Thames’ new information centre is set to have a whole new vibe, with a focus on selling Thames and the wider district as an interesting place to explore.
The info centre will reopen with a “soft opening” on October 25, ahead of its official opening on November 12. Run by volunteers and two part-time staff, it will share space with the Thames Business Association (TBA) in the former i-site location at the Civic Centre on Mary St.
The opening will mark the first time Thames has had face-to-face information services since the original i-site was closed in 2021, due to dropping visitor numbers and revenue after the pandemic. For the past three years Thames’ tourist information service has been an unmanned pamphlet stand in nearby Goldfields Mall.
The centre will initially be open from Tuesday through Saturdays, from 9am-3.30pm. Between December and February, opening hours will be extended to seven days a week.
TBA chief executive Sue Lewis O’Halloran said the association had big plans for the service.
“We have to think outside the box, because we have to bring in the visitors. Our job is to promote Thames and the district, the whole Coromandel Peninsula. There’s tons to do in Thames that people don’t even know about,” she said.
“It’s a brand new experience for the TBA – we are learning as we go.”
The Thames Coromandel District Council has committed more than $170,000 to run the information centre for the next three years. An additional sum of up to $50,000 from the Thames Urban General Purpose Reserve fund was contributed by the Thames Community Board for the refurbishment.
Sue said the TBA aimed to develop the centre into a self-funding endeavour, by offering booking services, merchandise and advertising opportunities alongside its core information service.
“It’s been a major capital investment… and it’s a different set of expectations that you create when you have a staffed facility. So we’re going to have to be quite strong in our revenue development.”
A big goal for the service is to re-qualify as an i-site, and Sue said the TBA was also looking into becoming an InterCity Bus agency.
“So our income will come from bookings, including the bus tickets… sales of merchandise, postcards. And we’re only selling New Zealand [made] merchandise.”
The info centre also plans to offer mobile device charging and luggage storage.
Thames Community Board deputy chair Rob Johnston said the board was excited for the reopening.
“It’s a really important thing for the town, to get the information centre up again. Away from being a kiosk in the mall, which was just a sort of push-button sort of thing, to actually get some real people on the counter so that people can come in and speak face-to-face,” he said.
The newly-refurbished space has a vintage feel, and is outfitted with Thames’ new brand and tagline, “Explore Interesting”.
“We really wanted to change the perception of Thames from being a ‘whatever town’ into just this vibrant, really interesting town,” Brand Matter owner Brent Courtney said.
“It’s got lots of history, it’s got lots of natural beauty, it’s got the beaches, it’s got the valleys. So what we really summed it up as, is ‘come to Thames and explore interesting’.”
The TBA hoped locals would get on board with the endeavour. Two staff and eight volunteers have already been found, and Sue said she wanted another 15 people to fill up the roster. The TBA was also working with tourism students from Thames High School, she said.
“They can get their feet wet in tourism, and they can learn skills that they can then take to paying jobs,” she said.
“It’s been a bit of a journey for us, because the last i-site failed because they weren’t able to maintain opening days and hours as long as they’d hoped. We certainly do so far have a very fine calibre of volunteers who are super keen and really want to get involved. We just need a few more.”
“A big part of who Thames is, is we are storytellers. It’s a selling point when you volunteer,” Brent said.
“It’s very important for the people that are here to tell that story.”
DETAILS: Visit www.explorethames.nz or email manager@thamesbusiness.co.nz to volunteer.
