BLOG: Katy Lewin - "We are really looking forward to safely welcoming visitors back to Doncaster"

Hello, my name is Katy Lewin and my role within Business Doncaster is Supervisor at the Tourist Information Centre (TIC).

As the title suggests we are of course here to advise tourists on the best places to visit whilst they are in Doncaster yet you may be surprised to learn that we also sell coach travel, day trips and a wide range of products including local souvenirs, crafts, books and art!

In fact, a large part of my job is finding relevant products to sell. For instance, we have a whole section dedicated to Paddington Bear!

It’s brilliant to see tourism up and running again following what has been a challenging year.

We have popular attractions such as Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster Racecourse and, one of my favourites, Brodsworth Hall.

There’s a lot of history in Doncaster and you’re never very far from a green space.

We also have a brand new museum and library which is extremely popular and of course our award-winning market.

As well as advising tourists on all of the above, a number of our customers are actually Doncaster residents and we regularly encourage them to shop in local businesses.

At the TIC, we love to promote local attractions and sell Doncaster related products.

A number of our tourism businesses showcase their leaflets and posters here which are still very popular with our customers who are looking for some inspiration for what to do.

We also sell local produce such as Doncaster Brewery beer and local rapeseed oil.

If your business would like to discuss showcasing your leaflets, posters or local products within the TIC please get in touch with us.

I’ve worked here since 2003 and I love my job. You never know what is going to happen day-to-day.

We have a lovely team and it is always nice to meet visitors who come to Doncaster for the first time or residents looking for somewhere new to go. We always help to ensure that they have the best day possible.

All of our staff are based in Doncaster and have excellent knowledge of the town.

This comes in handy with regular questions such as “where is the nearest bank?” or “how do I get into the registry office?”

We’re happy to help with any enquiry – we were even asked once if a passport was needed to go to Manchester!

Prior to the pandemic, just under 50,000 people per year regularly came through our doors.

As expected, numbers are lower now but we are seeing a steady increase, particularly in the summer holidays with an increased appetite for day trips.

As was the case for most businesses, our TIC had to close in 2020. This meant our staff were redeployed into other areas such as community hubs making up food parcels and delivering them.

When the hubs closed, we supported the Business Doncaster team to deliver grants for businesses before returning to our day jobs in April this year.

We are really looking forward to safely welcoming more visitors back to rediscover Doncaster.

If you want to visit us to find out more about Doncaster we are open on the High Street from 10am -3:30pm Monday to Saturday. You can also call us 01302 734309 or email tourist.information@doncaster.gov.uk. You can also contact us through the Visit Doncaster website via our live chat.