The new Visit Manchester website launched last week,new tourism website for the city was design by Marketing Manchester in partnership with digital design company MagneticNorth.
Heralded by Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester as an “opportunity to really challenge ourselves and cast aside all preconceptions of how a destination should appear in the digital world.” the site claims to have “broken away from traditional online conventions.”
The concept known as FABRIC, listens to the web and collects together relevant information from social media feeds and other sources about what to do and discover in Manchester.
The site was put together at a first year cost of £90,000 and that cost will no doubt be a concern to a city which will come under pressure in the next few months to cut costs in its public sector.
Marketing Manchester though believes that it plays a crucial role in attracting people from outside the North West on a national and international scale into the city centre,bringing the tourist pound into the city’s coffers.Yet it has also to play a part in promoting Greater Manchester as a whole.
Nick Johnson,chairman of Marketing Manchester says the site should engage both visitors and residents of the city.
One of the criticisms of the old site was its continued focus on the city centre.However Inside the M60 was assured that as the new site develops it will aim to encompass parts of the conurbation that are currently ignored both by content and engaging with local writers in producing that content.
You can see a short You Tube clip of the launch here
[...] another write up about the event by Nigel Barlow, co-founder of Inside The M60, Manchester’s new hyper local [...]