CIVIC chiefs have vowed to save a Hampshire tourism facility used by more than 130,000 people a year.

The Visitor Information Centre (VIC), which forms part of the New Forest Centre in Lyndhurst, is due to close in April in a cost-cutting move by the district council.

Council bosses agreed to forge ahead with the controversial plan despite receiving a protest petition signed by about 2,000 people.

Now the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) has pledged to extend its successful Travel Concierge Service, which is based at Brockenhurst railway station and provides information to thousands of visitors arriving in the Forest by train.

The proposed closure of the VIC was debated at a full meeting of the NPA in Lymington. 

Many visitors buy tickets for the New Forest Tour bus service at the centre - and members warned that sales could drop if it shut.

Mark Holroyd, the NPA’s transport, access and sustainable tourism manager, said: "We want to help people with information on how to help care for the Forest while they’re here and the best ways to enjoy the area in a sustainable way.

“Unless something is done there will be no dedicated personnel within the centre who can sell New Forest Tour tickets.

“If there isn’t proactive face-to-face promotion of the tour in Lyndhurst it would have potentially serious knock-on impacts on the tour’s overall performance.”

The new concierge service will also provide people with information about cycling, guided walks and visitor attractions in the New Forest area.

Tourists searching for holiday accommodation in the district will be able to go online at the centre and look for somewhere to stay.

The new service will operate only during the summer but the authority is talking to other organisations in a bid to find a long-term solution.

The move was welcomed by NPA member David Harrison, who is also a district councillor and led the campaign to save the VIC.

He said: “The National Park Authority has recognised the importance of providing personal guidance and advice to visitors, and has agreed to provide a service.

“It won’t be an exact replacement of the service that’s being lost but it will provide visitors with someone they can talk to and seek advice. It will also have the financial advantage of being an outlet for selling tickets for the New Forest Tour.

“I endorse this proposal because it will give us some breathing space to develop a sustainable future for the service.”