TOURISM OPERATORS’ DIGITAL UPTAKE BENCHMARK SURVEY …

TOURISM OPERATORS’ DIGITAL UPTAKE BENCHMARK SURVEY 2013

RESEARCH REPORT

Project Team: Dr. Nina Mistilis, University of New South Wales Associate Professor Ulrike Gretzel, University of Wollongong

June 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................................................................. 6 3. PROFILE OF SAMPLE .................................................................................................................................................................. 7

3.1 RESPONDENT DETAILS .................................................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 BUSINESS/ORGANISATION DETAILS ............................................................................................................................... 7

3.2.1 Main Office Location in Australia .............................................................................................................................. 7 3.2.2 Tourism Industry Sector ............................................................................................................................................ 8 3.2.3 Accommodation Sector ............................................................................................................................................. 9 3.2.4 Type of Organisation ................................................................................................................................................. 9 3.2.5 Size of Organisation ................................................................................................................................................. 10

4 KEY FINDINGS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11 4.1 ONLINE PRESENCE ........................................................................................................................................................ 11

4.1.1 Email Address .......................................................................................................................................................... 11 4.1.2 Representation on Any Other Parties’ Websites ..................................................................................................... 12 4.1.3 Own Website ........................................................................................................................................................... 13 4.1.4 Why organisation Has No Website .......................................................................................................................... 14

4.2 WEBSITE ADOPTION AND MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................... 15 4.2.1 Features on Website ................................................................................................................................................ 15 4.2.2 Website Optimisation for Viewing on Mobile Devices ............................................................................................ 16 4.2.3 Use of Organic Search Engine Optimisation ............................................................................................................ 17 4.2.4 Use of Paid Online Services to Drive Traffic to Website .......................................................................................... 18 4.2.5 Website Performance Measurement ...................................................................................................................... 19 4.2.6 Website Traffic Referrals ......................................................................................................................................... 20 4.2.7 Percentage of Mobile Users .................................................................................................................................... 21 4.2.8 Website Maintenance ............................................................................................................................................. 22

4.3 ONLINE DISTRIBUTION.................................................................................................................................................. 23 4.3.1 Takes Bookings ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 4.3.2 Email Booking Requests from Own Website ............................................................................................................ 24 4.3.3 Ability to Check Availability and Price...................................................................................................................... 25 4.3.4 Instant Confirmation Booking .................................................................................................................................. 25 4.3.5 Online Payments ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 4.3.6 Instant Online Confirmation Bookings through Other Parties ................................................................................. 26 4.3.7 Online Payments through Other Parties .................................................................................................................. 27 4.3.8 Reasons for Not Offering Instant Booking on Own Website ................................................................................... 28

4.4 SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE ......................................................................................................................................... 29 4.4.1 Official Presence on Social Media Sites ................................................................................................................... 29 4.4.2 Social Media Site Updates ....................................................................................................................................... 30 4.4.3 Reasons for No Social Media Presence .................................................................................................................... 31 4.4.4 Social Media Monitoring ......................................................................................................................................... 31 4.4.5 Have a Company Blog .............................................................................................................................................. 33 4.4.6 Have a Mobile App .................................................................................................................................................. 33

5 COMPARISONS ........................................................................................................................................................................ 35 5.1 COMPARISONS BY DATA SOURCE ................................................................................................................................. 35 5.2 COMPARISON BY INDUSTRY SECTOR ............................................................................................................................ 38 5.3 COMPARISON OF 2010 AND 2013 FINDINGS ............................................................................................................... 41

6 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 42 6.1 DIGITAL CAPABILITY SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 42 6.2 EXTENDING UPTAKE AND ENHANCING CAPABILITY ..................................................................................................... 42 6.2.1 Extend Industry Reach to Dining Sector ....................................................................................................................... 43 6.2.2 Web Presence Update and Website Enhancement ...................................................................................................... 43 6.2.3 More sophisticated social media use ........................................................................................................................... 44 6.2.4 Tackling mobile apps .................................................................................................................................................... 44

7 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................................ 45 APPENDIX A: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................................................... A1 APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRES ........................................................................................................................................................ B1

