In April this year, the Board of VisitEngland decided that the organisation would withdraw its financial and operational support for the EnglandNet platform by 30th September 2011.

This decision was taken against the background of the 34% cut in budget (over four years) sustained by VisitEngland following the Government’s public spending review and the ring-fencing of a significant proportion of the public funding received by the organisation to support the specific objectives it has been given.  In addition VisitEngland’s Board took account of the significant increase in recent years in the breadth and depth of product (including SME businesses) which is promoted through private sector product search and booking services.

The product search services on VisitEngland’s consumer websites (structured content covering accommodation establishments, places to visit and events information) are currently provided via the EnglandNet platform. VisitEngland will continue to provide the EnglandNet product searches, in their current form and with their current functionality, on its consumer websites for the time being. To enable VisitEngland to complete its withdrawal of financial and operational support for the broader platform as planned however, the EnglandNet Polling Service, which enables consumers to compare the availability and pricing of accommodation from booking services and to book it through those services, will be withdrawn from VisitEngland’s consumer websites on 30th September 2011. Provider contact details, including telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and website URLs, will continue to be shown as part of the product search results and information, to enable direct bookings to be completed.

VisitEngland believes that this arrangement, which will allow the withdrawal of VisitEngland’s financial and operational support for the broader EnglandNet platform to be completed as planned by 30th September 2011, will ensure that users of our websites continue to benefit from access to quality assured accommodation and our National Quality Assurance Scheme participants can continue to receive the full benefit of promotion through VisitEngland’s consumer websites until the end of the current participation period on 31st March 2012.