"With only two part-time staff to manage each of our centres - that's four people at 27½ hours - and each centre open for 42 hours per week, our time is at a premium.

"We found that Sally structures her training sessions so well, and makes it all so easy to understand, that our staff, even those who had never used computers before, were comfortable about using it straight away.

"The result is that one of my main reasons for installing CTV's DMS - to save time - has proved 100% successful.

George has been fortunate in obtaining funding for the new system, firstly with a grant from the Single Regeneration Budget for Worksop TIC, which was applied for by the local council nearly six years ago.
Later, further funding was obtained from the Pride Initiative, so that Retford TIC could also be included on the network.

When George knew that the local council's efforts had been successful, and that the budget would be available, he looked at various Destination Management Systems, including TIM4 from CTV, which he saw originally at British Travel Trade Fair in 1999.

George said: "I looked into the alternatives very carefully before making my recommendation to the council."

"While there are many different systems on the market, I felt that CTV's unique approach, which combines practical solutions, an extensive range of sophisticated modules and a user-friendly interface, would work best for us."

"We have learnt that when people call for brochures, all we need to do is ask for their name and postcode, which brings all the street & town details up on the screen. After that, we just add the house number, and the job's done - there's no need to write out envelopes by hand

"Later on, at staff crossover time or at the end of the day, we can just print out the labels and get the brochures sent off.

"Another terrific time-saver is the BR Journey Planner. It used to take around 20 minutes just to look up the details in the timetables for our customers when they wanted to work out how to get from A to B, but now we simply key in the request and the answer's produced in a flash."

As well as speed, George is finding that the instant access to the TRIPS database, which is updated regularly by CTV, is a big bonus.

"People coming in asking for details of national events or attractions are now going away absolutely delighted because they've got a printed sheet with times - dates - admission price - contact details - all they need to know, and this can cover any event, anywhere in the country."

"In addition, Sally has shown us how to enter records of our own."

"Alton Towers, for instance, is not a member of the tourist board, but as a neighbour, and one of the UK's biggest attractions, it's one we're often asked about!"

George also finds that the statistical information he can obtain at the touch of a key is invaluable.

"I can interrogate the system to find out where our requests mainly come from, so that I can get the information out for the Council."

"For example, I can see how many requests we get from each postcode area and then, when we get calls asking us to advertise, we can simply look up the data and see at once whether or not we get a worthwhile number of visitors from that region, which would justify the cost of advertising."

The VisitIT mat counter, which delivers its statistics broken down into half-hour segments, is also proving its worth in helping to plan staffing levels.

George explains: "Retford centre opened ten years ago, with two part-time staff, and in 1989 had 9,500 visitors."

"Last year, we had 58,000 visitors, which were handled by the same number of staff - I have been asking for extra funding so that we can take on more staff to cover our particularly busy times of day, and now I can prove the need!"

"It's a great tool!"

Now George is spreading the word about TIM4 to his neighbours: already several other Tourism Managers, looking to introduce new technology, have been over to look at the CTV Destination Management System.

"I feel it would help if all the other local centres were connected through the same CTV network, so that we can share information and help each other along."

"I'm also looking to make more contact with accommodation providers, to let them know we've got this new software. If they keep us informed, we can help them fill their rooms."

"That's the sort of thing CTV can help us network through their new Call Centre system, since it updates availability automatically."

Even the CTV National Helpline comes in for praise from George.

"Since it's often Sally on the Helpline, when they have problems our staff recognise her friendly manner and clear explanations and they can usually sort their problems out quite easily over the 'phone."

"But if not, with remote access software, CTV's operators simply dial in to our system, and clear any errors we might have made, just as if there was someone on the spot."

"All in all, I couldn't be more pleased with our investment. CTV's TIM4 has proved absolutely ideal for us so far, and I know that there is far more to the system which we haven't even begun to explore yet."

"As time goes on and we expand our use of TIM4, I'm aware that the other aspects of this system will assist with more and more of the day-to-day administration of our busy centres, leaving our staff more time to deal with our lifeblood, the customers: our visitors."