Needles seeks to add California Welcome Center in town

The Needles Chamber of Commerce recently lobbied Visit California to add a California Welcome Center in the city.

The Needles Desert Star reported:

According to the Visit California website, each of the California Welcome Centers is staffed with personal travel concierges, knowledgeable experts who are ready to provide information that will enhance and enrich a visit no matter what the focus is: arts, local culture, family activities, sports, the great outdoors, shopping, or all of the above. They’ll have advice on what and where to eat, where to stay, and how to get there.
Welcome Centers also offer free maps and brochures on local attractions, state and national parks in the area, and things to see and do.

It’s not clear where the welcome center might be, but the chamber is seeking to put its office in El Garces, a former Harvey House in downtown Needles.

Regardless, it makes sense to add a welcome center in Needles. It’s the first California town westbound travelers encounter off Interstate 40, and it’s the only city of any real size until Barstow — 140 miles away.

And Needles would get a boost from staff members at the welcome center recommending motels and restaurants there.

If money were no object, I’d put the welcome center at one of the first exit ramps south of Needles, such as Park Moabi Road where Route 66 travelers first can exit the interstate. The Five Mile Road exit, where Route 66 piggybacks onto U.S. 95, also would be acceptable.

The Needles chamber is supposed to know “in a couple of weeks” whether it gets the welcome center. The meeting took place Aug. 8, so it might know something later this week.

California Welcome Centers, an offshoot of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, are in several cities, including Anderson, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Ontario and the Route 66 towns of Los Angeles and Barstow.

(Image from Needles, California, by Images by Gene via Flickr)

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