LONDON -- The British Tourist Authority (BTA) opened a "one-stop
shop" for travel information and reservations near the Piccadilly
Circus here.
The Britain Visitor Center, at 1 Regent St., has a wide range of
information on things to see and do in England, Scotland, Wales and
Ireland. Visitors can buy travel tickets, exchange money, book
theater seats and reserve accommodations.
The new center, which replaces the British Travel Centre that
had been situated across the street and is now closed, is a
partnership between the BTA and the tourist boards of England,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Commercial partners are Thomas Cook Hotel and Travel
Reservations Ltd., Globaltickets (from Edwards & Edwards),
Stanfords bookshop and Fexco. Each partner has its own desks on the
mezzanine of the new center.
At the Thomas Cook desk, visitors can book accommodations
ranging from youth hostels to country house hotels; air, rail and
road travel, and sightseeing tours.
Seats can be reserved through Globaltickets for theater
productions not only in London's West End, but also at many top
provincial venues, such as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in
Stratford-upon-Avon and the Playhouse Theatre in Newcastle upon
Tyne in northeast England.
In addition, tickets can be booked for art exhibitions,
classical music concerts, arts festivals and operas at venues
throughout Britain.
At its desk, Stanfords, which has a long-established map and
travel bookshop in London's Covent Garden, stocks maps and
guidebooks for Britain and Ireland.
Money and travelers' checks can be changed at Fexco's foreign
exchange service desk and all currency is provided commission
free.
Also, Western Union service enables visitors to send or collect
money from anywhere in the world.
Other facilities at the center include a bookshop, meetings room
and computers with access to the BTA's Web site.
The BTA said it expects 750,000 travelers a year will visit the
center, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays
through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and
Sundays.