The initiative has been introduced by Holywood Chamber of Commerce and created by local business, JohnsonWestco, using both drone technology and 360-degree VR photography.

The digital tour commences with a 360-degree birds-eye view of the Co Down village, allowing the user to move between 11 drones to view the entire town as if in the sky.  It also allows full zoom-in access with an option to enter the shops in a first-hand immersive experience, virtually placing them in the picture, allowing exploration of the location.

Holywood Chamber of Commerce, whose mission it is to promote the business interests of Holywood town and the surrounding areas, say they feel the project will help put them on the map both locally and internationally.

Leslie Waite, Joint President of Holywood Chamber of Commerce, and owner of Hannah’s Florist, said: “As a business owner in Holywood for over 52 years, I am really excited about this new technology which will really help us shout about just how amazing Holywood is to visit, shop and do business in.

“The drone footage and photography are second-to-none and really brings our town to life showing everything from the beautiful seafront, historical points of interest, to public transport links, parking, to the 70+ independent shops spanning everything from ladies clothing boutiques, to silversmiths, award-winning restaurants and the many delicious coffee shops and delicatessens.”

The Holywood Virtual Tour is accessible via smart phone, tablet, computer or VR headset, and the different businesses featured can embed the link to the tour within their own website and social media channels.

Call-out tags have been placed throughout the Tour which give further details about an individual business’s product or service, allowing a photo gallery, digital brochure, voucher or menus to be uploaded, linking to external websites or E-commerce store.

David Johnson, co-owner of JohnsonWestCo said: “We are over the moon to be finally launching Holywood’s Virtual Tour after many months of planning and hard work.

“The technology will not only help tourism, but it will also help boost sales and footfall as it allows potential visitors to get a glimpse of what’s on offer before they embark on a trip. It also allows businesses to link their own E-commerce websites to the tour, boosting sales internationally.”

Susi Diesel, Co-President of Holywood Chamber and Manager of Camphill Coffee Shop, said: “We are delighted that Holywood is the first to invest in this technology – it is such a unique town, rich in both history, character and culture and made up of so many different amazing independent businesses that allow visitors to get a real-life glimpse onto the High Street and the surrounding areas.”

Susi concluded: “35 businesses have already signed up to the project, with more being added weekly. We urge anyone who hasn’t signed up yet to get in touch as the more businesses we have listed, the more it offers the viewer.”

Visit www.holywoodchamber.co.uk for further details on the Holywood Virtual Tour.

Caption: Leslie Waite, Co-President of Belfast Chamber with David Johnson, co-owner of JohnsonWestCo, and Susi Diesel, Co-President of Holywood Chamber, pictured launching the Holywood Virtual Tour.

The post Holywood Chamber Launches First Ever Virtual Reality Tour first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Voice For Locals, which was awarded £1.82m by the UK Community Renewal Fund, offers micro and small businesses a range of free skills, marketing, and other services to aid their business’ recovery.

The team has digitised more than 230 local firms across Northern Ireland in the last 30 days and 71% of business owners have introduced new innovative processes to their ways of working.

Following the recent success of transforming St George’s Market in Belfast to online trading, Voice For Locals is all set to level up local businesses in high streets and markets in collaboration with local councils, town management, enterprise agencies and chambers of commerce.

Newtownards Chamber of Trade provides professional advice and gives a voice to the business sector in the local area.

In 2019, Newtownards was recognised at the Great British High Street Awards, winning the Champion Award category for Northern Ireland.

Welcoming the initiative Derek Wright, President of the Newtownards Chamber of Trade and a business owner in the town, said: “The Chamber is delighted to welcome Voice For Locals to Newtownards to help micro and small businesses recover, rebuild, and rebound post pandemic. Newtownards is a thriving market town, and we are proud to be one of the high streets that is succeeding and influencing change across the UK, as reflected in our recent Great British High Street award win. However, our members are facing a perfect storm of challenges including energy hikes, labour shortages, National Insurance increases and Covid-19.

“Newtownards boasts a wide variety of shops, many of them independently owned and I would encourage all local businesses to avail of this opportunity. As a local business owner, I have registered for the initiative, and it takes less than ten minutes to sign up.  I am confident Voice For Locals allows business owners to increase their visibility and credibility, and boost profitability to mitigate growing costs.”

Jay Thattai, Founder and Steering Authority at Voice For Locals, said: “We are looking forward to working in partnership with Newtownards Chamber. There are so many synergies and collective efforts yield better results than individual efforts.

“The membership organisation is a priceless asset to the local business community, helping it navigate some of the hardest times the high street has ever faced. The Chamber’s objectives align perfectly with ours in that it wants to support local businesses and help them rebuild and recover.

