Online Distribution:

1

Online Distribution Attracting better business
from the online world
2
Event Listing on visitvictoria

• Free
• Great way to promote your events and have the VIC
  as a call to action
• Fact sheets available

3
How do international leisure visitors to Victoria
plan their trip online?
Base Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria Source
International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research
Australia, 2003-2007
4
Where do international leisure visitors get their
information from?
Base Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria Source
International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research
Australia, 2007
5
Where do interstate leisure visitors get their
information from?
Note Multiple response questionBase Interstate
Holiday / VFR Visitors to Victoria Source
National Visitor Survey, Tourism Research
Australia, 2007
6
Percentage of interstate visitors who booked a
part of their trip online
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
7
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 worlds population, an estimated 1.3
  billion people, use the internet.
• There are over 365 million broadband users
  globally (over 15 times Australias 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

Source Etcnewmedia.com/review
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Top 10 uses of the internet in Australia
Nielsen Online 10th Australian Internet and
Technology Report, March 2008
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Internet Trends Have Evolved
End of 2005 74 online 53 broadband
End of 2006 79 online 74 broadband
End of 1997 19 online 0 broadband
End of 2007 80 online 84 broadband
End of 2008 86 online 97 broadband
Source The Australian Internet and Tech Report
The Nielsen Company, 2009
10
Average hours per week online
2.4 hrs
- 0.4 hr
- 1.1 hrs
Sample Aust. Internet users aged 16 (2008
n1,956)
Source The Australian Internet and Tech Report
The Nielsen Company, 2009
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Services most used
Q Which of the following services do you
regularly use or intend to use in the next 12
months?
(n1446)
Source The Australian Internet and Tech Report
The Nielsen Company, 2009
12
Top Activities of Expected Growth
Q Which of the following services do you
regularly use or intend to use in the next 12
months?
Sample Aust. Internet users aged 16 (n1446)
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Online technology was recognised as a key
component of the Governments 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
• to encourage regional tourism businesses to adopt
  increased use of the internet and emerging
  technologies for both online marketing and direct
  online booking, and
• provide an opportunity to achieve increased
  online bookings through the establishment of
  improved linkages between private sector booking
  systems and Tourism Victorias 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 Victorias 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, VICs 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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Tourism Exchange Australia (TXA)

• TXA combines
• tourism listings from the Australian Tourism Data
  Warehouses (ATDW) national database and
• Open Booking Exchange (OBX) technology developed
  by V3
• to deliver online, real-time bookable Australian
  tourism products to consumers via ATDWs licensed
  distributors
• An operator must have a listing on visitvictoria
  to be part of TXA
• TXA incorporates inventory and pricing from
  multiple booking systems and then distributes it
  widely.
• The TXA offers VICs and operators the opportunity
  to increase their sales and provide consumers
  with the ability to source high quality tourism
  content and book it securely online.

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Tourism Exchange AustraliaTourism Victoria is
using the nationally approved model
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How it can work in Victoria?
Customers
Distribution (Marketing)
GOT Website
State Websites
VIC
Commercial Websites
Wholesalers
Tourism Exchange Australia
ATDW
Open Booking Exchange (OBX)
Operators
ProductProviders
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What does this mean for the VICs in Victoria

• VICs are an important part of the distribution
  chain
• They provide a valuable service to the consumer
  and local operators
• They are important in the drive and mice market
  and provide last minute bookings for consumers
• TXA gives VICs that are connected the ability to
  sell in real time
• VICs can access operators outside their region
  and provide improved customer service

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Bookeasy integration

• Bookeasy via its parent company Roamfree is
  currently integrating to TXA, this means
• Improved business processes
• Reduction in on-costs phone calls etc
• Access to a larger inventory pool
• New revenue opportunities

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Bookeasy integration

• There is no change in commission earned by VICs
  using the TXA compared to the existing scenario
• The TXA does not charge VICs at all.
• Operators pay the TXA fee
• Through the TXA, the VIC retains all commission
  charged (less any fee charged by BookEasy).
• Through TXA, VICs retain access to their existing
  inventory whilst gaining access to an increased
  amount of inventory through TXA. This leads to
  increased revenue earning opportunities.

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Where to From Here

• Training will be available for all operators
  interested in Tourism Exchange Australia
• Tourism Exchange Australia negotiating with
  retail and supply partners
• Visitvictoria.com connection to Tourism Exchange
  Australia expected within the next few months.
• A VIC working party has been established to
  develop a best practice model in Victoria for the
  VICs.

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Panel

• Paul Cooper- Tourism Victoria
• Wendy Smith ATDW/TXA
• Andrew Lane V3
• Chris Telenta - BookEasy

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Working Party

• Representatives
• Kathryn McKenzie and Viv Collins
• Laurence Schulz and Nellie Rouse
• Stephen Pykett
• Mick Cosgriff
• Paul Cooper
• Email paul.cooper_at_tourism.vic.gov.au