One North East - Setting the Standard for Regional Tourism Sites

6th January 2009

Categories: News - Archive

One North East's latest website exploits all of the potential offered by New Mind's Enterprise Content Management System (eCMS) with a spectacular result which the in-house team should be proud of.

The new site, www.visitnortheastengland.com, uses the eCMS as the foundations for a whole range of exciting new functionality and features, complemented by stunning imagery, sleek design, inspirational copy and swift navigation to engage and entice the visitor.

Tabbed views, both within the main body of the site and within search facilities provide the visitor with maximum visibility without cluttering the design or overloading with information. Stunning imagery and videos provide visual appeal, backed up by informative audio commentaries.

Sophisticated search functionality addreses usability issues by allowing refined searches to be performed with the minimum number of clicks. For example, when searching for accommodation within a range of dates, the visitor is not only presented with availability but also with a list of events taking place during their stay.

The site is also the first regional website to integrate with EnglandNet to offer online booking of national chains such as Hilton and consolidators such as Active Hotels, Late Rooms and Superbreak.

A key objective for the One North East team was to reduce their dependance on costly print media. The new itinerary builder functionality addresses this requirement by allowing visitors to compile itineraries, create pdf brochures and send to selected email recipients. In order to access this feature, visitors need to register some basic information but are rewarded with real value in return, boosting One North East's consumer database and facilitating more targeted marketing.

Andrew Marchbank, Visitor Services Development Manager at One North East comments "We have spent an enormous amount of time and effort in developing a website of which the region can be proud. The eCMS is a fundamental part of the region's tourism e-Business platform, Desti.ne, allowing us and our partners absolute control and flexibility in design and development of a number of regional and local websites that make effective and efficient use of the single system and present consistent information about North East England to visitors."

The new site was launched on Christmas Eve to coincide with the start of the organisation's major TV campaign.