Cumbria Tourism 2011 Commission model
For the past eight years, Cumbria Tourism has successfully drawn considerable additional public funds to the county via the Northwest Regional Development Agency. This public money was an investment to stimulate growth in tourism business profits and productivity and specifically supported the tourism industry with discounted marketing, property development grants, subsided staff training and much more. Directly or indirectly, this spend will have had a positive impact on your business.
June's Emergency Budget offered a taster of what's in store for the next few years. The coalition Government set out its plans to review public spending and deep cuts are expected. Some of the first known cuts will be to regional development agencies.
These cuts will inevitably impact on Cumbria Tourism. We will obviously continue to promote the destination and its tourism businesses - that's what we're here for, but we will now need to look at new ways to raise revenue. We've gone to considerable lengths to consider all our options, which have been discussed with industry representatives via our Executive Board and Working Groups.
The most significant initial change is that the website Golakes.co.uk will become commission-based in the autumn.
There are 4 options for Golakes advertising this year;
Bookable Basic - £50 + VAT
- Online Bookability (10% commission)
- Priority Listing
- 4 images
- 200 word description
- Online availability chart
- Contact address and phone number
- Facility to add special offers
- Bookable campaign special offers
- Directions to property
Bookable Enhanced - £200 + VAT
- Online Bookability (10% commission)
- Priority Listing
- Contact address and phone number
- Email/Web links
- 8 images including image gallery
- Ability to show video*
- 200 word description
- Online availability chart
- Facility to add special offers
- Bookable campaign special offers
- Directions to property
Non-bookable Basic £250 + VAT
- Online availability chart
- 4 images
- 200 word description
- Contact address and phone number
- Facility to add special offers
- Directions to property
Non-bookable Enhanced £400 + VAT
- Online availability chart
- Email/Web links
- 8 images including image gallery
- Ability to show video*
- 200 word description
- Contact address and phone number
- Facility to add special offers
- Directions to property
*30 second video £350 + VAT. New film edited by Red Onion for more information visit www.cumbriatourism.org/video.
Golakes.co.uk is an increasingly powerful tool for accommodation businesses in Cumbria: online bookings have grown 45% over the past six months. We're confident that a commission-based model is fair to everyone. Revenue generated is not for profit and funds will be used to promote Golakes.co.uk and the destination. We provide full support and free DMS/Guestlink training to all providers.
For many accommodation providers, commission-based booking services are nothing new. In fact, it's the norm for web-based booking engines and comparison sites. Non-accommodation advertisers will still have the choice of Basic and Enhanced web entries.
We strive to provide cost-effective services, for example 2011 Holiday Guide and Memberships rates are frozen but times are changing and we all have to adapt. We're confident we can provide value for money to our members for many years to come.
