Australia
Internet vital to Aussie tourists
Every second Australian holiday is planned using the web, although some travellers still baulk at paying over the internet, new figures show.
Research conducted by Tourism Research Australia shows at least 50 per cent of travellers plan their accommodation and transport on the internet, whether it be through a search engine, government website or a last minute booking site.
The study showed the internet was most popular when planning transport to a destination (58 per cent), accommodation (51 per cent) and transport from a destination (50 per cent).
But when it came to paying for tourism services only about 14 per cent of travellers paid online, instead choosing to pay over the phone (18 per cent), at their final destination (27 per cent), or a variety of other means.
The study also found tourism operators were over-spending on marketing through hotels, when 83 per cent of bookings are made pre-arrival.
The study, commissioned to investigate how travellers book their holidays, involved more than 1300 interviews with travel businesses and tourists in Queensland.
theage.com.au
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