Scottish Tourism Wakes up to Web 2.0

Bookassist Scotland were in attendance at the recent Scottish Tourism Forum's networking event "Surviving the Crunch" at the Royal Hotel, Bridge of Allan.

The event was held to foster discussion and share thinking on the most effective ways for tourism businesses to operate during these difficult times. A number of key themes were constantly referenced by the presenters,

1. "Online Marketing is Marketing"
2. "Value and Quality will deliver growth"
3. "Your website strategy needs to keep moving"

Both Prof John Lennon and Neil McLean highlighted the need for tourism websites to embrace the latest developments in Social Networking, Photo & Video Sharing & Blogging in order to identify new customers segments and to help with ranking in search engines.

They also agreed that the weakness of the GBP against the Dollar and the Euro would see an influx of North American and European travellers in 2009 and that booking engines which easily allowed for currency conversion would be the main beneficiaries.

David Smith, owner of the Buccleuch Arms Hotel in Moffat and Debbie Taylor, General Manager of the Old Course Hotel & Spa in St Andrews both spoke of the need to stay true to the principles of quality and service and find innovative ways to use latent staff skills and enthusiasm to upsell.

Bookassist is already ahead of the game with innovative solutions which will allow accommodation businesses and their partners to "Survive the Crunch"

Our booking engine offers unparrallelled features such as

• Multiple Languages
• Multiple Currency
• SMS Text confirmations
• Detailed Reporting
• Easy Integration
• Competitive Pricing

All of this is supplemented by an Online Marketing Support Package which assists in bringing together all the elements of the accommodation providers online marketing to maximise site visits and conversion to booking. Our whole ethos is developing partnerships that have longevity and mutual benefit.

So if you're not sure where you're online strategy is heading why not give us a call or drop us a quick email. We can arrange an appointment or just discuss how the Bookassist products could benefit your business immediately.

Contact us by email on james.kennedy@bookassist.com or call the office on 01292 521404.