Visitors' Information Centre has new home
The Orange Visitors Centre is moving into a new location at the front of the Orange Regional Museum building.
The centre staff spent months working from the foyer of the Orange Civic Theatre while the construction of the museum was completed.
The centre started moving in over the weekend and deliveries of shop fittings were still being delivered yesterday (Tuesday) as staff helped tourists from across Australia with their inquiries.
Don and Margaret Burns, from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, called in to the new location yesterday. The couple wanted help with planning a few days in Orange as part of a 3 week road trip through central west NSW.
“We usually go to a visitors’ centre, find the accommodation and set ourselves up, whether we stay one two or three nights,” Don Burn said.
“We’ve got good information. There are a couple of caravan parks we’re going to look at and we’ll decide from there.’”
“We love coming back to Orange. We come back a few times a year and we always enjoy it,” Susan Johnston said.
“We went to the art gallery which we always like to visit and then we saw the Visitors’ Centre and thought it looks nice, and we wandered in,” Susan Johnston said.
“We’ve found some information about Carcoar, and we’ve found stubbie holders,” she said.
They were also keen to pick up some Australian souvenirs forfriends visiting from overseas.
”I’ve got relatives visiting from Canada, and I bought them little kangaroo pins,” Pauline Garde said.
Ms Johnston was impressed with the look of Orange’s new hub for tourist information, especially the wooden slat ceiling : “We think it’s beautifully set out, and the ceiling, it’s a work of art in itself. It’s really special.”
“It’s a very attractive space,” Ms Garde said.
“It’s quite welcoming with the chairs and the view, plus there’s a good range of information.”
While many travellers do their research online or via a smartphone Pauline Garde saw value in coming to an information centre.
“Susan picked up a map, and that will stay in the car now. Trying to fiddle with an ipad when you’re driving is not so easy," she said.
”Having a map with you is a wonderful thing.
“Yesterday we were in Cook Park and we were saying that we don’t know the early history of Orange well, but I looked here and there are books which are absolutely on topic.”
Around eighty thousand travellers call in to Orange Visitors Centre each year.
While a new information desk and brochure stands are in place, large information screen and ipads for use by travellers are still to be installed in the coming weeks.
VISITORS : Don and Margaret Burns from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria picked up useful information about where to stay in Orange from Visitors Centre staff member Aimee Zarnow.
Consultation has concluded