List of Figures FIGURE 1. PROFILE - JOB TITLE OF RESPONDENT ................................................................................................................ 7 FIGURE 2. PROFILE – MAIN OFFICE LOCATION OF TOURISM OPERATOR ................................................................................. 8 FIGURE 3. PROFILE - TOURISM INDUSTRY SECTOR .............................................................................................................. 8 FIGURE 4. PROFILE - ACCOMMODATION SECTOR ............................................................................................................... 9 FIGURE 5. PROFILE - TYPE OF ORGANISATION BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY ..................................................................... 10 FIGURE 6. PROFILE - SIZE OF ORGANISATION BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY ...................................................................... 11 FIGURE 7 OWN EMAIL ADDRESS BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY ...................................................................................... 12 FIGURE 8. OWN EMAIL ADDRESS BY ACCOMMODATION ................................................................................................... 12 FIGURE 9. OWN WEBSITE BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY ............................................................................................... 14 FIGURE 10. OWN WEBSITE BY ACCOMMODATION ........................................................................................................... 14 FIGURE 11. REASONS FOR NOT HAVING OWN WEBSITE ................................................................................................... 15 FIGURE 12. FEATURES PROVIDED ON ORGANISATION WEBSITE .......................................................................................... 16 FIGURE 13. WEBSITE OPTIMISATION FOR MOBILE DEVICES ............................................................................................... 17 FIGURE 14. USE OF ORGANIC SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION ........................................................................................... 17 FIGURE 15. USE OF PAID ONLINE SERVICES TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO WEBSITE .......................................................................... 18 FIGURE 16. TYPE OF PAID ONLINE SERVICE USED ............................................................................................................ 18 FIGURE 17. MEASURE PERFORMANCE OF WEBSITE .......................................................................................................... 19 FIGURE 18. TYPE OF SERVICE USED FOR WEBSITE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT................................................................. 19 FIGURE 19. ESTIMATED REFERRAL RATES BY CHANNEL ..................................................................................................... 20 FIGURE 20. BASIS FOR REFERRAL RATE ESTIMATE ............................................................................................................ 21 FIGURE 21. ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF USERS ACCESSING THE WEBSITE WITH A MOBILE DEVICE ........................................... 21 FIGURE 22. TYPE OF WEBSITE HOSTING AND MAINTENANCE ............................................................................................. 22 FIGURE 23. FREQUENCY OF WEBSITE UPDATES ............................................................................................................... 23 FIGURE 24. REPRESENTATION ON THIRD PARTY WEBSITES BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY .................................................... 13 FIGURE 25. REPRESENTATION ON THIRD PARTY WEBSITES BY ACCOMMODATION .................................................................. 13 FIGURE 26. TAKE BOOKINGS BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY ........................................................................................... 23 FIGURE 27. TAKE BOOKINGS BY TYPE OF ACCOMMODATION .............................................................................................. 24 FIGURE 28. TAKE EMAIL BOOKING REQUESTS FROM WEBSITE ........................................................................................... 24 FIGURE 29. POSSIBLE TO CHECK AVAILABILITY AND PRICE ON WEBSITE ................................................................................ 25 FIGURE 30. INSTANT CONFIRMATION VIA WEBSITE .......................................................................................................... 25 FIGURE 31. ONLINE PAYMENTS VIA WEBSITE .................................................................................................................. 26 FIGURE 32. FULL PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................... 26 FIGURE 33. INSTANT BOOKING THROUGH THIRD PARTY WEBSITES ..................................................................................... 27 FIGURE 34. THIRD PARTY WEBSITES PROCESS PAYMENT ................................................................................................... 27 FIGURE 35. FULL PAYMENT THROUGH THIRD PARTY WEBSITES .......................................................................................... 28 FIGURE 36. REASONS FOR NOT OFFERING INSTANT BOOKING ON WEBSITE .......................................................................... 28 FIGURE 37. SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY ............................................................................... 29 FIGURE 38. SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE BY ACCOMMODATION ............................................................................................. 29 FIGURE 39. SPECIFIC SOCIAL MEDIA USE ....................................................................................................................... 30 FIGURE 40. UPDATE FREQUENCY FOR DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA TYPES ............................................................................... 30 FIGURE 41. REASONS FOR NOT HAVING A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE ................................................................................... 31 FIGURE 42. SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING BY DATA SOURCE .............................................................................................. 32 FIGURE 43. SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING BY INDUSTRY .................................................................................................... 32 FIGURE 44. HAVE COMPANY BLOG BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY .................................................................................. 33 FIGURE 45. HAVE COMPANY BLOG BY ACCOMMODATION................................................................................................. 33 FIGURE 46. HAVE MOBILE APP BY DATA SOURCE AND INDUSTRY ....................................................................................... 34 FIGURE 47. HAVE MOBILE APP BY ACCOMMODATION ...................................................................................................... 34 FIGURE 48. BOOKING THROUGH MOBILE APP ................................................................................................................ 34

List of Tables TABLE 1. ONLINE PRESENCE INDICATORS BY DATA SOURCE ............................................................................................... 35 TABLE 2. ONLINE DISTRIBUTION INDICATORS BY DATA SOURCE .......................................................................................... 36 TABLE 3. WEBSITE MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGY INDICATORS BY DATA SOURCE .................................................................. 37 TABLE 4. ONLINE PRESENCE INDICATORS BY INDUSTRY SECTOR .......................................................................................... 38 TABLE 5. ONLINE DISTRIBUTION INDICATORS BY INDUSTRY SECTOR ..................................................................................... 39 TABLE 6. WEBSITE MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGY INDICATORS BY INDUSTRY SECTOR ............................................................. 40 TABLE 7. 2010 VS. 2013 ONLINE CAPABILITY ................................................................................................................ 41 TABLE 8. 2010 VS. 2013 WEBSITE FEATURES ................................................................................................................ 42 TABLE 9. GVA NUMBERS AND PROPORTIONS ................................................................................................................. A3 TABLE 10. INDUSTRY SECTOR PROPORTIONS TARGETED FOR THE CATI INTERVIEWS ............................................................... A3 TABLE 11. INDUSTRY SECTOR, PRODUCT TYPE AND APPROXIMATE ANZSIC CODES IN SENSIS RECORDS ..................................... A4 TABLE 12. SENSIS INDUSTRY SECTOR CLASSIFICATION VS. CLASSIFICATION ACHIEVED ............................................................. A6 TABLE 13. ONLINE SURVEY SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... A6 TABLE 14. CATI RESPONSE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... A7 TABLE 15. SAMPLE WEIGHTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ A9

