INDUSTRY UPDATE

27 November 2006

The new technology which now powers VisitScotland.com (including the website, the National Contact Centre and also the search and booking system used by all Scotland's Tourist Information Centres) went live on the evening of Monday 20 November as planned - on time and within budget.

The new systems are significantly faster and more powerful than before, which is vitally important given the increasing demands placed upon our systems by the rapid growth in web traffic, searches and bookings. At peak times this year over 80,000 accommodation searches per week are carried out at www.visitscotland.com .

Over time, the new technology will also enable new products and services to be introduced which will bring significant benefits to consumers globally and to tourism businesses across Scotland. We are looking to launch these from spring 2007.

The website now features a new dedicated area, accessed direct from the Home Page, which provides a new way of exploring the regions, cities, towns, villages and islands of Scotland. Here, visitors can browse all our accommodation and visitor attraction listings and tourist information for each locality. This new section is very much in line with online consumer needs and wants which we have identified through objective research, which tells us that 70% of users arrive at the website already knowing which part of Scotland they are interested in visiting and that they are principally looking for accommodation and other tourist information specific to that locality. We will continue to add to and develop this section of the website.

Bookings are successfully being processed through the new system, online on the website, through the National Contact Centre in Livingston, and through Scotland's national network of TICs.

To get to the switch-over has been a large and highly complex project. As can be expected with any technology project of this scale and complexity, we have identified some anomalies and idiosyncrasies which have revealed themselves upon going 'live'. We have already been able to quickly iron some of these out and we and our technology partner Tiscover are working hard to address any which remain as quickly as possible. Constructive feedback from provider businesses is very useful in helping us to identify and rectify these - thank you to those who have fed this through to us and thank you for your patience as we work through any remaining anomalies.

This is a very busy time for us with the ongoing implementation and the heightened interest in our new systems and the new website features. We have therefore posted some answers to common questions which have been raised on www.visitscotland.org - please click here. Please check here before contacting VisitScotland.com if you have a query - your question may already be answered here.