'Bring in volunteers who love and know our city to run a Sheffield tourist office'
“There’s so much to shout about, I think more than anywhere else other than London”
Sheffield should look to recruit clued up volunteers to promote the city’s attractions to visitors, says a community leader.
Reform Councillor Matt Smith, who last month raised concerns over the lack of a tourist information office in the city, has now called for the city to use proud residents to staff a desk in the Town Hall, to explain what the city has to offer.
He feels Sheffield deserves its own tourist office, and points out that there are much smaller places which have such facilities.
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He said: “There’s so much to shout about, I think more than anywhere else other than London.
“They will say it’s all online and that that’s good enough. But everyone I speak to says they prefer something in person, someone who can answer questions and to be guided towards your interests; to be able to tell them what will take a few minutes and what will take a full day.
“I think the attractions in Sheffield warrant one. I think there’s an opportunity for volunteering has been overlooked. There are retired people who love the city, have grown up here and would be happy to impart that knowledge to people.
“I’d like us to have it in something like the kiosk that’s a vape shop on Fitzalan Square. If not, we should have them near the entrance at Town Hall. I’d put myself forward to sit there a few hours a week.”
He told how he recently went to to Suffolk and visited a small, medieval village called Lavenham, with a link to Harry Potter films. He said it was much smaller than Sheffield but it had its own tourist hub.
He added: “Sheffield has so much to flag - the heart of the city, the snooker, the football, museums, ice hockey, Gladiators, the Peaks, but we have nowhere to fly the flag.”
He also wants to see more done about city’s historic links in the development of football, to help groups like Sheffield Home of Football.
Several Sheffield councillors recently commented on Sheffield’s tourism strength to The Star.
Green leader Angela Argenzio described the city as a buzzing and bustling city with lots going on such as theatres, sport, industrial and architectural heritage, music venues and the Peak District National Park, expressing her support for the council in bidding to be the UK City of Culture in 2029.
And Lib Dem leader Martin Smith recently revealed he would like to see an improvement in the city’s non-digital marketing, with more information hubs available to visitors around the city, adding he would like to see the front of the station developed into a welcoming space with efficient public transport connections.
Sheffield BID chief executive Diane Jarvis recently said she agreed with the principle that Sheffield should have strong tourist information and visitor welcome services, as a city with a fantastic cultural offer, major events, the Peak District on its doorstep and a growing visitor economy.
She felt it was important people could easily access information about what to see and do, both in the city centre and across Sheffield.
She said: “Ultimately, whether information is provided through a traditional tourist information office, a dedicated visitor hub or other visitor welcome services, the priority should be making Sheffield as welcoming, accessible and easy to navigate as possible."
Data for 2025 estimates that Sheffield generated £2.01bn of direct and indirect economic impact through visitor and tourism business expenditure, supported 16,203 full-time equivalent jobs locally, and welcomed an estimated 18.7 million tourism visits.