A record number of people made use of the Parkes Visitor Information Centre (VIC). Almost 30,000 visitors were welcomed through the VIC’s doors in the 2017/18 financial year resulting in a 24% increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous year. The number of visiting tour groups also increased by 19.04%.
Tourism Team Leader Jaimee Timmins said a number of small improvements to onsite amenities and customer service products had resulted in the biggest and best year to-date in terms of visitation.
“Last year we introduced volunteer support to assist with customer service, revitalised both the indoor and outdoor seating areas, introduced new information touch screens and a V3 booking widget, and refreshed each of the four museums.”
“More recently we have introduced new operating hours in an effort to provide the best possible visitor experience, while maintaining our service standards and becoming more cost efficient,” said Jaimee.
The new operating hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm, and Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays from 10am to 3pm.
During busier times, like the Parkes Elvis Festival, the Visitor Information Centre will extend its hours to open 9am to 5pm daily.
The Parkes Visitor Information Centre was recently recognised as a finalist in the Visitor Information Services category, for its quality customer service and commitment to enhancing the visitor experience.