A new Visitor Welcome Centre has opened at Pier Head providing a dedicated point of contact for visitors on the city’s waterfront, providing information on attractions, cultural events, accommodation, restaurants, transport, tours and attraction tickets, as well as souvenirs and free city maps.
The experienced staffing team also deliver pop-up welcome services at major events and locations with previous activity supporting visitors at events such as the Labour Party Conference, Eurovision Song Contest and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
The new Visitor Information Centre at Pier Head will act as a temporary base while preparations continue for a permanent home in the Liverpool Gerry Marsden Ferry Terminal. Establishing this interim facility on the waterfront ensures the team can continue to support rising visitor numbers and meet the demands of another busy summer of events across the city region.
There is a continued commitment from the Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership (LCRDP) and its partners to deliver a high-quality visitor experience, particularly as the city prepares for peak tourism periods including the arrival of cruise liner passengers and major summer events such as The Open Golf in Birkdale in July this year.
Liverpool City Region’s new Visitor Welcome Centre
The extension of tourist services builds on the successful public-private partnership that has housed the tourism information facility at Liverpool ONE for the past four years. The Liverpool ONE Guest Services Team will continue to provide visitor welcome services from the Liverpool ONE Information Centre on Wall Street, ensuring visitors have even greater access to expert advice and support when exploring the region.
Natalie Wyatt, Managing Director of the Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership, said:
“Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership is welcoming more visitors than ever and it’s vital that we make it as easy as possible for people to get the information and support they need to enjoy their time here. Having two visitor welcome points – one
in the heart of the city centre at Liverpool ONE and a brand new location at Pier Head – allows us to meet visitors where they are, whether they’re arriving by cruise ship, ferry, train, car or simply exploring the waterfront and the region on foot. Our friendly, knowledgeable Visitor Welcome team play a huge role in shaping first impressions of the city region, and this investment reflects our ambition to deliver a world-class welcome, particularly as we head into our busiest periods of the year.”
Donna Howitt, Deputy Centre Director at Liverpool ONE and Deputy Chair of the LCRDP, added:
“Over the past four years, we’ve seen first-hand the difference that a strong visitor welcome makes to visitors to Liverpool City Region. Our Guest Services team at Liverpool ONE will continue to play a key role in helping visitors to explore the different experiences and vast cultural offer across the city and wider region.
We’re proud to have supported this successful partnership and welcome the expansion of visitor welcome services to Pier Head. Maintaining a presence at Liverpool ONE while strengthening provision on the waterfront ensures more visitors will benefit from our world-renowned warm and knowledgeable welcome.”
The expanded visitor welcome provision across the city region will now include manned information points at Pier Head and Liverpool ONE, the Southport Visitor Welcome Centre at The Atkinson, a digital information kiosk at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and a digital avatar, powered by AI, at Southport train station. The avatar, affectionately known as Jimmy, will be in place to welcome visitors to The Open and answer questions about the locality, transport, attractions and events at the touch of a button. The service will also continue to provide flexible pop-up welcome points for major events.
Additional investment has also been made in a city region wide welcome training programme in collaboration with Merseytravel and Mersey Ferries. Front line staff will receive full training on creating a welcoming and helpful customer experience to ensure the thousands of people visiting the city region have an unforgettable experience.
For more inforation on Liverpool’s Tourist Information Centre, click HERE.