Online "answer" to loss of TIC produces no bookings

Cllr Carl Maynard was answering a point raised by a questioner via his Ask The Leader slot on the www.rother.gov.uk website.

The questioner said: "With reference to the issue of council money that might have been used for a Tourist Information Centre in Bexhill.

"It is mentioned in the Bexhill Observer this week that 'the council believe the money was better spent on Internet booking technology.'

"Can you tell me please how many accommodation bookings were made to Bexhill Guest Houses and hotels in 2007 directly via that Internet accommodation booking system?"

The leader said: "Nationally all TICs are seeing a steady reduction in the number of accommodation bookings that they deal with over time, as consumer patterns change. Increasingly, visitors are using the internet to find out information about a destination, including the type, cost and availability of accommodation.

"The council and its partners in 1066 Country have invested in an online booking and availability system in order to remain competitive with other destinations.

"The Destination Management System provides our tourism industry with the facility to not only offer online booking (both guaranteed and indicative) but also to update their availability online, so a customer can see at a glance if the accommodation provider has availability at the time they are planning on visiting.

"The system also links into regional and national tourist websites, including Tourism South East, Visit Sussex, Visit Britain, lastminute.com, Expedia, late rooms and many more.

"The system therefore provides the industry with one local point of contact for a multitude of websites.

"Over 90% of our accommodation providers currently have an entry on the website, although to date only 20% have taken up the online booking functionality (which is offered to accommodation providers at no cost).

"Officers from Rother and Hastings Councils are working hard with the industry to raise this percentage.

"The number of direct bookings taken through the 1066 Country site during 2007 was 64, none of which were in Bexhill, however it is not possible to say how many bookings were taken by accommodation providers direct as a result of having seen their entry on the 1066 Country website."