A major conference kicks off one of the most ambitious tourism e-business projects ever undertaken in the UK…
A major conference kicks off one of the most ambitious tourism e-business projects ever undertaken in the UK . The
Developed jointly by the English Tourism Council (ETC) and England’s 10 regional tourist boards, EnglandNet is set to revolutionise the way consumers, travel agents and tourism businesses such as B&Bs, visitor attractions and event organisers conduct business with each other. Using the Internet and other forms of new technology, EnglandNet will link up the tourism sector into one national network of marketing and booking services.
The England-wide project is being funded by £5 million of grants from the Government and is enthusiastically supported by Tourism Minister Kim Howells, who made a key-note speech at the conference.
Conference delegates, including regional development agencies, government bodies, tourist boards and national trade organisations got a taste of how the future of tourism could look and how to get involved to make the EnglandNet vision a reality.
EnglandNet will benefit consumers and tourists by making it easier to book an English holiday on-line and by providing real-time quality-assured information
such as hotel brochures and availability, information on tours, events, attractions and transport.
It will benefit hotels and other small tourism businesses by boosting their
e-marketing ability and by enabling them to reach wider audiences who access the national tourism web sites for England or go to travel agents in England and abroad. They can also link up with each other to exchange information and best practice to create new types of product.
EnglandNet will benefit England as a whole by improving its competitiveness, increasing e-commerce transactions and resulting in more holidays to England.
Tourism Minister Kim Howells said: “More and more people are turning to the Internet when they’re planning and booking their holidays. That’s why together in partnership we must make e-tourism work for customers and the industry – it is vital to the future competitiveness of English tourism. This conference is a great opportunity to spread the word about EnglandNet and build partnerships throughout the industry.”
EnglandNet project director Paul Byerley said: “This is a revolutionary project with immense possibilities for everyone from consumers to travel agents and attractions to accommodation providers. Tourism businesses will be able to promote themselves both nationally and internationally. For the first time consumers will have a one-stop-shop to book their entire holiday in England from a PC or mobile phone handset. It will undoubtedly boost the competitiveness of English tourism.”
Former head of Bournemouth Tourism Ken Male said: “England has many leading destinations and also many wonderful products in less well known areas. EnglandNet will bring them all to the attention of consumers and retailers.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
