Comment: Liverpool's tourism centre faces a new direction

Nov 3 2009 Liverpool Daily Post

IN THE commercial world – the real world, some might say – there is nothing all that remarkable about a company deciding not to renew a lease on premises taken a few years ago.

Circumstances change, and an awful lot can happen over a decade. Just look at the Liverpool of 1999, a very different pace from today, with the whole of Liverpool One and many of the tallest buildings mere twinkles in developers’ eyes.

But the public sector, too, is a different world from business life. Voters and their elected representatives are not shareholders, and managerial decisions at local authorities will be scrutinised in public.

Certainly, there may be a few raised eyebrows over the admission by Gary Millar, the councillor in charge of Liverpool tourism, that it is time to call it a day at the 08 Place in Whitechapel.

When it was put in place around six years ago, it could be argued that the shape of Liverpool in 2010 was becoming more visible.

With hindsight, those responsible for its operation should have seen that, once Liverpool One was up and running, the whole shape of the city centre would change.

Hindsight, though, can be a false friend, and right now, with the lease more than half-way through, it is more important to look to the future of Liverpool’s tourism information centres than pick over decisions that probably seemed right six or seven years ago.

It seems glaringly obvious that, when it comes to catching visitors from outside, there has to be a presence at the main ports of entry: ie, the airport and railway and bus stations.

But, above all, we just have to get it right.