“We provide the digital tools for data driven business decisions and enable business owners to go digital with mobile apps, get marketed locally, get certified with e-learning courses endorsed by City & Guilds, and avail of personalised business and technology advice, to build a self-reliant economy in the wake of the pandemic.

“It also has a busy market on a Saturday, and we will help traders, who typically rely on in-person footfall, to extend their services online and tap into the world of e-commerce through our ‘Times are Changing’ campaign.

“The levelling up initiative has been designed to address a number of challenges. At a local level, it allows engagement with a broader audience, on a more consistent basis, thanks to the Voice For Locals digital directory of all rated businesses across Northern Ireland, ni.voiceforlocals.co.uk. Meanwhile, with an expanded digital presence, local businesses can now tap into rest of the UK, Europe and world markets that would have otherwise been unattainable.”

Mr Thattai added: “Each business will have a dedicated landing page with a business description, an enquiry button to generate leads, and pictures and videos featured in the Voice For Locals NI directory. Business owners will be given the tools to collect genuine customer ratings and reviews which will reflect online automatically, encouraging online shoppers to shop locally with confidence.

“This is a personalised small business success programme. A dedicated team is in place to provide mentoring until the business owners become self-reliant. It is completely free and fully funded by the UK Government. The consortium, which includes firms Unloc Limited and TieTa UK, hopes to support even more businesses in Newtownards as they navigate recovery post pandemic.”

The consortium’s tender win for the project makes it the recipient of the fifth largest grant in the UK and the largest in Northern Ireland. Unloc will provide the technology, marketing, and skills development element of the offering while TieTa will offer business and technical support. The team is working closely with City & Guilds to gain recognition for e-learning programs delivered to local businesses throughout the scheme’s duration.

This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund. For further information log on to voiceforlocals.co.uk

06 + 30 +52 Derek Wright, President of the Newtownards Chamber of Trade and Jay Thattai, Founder and Steering Authority at Voice For Locals.

09 Derek Wright, President of the Newtownards Chamber of Trade; Tim McKane, Voice for Locals and Jay Thattai, Founder and Steering Authority at Voice For Locals.

50 Jay Thattai, Founder and Steering Authority at Voice For Locals and Derek Wright, President of the Newtownards Chamber of Trade.

The post Newtownards Chamber of Trade announces partnership with Voice For Locals first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The trade body has also urged immediate all-party talks post-election to agree a Programme for Government and form an Executive.

New Ambition has four key sections, Improving Government, Tackling the Cost of Business Crisis, Modern Infrastructure and Better Planning and Addressing the Climate Crisis.

Retail NI President Peter McBride said: “Launching our New Ambition report in Omagh signals Retail NI’s commitment to campaign for a better deal for our rural towns and villages from Government. A top priority in our report is establishing a Rural Town and Village Infrastructure investment fund to ensure our small and mid-sized town are not left behind.

“Our members want to see a new Executive hit the ground running with a radical Programme for Government and a plan to address the Cost of Living Crisis.”

Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “These Elections are not about the Protocol. They are about who is best placed to deliver real change in policy and address the huge challenges that face our economy.

“Following the Election, the parties should have immediate discussions on agreeing a Programme for Government and forming an Executive. Not having an Executive in place during a Cost-of-Living Crisis is and would be utterly irresponsible.

“Retail NI members are facing a perfect storm of challenges from energy hikes, labour shortages, National Insurance increases and Covid-19 recovery. We are not just dealing with a cost-of-living crisis, we are also facing a cost of business crisis too.

“Our New Ambition report outlines the need for urgent action from the next Economy Minister to establish and Chair a Cost of Doing Business Taskforce to ensure a comprehensive package of measures is produced by late June.

“We also want to see the current business rates holiday extended until January 2023 to alleviate some of the pressure on business.

“With the review of Invest NI ongoing, Retail NI wants to see the Executive create a new Small Business Champion to head a new agency which will focus on micro and small business development and be a ‘one stop shop’ for those seeking to start up on their own.

“We have also put forward plans for a radical reform of Business Rates rates relief to enable businesses to bring forward new investment, create jobs and Green technology.

“Retail NI wants to see the NI High Street Taskforce recommendations implemented in full and with new Executive established immediately implement the five-year High Reconstruction plan.”

Caption: Retail NI President Peter McBride launching the New Ambition Report in Omagh with local Chamber President Colm Broderick and Retail NI CEO Glyn Roberts.

The post Retail NI launch New Ambition plan for next Assembly first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.