E-tourism in England a strategy .pdf

As EnglandNet develops 3 , the potential for involving commercial partners will be explored,
where this can bring added value in terms of technical development, marketing or
e-business services. This is discussed further in the following section.
6.2 Public and private sector roles
The scope for attracting private sector support to invest in providing many of the services
relevant to this strategy was tested in market soundings and research carried out by ETC in
early 2001. Several companies have expressed an interest in being involved as suppliers in
aspects of the EnglandNet project, but this has not extended to funding or underwriting
any of the required core components. It is likely that only the public sector can make the
initial investment in the networking of tourism destination services because the open
standards and comprehensive nature of such work is not a priority for private sector
investment.
The most realistic approach would appear to be one which recognises the need to satisfy
broader social and economic objectives and to upgrade and improve the professionalism of
the whole tourism industry. There may well be potential for attracting private sector
involvement in future developments once the framework is in place. Options for public
private partnership should therefore be reviewed as EnglandNet progresses. The ability for
EnglandNet to generate realistic revenue streams will help to attract such private sector
involvement.
The aim of any public-private collaboration should be to develop a sustainable future for
EnglandNet that would keep the long-term public sector commitment to that necessary to
ensure that the core objectives of open standards and comprehensive coverage continue to
be fulfilled.
6.2.1 English Tourism Council
ETC is accountable to DCMS for the financial and management control of Government
funding for the EnglandNet project. As such it has a key role in overseeing the successful
implementation of EnglandNet, including the establishment of the legal entity underpinning
the project in partnership with RTBs and in line with Government guidelines for public
private partnerships.
As the statutory national tourism organisation for England, ETC also has a leadership role in
support of e-tourism generally, which includes:
• driving the development and exploitation of EnglandNet, and supporting activities such
as awareness and training programmes
• guiding future marketing and e-tourism strategies in collaboration with national and
regional partners such as RTBs, RDAs and industry bodies
• encouraging the adoption of common data standards by DMS software suppliers
• liaising with BTA to ensure that opportunities for collaboration in technical
development, marketing and distribution of content are exploited effectively.
Operationally, ETC is responsible for ensuring that tourism data is collected and managed to
meet national requirements, publishing national ‘Where to Stay’ guides, and for
3 Up-to-date information on EnglandNet is available on the project website,
www.englandnet.org.uk.
23/44 A strategy for modernising English tourism through e-business – July 2002