This video on ‘How businesses are using technology’ was filmed at the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG) event - Technology Solutions For Tourism Conference 2015.
The event which is now its fifth year brings technology and tourism businesses together to identify opportunities to use technology to ensure they meet the changing expectations of Scotland’s digital tourist.
Speakers include Tessa Quinn and Damien McGlynn from National Galleries Scotland, Andrew Coulton from Festivals Edinburgh, Lorna MacLeod from Raddison Blu and Cathy Malone from Destination Fairfax, Virginia.
Tessa Quinn from National Galleries Scotland speaks about their free Art Hunter app which helps visitors discover, browse and capture selected artworks then reveals more about them with exclusive content from artists and experts.
The aim of the app:
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Drive people to see more art in Scotland
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Hook people and get them excited about seeing new things
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Convert casual audiences to engaged repeat gallery visitors
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Explore potential for digital partnerships with other collections in Scotland
Tessa shares with the audience the challenges, including a no mobile phone policy, which they overcame during the development of the app.
Damien McGlynn talks about how they collaborated with lots of partners to promote the ‘Louise Bourgeois Twitter Tour’. They wanted to bring the experience of seeing the show to people even if they were not able to attend the gallery. Damien explains how they worked with partners to discuss how they would promote the event in advance, planning the number of tweets and the content. Damien explains what they learned during the process:
- Free digital tools require time to be used carefully and effectively
- Importance of follow up responses and further rich content
- Communication with collaborators in advance added hugely to impact
Andrew Coulton from inGenerator discussing the Edinburgh Festivals Listings app program interface API. An API is a set of tools which helps website display information pulled from various online sources in a uniform way. Andrew discussed how the Festivals Edinburgh website pulls in listings from various websites and offers the information out to others including media partners.
The Edinburgh Festivals API allowed one of the Fringe’s sponsors Deuchars to develop an App which showed where the Fringe venues are and where visitors can get a pint of Deuchars. Andrew explains that Edinburgh tourism businesses could add the Festivals API to their website to enhance their website.
Lorna MacLeod Director of Sales at Radisson Blu, explains that their social media strategy incorporates their company’s ‘4D strategy’ which has four key aims development, delight, drive and deliver. Lorna explains how they created a bespoke ‘Concierge Facebook’ page where guests can ask for suggestions on where to eat or how to get tickets for special events and they guarantee a one hour turnaround for responses.
For information on how to develop your online presence and to help you identify the next steps in your digital journey check out the TIS Shine Online guide.