the ask

As the ever-evolving conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic threatened Ireland's tourism industry, Fáilte Ireland began rolling out a tailored suite of supports for struggling tourism and hospitality businesses. Central to this resource was the launch of the COVID-19 Business Support Hub, containing practical webinars, advice guides and information on Government support schemes and funding programmes.

With adaptability and accessibility as top priorities, Fáilte Ireland required a site that could evolve as the impact of the pandemic unfolded to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of the audience.

The new, dedicated site would be purpose-built from scratch and designed to host a variety of multimedia. The goal was to create a site that would be easy to use for a variety of visitors and that would become a hub for all news, advice and resources relating to COVID-19’s impact on tourism.

In times of crisis, clarity and accuracy of content is essential to help deliver the trustworthy information people depend on. By creating a one-stop shop for all tourism-related COVID-19 news and resources, Fáilte Ireland could help the sector navigate an unprecedented storm.

the answer

Speed and careful planning was crucial here. In consultation with Fáilte Ireland, ALHAUS helped to review recommendations from hundreds of tourism businesses across the country about the type of support most urgently needed. User experience was key to the project, so we worked closely with developers to ensure the CMS was equipped to handle evolving content.

From the start, ALHAUS established a reassuring tone of voice for this project, ensuring that all copy was written in a style that conveyed confidence, clarity and authority to those seeking advice in troubling times.

Our strategy for upload and content creation focused on 13 key tourism business types (for example, hotels, restaurants, spas and visitor attractions) — each required its own dedicated section containing sector-specific resources. To ensure content could be accessed quickly and easily, we further split content into three headings: Business Supports, Operational Supports and Government Supports, each accessible straight from the homepage.

Throughout the build phase, we worked closely with client and developer to ensure that the website's navigation was user-friendly and intuitive. We met tight deadlines, proposed ideas and provided both back-end and front-end testing support. On an ongoing basis, ALHAUS continues to upload and manage COVID-19 Business Support Hub content and 'living documents', always with an eye on attention to detail and coherence.

The impact

Today, the COVID-19 Business Support Hub is a comprehensive and well-known support tool for the Irish tourism industry. Regularly updated with fresh content, it receives a high volume of traffic and is regarded as the foremost source of trustworthy information on tourism-related Government support. As the health crisis evolves, ALHAUS will continue to update essential content and add vital new resources to help support its audience.