The challenge
The green heart of Austria: a holiday destination known far beyond Austria's borders. As a digital pioneer, Steiermark Tourismus had a clear goal in mind for this project: to present Styria and its eleven diverse holiday regions united on a single online platform.
It was equally clear to Steiermark Tourismus which partner they wanted to implement the project with. The tourism region has been working with elements since 2010. Together with the content experts at punkt & komma, the starting gun for this new major project was fired in 2019.
From the very beginning, it was clear that a project of this size would also pose numerous challenges, such as inconsistent data, poor data quality, and duplicate content. To overcome these challenges, extensive prior analyses, well-thought-out concepts and strategies were an absolute must. This was the only way to bundle the immense flood of information and know-how and to limit the previous high use of resources and costs throughout all regions.
Implementation
As part of the digitalization project, an unprecedented website concept was developed in combination with a comprehensive content strategy. Project rollout and the final go-ahead followed the subsequent year – without any delays. This phase was accompanied by several project and content workshops.
Thanks to a clear tourism and elaborate data strategy, it was possible to present a vast amount of information in a meaningful and comprehensive way. The open-source Pimcore system acts as the central data hub. All basic content such as information on accommodation options, excursion destinations, tours, event data and more was transferred from the primary systems into the new digital heart. Afterwards, the content was distributed via the Pimcore data hub and disseminated via the corresponding channels such as the website, apps, or Google.
Green light for the new website
Styria's new website has been live since autumn 2021, and users benefit from an all-encompassing digital holiday experience with simple navigation consisting of four menu items. In the backend, more than 20 individual features and 25 content elements form the central, fully integrated web presence.
The eleven regions, which were already taken into account during the development of the high-quality strategy concept, benefit from this as well.
29,972 holiday opportunities in Styria
- 12,142 points of interests (POIs): from excursion destinations to infrastructure such as restaurants, museums, cable cars, thermal spas, but also hairdressers and doctors
- 7,864 events
- 7,421 accommodation providers
- 1,345 bookable holiday offers by accommodation providers
- 1,200 bookable holiday experiences, such as guided tours
- in addition: portals such as Styria Convention, Busreisen Steiermark, Young Styria as well as a new voucher tool
The heart of the new website
- portal-subportal principle
- a fully integrated information and e-commerce platform
- numerous interfaces with Feratel, Outdooractive, ZAMG, Bergfex, and Evalanche
- the new online magazine
- interactive maps
- a natively integrated tour portal
- microsites for businesses and partners
- landing pages for campaigns, hero topics and lead products
- a new press and multimedia archive
- digital asset management via the Pimcore Asset Experience Portal
- open data interfaces via the Pimcore Data Hub
A look into the future
The new website for Styria and its regions was the first step into the digital future of the tourism region. But the journey is far from over because collaboration with elements and punkt & komma continues. Cross-regional highlights such as personalization options, customer loyalty tools and the expansion of e-commerce are already being planned.
Good to know: The "Gesäuse" and "Schladming-Dachstein" regions already went live in the course of the relaunch of the new website. All other regions will follow in the coming weeks and months and will complement the portal – for a one-stop holiday experience!