QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON TISCOVER

INTRODUCTION

What is happening?
eTourism Ltd, the company that runs VisitScotland.com, has announced that they have signed a strategic partnership agreement with Tiscover, the world’s leading provider of tourism website and destination management technology.

The deal is pivotal to the evolution of the current VisitScotland.com website, contact centre and tourist information centre system (TIC Client), which will evolve into a refreshed, faster and even better service. The new technology is planned to be operational towards the end of this year.

The underlying technology that supports the VisitScotland.com tourism products database and the accommodation booking engine is being changed. The new system is being supplied by Tiscover, who have 15 years experience in this sector.  

At the same time, Tiscover will become a major shareholder in eTourism Ltd, the company that runs VisitScotland.com, and VisitScotland will become the single largest shareholder in eTourism Ltd. The realignment of the shareholding of the company results in the following ownership structure:

As well as providing technology, Tiscover will be investing a substantial amount of new capital into eTourism Ltd.

When will this take effect?

Contracts were agreed this week. Preliminary technical work is already being done by staff at Tiscover and VisitScotland.com, with the new technology due to go live on the website, in the National Booking and Information Contact Centre and in TICs towards the end of the year.

Why does the technology for VisitScotland.com need to evolve?

For any business it is a normal process to review technology on a regular basis and assess the best solutions to meet future needs. Given the rapid change and growth in the e-commerce sector it is all the more important for VisitScotland.com to do so.

Traffic on the visitscotland.com website has grown dramatically since 2002. In 2004 there were 6.4million visits and that number rose to over 10 million in 2005, an increase of over 50 per cent. It is projected to increase to 13million by the end of the year. Booking traffic has also grown. VisitScotland.com has reported a 76% increase in its online accommodation bookings for the first four months of 2006. Booking revenues also jumped by 111% for the same period.

The existing technology is now reaching the limits of its effectiveness and there is a need to change to support our current level of activity and expected growth. This is about taking the website and the business to the next level.

ABOUT TISCOVER

Who is Tiscover?
Tiscover is Europe and the world’s leading e-tourism company and provides technology platforms for national and regional tourism organisations in countries such as Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and South Africa. They also provide the search and booking engine for www.visiteurope.com.

Tiscover’s head office is in Innsbrück, Austria and their UK offices are in Luton.  

How were they selected to participate in VisitScotland.com?
VisitScotland.com commissioned independent technology consultants to search the market for providers who would meet our changing requirements. Tiscover were selected as the clear preferred option from a shortlist of providers, after a full evaluation of the competing systems and company track records.

What changes will there be for visitor users of VisitScotland.com?
Tiscover technology is powerful, efficient and scalable, so visitors will find the search and booking services on VisitScotland.com will be fast and reliable. Tiscover systems are tried and tested and have a very good track record. TIC and contact centre bookings will also be quicker.

What changes will there be for the industry?
There will be a range of options available for accommodation businesses to maintain inventory, i.e. their rooms that are bookable through VisitScotland.com channels. One of these will be “Web-in-a-box” which offers a complete website package to accommodation providers, including a booking engine that links to VisitScotland.com channels and also allows direct commission-free bookings to be made from the providers’ own website (there will be an annual subscription fee for this service).

In addition, many hoteliers will be able to electronically link their property management system (PMS), i.e. in-house reservation systems, directly in to the new VisitScotland.com/Tiscover technology platform. This will allow automatic live and dynamic updating of hotel prices, room availability and special offers in to all the VisitScotland.com sales and booking channels.

These and other new services will be rolled out to tourism businesses once the new technology platform has been implemented, from the end of this year. VisitScotland.com will work with VisitScotland, Tiscover and industry representatives to plan and deliver a successful phased roll-out.

Will it cost the industry more?
No. There will, though, be an enhanced range of e-commerce services available to providers in the future, which businesses will be able to buy in to if they wish.

