VisitBritain is the national tourism agency, promoting Britain worldwide as a travel destination. Their e-commerce platform, VisitBritainShop, sells attractions, tours, and travel products to international visitors. We helped design and implement a MACH architecture (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) that gives them the flexibility to adapt quickly to market demands.
The Challenge
The existing approach made it hard to add new frontends or channels without duplicating logic. There was no consistent API across multiple experiences, and iterating on content and commerce separately was difficult.
VisitBritain needed a more composable architecture — one that could feed multiple frontends, support new experiences, and integrate with a headless CMS without being locked into a single monolith.
Our Approach
We designed and built Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) services that sit between the underlying microservices and the frontends. This layer simplifies data access, provides optimised APIs for each frontend's needs, and hides the complexity of the underlying systems.
What We Delivered
- BFF services orchestrating calls to underlying microservices with frontend-friendly APIs
- Multiple React and Vue frontends tailored to different customer journeys
- Headless WordPress integration for content, decoupled from presentation
- Serverless components and comprehensive test suites for reliability
The architecture gives VisitBritain the flexibility to launch new campaigns, add new channels, or evolve the platform without rewriting core systems.
How We Built It
We implemented the “Backend-for-Frontend” (BFF) pattern, a key component of modern composable architectures. This orchestration layer aggregates data from various underlying systems—commerce engines, content repositories, and booking systems—and delivers it in the exact format each digital experience requires.
This decoupling allowed us to deploy specialised storefronts optimised for different visitor journeys, without being constrained by a monolithic backend. We integrated a best-in-class headless CMS, enabling marketing teams to create rich, immersive content that blends seamlessly with transactional elements.
The entire platform is cloud-native and auto-scaling, ensuring it can handle the massive traffic spikes associated with global marketing campaigns. Comprehensive automated testing ensures that new features can be released rapidly and confidently, keeping VisitBritain at the forefront of digital tourism.
The Results
The new platform gave VisitBritain a flexible, composable architecture ready for the demands of modern tourism marketing.
Outcomes
- Flexible architecture supporting new frontends and campaigns without core changes
- Cleaner separation between content, commerce, and presentation
- Foundation for future channels including native apps and partner experiences
- Multiple frontend technologies coexisting with shared backend services
- Robust testing ensuring reliability for high-stakes tourism campaigns
Why It Matters
Tourism is seasonal and campaign-driven. Stratatech helped VisitBritain build a platform that can adapt quickly, while keeping the underlying architecture robust and maintainable. When you need to launch a new campaign or experience in weeks rather than months, having the right architecture makes all the difference.