Princeton to Open Visitors' Center, Interactive Kiosks Downtown

When Mimi Omiecinski launched her business, Princeton Tour Company, in 2008, she began her tours outside of Starbucks Coffee on Nassau Street.

Jim Sykes, president of the Princeton University Store, soon asked if she wanted to begin her tours inside the U-Store. Omiecinski jumped at the chance- and got an idea. 

“While I was there, I realized he has two restrooms, he’s got a full staff, it’s air conditioned, it has lockers, it has everything a town needs to have a visitors' center,” said Omiecinski, a former member of the marketing committee for the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. “And when you have a visitors' center, the state is more likely to give you grant dollars for tourism.”

With buy-in from Sykes and CVB steering committee chairwoman Lori Rabon, the PRCC now plans to open the region’s first visitors' center in the Princeton University Store, located at 114 Nassau Street.

PRCC officials are also working to transform the kiosks (typically plastered with multiple layers of disorganized flyers) at the corners of Vandeventer and Witherspoon Streets into interactive information centers, hopefully with touch screen, multilingual technology to help visitors find the best attractions and local events.

“This is huge for us to be able to have that one spot that’s clear and visitors know they can get information from,” Rabon said. “This is going to be great for us and will go a long way to show the state how serious we are about promoting Princeton as a destination.”

PRCC President & CEO Peter Crowley said his team is currently working with Borough officials to lease, upgrade and beautify the kiosks, plus a similar leasing arrangement in the U-Store.

“I think a chamber of commerce really has a responsibility to find ways to support economic development,” Crowley said. “We’ve made some really good progress and we’re hoping it’s sooner rather than later. That’s all I can say."

Sykes said he liked the visitors’ center idea right away and now plans to designate an eight-foot long area inside the U-Store for visitor brochures, maps and literature from local groups and merchants. There may also be space for an iPad and printer to print out directions or information. And when the U-store undergoes its once a decade renovation in five years, there could be opportunities for expansion.

The 107-year-old nonprofit U-store sells Princeton University apparel and items, but is separate from the University.

“Our whole mission is to serve the retail needs of the community,” said Sykes, adding that the store attracted 240,000 visitors last year, an average of more than 657 people a day.

According to the State Division of Travel and Tourism's Economic Impact Study of Tourism in New Jersey, 2011 tourism expenditures topping $1 billion in Mercer County, a record high.

The kiosks and a visitor center will be a giant step towards centralizing visitor information in the Princeton area, PRCC Vice President Adam Perle said.

"We understand that the brand, that the attraction is Princeton, it’s based off Princeton University, and its based off this great downtown and this is the center of it all so to speak- sort of the hub to the spoke that is the region," Perle said. “Part of the problem right now is that information is diversified, so there’s not a central location on Nassau Street for information to be.”

Now the key is finding a way to fund the initial U-Store and kiosk setup and paying for some recurring annual costs including leasing of space and insurance, Crowley said. Most of the revenue is expected to come from kiosk advertising.

“The chamber isn’t in a position where it can deficit spend to make this work,” he said. “And we’re not looking for public funds from the Borough or the Township.”

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