By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

New tourist centre opens in downtown Lethbridge

May 17, 2018 | 3:46 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Lethbridge’s newest tourist visitor centre is now open for business.

Located along 5 St. S. near the intersection of 4 Ave. S., the idea is to bring in more locals looking for information, and to bring in more people interested in exploring the city, according to LDMO Executive Director William Slenders.

“The changing needs of visitor information services have really been affecting how we go about connecting with those individuals. I think that a strong web presence, and more locations, more information will help us get a better capture on those target audiences. This is merely one stop in a way that we can connect with residents and tourists.”

The centre includes displays from local community groups, like the South Coulee Crushers arm-wrestling club, a virtual reality station where visitors can tour local destinations, and literature on local stops of interest.

Slenders says along with the visitor centre and their new websites, they’re also developing tourist kiosks that will be placed in strategic areas around the city. They’ll be tested in June and they could be in production towards the end of the summer.

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“We also have a new mobile team that’s currently in development that will go out into Lethbridge and meet tourists where they’re coming to in Lethbridge, rather than trying to stop them on the side of the highway.”

Slenders says the mobile team should be up and running by June 1.

He adds that one of the most common complaints he’s heard from residents is that they don’t know what’s going on in their own community.

“So, we really want to be able to stress to the residents, they can come in and be able to plan for friends and family and they can use the resources…. to their benefit to find the events that are happening in Lethbridge when they’re happening.”

Any community groups or clubs that are also interested in setting up displays inside the tourist centre, can also contact the organization.

The new tourist centre will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.