as one person earlier mentioned) give destination information to the consumers.

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I’ve used the tourist information office at the start of spur-of-the-moment day trips to small towns. It’s not always practical to have a guidebook for every place I might visit or even Internet access. I also needed Tourist office desperately when my plans changed suddenly during a recent trip and I needed quick help finding a hotel.

While I generally prefer to book my travel online in advance, you can’t beat the tourist information office for quick, personal information from someone with in-depth local knowledge of a place.

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