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1. A Portal for Europe VisitEurope.com : Introduction to a European e-Project

2. Index • Context • About the European Travel Commission • A “Portal” - what is it? • Why a portal? • Portal responsibilities • Who is building it? • The project • Objectives • Portal services • Portal progress • The Portal and OSSATE

3. European Travel Commission • The ETC is an international marketing organisation that • Promotes Europe as a tourist destination • Provides a range of market intelligence and e-services to its members • Encourages the sharing of best practice • Represents the National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) of Europe handling national tourism promotion • Established in 1948 as a non profit-making organization, financed by member NTO contributions. • Operates in major overseas markets where at least 6 NTOs are represented: USA, Canada, Latin America, Japan/Far East.

4. 33 National Tourism Organisations Who are the ETC Members?

5. Create an attractive, efficient doorway for marketing “Destination Europe”... • Places • Access to National Web sites • Search cities, etc • Experiences • Search for Culture, Adventure, Events, etc • Practical Help • Travel planning, • Accommodation • Flights • Languages, etc What is the Portal?

6. EU context – why a portal? • May 2002: EU Council resolution `to strengthen position of Europe as a destination...using Information and Communication Technologies´ • June 2002: Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC) & EC/DG ENTR Tourism Unit Action Plan ´Modern online public services´ adopted by the EU Council as part of the e-Europe Action plan • May 2003: Ministerial support re-confirmed & ETC commitment to handle the website if and when available • June 2003: A tender of the program Interchange of Data between Administrations to build the portal.

7. European Commission 2-stage contract (€2m) Agree Business Plan Agree Portal specification via EC Portal Steering Group E-Commerce Competency Centre Portal responsibilities

8. Who is building it? ec3 Project Manager: Inkeri Starry Project Website: http://etd.ec3.at/

9. Index • Context • About the European Travel Commission • A “Portal” - what is it? • Why a portal? • Portal responsibilities • Who is building it? • The project • Objectives • Portal services • Portal progress • The Portal and OSSATE

10. Portal objectives • Unique access point to all NTO web sites with common user interface in several languages • Better visibility and quicker search to find suitable information held in NTO databases • Pan European content and access to other European information sources • Promote use of inter-operability tools and common standards • Framework for future online technology developments

11. Portal services • Delivery in up to 9 languages • Adaptable to different world markets • Richer content and images • Access to NTO data, e.g., events • Intelligent search and trip planning tools • Route planner • Flights search • Weather reports… etc

12. The project – a full sitemap

13. ETC interest in the Portal • The Portal needs to support the work of the National Tourist Organisations (NTO) and their international activities • The Portal will be the platform for ETC’s new focus on e-marketing, as major element of its global strategy • The Portal will be branded as visitEurope.com

14. Portal progress • Specifications were prepared in 2004 and validated by the ETC New Media expert group • Development started in January 2005 • ETC recruited an Online Marketing Manager in April 2005, to consolidate all efforts from the NTOs • A 1st demonstration of Portal services took place in Stockholm on April 15th, 2005 • The completed Portal is expected to be launched in late October 2005

15. Index • Context • About the European Travel Commission • A “Portal” - what is it? • Why a portal? • Portal responsibilities • Who is building it? • The project • Objectives • Portal services • Portal progress • The Portal and OSSATE

16. The Portal and OSSATE (1) • The Portal will contain specially prepared European content and national content supplied by NTOs • It will also provide access to NTOs’ own websites and content systems • Access to other European information sources and services to help users to plan visits to Europe, and to explore across boundaries • OSSATE aims to enable information on accessible tourism products to be distributed via new media • Opportunity for OSSATE and Portal to position Europe as an accessible destination?

17. The Portal and OSSATE (2) • The Portal would be an ideal platform to show OSSATE outputs at European scale • EC is funding the Portal in the expectation that this will make good use of suitable European e-content relevant to tourism • Conversely, OSSATE should look at the Portal and assess how it might work with this platform – avoiding re-invention of the wheel! • The Portal promotes use of inter-operability tools (e.g. Harmonise) and common standards – an opportunity for OSSATE also?

18. A Portal for Europe: a new opportunity for online co-operation For more information on working with the European Tourism Destinations Portal contact: Karine Bruére, Online Marketing Manager, European Travel Commission Karine.Bruere@etc-corporate.org