As a marketing-oriented organization, Tourism British Columbia's mandate is to promote the growth and development of its tourism industry through innovative programs and industry development initiatives. The Destination Management System (DMS) and the HelloBC® consumer website (www.HelloBC.com ) play a key role in supporting Tourism BC's mandate. The DMS system allows Tourism BC to manage all travel and tourism product information, as well as provide accurate publication of that content through multiple channels including print material and the HelloBC® website. Having a solid technology platform in place is key for Tourism BC to maximize tourism opportunities associated with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Challenge

In recent years, consumers have significantly changed the manner in which they access information for travel planning. Through improved technology, online users are now very much in control of the planning and purchase process, being able to choose from a variety of delivery vehicles such as websites, call centres, Visitor Centres and printed publications. To continue growing and promoting British Columbia as a world-class destination, Tourism BC needed to meet consumer needs by providing comprehensive and easily accessible information on all tourism products and destinations.

Tourism BC faced several challenges. Destination information being developed and updated by internal staff on an as-needed basis to meet specific publishing requirements. There was little technological support for content management, which resulted in inefficiencies and duplication of effort. Inconsistencies and inaccuracies in content existed and processes were manual and labour-intensive. Tourism product information, which includes accommodations, attractions, activities and events, was gathered manually and the process for updating this content was cumbersome.

In addition, the primary channels used to deliver this information to trip-planners were through brochures, call centres, and Visitor Centres located throughout the province. As more and more trip-planners were adopting the internet as their primary source for travel information, it became clear that Tourism BC needed a world-class web presence to better showcase the Super Natural British Columbia® brand. The existing website had limited travel and tourism product information, and did not employ any type of content management system, leading to time consuming manual updates.

Tourism BC was looking for an enterprise-class Destination Management Solution (DMS) that would allow it to centrally manage all travel and tourism product information and tourism provider enrolments in various Tourism BC marketing programs. The improved HelloBC® website would need to present information stored in DMS, and would need to include a robust content management system.

The T4G Solution

T4G's MyTravelHost platform was chosen by Tourism BC as the foundation for their DMS. Working closely with Tourism BC's staff, T4G has built the systems that are currently helping Tourism BC achieve its goals.

"Providing up-to-date travel information that consumers can easily access remains an essential part of our online goals. The new DMS system has allowed us to improve some core inefficiencies related to our online programs and better manage the vast amount of information on HelloBC.com, said Rod Harris, President and CEO of Tourism British Columbia. "With this new marketing technology now in place, the BC tourism industry is in a much stronger competitive position in the worldwide tourism sector.

About DMS

DMS is a complete Enterprise Information Management solution customized for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). It handles the storage and management of information of tourism companies, contacts and products. It provides the ability for a DMO to rapidly create and bring to market new campaigns and programs targeted at the tourism industry. DMS features include:

About HelloBC®

The primary channel for presenting travel and tourism information stored in DMS to consumers is through the HelloBC® website (www.hellobc.com). T4G built the initial website using Microsoft Content Management Server, Commerce Server and custom T4G IP. T4G built a robust framework to accommodate modular additions over time. Since its initial delivery, the website has undergone many major updates. Some of the functionality added includes:

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