Tourism Operators’ Digital Uptake Benchmark Survey 2013 for Tourism Research Australia All Research is conducted in accordance with the requirements of University of New South Wales ethics approval 136020 set out in the National Statement

on Ethical Conduct in Human Research; Q&A operate in accordance with industry standard ISO20252 procedures

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES

This report contains the findings from the 2013 benchmark survey of tourism operators’ digital uptake in Australia, commissioned by Tourism Research Australia. The project aimed:

• to measure the level of sophistication in uptake of various digital technologies and the digital distribution capability of businesses and organisations in main industry sectors associated with tourism;

• to identify gaps and trends of digital uptake and capability of businesses and organisations in main industry sectors associated with tourism and

• to report findings which enable and facilitate ongoing appropriate government support in extending uptake and enhancing capability following those introduced after the earlier 2010 report.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The survey of a total of 2172 respondents was conducted during May and June 2013 using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) across the Australian population of randomly selected businesses and organisations in select industry sectors associated with tourism and an online survey of ATDW members in those sectors; these resulted in 1200 respondents reported as GENERAL and 985 (972 tourism operators plus 13 information services) ATDW respondents, respectively. Full details of the research methodology are set out in Appendix A. KEY FINDINGS

The project covered four main topics of investigation – the online presence of tourism operators, their website adoption and management strategy, their online distribution approach, and their social media and mobile presence:

1. Online Presence Almost all operators have their own email address. Representation on third party websites was very high for ATDW operators (94%) and much lower for the overall sample (76%). There were also large differences among industry sectors, with Accommodation operators most likely to have a third party website presence (89%). In the GENERAL cohort, almost four fifths of all operators had their own website whereas 94% of the ATDW cohort and four fifths of the ALL cohort did. Amongst the industry sectors only the dining sector differed markedly with just three fifths having their own website. The top reason for not having a website was ‘customers make contact by other means’ for the GENERAL cohort and Cost for the ATDW operators without a website.

2. Website Adoption and Management While traditional features have been widely adopted (product information 95%, photo gallery 86%, Web-based inquiry form 74%, and maps 70%), more advanced website features such as user generated contents and online videos are only used by a third or less of the operators.



Further, only some take advantage of linking to social media, to other businesses and to destination marketing organisations. About 40% of the operators do not have sites that are optimised for mobile viewing and less than half take advantage of organic search engine optimisation. Use of paid online services to drive traffic and website performance measurement are also only adopted by half or less. About 20% of tourism operator websites are updated only once a year or less frequently.

3. Online Distribution In all cohorts about nine tenths of businesses or organisations take bookings for their products or services, either offline or online through their own website or through a third party. Accommodation operators almost all take bookings for their products or services, along with most of tours and dining (about nine tenths) and attractions and hire and transport (about four fifths). Almost 90% of the operators take email booking requests and over half provide consumers with the ability to check both availability and price of products through their own website. Regarding the capability of instant confirmation bookings on their website, in the GENERAL and ALL cohorts, less than half reported people could make instant confirmation bookings compared to about two fifths in the ATDW cohort. In all the cohorts about seven tenths of operators who offer instant confirmation bookings through their websites reported that people could make online payments as well. In the GENERAL and ALL cohorts, about half reported that other parties offered instant confirmation bookings online for their business or organisation (WOTIF, booknow, Stayz, etc) and in the ATDW cohort only two fifths did. Of those organisations for which other parties offered instant confirmation bookings online, almost nine tenths also took payments online for them in the GENERAL cohort; it was slightly less at 84% in the ATDW cohort and slightly more (87%) in the ALL cohort. Consumers contacting the business through other means is the main reason for those who do not offer instant confirmation bookings on their website.

4. Social Media and Mobile Presence Three fifths in the GENERAL cohort reported they had an official presence on a social media site and seven tenths of the ALL cohort and four fifths of ATDW reported they did. Of these almost all (over nine tenths) in the three cohorts had a presence on Facebook. For those organisations with no presence on social media, the most frequent explanation (three fifths) in the GENERAL cohort was that there was no need as customers contacted them by other means. After that came that other online presence (e.g. website) was sufficient, then no time and not relevant to the organisation (each about three tenths). In the ATDW cohort, the most frequent explanation (just over one third) was other online presence (e.g. website) is sufficient or lack of technical expertise followed by being unsure of benefits for organisation (three tenths) and that there was no need as customers contacted by other means (27%).



About two thirds of the operators monitor social media engagement and about 80% monitor customer sentiment. In the three cohorts, around one tenth of organisations reported having a mobile app that people could download to their mobile devices.

