Over the course of the pandemic, Vermont’s welcome and information centers have either been closed or had reduced hours. The Green Mountain State is home to 16 rest areas along its roadways. “We have brochures for travel and tourism, and we really try and promote as many businesses in the state of Vermont as we can,” said Commissioner Jennifer Fitch, Department of Buildings and General Services.Because of COVID-19 safety concerns and fewer travelers hitting the road at the start of the pandemic, the centers were closed. They later reopened but with reduced hours from 10 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m., depending on the site. That’s when the state says the centers see most visitors. “People who are traveling who want to take the time to stop into our sites and ask questions and get information — they’re more traveling during the day when we’re open,” said Bevan Quinn, of Vermont Information Centers. “Prior to the pandemic we had about 3.3 million annual visitors a year,” Fitch said. “That was pretty consistent. Following the pandemic, the numbers have dropped significantly but we are seeing an uptick as more people are traveling.”Before March 2020, they were open from 7 a.m. to as late as 11 p.m.“We were open before, in some cases, until 11 p.m. at night,” Quinn said. “Every single day of the week. And there were some nights that you’d have no more than a handful of people coming in.”In 2019, the state had already conducted a study to make sure they were running the sites sustainably and financially responsibly. “What was happening was we didn’t have enough funding to operate the centers at the hours we were operating them from,” Fitch said.Rather than shut down any centers, reducing hours was the most feasible action to take, leaders said.
Over the course of the pandemic, Vermont’s welcome and information centers have either been closed or had reduced hours. The Green Mountain State is home to 16 rest areas along its roadways.
“We have brochures for travel and tourism, and we really try and promote as many businesses in the state of Vermont as we can,” said Commissioner Jennifer Fitch, Department of Buildings and General Services.
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Because of COVID-19 safety concerns and fewer travelers hitting the road at the start of the pandemic, the centers were closed. They later reopened but with reduced hours from 10 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m., depending on the site. That’s when the state says the centers see most visitors.
“People who are traveling who want to take the time to stop into our sites and ask questions and get information — they’re more traveling during the day when we’re open,” said Bevan Quinn, of Vermont Information Centers.
“Prior to the pandemic we had about 3.3 million annual visitors a year,” Fitch said. “That was pretty consistent. Following the pandemic, the numbers have dropped significantly but we are seeing an uptick as more people are traveling.”
Before March 2020, they were open from 7 a.m. to as late as 11 p.m.
“We were open before, in some cases, until 11 p.m. at night,” Quinn said. “Every single day of the week. And there were some nights that you’d have no more than a handful of people coming in.”
In 2019, the state had already conducted a study to make sure they were running the sites sustainably and financially responsibly.
“What was happening was we didn’t have enough funding to operate the centers at the hours we were operating them from,” Fitch said.
Rather than shut down any centers, reducing hours was the most feasible action to take, leaders said.
