Masterclass 2008 Online Distribution: Attracting better business from the online world

How do international leisure visitors to Victoria plan their trip online? 2 Base: Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria Source: International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia,

Where do international leisure visitors get their information from? 3 Base: Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria Source: International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, 2007

4 Where do interstate leisure visitors get their information from? Note: Multiple response question Base: Interstate Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria Source: National Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, 2007

Percentage of interstate visitors who booked a part of their trip online 5 Note: Multiple response question Base: Interstate Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria, who used the internet to book their trip. Source: National Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, 2007

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 6 Source: Etcnewmedia.com/review

Top 10 uses of the internet in Australia 7 Nielsen Online: 10 th 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 8

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 9

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 10

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. 11

How it can work in Victoria? 12 Customers Distribution (Marketing) Tourism Exchange Australia Product Providers State Websites Visitor Centres Regional Websites Commercial Websites Wholesalers ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX) AOT VICsOperators

What about the training and education? 13 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? 14 ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX)

What about the training and education? 15 ATDW Open Booking Exchange (OBX)

What about the training and education? 16 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 Mobile