5. Comparisons Comparisons between the ATDW and GENERAL cohorts revealed that ATDW members have generally greater digital capabilities. Crosstabs further confirmed significant differences among the various tourism industry sectors in terms of digital capabilities, with dining establishments lagging behind and operators in the Tours segment being very active on social media. Comparisons to findings from the 2010 survey show that the digital capability has improved but has still room to grow, especially as far as social media adoption and website features are concerned. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

• Extend Industry Reach to Dining Sector Policies could be introduced to extend the dining industry sector digital capability in recognition of its importance in delivering high quality tourism experiences. This could be achieved in part through their industry associations.

• Web Presence Update and Website Enhancement

Policies could focus on facilitation of web site introduction in non ATDW operators and particularly amongst the dining businesses. Reasons for not having a website which could be addressed include unsure of where to obtain training or lack of training support and lack of technical expertise. These can be addressed by ATDW through a wider membership uptake. Addressing not only training needs but also needs for platforms that allow micro-businesses to pool resources and overcome their size issues will be increasingly important as more consumers expect digital services. More advanced and more frequently updated websites are important in distributing information and driving online distribution. Three policies are suggested to enhance operator websites – first develop greater uptake of advanced website features and interlink sites, second increase website optimisation for viewing on mobile devices and third increase organic search engine optimisation of website as well as paid search/online advertising.

• More Sophisticated Social Media Use While Facebook has been widely adopted, other social media types have been neglected despite general consumer trends indicating increased uptake of e.g. Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram. Here the industry will need guidance from ATDW and other industry bodies



as to the use of different media to enhance digital capability. More research is needed that can inform Australian tourism operators’ decisions in which markets to invest. Maintenance of social media needs to be improved through more frequent updating of all contents in order to achieve currency of information, meet consumer expectations and increase consumer engagement with contents. Whilst many of the operators monitor consumer sentiment and engagement on their social media, the proportion could be much higher, arguably to approach 100%.

• Tackling Mobile Apps Mobile app development is costly and time consuming and out of the realm of the many micro-businesses that make up the Australian tourism industry. Developing thousands of apps also makes little sense from a consumer perspective. It is therefore suggested that the Australian tourism industry needs to envision a common mobile future with investments made to develop key apps of benefit to a large number of tourism operators.



1. INTRODUCTION

The current Australian tourism strategy is based on the Jackson report (Australian Government, 2009a). Of its ten recommendations, one focused on SMEs’ online capability, advising to ‘urgently support the acceleration of the online capability of the Australian tourism product, working with State and Territory Tourism Organisations to fund programs that expand cost-effective digital platforms for distribution and bookings and accelerate SMEs’ uptake’(2009a, p5). From this report the current strategy, the National Long-Term Tourism Strategy (NLTTS; Australian Government, 2009b), was derived and launched in 2009. One action item nominates ‘online distribution’ as a broader part of Tourism Australia’s capacity and functions (2009, pp5-6) and the Digital Distribution Working Group (DDWG; Australian Government, 2012) was established to facilitate implementation of the Strategy action items. It undertook further development of the Jackson report’s digital strategy recommendation. The DDWG consists of representatives from state and national governments and one industry association. It ‘aims to increase the online capability of the Australian tourism industry and to encourage greater uptake by small and medium size tourism enterprises of online distribution systems’ (Australian Government, 2011b, p14). It broadcasts its key achievements (Australian Government, 2012d) as including development of the National Online Strategy for Tourism (NOST), the Going Global Action Plan and the Tourism Operators Online Benchmarking Survey (respectively Australian Government, 2011a; Australian Government 2010b; Australian Government, 2010a). The purpose of NOST is to increase the online distribution and global visibility of Australia’s tourism product. It provides a plan for the digital enablement of the tourism industry in Australia to foster its excellence in the promotion and distribution of tourism product online (Australian Government, 2011, p3); the various key themes include one for digital distribution. The Going Global Action Plan was a commissioned guide to provide practical support to tourism operators in adapting to the changing environment of tourism digital distribution using new technologies (Australian Government, 2010b). It supplemented this by engaging the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) to develop further its Tourism e-kit (ATDW, 2012) which ‘incorporates a series of easy to consume tutorials that equip tourism operators with effective knowledge about online marketing’ (2012, p2). To establish through quantitative research the extent and level of online presence and capabilities across the tourism industry in Australia as well as barriers or reasons for non-implementation, the Tourism Operators Online Benchmarking Survey (Australian Government, 2010a) was commissioned in late 2010. Its primary sample was based on listings of the ATDW. The research presented in this current report was commissioned as a continuing measure of tourism digital uptake in 2013 to account for the rapidly changing technological environment, given the three years since the 2010 report.

The project had a steering group consisting of four members - Dr Leo Jago (Chair), Tourism Research Australia - Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism; Don Richter, Tourism Victoria; Liz Ward, ATDW; and, Deborah O'Connor, Destination NSW. They provided guidance of major decisions made, occasionally in consultation with NOST members.



