Pembrokeshire County Council would be ‘shooting themselves in the foot’ if they closed the Tourist Information Centre in Tenby, a meeting heard this week.

The town’s Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane, along with fellow town councillors, and county councillor Michael Williams, who represents the Tenby North ward, met with PCC’s head of procurement, Paul Ashley Jones, on Monday, to discuss the future of the TIC.

The TIC has formed part of Pembrokeshire County Council’s budget consultation, along with customer service centres across the county as ??? are facing considerable budgetary constraints, and going forward are looking at service prioritisation with a view to either cutting back or ceasing some functions.

The consultation asks whether a community/town council TIC should be developed instead, or whether the service should be discontinued.

It was explained that one of the ideas put forward by PCC’s cabinet was the cessation of the Tourist Information Centre function in Tenby which would result in savings of some £45,000.

The idea formed part of the ongoing public consultation on the council’s budget proposals for next year, with no ?nal decision as yet.

Clr. Mrs. Lane felt it ‘very sad’ that PCC?should even be considering removing the resort’s information centre, given Tenby was the main tourist centre in the county.

She noted that in addition to making a contribution to Ironman due to the tourist benefits it brought to the area, ??? were now also going to make a contribution of £20,000 to Long Course Weekend, which at the end of the day were private businesses, and while she agreed these events were very welcome and should be supported, the Tourist Information Centre provided a valuable service for 52 weeks of the year and should also be supported.

Clr. Mrs. Tracey Evans stated that her research showed that Tenby was the busiest tourist town in Wales, and were PCC not shooting themselves in the foot by removing the information centre?

It was noted that when this matter had first been raised, Clr. Mike Evans had pointed out that the TIC also generated income for ??? through the sale of parking permits.

Clr. Mrs. Lane commented that the TIC served the whole of the county and Tenby was the biggest bed-space provider for the tourism industry and how the TIC directed all these visitors to the other attractions and places to visit in Pembrokeshire.

Clr. Michael Williams commented that, to be fair, even though the town council appeared to have accepted many of PCC’s proposed cutbacks with good grace, he agreed with them that this proposal seemed a ‘step too far’.

The meeting considered some of the ideas previously talked about, for example TTC funding the running costs and staffing being provided by volunteers, but Clr. Mrs. Evans felt it would be virtually impossible to staff the TIC on a volunteer basis seven days a week.

Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Brown, agreed, commenting that it was a big commitment to ask of people, and how a number of local organisations were already struggling to find volunteers.

Mr. Ashley-Jones felt that some form of compromise could be found, with ? permanent member of staff working alongside volunteers, but he admitted that the majority of the proposed savings would be coming from staffing costs.

Members felt that trained and knowledgeable staff were vital to the success of the TIC and should be provided either in the current location or any other proposed venue.

Ideas to move provision to the library or the museum were discounted due to access issues.

Clr. Williams said that he would raise the issue at the budget seminar, but wondered if like many European towns, the idea of a ‘tourist tax’ might be feasible.

He said it was recognised that alternative ways of funding needed to be found and a small surcharge of perhaps £1 per visitor head could help fund the TIC.

Following the discussions, the Mayor and her Deputy, speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting of the town council, also called upon hoteliers and restaurateurs of the town to join the fight to help save the facility.

“Maybe a new ‘Hotels and Restaurants Association’ which disbanded some time ago, could be formed,” said Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Brown.

“The TIC is the right hand to these businesses, so we should push for a public meeting to see if they can help us with any suggestions, as we have a lot of work to do to try and retain the facility.

“We’re not hearing from the people that the TIC benefits the most and that is the businesses of the town and surrounding areas, who need to be behind this - as we can’t fight it on our own!”

She also questioned why PCC had provided the Long Course Weekend organisers with extra funding recently.

“Why give £20,000 to a private business, knowing these cuts were along the line. Surely PCC can find £45,000 from some pot for the TIC?”

Clr. Mrs. Lane agreed and said that the hoteliers and restaurateurs used to have a voice through their association and needed to find a new one to help secure the future of the town’s TIC.

“Tourism is the biggest industry in the county, and we’ve got to support the TIC in Tenby! Our county councillors need to explain this to PCC, as I don’t think they are looking at this from the right perspective.

“The TIC does not just provide information for those staying in the town, but it is vital for those looking for information on places to visit across the whole of the county. We need to see if we can keep the facility where it is,” she remarked.

Clr. Mrs. Evans said that the biggest worry was that there wasn’t a great deal of time to address these consultations, and that hopefully a decision hasn’t already been made.

Clr. Mike Evans said that it was time to see how seriously PCC took tourism, as it was the most influential industry in Pembrokeshire.

“We’ve told them how serious we are about tourism in the town and across the county, now it’s time for them to put their hands up and see how serious they are,” he added.