City Guides Program
As Australia’s sixth largest city, Newcastle combines the benefits and amenities of a large city with all the friendliness of a regional town.
Within Newcastle City Centre, The Switchpoint Institute manages a City Guides Program that aims to enhance the ‘public face’ of Newcastle, by providing a friendly and welcoming information service for the public, tourists, and visitors to the City Centre.
Our guides are armed with extensive local knowledge, maps and visitor guides, and are ready to warmly welcome visitors, answer questions and provide advice and directions.
The service is similar to those operating successfully in a number of other Australian cities, Melbourne (City Ambassadors) and Adelaide (City Guides) in particular.
Our City Guides are volunteers who provide a seven day-a-week, on-street, roving presence within the City Centre. Working in teams of two, the volunteers move around key locations ready to provide directions and share information about services, activities and upcoming events in Newcastle.
The volunteers are provided with training and a uniform and their primary role is to:
- Provide information and assistance to locals, visitors and tourists regarding activities, services and events in Newcastle.
- Give directions to streets, shops, buildings, transport, and public services.
- Provide information about cultural, community, social and recreational events in Newcastle.
- Refer customers to appropriate locations if unable to answer queries personally.
Anyone interested in becoming a City Guide should contact us.