Three modifications to undertaking a complete replication of the 2010 survey design were introduced; first, the topics to be covered in the survey; second, the selection of industry sectors and proportions determining sampling procedures for survey respondents; and, third, the approach to achieve the 2000 respondent target. In terms of the topics, more questions relating to social media and mobile presence were added which more extensively explored their uptake and management. The questions regarding the respondent intentions to develop the business or organisation web capabilities further were eliminated to allow the social media questions without lengthening the estimated survey completion time and to focus on facts rather than vague projections. In terms of the selection of industry sectors and proportions, the Tourism Satellite Accounts data for real Gross Value Added (GVA) of tourism businesses were used as a guide (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011 p16). In terms of the approach to achieve the 2000 respondent target, there were two methods of data collection – 1. phone interviews of 1200 respondents identified using Sensis records and undertaken by a professional computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) provider; and, 2. a link to an online survey emailed to ATDW members in select industry sectors. The value of this approach is that it allows comparison of the digital capability of a general industry sector population with the cohort of ATDW members. The results are reported separately for each cohort; that is, for the general industry population (CATI) and for ATDW (online). Given that ATDW members have opted to have their information distributed online and also completed the survey online, they can be seen as probably more technology affine than the general sample. The method for selection of industry sectors and proportions is explained more fully in Appendix A.

2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The project aimed:

• to measure the level of sophistication in uptake of various digital technologies and the digital distribution capability of businesses and organisations in main industry sectors associated with tourism;

• to identify gaps and trends of digital uptake and capability of businesses and organisations in main industry sectors associated with tourism;

• to report findings which enable and facilitate ongoing appropriate government support in extending uptake and enhancing capability following those introduced after the earlier 2010 report.



3. PROFILE OF SAMPLE

This section provides an overview of the types of tourism operators included in the study. Additional information about the two different samples can be derived from Appendix A.

3.1 RESPONDENT DETAILS

In the GENERAL cohort almost half the respondents were owners, just over one third were marketing managers and the remainder were marketing, sales or IT /web managers. The main differences in the ATDW cohort were that almost three quarters were owners and only a quarter were marketing managers, resulting in total differences in the ALL cohort of three fifths being owners and one quarter marketing managers. Figure 1. Profile - Job Title of Respondent

3.2 BUSINESS/ORGANISATION DETAILS

3.2.1 Main Office Location in Australia

Almost two-thirds of business or organisation main offices in the GENERAL cohort were located in New South Wales (NSW; 39%) or Victoria ( 26%), followed by Queensland (19%) and Western Australia (9%), with 2% or less in each of South Australia (SA), Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. In the ATDW cohort there were fewer in NSW (one third) and Victoria (16%) but much more in Tasmania and SA (about 15% each). The ALL cohort was similar to the GENERAL with slightly less in NSW and Victoria and slightly more in Tasmania and SA.



Figure 2. Profile – Main Office Location of Tourism Operator

3.2.2 Tourism Industry Sector

In the GENERAL cohort, nearly half (44%) of the surveyed tourism operators were mainly involved in accommodation, followed by dining (29%), tours including travel agents (12%), attractions (11%), and hire and transport (4%). The proportions reflect the industry proportions determined based on GVA and therefore this sample did not have to be weighted. The unweighted ATDW cohort consisted of accommodation (55%), followed by tours including travel agents and attractions each 17%, dining (6%), and hire and transport (4%) and also included information services. It was weighted to reflect the overall ATDW membership. The total sample was weighted to again represent the GVA-based proportions. Information services were not included in the overall sample. Figure 3. Profile - Tourism Industry Sector



3.2.3 Accommodation Sector

Of the tourism operators whose main activity involves the provision of accommodation services, by far the largest type in the GENERAL cohort was Hotels/Motels/Resorts (40%), followed by Caravans and Camping (27%), Cabins and Cottages (12%), Apartments (8%), Self-contained (6%) and Backpackers and Hostels with only 2%. Almost all the proportions in the unweighted ATDW cohort differed markedly to the GENERAL with about one quarter each for Self-Contained and Bed and Breakfasts, 16% for Cabins and Cottage, about 12% for Hotels/Motels/Resorts and Apartments and 6% for Caravans and Camping. Figure 4 lists these and the ALL unweighted cohort proportions. Figure 4. Profile - Accommodation Sector

Percentage of operators with primary activity being Accommodation 3.2.4 Type of Organisation

Seven tenths of operators in the GENERAL cohort were stand-alone businesses, with almost one fifth being part of a group/chain; only a very small proportion of each (less than 5%) were a franchise, government agency or not for profit organisation. The ATDW cohort differed markedly with four fifths of businesses or organisations being stand-alone, about one tenth a not for profit organisation and 5% or less being a government agency, part of a group/chain, government agency or franchise. The ALL cohort proportions were close to those for the ATDW cohort except of part of a group and not for profit which were higher and lower respectively. Almost three quarters of accommodation operators were stand-alone businesses in the GENERAL cohort, with almost one fifth being businesses that were part of a group/chain; only a very small proportion of each (less than 3%) were a franchise, government agency or not for profit organisation. Dining, tours and transport and hire followed a similar pattern, but attractions differed as expected with a higher proportion being not for profit (about three tenths) or a government agency (about one fifth).



