Member Article

Liverpool online tourism firm merges with Scandanavian IT group

New Mind, a Liverpool-based firm supplying e-Tourism solutions, has merged with tellUs IT, the lead supplier of Destination Management Systems in Scandinavia.

The new company, to be re-named New Mind | tellUs, will continue to specialise in solutions for Destination Management Organisations (DMOs).

At the point of the merger, New Mind holds approximately 60% of the UK market, working with over 150 destinations across the UK. Clients include Liverpool, Brighton, Bath, Cambridge and Visit Scotland. TellUs has a similar market share across Scandinavia providing solutions for brands such Visit Oslo, Fjord Norway, Wonderful Copenhagen and Visit Denmark.

Managing director of UK operations Richard Veal said: “The adoption of technology in the travel industry is rapid and complex and requires a significant and on-going investment.

“By coming together, New Mind | tellUs has both the technical resource and the deep knowledge of tourism necessary to meet the specific needs of DMOs”.

To this end, the company is working on a major re-development of its technology platform, bringing together the features and facilities that have been most successful in their respective markets.

Michael Borge, Managing Director of Scandinavian operations said: “Offering the “best of both worlds” is a principle that lies right at the heart of this merger and informs everything we do. The next iteration of the platform will offer exciting new opportunities to our clients in the UK and Scandinavia and will accelerate the exchange of best-practice among destination managers and marketeers.”

Over the last few years, the amount of funding ear-marked for destination marketing has been steadily reduced as public-sector bodies have grappled with the fall-out from the financial crisis.

Richard Veal added: “Whilst a lot of work has gone into making the merger happen, it was made much easier by the excellent culture-fit of the two companies.

“Both New Mind and tellUs enjoy a great deal of trust and loyalty from our respective clients, working with many of them for over 10 years. Both companies also have an obsessive focus on project delivery and place enormous importance on business integrity and the way we look after our clients.”

In the UK, New Mind has designed and their technology powers over 150 destination web sites. Notable examples include visitbrighton.com, visitbath.co.uk and the englishriviera.co.uk which are amongst the highest performing sites of their kind both in terms of visitor numbers and income generation.

In the summer, New Mind’s destination web sites attract over 5 million unique visitors per month and transact thousands of accommodation bookings. In addition, tens of thousands of iPhone and Android apps are downloaded by visitors delivering a true end-to-end experience from pre-trip planning through to in-destination visitor information.

The (as yet un-branded) international version of their e-Tourism Platform will be rolled out to clients in 2014.

New Mind | tellUs has 40 staff working from offices in Liverpool, Oslo and Bergen. Turnover in the first year of trading is expected to tip £3m.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .