Digital Transformation in Tourism for Charity

Our part-time chief technology officer was instrumental in navigating digital transformation in tourism for a charitable tourist attraction.

Company Profile

This long-established charitable tourist attraction faced challenges in expanding and growing due to significant constraints on its infrastructure and digital systems. Critical systems were failing and unsuitable, causing long queues, delays, and a poor guest experience.

CEO’s Mission

The CEO recognised the need to increase footfall, requiring substantial investment in both infrastructure and technology to support growth. Operating on a large estate, the charity needed cost-efficient solutions, including installing critical fibre optic infrastructure for a new centralised EPOS system. This system had to integrate with their membership and online booking e-commerce systems, allowing real-time purchases and advance ticket bookings.

CTO’s Objectives

• Collaborate with the executive team and department heads to create a long-term technology strategy for growth.
• Select a new, best-of-breed centralised EPOS system with excellent extensibility.
• Recruit a new development team to create an integrated e-commerce platform with the EPOS system.
• Take operational ownership of the entire IT and Development departments.

What the CTO Did

Provided Technical Leadership and Strategic Vision

The CTO led a strategic review of the existing infrastructure, personnel, processes, and data. The Director developed a strategy to improve core infrastructure, build an e-commerce platform, and purchase a best-of-breed EPOS system for centralised management. They updated the systems to feed data warehouses in real-time for business intelligence analysis.

Designed and Delivered a Transformational Infrastructure Roadmap

Understanding the needs of the growing business, the Director planned and delivered robust infrastructure, ensuring network availability across remote locations. A new fibre optic network was designed and installed, supporting a mirrored data centre for business resilience and real-time transactional replication on the EPOS system.

Day-to-Day Management of the Business alongside E-Commerce Development

Initially, the Director managed the implementation of infrastructure and EPOS systems. After securing IT strategy funding, development of the e-commerce platform began. A new platform enabled customers to purchase tickets via their phones and enter the attraction seamlessly, handling over 25,000 visitors per day.

The platform evolved to include dynamic ticket pricing and upselling, significantly increasing ticket revenue and customer management. This digital transformation in tourism allowed for real-time operational adjustments, such as altering staffing levels and managing customer service teams to address busy hotspots.