Figure 5. Profile - Type of Organisation by Data Source and Industry

3.2.5 Size of Organisation

In terms of size defined by number of employees (including full-time, part-time and casual), in the GENERAL cohort, almost two fifths had less than five employees and one fifth had five to nine; less than one tenth had 200 or more employees. Almost three fifths had less than five employees in the ATDW cohort and 16% each had five to nine or ten to nineteen employees whilst only 2% had 200 or more employees. For the ALL cohort almost half had less than five employees, about 15% each had five to nine or ten to nineteen employees whilst only 6% had 200 or more employees. For accommodation businesses or organisations in the ALL cohort about two thirds had fewer than five employees, 15% had five to nine employees, 10% had ten to nineteen and there were less than one tenth in each of the 20-199 and 200 or over categories. For dining the greatest proportion (about one quarter) had ten to nineteen employees or 20 to 199 with about one fifth each having less than five or five to nine employees; about one tenth had 200 or more employees. For the other industry sectors, size differed to both accommodation and dining but in general included about 50% micro-businesses with less than five employees.



Figure 6. Profile - Size of Organisation by Data Source and Industry

4 KEY FINDINGS

The research covered four main topics of investigation – the online presence of tourism operators, their website adoption and management strategy, their online distribution approach, and their social media and mobile presence; the findings are set out below:

4.1 ONLINE PRESENCE

4.1.1 Email Address

Nine tenths of all businesses or organisations had their own email address in the GENERAL cohort; the ATDW cohort was slightly higher at 97% and the ALL cohort was 93%. In the individual sectors, only tours which had a higher proportion (almost all) and dining (83%) with a considerably smaller proportion differed. In the ATDW cohort almost all (97%) had an email address. Among the different types of accommodation establishments, backpackers and hostels (88%) and caravans and camping (92%) exhibit considerably lower levels of email adoption than other types.



Figure 7 Own Email Address by Data Source and Industry

Figure 8. Own Email Address by Accommodation

4.1.2 Representation on Any Other Parties’ Websites

About three quarters of the tourism operators indicated that their businesses are represented on the website of other parties. While almost all (94%) ATDW operators are represented on third party websites, only 65% of operators in the GENERAL sample are.



Figure 9. Representation on Third Party Websites by Data Source and Industry

Representation on third party websites differs across the various industry sectors represented in the overall sample. Accommodations (89%) and Attractions (86%) are to a great extent represented on third party websites while the proportions are lower for Tours (74%) and Hire & Transport (63%). Dining operators are the least likely to have an online presence through third party websites. The representation on third party websites is generally high across all accommodation types (over 80% except for other accommodation) but is highest among bed and breakfasts (96%), self-contained establishments (96%), and apartments (92%). Figure 10. Representation on Third Party Websites by Accommodation

4.1.3 Own Website

A large majority (83%) of Australian tourism operators has a business website. In the GENERAL cohort, only about four fifths of the operators indicated having their own website, whereas 94% of the ATDW cohort did. Comparing across industry sectors, only the dining sector differed markedly with just two thirds having their own website.



Figure 11. Own Website by Data Source and Industry

Figure 12. Own Website by Accommodation

4.1.4 Why organisation has no website

For those organisations without a website, the Top 5 most frequent explanations overall for why no website were: 1. there was no need as customers contacted by other means (56%); 2. the organisation was too small to warrant a website (42%); 3. not having enough time (34%); 4. cost (31%); and, 5. lack of technical expertise (28%). In the GENERAL cohort, customers contacting the operator through other means was also the most frequently indicated reason (69%). After that came small size of organisation (about two fifths), then no time (just over one third) and lack of technical expertise (28%). Lack of



technical expertise and seeing no relevance for the business were also selected as reasons by about 27%, respectively. The ATDW cohort differed significantly with two thirds citing cost as their explanation for no website, followed by being sufficiently represented on the website of another party and lack of technical expertise (each at about half). Figure 13. Reasons for Not Having Own Website

Percentage of operators without own website

4.2 WEBSITE ADOPTION AND MANAGEMENT

4.2.1 Features on Website

In the GENERAL, ATDW and ALL cohorts, the most common feature provided on organisations’ website was description of their tourism-related features and services (95%), and the least common was online videos (one quarter). Photo gallery (at least four fifths) was also a commonly listed feature. There were differences in the other features for each cohort. ATDW members are more likely to include links to their social media sites, links to destination marketing organisations, and links to other tourism companies than the GENERAL cohort. On the other hand, they are less likely to offer web-based inquiry forms, downloadable materials and user-generated contents.



Figure 14. Features Provided on Organisation Website

Percentage of operators with own website 4.2.2 Website Optimisation for Viewing on Mobile Devices

Only just over half of the tourism operators have websites that have been optimised for viewing with mobile devices. In the GENERAL cohort almost three tenths of operators with a website had site optimisation whilst almost one quarter of organisations’ websites had not been optimised for viewing on mobile devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.) but had a separate mobile site. Almost two fifths had neither an optimised nor a separate mobile site. The ATDW cohort differed with a much higher proportion (39%) of operators having optimised their websites for mobile viewing but a lower proportion of operators with separate mobile sites. About one tenth of each cohort could not say.



