Is there anything more boring than a visitor center? This is especially pitiful as travel is one of the more exciting things that people do.

Pictured here is the Sitka Visitor Center, part of Sitka National Park. The photo is part of the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress, and the architecture embodies some of the best of American travel architecture.

Sitka is an exception, as it has first-rank architecture and a sole focus, namely oriented visitors to a first-rate National Park.

Frankly, visitor centers run by visitor bureaus across the nation are a big snooze, only slightly more interesting than post offices. But a least at the post office, you can buy stamps or send a package. At most visitor centers, all you can do is ask for information. It’s no coincidence that both are run by government bureaucrats.

Most visitor centers don’t have the budget of Sitka. But that is not the point. Its the aspiration; do you care about what you are showing your visitors? If you do, take account of how your visitor center looks.

But the question today is much larger. In an age of the internet, how interesting is it to have a bunch of rack brochures in a room with an old 60-year-old person sitting in a chair? But that is the typical profile of a visitor center in almost every city in the U.S., and it needs to change. Frankly, most cities could now do without a visitor center, so if they are to survive, they need to show a Return on Investment. That means looking directly at the investment in staff and overhead, and seeing how much revenue is generated by that effort.

Now, this is not to discount the value of the visitor center employee, who is always friendly, even though they are underpaid and under-appreciated by second-guessed mid-level quasi-government officials. And this does not mean that you need expensive multimedia (though you should have seating areas for free WiFi).

A friend in Virginia once talked to me about the overall boring-ness of Virginia visitor centers. They really needed to be place of selling things and showing things that are made in Virginia, and not just a place to dump boring rack brochures. His idea was to turn visitor centers into a place where all the products, art and creativity of the state are shown to visitors. West Virginia did it, to some success. And Virginia tried to upgrade the experience on I-95, though they did it just in time for Gov. Tim Kaine to close up highway rest stops.

The problem is that these visitor centers are run by quasi-government corporations that use government money, but are almost always outside the accountability of government. Furthermore, most communities do not value tourism, really, so they stock these boards with people who are merely expedient.

The most interesting visitor center I ever saw was Travelland in Richmond, Virginia. It was, of course, shut down by the Richmond Convention and Visitors Bureau and the center moved to a boring annex near downtown. But when it lived, it was brilliant (I recall it was opened by the Richmond Jaycees as a community project). It was the old Westham train station, moved to the site, and near it were placed old engines and railcars, as well as an airplane. Kids could play on the equipment while parents talked to the staff inside. Kids would ask to come as it became a local attraction too. It was also just off I-95, and it could be seen from the road.

The old visitor center did a few things today’s visitor center should emulate, including having a play area where kids could be while parents went inside. Other tips:

1. Use market considerations. Think about your traveler, and what they like. Is your traveler retired? You will need good parking for handicaps, and gentle, retired folks for visitor center employees.
2. Have your tourism office near or in the visitor center. While this is not applicable to state tourism offices, local visitor bureaus often try to stay distant from dealing with actual tourists. Actual tourists are free market research.
3. Don’t spend lots of money. Remember, its public money. You want to be clever, not wasteful. Sitka is great, but its a federal budget. However, this is not to discount the importance of quality architecture. Investment in architecture has a long payoff cycle, one of 30 years, so think through your presentation carefully.
4. Do sell rooms. People are looking for a place to stay, you need to be able to make a call to book them. You need policies on how to refer; don’t just take the easy route and make visitors do it themselves. Many people have access to online booking, but older folks don’t, and younger folks are possibly looking for something that’s not on hotels.com.
5. Engage the visitor. Sitting behind a desk is fine, but if things aren’t busy, do something for the customer. Walk around, and chat. Give out some samples.
6. If you take public money, do not charge for slots, or for rights-restrictive publications. You are not in business to make money, you are in business to promote the local community. No special deals, please.
7. Do have a sign in. Though it would most properly be called a guest register. Most do, but some don’t. It’s a nice old Victorian gesture, and you may just get some email addresses from it. At minimum, you will get some marketing information and some funny stuff drawn by kids.
8. Please have something for the kids. Of course, Travelland in Richmond had an old steam engine, RF&P railcar and maybe even a rocket. Whatever you have for the kids, make sure that the kids like it. If you are indoors, have a small play area or some crayons or something.
9. Have a stash. Your guests are traveling. What things might you need? I am not sure but your goal is to be the concierge for your city, and that might mean many different things, including toothbrushes, aspirin (no you won’t get sued) and hand wash.
10. Connect with the government. Make sure that elected officials not only visit the center, but know about it and understand it and talk to the staff, and have a personal relationship. They will support it.
11. Use visitor center staff to help with social media. The people who are at the front desk at a visitor center are the perfect people to monitor Twitter and Facebook. It’s not about technology; don’t hire some college kid to do it; get an expert who is knows the subject matter.
12. Show what you make. Even if your chief export is pallets or screws, show it and/or sell it. The connection between industrial and economic development and tourism has been lost, and it needs to be reunited. Travelers are interested in what is made in a place, even if it is something that is not a consumer product. However, if you are lucky enough to have a consumer product made in your area, ask the company for samples, or at least
13. Have local history exhibits. You want to show old things that relate to your area. So old pictures of hotels, restaurants, events and such should be shown in the visitor center. Bored young fogies like yours truly will enjoy it, and others will have something to look at while the travel partner talks to the employees. Many local museums double as visitor centers. This is good.
14. Have art. You want to show your local talent. How about an art show, or at least some local prints?
15. Sell tickets. Have a close relationship with all of the cultural groups in your area. Have symphony, stage and opera companies give away tickets at the visitor center. Make your tourists stay the night.