Free town centre Wi-Fi launched in Alcester
TO embrace the changes in the way consumers are using High Streets around the country, Alcester Free Town Wi-Fi went live on Friday 19th May.
The launch came in time for its Spring Food Festival, at the weekend, which saw thousands of people flock to the town centre last weekend and lots of visitors logging straight in.
Sarah Bassett, chairman of Alcester Chamber of Trade and Commerce said: “Warwickshire County Council recognise that visitors to the region’s town centres, be they shoppers, tourists or service users, want to browse the internet, use email and social media whilst they are going about their business.
“By embracing the concept of the Digital High Street, and offering Free Town Centre Wi-Fi, they recognise that they can help to enhance the visitor experience for Warwickshire’s towns, encourage consumers to spend longer in the region, making our town centres more vibrant and economically viable not only today but for future generations.”
Sarah said that both Alcester Town Council and Alcester Chamber of Trade and Commerce were thrilled to have given the opportunity to be part of this pioneering program.
She explained: “In recent months, The Warwickshire Towns Network have prepared our town centre Independent retailers for our digitally connected High Street via a comprehensive program of training in Social media, Marketing and Collaborative Working.
“The support that has been provided has been incredible. Alcester may be a small historic market town but it is now firmly on the digital map – many of our independent retailers, pubs and cafes have Google listings, websites and are active on social media.”
Sarah added: “All Alcester’s’ event, tourism, hospitality and retail offer is available to follow using @visitalcester on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and we are currently seeking for funding for a new town website.”
Rachel Baconnet, team leader for Town Centres and Tourism at Warwickshire County Council, said: “We have been working hard to promote the installation of free public access Wi-Fi in a number of towns across the County and we are really pleased to see Alcester fly the digital flag for some of our smaller market towns.
“The way people shop, visit and socialize in town centres has changed dramatically over the past few years, with more and more people relying on smart phones for readily available information about shops, offers, events, places to eat and so on. We wanted to support businesses in our town centres by helping to provide free Wi-Fi to attract people in to the town centres and help to keep them there longer.”
Rachel added: “Alcester is the smallest town in Warwickshire so far that has had Wi-Fi installed and that’s testament to the hard work and determination of the local Chamber and Town Council in supporting and promoting Alcester as a fantastic place to shop and visit.”
