Masterclass 2008

Online Distribution:Attracting better business from the online world

How do international leisure visitors to Victoria plan their trip online?

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Base: Holiday / VFR Visitors to VictoriaSource: International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, 2003-2007

Where do international leisure visitors get their information from?

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Base: Holiday / VFR Visitors to VictoriaSource: International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, 2007

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53%

25%23% 21%

7%4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2%

Internet Friends/relatives

Past Visit

None ofthese

Travelbooks

Airline MotoringAssoc

Tourist of f ice

Travelagent

Other Media Workmate

Where do interstate leisure visitors get their information from?

Note: Multiple response questionBase: Interstate Holiday / VFR Visitors to VictoriaSource: National Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, 2007

Percentage of interstate visitors who booked a part of their trip online

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Note: Multiple response questionBase: Interstate Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria, who used the internet to book their trip.Source: National Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, 2007

74%

42%

9%6% 3% 1% 3%

Airfare Accommodation Rental Car Entertainment & Dining

Other transport

Attractions Other

Internet use and travel in context

• Over 70% of US internet users named the web as their primary source for travel research

• In the UK, the internet is the most popular way to research and book holidays.

• 20% of the world’s population, an estimated 1.3 billion people, use the internet.

• There are over 365 million broadband users globally (over 15 times Australia’s population)

• More than half of internet users in France book their travel online

• Australia is in the Top 20 countries of internet users (15.5 million users in March 2008)

• The amount of time Australians are spending online surpassed the amount of time watching television

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Source: Etcnewmedia.com/review

Top 10 uses of the internet in Australia

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Nielsen Online: 10th Australian Internet and Technology Report, March 2008

Online technology was recognised as a key component of the Government’s ten year Tourism and Events Industry Strategy.

• Tourism Victoria has developed a program to assist tourism businesses to attract visitors through the internet and emerging technologies.

• The programs two key components are:

1. to encourage regional tourism businesses to adopt increased use of the internet and emerging technologies for both online marketing and direct online booking, and

2. provide an opportunity to achieve increased online bookings through the establishment of improved linkages between private sector booking systems and Tourism Victoria’s visitvictoria.com and visitmelbourne.com

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The key objectives of the program

• Increase the number of Victorian tourism operators marketing and selling online

• Increase the capacity of Victoria's tourism industry to utilise online marketing and business practices

• Introduce improved online booking capacity to Tourism Victoria’s visitvictoria.com and visitmelbourne.com consumer websites

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Strategies

• Appoint a manager to produce and deliver a training and education program

• Work closely with Campaign Committees, VIC’s and industry associations in developing the program

• Research current trends on website presence, availability options and comparisons with similar sized regions

• De-mystify the online confusion for small to medium operators

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Online booking: the current state of play

• Silos of inventory – operators and inventory owners needs to maintain availability and pricing on multiple booking systems.

• Frustrating user experience – customers must search across multiple sites to find and book tourism products.

• This equals greater inefficiencies for inventory owners and sub-standard consumer adoption of online booking.

• The solution is a standardised, national approach that connects booking systems together: Tourism Exchange Australia.

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How it can work in Victoria?

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Customers

Distribution(Marketing)

TourismExchangeAustralia

ProductProviders

State Websites

Visitor Centres

Regional Websites

Commercial Websites

Wholesalers

ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX)

AOT VICs Operators

What about the training and education?

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ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX)

•Tourism e-kit – 37 Tutorials planning for success, search engine optimisation, online marketing, finding a good web professional, domain names, design and content, content management system, hosting, images, security, social media, blogging, podcasting, Google tools, online booking systems, tracking and reporting.

What about the training and education?

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ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX)

What about the training and education?

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ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX)

What about the training and education?

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ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX)

•Regional training sessions

•Videos guides

•Mentor program

•Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

•Frequently Asked Questions

Where to From Here

Contact me:

Paul Cooper

Manager Online Training and Distribution

Tourism Victoria

paul.cooper@tourism.vic.gov.au

Mobile 0407 548 839

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