An Otley company has been picked by the government to help encourage more small tourism businesses to trade online.

The Classic Car Group offers classic and sports cars for self drive hire.

Nearly three quarters of its business comes in via its web site.

The government campaign, which is called Go For It, uses the firm in a promotional video to show other companies what can be achieved.

Nick Hewitt, operations director for the firm, said: "We are delighted to be involved in this as the more online development which takes place in the tourism industry, the greater the interest from visitors. More than 70 per cent of our customers now come through our web site.

"This has directly contributed to the increase in bookings by 100 per cent, the investment for which we recovered 40 times over.

"We now attract guests from around the world who can view the cars simply by the click of a mouse and then enjoy their holiday in the UK in a unique and exciting way."

Bill Wells, a UK online for business adviser and tourism expert, added: "The tourism industry was hit hard by the impact of foot and mouth last year and September 11, as a result it is now more important than ever for companies to grasp all the opportunities available to them.

"The Go For It campaign shows companies just what can be achieved by developing an online side to business, even if its a simple one page web site which allows you to market your business more widely. This can reap major rewards as Classic Car Group demonstrates."

For further information on how the web can help your business develop go to

www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk.