New style Tourist Information Centre launched in Falmouth

A new style of Tourist Information Centre has launched in one of Falmouth's tourist hotspots.

The new centre, called the “Stay Café”, includes refreshments, an internet point and knowledgeable local staff. The centre marks a £90,000 investment by leading holiday lettings company, Cornish Cottage Holidays. As well as details of the company’s properties, the centre will provide information on guesthouses, hotels, B&Bs, attractions, and local events.

The centre is the brainchild of Cornish Cottage Holidays’ General Manager, Nigel Pickin. He commented: “Tourist Information Centres perform a vital service but our customers tell us they can sometimes be quite intimidating places. We want to provide a welcoming and accessible place that doesn’t display racks and racks of leaflets.

Here, visitors can either quickly get the information they need, or sit down, browse and relax with a coffee.” The Stay Café has been opened on Falmouth’s Events Square, directly outside the National Maritime Museum, which attracts around 120,000 visitors a year. It has created five local jobs and is currently open from 8.30am to 6pm, seven days a week, with opening hours extended until 11.00pm throughout the summer.

As part of the initiative, Cornish Cottage Holidays will be operating a programme of family entertainments outside The Stay Café each weekend until September, designed to attract more people to the Events Square. Nigel continued: “Although people will often do much of their research on the internet before coming to Cornwall, our experience is that they really value personal contact with a friendly face who can give them impartial advice about great local events, attractions and accommodation.”

Cornish Cottage Holidays has been in business for almost forty years, and has developed relationships with a wide range of tourist attractions in the county. Refreshments offered in The Stay Café include locally sourced light refreshments a range of homemade cakes and hot and cold drinks. The company brings around 40,000 people to its 400 properties in the county each year, and provides each visitor with a “Stay Card” offering discounts to local attractions.

Cornish Cottage Holidays’ portfolio includes contemporary properties, apartments and farmhouses as well as historic cottages.

The company is developing the Stay Café as part of a wider Stay brand, providing a one-stop-shop for tourist information in Cornwall. For more information on Cornish Cottage Holidays, visit www.cornishcottageholidays.co.uk or call 01326 573808.

ENDS

Pictured is Bethan Wynton, a member of staff at the Stay Café. For more information, images or interviews, contact Tim Bowcock at Black Cat Public Relations on 084500 9 10 23.