Scotland has always been one of the top holiday destinations in the UK. With its rich history and breath taking landscape it is popular across the world, particularly the Highland region and more and more the Scottish islands such as the Hebrides have become hot locations for tourists.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of infrastructure and concerted effort there are several places within Scotland that have yet to take full advantage of the power of the Internet to really boost the local economy and get information out to help the visitor find what they need to best enjoy their trip.
I have lived on the Island of Skye off the west coast of Scotland for all of my life, and having also spent much of my time making websites and using the internet it’s become clear to me that certainly on Skye there is so much more that could be done with the Internet to give visitors (and even locals) the sort of information that could be useful.
So about a year ago I tried to setup a social network designed specifically for the Isle of Skye called Newskyes. The plan for Newskyes was to create an online community which locals could use to improve communication and inter-business sharing, while also providing a focused place online for tourists to find out a bit of information about Skye from the locals in a friendly relaxed environment.
Sadly my first attempt didn’t take off due to the wrong choice of software, but the concept did attract some attention and now, with the help of another local Webmaster, Newskyes is back online as a forum but with the same goal.as before.
The best part of the new partnership that is helping resurrect Newskyes is that Newskyes is now part of the HolidaySkye Business Directory. HolidaySkye is a revolutionary free business directory that not only includes all the usual accommodation listings but also lists tourist attractions, shops, places to visit and many of the vital services and suppliers that help the B&Bs and guest houses run on a daily basis - such as plumbers, contractors and so on.
This combination of Forum/Social Network and Business Directory will hopefully work to create a solid Skye tourist information network that will provide all the information and resources that both locals and visitors may need and also help raise the online profile of the Isle of Skye as a holiday destination.
Both sites Hoidayskye and Newskyes are entirely free and open to all users. This gives them a very competitive edge and also brings them up to the modern ‘Opensource’ level which is the current thrust online. It also helps to spread the network to everyone as quickly as possible with no concern that people might be put off by any kind of charges
Having made websites for local guest house business owners I know how hard it can be to generate traffic and get visitors to the websites. This may be because there are just so many competing sites out there that when potential visitors search for places to stay they don’t really know where to start or what would be most appropriate for their needs. That is why my hope is that the combination of Forum and comprehensive Business Directory will become the corner stone website for information for Skye enabling potential visitors to quickly and easily find the best place and deal.