Tiscover becomes shareholder in VisitScotland.com shake-up

Tourism website technology company Tiscover has become a shareholder in VisitScotland.com as part of an ownership re-jig of the site.

New private sector investment has been attracted to the internet-based tourism booking and information service together with an adjustment in shareholding.

VisitScotland will become the largest shareholder in the company, with Tiscover as second largest, followed by existing shareholders Partnerships UK and Atos Origin. The company will have an independent chairman and a new tourism industry advisory group.

Tiscover has made an unspecified but “substantial investment” to take a 35% stake, a VisitScotland spokeswoman said. The remaining shareholders are VisitScotland 36%, Partnerships UK 22% and technology provider Atos Origin 7%. 

A new website will be seen later this year and preliminary work is already underway by Tiscover and VisitScotland.com.

VisitScotland said the deal was “pivotal” to the evolution of the website, contact centre and tourist information centre booking system into a refreshed, faster and better service.

The number of visits to VisitScotland.com has increased from 6.4 million in 2004 to 10.5 million in 2005 and is projected to reach 13 million by the end of this year.

It claims to be the most visited national tourism website in the UK and has attracted £50 million in bookings in four years.

“The growth in popularity of the website and advances in technology worldwide have prompted VisitScotland.com to find a strategic technology provider to meet the future needs of the business,” a statement said.

Tiscover has 15 years experience in destination management systems in the UK, Europe and South Africa.

VisitScotland chief executive Philip Riddle said: “This partnership gives us the chance to bring in world-leading technology and fresh private sector investment.

“It will enable significant progress in the fast-moving world of e-commerce. The tourism industry will play an important role in supporting the further development of VisitScotland.com through the new advisory group and independent chairman.

“The investment from Tiscover is a real vote of confidence in VisitScotland.com and we look forward to working with them to benefit everyone in Scottish tourism”.

VisitScotland.com chief executive Marco Truffelli added: “The changes we are planning to the business are part of the natural evolution of the company as we go forward. We now have a partnership with the leading company in the world for this type of technology. This will be of great benefit to us and to tourism businesses across Scotland.

“Our business has proved to be very successful, as the £50 million in bookings taken shows and we are substantially growing the number of visits year on year. Now we need a bigger, more powerful technology platform, as potential visitors increasingly demand more information and more capability to research and book their trips online. That is what Tiscover are helping us to build.”

Report by Phil Davies