§ Mr. Robert BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the present total number of tourist information centres in the United Kingdom; and what arrangements are planned to centralise information. [38423]
§ Mr. SproatThere are 831 tourist information centres in the UK. This includes 562 in England, 160 in Scotland, 84 in Wales and 25 in Northern Ireland. In England, these are largely operated by local authorities with the English tourist board supporting common standards, staff training and national branding. Network TICs have to be prepared to offer information on destinations other than those in their local areas.
The ETB has a number of initiatives under way to improve the collection and provision of information. It co-ordinates the collection of data on attractions, events and accommodation into its tourism resource information processing systems—TRIPS—database. ETB has launched a Network 2000 project to determine how services might be enhanced by greater use of information technology and the Internet. This includes a pilot project to make the TRIPS information available on-line to TICs.