Captain Pugwash will help guide visitors to an East Sussex town as part of a new tourist information facility powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Rye has not had a tourist information centre since April 2023 when a lack of funding forced its closure.
The estate of Captain Pugwash creator John Ryan, who lived in Rye, has granted permission for the animated character to be used.
Mr Ryan’s daughter, Isabel, said her father would be “thrilled to bits” at his creation fronting tourism efforts in the town.
“He [Pugwash] is very much a man who loves to be in the centre of attention,” she said.
New signs featuring the pirate are on display in Rye, with visitors able to scan a QR code on arrival to begin chatting with Pugwash himself.
Anthony Kimber, who has lived in Rye for 25 years, has tested out the new technology, which includes where to buy coffee.
He said: “The beauty of it is it’s all on WhatsApp. If you’re coming out of the train station or off a bus and you want some basic information, it’s a great tool.”
The service has gone live thanks to Levelling Up funding secured by Rye Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Rother District Council.
Vice chair of the chamber, Sarah Broadbent, said the unveiling had been the “culmination of well over a year’s worth of activity behind the scenes”.
She said: “The town has been without a tourism information service since 2023, and for a town that relies really heavily on the visitor economy, that was a bad look.”
Having a character front the tourism service was the “icing on the cake”, Ms Broadbent added.