Figure 15. Website Optimisation for Mobile Devices

Percentage of operators with own website 4.2.3 Use of Organic Search Engine Optimisation

Only 40% of ALL tourism operators with websites engage in organic search engine optimisation. Of those organisations which had a website in the GENERAL cohort, one third used organic search engine optimisation, just over half did not and about one tenth could not say; whereas in the ATDW cohort a much higher proportion (46%) used this means of increasing the visibility of their websites, almost two fifths did not, and about 15% could not say. Figure 16. Use of Organic Search Engine Optimisation

Percentage of operators with own website



4.2.4 Use of Paid Online Services to Drive Traffic to Website

Less than half of the tourism operators use paid services to drive traffic to their websites and the proportion is even smaller (two fifths) for the ATDW cohort. Figure 17. Use of Paid Online Services to Drive Traffic to Website


In all three cohorts, of those who paid for online services to drive traffic to their website, about seven tenths use Google Adwords to drive website traffic. Facebook Advertising is also a prominently used service with about half of the operators using it. For all cohorts, about one tenth used other services. In the GENERAL cohort about half used Facebook Advertising, 5% or less used Microsoft adCenter but one tenth used Yahoo!Search Marketing. In the ATDW cohort over half used the paid online services of Facebook Advertising, but only 5% used Yahoo!Search Marketing. Figure 18. Type of Paid Online Service Used

Percentage of operators with own website who use paid online service to drive traffic to website



4.2.5 Website Performance Measurement

About half of the tourism operators measure the performance of their website. The proportion is much higher in the ATDW sample (63%), while only 40% of the GENERAL cohort engages in this important practice. Figure 19. Measure Performance of Website


Of those who measure website performance, Google Analytics is used by the majority (over three quarters) across all cohorts, while the ATDW sample also uses customized solutions to some extent (13%). Almost a quarter use other services, e.g. statistics provided by the web hosting company, other services like Medallia, and freeware. Figure 20. Type of Service Used for Website Performance Measurement

Percentage of operators with own website who use services to measure website performance



4.2.6 Website Traffic Referrals

The tourism operators overall estimated that about half (48%) of the traffic to their websites comes from search engines, followed by 11% from destination marketing organisations at the local, regional and state levels, 9% from their own social media sites, 8% from business partners, 7% from TripAdvisor and similar online communities as well as 4% from directory listings. Only 1% indicated receiving referrals from www.australia.com. The GENERAL cohort estimated the traffic from search engines as even more important (55%). The ATDW sample indicates greater referrals from destination marketing organisation pages (15%) and their own social media sites (11%) and less from directory listings (3%). Figure 21. Estimated Referral Rates by Channel

Mean values for estimated percentages by operators with own website Overall, only a small proportion (15%) of operators based these estimates on hard numbers derived from website analytics. By far the majority (over three quarters) of businesses or organisations in the GENERAL cohort, based their estimate on customer feedback, etc., almost 15% on actual numbers obtained from tracking website traffic and almost one tenth on other means. Those other means involved information from their point of sales software as well as just guesses. In the ATDW cohort a similar proportion tracked their website traffic but fewer (seven tenths) estimated based on customer feedback and slightly more (15%) did it by other means.



Figure 22. Basis for Referral Rate Estimate

Percentage of operators with own website 4.2.7 Percentage of Mobile Users

The tourism operators overall estimated that on average 29% of their website users accessed the site through a mobile device. The ATDW sample estimated the proportion at 33% and the GENERAL cohort only at 26%. Figure 23. Estimated Percentage of Users Accessing the Website with a Mobile Device

Mean values provided by operators with own website and able to estimate



4.2.8 Website Maintenance

The most common approach among ALL tourism operators is to outsource the hosting of the website but maintain contents in-house (38%). Only about 30% do both in-house and almost a quarter (23%) have outsourced both. In the GENERAL cohort, the proportion of operators who do everything in-house is much greater (36%) but outsourcing both is also more common (25%). In the ATDW sample, the housed externally but content maintenance being done internally is the dominant approach (52%). Figure 24. Type of Website Hosting and Maintenance


In the ALL sample and the GENERAL cohort, about 20% of operators update their website once a year or less while this proportion is much smaller in the ATDW sample (12%). On the other hand, there are less tourism operators in the ATDW sample that update very frequently, namely more often than weekly (18% ATDW compared to 26% GENERAL). The most frequent update intervals across all three samples are two to four times a month and two to twelve times a year.



Figure 25. Frequency of Website Updates


4.3 ONLINE DISTRIBUTION

4.3.1 Takes Bookings

In all three cohorts about nine tenths of operators take bookings for their products or services, either offline or online through their own website or through a third party. There are some differences across industry sectors, with almost all Accommodation (98%) and Tours (96%) operators taking bookings, while only 80% of Attractions and 88% of Dining products are bookable. Looking at the different accommodation sectors, almost all accommodation operators take bookings for their products or services, except for backpackers and hostels. In this category, only 82% of operators allow customers to book. Caravans and camping establishments indicated also a somewhat lower penetration of booking availability (95%).



