Tourism Wollongong is a member-based organisation responsible for the Local Government Area of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia's second largest non-capital city. Bordering the southern suburbs of Sydney and stretching south along the coast, the city is showcased to the east by the Pacific Ocean, with the magnificent Illawarra Escarpment as a picturesque backdrop.
Tourism Wollongong turned to Switch I.T. to engender a complete online strategy for the promotion of the Wollongong region from the ground up. As well as provide general tourism information about the region, Switch I.T. would need to provide detailed information about every Tourism Wollongong member in the city and its surrounds, as well as up-to-date information about upcoming events in the region.
In order to showcase the facilities offered by Tourism Wollongong members, Switch I.T. developed a substantial member database that contained detailed information on every member in the region. Every accommodation facility, restaurant, recreation vendor, business, club and conference operator had a dedicated page on the site containing a photograph, all contact details, a detailed list of features, as well as things to do, places to eat and places to stay nearby.
A Regions & Maps and Fast Facts area was also developed to showcase the beauty and offering of the region. These sections covered getting to the area, climate information, cultural information, shopping, beaches, itinerary samples and much more. The site also features value-added services, such as our 'Virtual Travel Trolley' concept, where potential visitors may place facilities they are interested. Clicking on the Travel Trolley icon located on each page on any return visit would then list the items the user was interested in. Switch I.T. also developed an Electronic Postcard area, where users can email postcards of scenic photography with a message to a friend.
In order to keep current and potential visitors informed about upcoming events in the region, a What's On announcement publishing system was developed for Tourism Wollongong staff to maintain in-house. This formed part of a fully customised Content Management System, which enabled staff to maintain all areas of the web site in-house, such as adding a new member to the web site, modifying current member information, or removing members from the system. The simple, intuitive interface meant no staff training was required.
Switch I.T.'s creative solutions resulted in a site that is highly usable, visually stimulating and effectively promotes the beauty and extensive facilities of the region. The site has not only become a tool for promotion outside the region, but a convenient and usable resource for those already in the area. The thousands of unique visitors to the web site continue to rise each month, and feedback from both members and users alike has been overwhelmingly positive.
"Tourism Wollongong has over 250 individual members represented on our web site. The content management system developed for us by Switch I.T. has made changes to member details incredibly easy and enabled efficient traffic reporting back to our members."
Michael Kelly
Membership Manager, Tourism Wollongong
