developed and
supplied by Kingswood MapMechanics, the specialist in geographic information systems. These resources are built round GeoConcept Internet Server (GCIS), the Internet-enabled version of the leading GIS product, and include a range of digital map datasets that Kingswood MapMechanics has provided from the AA, Ordnance Survey and NAVTECH.
World.Net is one of the world leaders in e-business and Internet solutions. Having made its name in products such as online travel booking systems, the company has more recently also become pre-eminent in destination management systems. Often this work involves developing complete promotional Web sites for regional tourist authorities and similar bodies. Major clients in the UK include Wales Tourist Board, Yorkshire Tourist Board, Scotland On Line TravelScotland.co.uk, Marketing Birmingham and Lincolnshire Tourism.
Several clients wanted to offer people who run facilities such as hotels and boarding houses the opportunity to “self-register” their premises through an extranet (a secure Web site). The idea is that the premises can then be displayed on maps that tourists can call up through the authority’s public Web site.
Historically, with this type of application the accepted way to position facilities on digital maps has been to derive their grid references from postcodes. But since UK unit postcodes can sometimes cover a fairly wide area, this approach does not always place the location on the right street; and some outdoor tourist attractions may have no postcode. So tourists may be frustrated when they reach their destination, and their hotel turns out not to be where the map suggests it is; and the system may not cater for attractions without postcodes.
Using GeoConcept GIS, the providers of these facilities can access a Web site developed for the organisation by World.Net, and simply click on an interactive map to indicate the precise location of their premises. GCIS then works out the grid reference, and uses this to position the premises when tourists later call up the map.
A notable attraction of this system is the way it can be applied to places that have no postcode, such as public footpaths, locations for hiking, riding and water sports, and areas of natural beauty. A tourist authority or the attraction operator can simply use the interactive facility to pinpoint the location in question.
The location-finding facility is just one of a range of capabilities provided to World.Net by Kingswood MapMechanics. Users can also to pan around the map and zoom out to see their target facility in its general setting, or zoom in to see a street plan of the locality.
For users such as Wales Tourist Board, World.Net also delivers mapping related to local events. Here GCIS has to link data about the events to a specific grid reference. Users can then book online at many of the facilities listed on the site.
According to World.Net’s commercial director, Jamie Norriss: “The mapping capability adds a layer of rich contextual detail to the product, which enhances the appeal for users.”
The data supplied by Kingswood MapMechanics includes AA 1:200,000 vector and raster data of Great Britain plus gazetteer; Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 map data; NAVTECH and Andes street-level vector and raster data; and boundary data compiled by Kingswood MapMechanics from various sources.
For the Wales Tourist Board Authority Kingswood MapMechanics has supplied Capscan’s Zapcode address lookup system, which is used in a call centre to find addresses from postcodes.
World.Net is based in Australia, but has a UK office and has developed a range of solutions specifically for the European market. Development work is mostly done at its head office and its production offices in Kuala Lumpur, but its UK solution is hosted locally.
The Wales Tourist Board Authority contract alone is a major one valued at 2.7 million Australian dollars. Current projects include the development of a Web site s for Nottinghamshire and Limburg h in Belgium and work for other UK regional T t ourism organisations.
Back at home, the World.Net’s clients include the Australian Tourist Commission major T t ourism R r egions such as the Gold Coast, for which it has developed an extensive Web site, . It also has and an extensive list for of travel and tourism companies and organisations using its travel booking and e-business products . T hese include organisations , including organisations in Australia and in the USA, Europe Australia, New Zealand and the Far East, where the US and Europe. World.Net recently developed a p ortal site for a Japanese cable communications company.
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