Simpleview has been tasked with the delivery of a new all singing, all dancing destination website which will sit at the heart of everything that the English Riviera does online and act as a springboard for a dramatic post-Covid recovery.  

The English Riviera is a coastal destination in the county of Devon, consisting of three key resorts, Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, and the smaller village of Babbacombe.

The website is one of the English Riviera Business Improvement District’s (ERBID) most important digital assets and currently attracts over one million visitors a year. This major new project is part of an investment of £3M over the next 5 years to promote the English Riviera, supporting 1200 tourism and hospitality businesses.

The project will involve an upgrade of a site originally developed by Simpleview in 2017 and will predominantly aim to improve its mobile functionality and deliver more accommodation and ticketing functionality. Over 65% of visitors browse the site on mobile devices so the new, improved navigation will be simple and intuitive.

The new site will set out to extend the season based around lifestyle, wellbeing, outdoors and eco-tourism, retaining the ‘Naturally Inspiring’ branding and focusing on the promotion of the English Riviera’s Great Outdoors and related activities including coastal walking, cycling, golf, kayaking and swimming.  Full screen video with soundtrack will make an immediate impact and compel the visitor to want to find out more.

The site’s content will also align with its core brand themes:

• The birthplace of Agatha Christie and all the related history and heritage
• Status as a UNESCO Global Geopark (due to its unique Geological heritage)
• Torquay – No. 1 2021 Trip Advisor Summer Staycation Destination
• Award-winning coastal offering, popular with all demographics
• Reputation as England’s Seafood Coast, renowned for its amazing local fish and seafood
• Host for major events such as the English Riviera Air Show and Agatha Christie Festival

All of Simpleview’s signature functionality and features will be deployed, complemented by a host of additional technology and services to engage and inspire:

• UGC via Crowdriff – allowing ERBID to source source high-quality user-generated content (UGC) and put it to work on the new site, social channels and ad campaigns.
• Simpleview DAM (Digital Asset Management) – a cloud-based platform which has been designed to be used internally as an efficient storage solution for DMO’s media i.e. photo, video, audio and document library, and externally for distribution to media partners, members and stakeholders.
• Automated chatbot will enable visitors to ask questions with answers provided, in the destination’s own brand voice, by a digital assistant

Carolyn Custerson, CEO of the ERBID Company comments:

“Digital Destination Marketing is at the heart of everything we do and we are very excited to be able to invest in the very latest technology that will allow us to extend our reach and raise our profile even further as one of the UK’s Premier Resorts.”

The new site will be launched at the turn of the year.