Tiscover this month celebrates its first anniversary powering the entire web presence for the town of Bournemouth, with its tourism website www.bournemouth.co.uk.Since its launch a year ago, the site boosted online bookings for the tourist board from 7% of total booking value to 50%, versus offline bookings within the tourist information centre and call centre. The average online booking value has also more than doubled since the town signed on with Tiscover in 2004.

In its first month a year ago, the Tiscover-powered website witnessed more online bookings that had been experienced for the whole of 2003.

The Bournemouth website has proven to be a hit with consumers due to its combination of real-time booking capabilities and at-a-glance guide to visitor attractions and events. The ability to download information on a mobile was also introduced in late 2004 following the launch of Tiscover’s new engine, Tiscover05.

In addition to powering the www.bournemouth.co.uk site, Tiscover manages the town’s accommodation booking engine and back-office administration system. The destination’s increased online presence has enabled local tourism businesses to maximise revenues.

Jon Weaver, marketing and events manager at Bournemouth Borough Council says: “Since signing with Tiscover, Bournemouth has experienced a phenomenal growth in online bookings - online revenues now accounts for half of the tourist board’s booking revenues.

“This increase has resulted in allowing hotels and B&Bs in the area to maximise their use of resources, and has brought in visitors from regions that the town hasn’t traditionally targeted.”

Karsten Karcher, executive director of sales, marketing and finance at Tiscover adds: “It’s exciting to see Tiscover’s relationship with Bournemouth move from strength to strength. In just one year, we have managed to drive many more consumers to the destination.

“With the addition of the improved navigation tools, usability principles, innovative design and mobile phone access capabilities introduced by Tiscover05 last November, I’m sure that the next twelve months will boost revenue and visitor numbers to even greater heights.”

——-