VisitScotland’s Dundee information hub was closed “quicker than originally planned” due to the V&A 5th anniversary celebrations.
Scotland’s national tourism body closed its Dundee information centre, located inside the V&A, on September 10.
This came after a review into operations at the hub determined it was no longer cost effective to keep it open.
But it’s now been revealed the closure happened earlier than originally planned due to the “space requirements” for a new exhibition being installed for the V&A’s 5th anniversary
The design museum celebrated its fifth birthday with a day of free exhibitions and live music on Saturday September 16.
‘Space requirements’ reason for early exit
An email sent from VisitScotland to an unnamed Dundee City Council official on September 8 detailed how a closure date had been agreed on by the tourism body and the V&A.
The email read: “Following our conversation on Monday about our intention to close our Dundee iCentre at the V&A, I wanted to make you aware that Sunday September 10 will be the last day of operation.
“The closure date has been agreed with V&A Dundee to take into account their space requirements for the new exhibition on their fifth anniversary.
“This is the reason why the exit date is quicker than originally planned.”
The email correspondence was obtained through a freedom of information request submitted to Dundee City Council.
VisitScotland’s information hub in Dundee was moved from City Square to the V&A in 2021, a move which at the time was described as an effort to reach more people.
But following its closure, frustrated Dundonians took aim at the decision to uproot the hub from its original location.
Closure came seven weeks early
A spokesperson for VisitScotland said: “Our licence agreement with the V&A Dundee was due to come to an end at the end of October.
“In the course of discussions with the V&A Dundee, the decision was taken to close ahead of their anniversary celebrations when they were making internal changes to the layout of the exhibition space that would have involved the information desk relocating to another area on a temporary basis.”
A spokesperson for V&A Dundee added: The VisitScotland iCentre closed seven weeks earlier than planned by mutual agreement, coinciding with the installation of the new permanent display ‘Stories from the Building’.
“We are sad to see the iCentre go as we had hoped for it to maintain a presence in V&A Dundee, however we still have VisitScotland leaflets and information available for visitors, and continue to work in partnership with VisitScotland attracting visitors to the museum and Dundee.
“Our own front of house team has excellent knowledge to share with visitors in relation to what’s happening in Dundee and Tayside, as well as advice for tourists exploring more of Scotland.”
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