The first e-survey of regional tourism businesses in the North East has highlighted the growing importance of the internet to the visitor economy with

Taken from Local Gov.co.uk

The first e-survey of regional tourism businesses in the North East has highlighted the growing importance of the internet to the visitor economy with over 80% of those questioned operating their own website. More than 600 tourism businesses took part in the survey (401 telephone and 255 online) designed to identify levels of ICT and e-business use in the region following the introduction of the Desti.ne, North East England’s e-business platform by One NorthEast. A total of 68% of telephone respondents said that e-business had helped boost business performance in the last three years and less than 20% felt that e-business was not relevant to them. The results showed there are still opportunities to raise awareness and give guidance on internet security and software and some 40% felt they did not have all the skills needed to make best use of e-business opportunities. The survey also highlighted significant variations between North East sub-regions in the percentage of businesses with their own website offering an online booking service. Tees Valley has the highest share of businesses offering online services at 48%; followed by County Durham with 40% and Tyne and Wear with 34% while. Northumberland has the lowest proportion at just 12%. One NorthEast has already said it will repeat the survey over the next three years to measure the region’s capability and assess the impact the introduction of Desti.ne has had. Louise Davis, head of tourism at One NorthEast said: “It is encouraging to see that a significant number of tourism businesses are already switched on to the potential of e-business. “UK residents spent £1.8bn on holidays over the internet in 2006, up 65% since 2003 and this figure is growing all the time. In an increasingly competitive market place it is vital that the region is well represented online.


The first e-survey of regional tourism businesses in the North East has highlighted the growing importance of the internet to the visitor economy with over 80% of those questioned operating their own website. More than 600 tourism businesses took part in the survey (401 telephone and 255 online) designed to identify levels of ICT and e-business use in the region following the introduction of the Desti.ne, North East England’s e-business platform by One NorthEast. A total of 68% of telephone respondents said that e-business had helped boost business performance in the last three years and less than 20% felt that e-business was not relevant to them. The results showed there are still opportunities to raise awareness and give guidance on internet security and software and some 40% felt they did not have all the skills needed to make best use of e-business opportunities. The survey also highlighted significant variations between North East sub-regions in the percentage of businesses with their own website offering an online booking service. Tees Valley has the highest share of businesses offering online services at 48%; followed by County Durham with 40% and Tyne and Wear with 34% while. Northumberland has the lowest proportion at just 12%. One NorthEast has already said it will repeat the survey over the next three years to measure the region’s capability and assess the impact the introduction of Desti.ne has had. Louise Davis, head of tourism at One NorthEast said: “It is encouraging to see that a significant number of tourism businesses are already switched on to the potential of e-business. “UK residents spent £1.8bn on holidays over the internet in 2006, up 65% since 2003 and this figure is growing all the time. In an increasingly competitive market place it is vital that the region is well represented online.


Northumberland County Council does not just fail its people it also fails its businesses!