Tourism Saskatchewan Launches Website Re-Design

January 22, 2008
	Tourism Saskatchewan launched its redesigned consumer website on January 10, 2008. After nearly a year of planning, research and dedication by Tourism Saskatchewan's Marketing Department and IT team, there was great anticipation and celebration as the new and improved www.sasktourism.com was revealed. Visitors to the site will be immediately struck by breathtaking photography, vivid colour, cutting-edge design elements and enriching content that better addresses current trends in online travel planning. Introductory pages are available in six additional languages: French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Traditional features have been enhanced, with Live Chat, email and search options more clearly identified and easily accessible. A convenient new feature is the mapping tool that boosts search categories and identifies specific attractions, services and accommodations within a community. Feedback from visitors to the site has been extremely positive, with customers most impressed by the ease of navigation and the striking imagery. The site portrays the beauty of Saskatchewan and entices travellers to find out more about activities and attractions in the province. The site's focus on design and imagery is obvious. Less obvious, but just as important, is the increased focus on search engine optimization. More relevant content and thoughtful technical application will ensure that this site's rankings will improve in search engines such as Google, MSN and Yahoo. Within 72 hours of launching the site, significant improvements were noted for key topics within Google search rankings. Tourism Saskatchewan members will benefit from increased traffic on their sites generated by product listings and links embedded within site content. An improved banner ad system includes new opportunities for text-based advertisements, as well as traditional image based advertisements on many pages throughout the site. "This new design will boost our province's performance in the fiercely competitive world of tourism marketing," says Candace Phelps, Vice-President and Director of Marketing. "As website work and upgrades continue, www.sasktourism.com will evolve and become a more valuable service to Tourism Saskatchewan members, to the industry and, most importantly, to travellers planning a Saskatchewan vacation." "Tourism Saskatchewan's marketing and IT teams, along with contract partners, have poured their heart and soul into this project," comments Grant McDonald, Manager of Information Technology. "From the intuitive layout, beautiful design, and content development through to the technical implementation, the effort has been outstanding."
	Author: Susan Parkin Organization: Tourism Saskatchewan E-mail: susan.parkin@sasktourism.com