Key industries and broadband

For the key tourism, food and drink, and agriculture sectors, we take an in-depth look at their industry, broadband and the web. Find out more about the challenges and the benefits of broadband below:

From the smallest of bed and breakfasts to the largest hotel groups, the need to make their mark online is crucial. For today, accommodation providers in the Highlands and Islands are reporting that up to 80 per cent of all booking enquiries are routed via the internet.

This is, without a doubt, tangible evidence of the importance of the internet to the tourism industry and the fact that more and more people are travelling independently. With ready access to the web in most homes these days, it’s easier than ever before to plan your own trip. And with the greatest library in the world a mouse click away, your next customer could be researching their holiday break online right now.

For those in the tourism industry, there is now the growing realisation that the web is being used not only to find accommodation, but also to plan the entire break’s itinerary around things to do and attractions in a particular area. It’s vital to think big picture, and to see that web users are searching in ways that puts emphasis on context. Granted they will refine results down to specifics, but the initial trawl may be based on search terms that are much looser and more geographic.

For example, someone looking to find accommodation in Ardgay may initially enter “Moray Firth dolphins” as this could be their prime reason for coming to the area. Alternatively, they may enter “Moray Firth dolphins” + Ardgay or “Moray Firth dolphins” + accommodation, which, as you can see by clicking the links, bring up very different results.

Knowing how your customers search and how they ultimately find their way onto your web site can prove to be valuable intelligence, especially when planning advertising and marketing expenditure. Put yourself in the shoes of a customer and try searching the internet yourself and visiting the types of site your potential audience will encounter before reaching your site. Build up a picture of the links between sites and tourism portals, examine the cross-promotion that’s going on and how your business fits into this internet landscape.

Tourism is, in fact, now one of the biggest categories of products and services sold over the internet; greater access to broadband can therefore only mean an even greater volume of online bookings and enquiries. Previously, slowness of connection was a barrier to online shopping, but this has now been lifted thanks to wider availability of broadband. This is being borne out by research, which indicates that broadband availability has been the biggest single factor in driving the current boom in web trading.

The web, though, is a double-edged sword. Yes, it can bring you a potential world-wide audience, but that same audience also has access to your world-wide competition. Having a company web site is therefore not an end in itself. It has to be marketed and promoted, well designed and optimised for search engines to give it a fighting chance.

And one way to boost a site’s ranking in search engine results is through its content. Now, with software costing around £100 and a broadband connection, it’s possible to refresh site content regularly and quickly rather than relying on a web developer to do it for you. Static content is undeniably the kiss of death for a web site. To get traffic and improve search engine ranking, one of the surest remedies is to regularly update your site.

This could be latest news of a cut price deal, a new tourist attraction in your area or even a video tour of your accommodation and its facilities.

Covering everything from farming and agriculture, to processing and packaging, manufacturing, storage, wholesale, retail and catering, the food and drink industry is diverse and complex. This richness is a major plus point and many areas of the sector have exciting prospects for growth with broadband enabling new channels to market and new ways to conduct marketing and order processing.

Streamlined business operations equate to better productivity and more profit. Database-driven web sites that integrate with offline back office functions now offer the ability to order and check availability online. Real-time online stock control systems are benefiting the consumer and business. Web customers now know instantly that the goods they are ordering are available and ready to ship, while the wholesaler can keep track of stock levels and improve order turnaround times.

Some haulage companies, meanwhile, enable goods and deliveries to be tracked online by the retailer and the consumer, helping to ensure that time sensitive deliveries of food products are traceable.

Beef farmers, for instance, are governed by a raft of legislation relating to the registration of beef herds and movements of animals. Instead of time-consuming form filling as of old, logging in online to register calves and record movements with the British Cattle Movement Service saves time and money. High speed internet-access is therefore essential to expedite this work as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Virtual cattle sales are also changing the way the beef industry operates.

Recent studies have indicated that, nationally, the majority of UK farmers are now internet-enabled, with 60% being online, and 70% using the internet for information, selling produce, and buying goods.

Farmers and crofters in the Highlands and Islands are no exception, and they too are conducting more of their business affairs online. This process is being accelerated to a large extent by the penetration of broadband into rural areas.

Having broadband means, for example, being able to check market prices in real time at any time of the day and online selling and purchasing of farm produce and animal feed stuffs. With diversification featuring heavily in the business plans of many in the agricultural sector, broadband and internet are frequently central to these development plans. These diversifications range from selling farm produce direct to the consumer via a web site to holiday accommodation and outdoor pursuits.

The internet also gives producers an edge they have never enjoyed before. Being up to date with the latest market prices, trends and news, which can be checked in the field via handheld device, means a greater degree of business control and management. In the longer term, access to market information can help identify consumer trends, increase profitability by targeting local and international markets and, at the same time, assist with determining production levels.

A good example of information sharing using the web is “The Food Chain Centre”