Why is Tiscover taking a shareholding in eTourism?
By taking a shareholding, Tiscover are demonstrating their commitment to working with Scotland and to the future success of the Scottish tourism industry. Tiscover will nominate a Director to the board of eTourism. This will bring their expertise and experience in operating web-based tourism booking systems to the table.

How will Tiscover’s involvement affect the running of VisitScotland.com?
VisitScotland.com will continue to be run by its management team, led by Chief Executive Marco Truffelli, and based in Livingston. The management team report to a Board of Directors made up of representatives from each of the four shareholders (VisitScotland, Tiscover, Partnerships UK and Atos Origin). In future the Board will also have a new independent non-executive Chairman with a background in the Scottish tourism industry.

VisitScotland will have the largest individual shareholding in eTourism and will continue to take a leading role in steering the joint venture.  

How much money is Tiscover investing in VisitScotland.com?
We can confirm that it is a substantial investment and they are very committed to the venture. The details of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time.

What’s happening with Atos Origin?
Atos Origin acquired its interest and investment in eTourism indirectly through its acquisition in 2004 of the original joint venture partner, IT services company Schlumberger Sema. By its specialist nature, the VisitScotland.com joint venture is not a core activity for Atos.

With the evolving technology requirements of the VisitScotland.com business, Atos Origin, along with the management team of eTourism, have taken the opportunity to facilitate the introduction of Tiscover to the venture. As world leaders with 15 years of experience and specialism dedicated to the field of tourism technology Tiscover are ideal technology providers and joint venture partners. Atos will continue to be involved as a minority shareholder.

ABOUT THE CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDINGS

What does this mean for the Public Private Partnership (PPP)?
The PPP joint venture has already provided a very effective tourism marketing, support and booking system at a very modest level of investment from public funds. The PPP model will continue to benefit Scotland in this way, under the realigned shareholding structure outlined above. The changes that we are making will equip VisitScotland.com – and Scotland as a tourism destination - to develop and compete ever more successfully with other international destinations in providing a world class information and booking service.

OTHER QUESTIONS

What will the process be for selecting an independent Chairman and the industry advisory group?
VisitScotland will carry out an initial search for individuals with an appropriate background and knowledge of tourism in Scotland. Any appointment must be agreed unanimously by all of the shareholders.

Will the independent Chairman be a paid position?
The rules of the company are being amended to allow the independent non-executive Chairman to be paid a director’s fee. This will be at the discretion of the company board.

Why is VisitScotland increasing its shareholding in eTourism Ltd / VisitScotland.com?
A process of corporate reshaping of the company has occurred in order to allow Tiscover to become a shareholder. As part of that process the opportunity arose for VisitScotland to acquire a larger shareholding in the business without any additional investment. eTourism is a growing business with an exciting future and VisitScotland.com is a key strategic part of VisitScotland’s future plans. This was therefore a very attractive opportunity, which VisitScotland was only too happy to pursue.

Can you give me examples of the new products and services that will be coming on line as a result of these changes?
Once the new technology platform has been implemented, there will be a range of new products and services made available for the Scottish tourism industry, which will be phased in through time.

Web-in-a-box: One of the main initiatives will be the “Web-in-a-box” concept. This offers a complete website package to accommodation providers (and other tourism businesses), including an inventory management tool and a booking engine that links to VisitScotland.com channels and also allows direct commission-free bookings to be made from the providers’ own website (there will be an annual subscription fee for this service).

Hotel PMS Electronic Interface: For hotels that already have their own property management system (PMS - i.e. in-house computer reservation systems), they will be able to electronically link through an XML interface in to the new VisitScotland.com/Tiscover technology platform. This will allow automatic live and dynamic updating of hotel prices, room availability and special offers in to all the VisitScotland.com sales and booking channels.

There is also future potential to develop international promotional and sales opportunities for Scottish tourism businesses by leveraging Tiscover’s network of international distribution channels and relationships.

The above and other new services will be rolled out to tourism businesses through time, beginning in 2007 once the new technology platform has been implemented. VisitScotland.com will work with VisitScotland, Tiscover and industry representatives to plan and deliver a successful phased roll-out of the new products and services.