Figure 26. Take Bookings by Data Source and Industry

Figure 27. Take Bookings by Type of Accommodation

Percentage of operators with primary activity being Accommodation

4.3.2 Email Booking Requests from Own Website

Almost 90% of the operators take email booking requests. The proportion is however lower for ATDW members (only 86%). Figure 28. Take Email Booking Requests from Website

Percentage of operators who take bookings and have own website



4.3.3 Ability to Check Availability and Price

Just over half of the tourism operators report that people can check both the availability and price of their products and services on their websites. Figure 29. Possible to Check Availability and Price on Website

Percentage of operators who take bookings and have own website

4.3.4 Instant Confirmation Booking

Less than half (46%) of the tourism operators with websites offer instant confirmation booking on their websites. The proportion is even lower in the ATDW sample (41%). Figure 30. Instant Confirmation via Website

Percentage of operators who take bookings and have own website 4.3.5 Online Payments

Of those who offer instant confirmation booking on their websites, 70% also support online payments.



Figure 31. Online Payments via Website

Percentage of operators who take instant booking on their website

One third of those operators who process online payments on their websites never require payment in full, while two tenths sometimes do and 45% always do. The ATDW operators who process online payments are more likely to always require full payments. In contrast, two fifths of the operators in the GENERAL cohort who process online payments never require payment in full. Figure 32. Full Payment Requirements

Percentage of operators who take instant booking on their website and process payment online 4.3.6 Instant Online Confirmation Bookings through Other Parties

In the GENERAL and ALL cohorts, about half reported that other parties offered instant confirmation bookings online for their organisation (WOTIF, booknow, Stayz, etc) and in the ATDW cohort only two fifths did.



Figure 33. Instant Booking Through Third Party Websites

Percentage of operators who take bookings and are represented on third party websites

4.3.7 Online Payments through Other Parties

Of those organisations for which other parties offer instant confirmation bookings online, in the GENERAL cohort almost nine tenths also took payments online for them; in the ALL cohort it was slightly less at 87% due to the lower proportion in the ATDW cohort (84%). Figure 34. Third Party Websites Process Payment

Percentage of operators who offer instant booking through third party websites A small proportion of these other parties (11%) does not require payment in full and this percentage is even lower for the ATDW cohort (6%) while 15% of the GENERAL cohort indicated it was the case. About 50% always require payment in full and about two fifths sometimes require payments in full.



Figure 35. Full Payment Through Third Party Websites

Percentage of operators who offer instant booking through third party websites that take online payment 4.3.8 Reasons for Not Offering Instant Booking on Own Website

For all cohorts, the main reason explaining why instant booking is not offered on the website was that customers made contact by other means – for more than two thirds of the GENERAL cohort and just under half or over half for ATDW and ALL cohorts respectively. Other main reasons for all cohorts included small organisation size and for GENERAL cohort not relevant to the organisation. Figure 36. Reasons for Not Offering Instant Booking on Website

Percentage of operators who take bookings and have website but do not offer instant booking



4.4 SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE

4.4.1 Official Presence on Social Media Sites

Three fifths in the GENERAL cohort, four fifths in the ATDW cohort and almost 70% overall reported they had an official presence on a social media site. Across industry sectors, the proportion was the lowest in the Accommodation (64%), Hire & Transport (66%) and Dining (70%) sectors and highest in the Attractions (78%) and Tours (76%) sectors. Figure 37. Social Media Presence by Data Source and Industry

The social media presence is especially low among Caravans and Camping establishments (48%), while Apartments (76%) and Backpackers & Hostels (71%) report substantially higher proportions than the Accommodation sector average. Figure 38. Social Media Presence by Accommodation

Of those who have a social media presence, almost all (94%) are represented on Facebook. For the ATDW sample, this proportion is slightly smaller (92%). Twitter (30%), YouTube (23%), Google+1 (19%) and LinkedIn (18%) are also used by a substantial proportion. The ATDW sample uses Twitter (32%), YouTube (29%), Pinterest (10%), LinkedIn (25%) and Flickr (6%) more than the GENERAL cohort.



Figure 39. Specific Social Media Use

Percentage of operators with social media presence 4.4.2 Social Media Site Updates

Overall, only a small proportion of tourism operators make daily or more frequent updates. The most frequently updated social media types are Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook while YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr and Google+1 sites are not frequently updated. Figure 40. Update Frequency for Different Social Media Types

Percentage of operators that use specific social media type



4.4.3 Reasons for No Social Media Presence

These reasons differed markedly between the three cohorts. For those organisations with no presence on social media, the most frequent explanation (three fifths) in the GENERAL cohort was that there was no need as customers contacted by other means. After that came other online presence (e.g. website) was sufficient, then no time and not relevant to the organisation (each about three tenths). In the ATDW cohort, for those organisations with no presence on social media, the most frequent explanation (just over one third) was other online presence (e.g. website) is sufficient or lack of technical expertise followed by being unsure of benefits for organisation (three tenths) and that there was no need as customers contacted by other means ( 27%). For the ALL cohort over half thought there was no need as customers contact by other means. Figure 41. Reasons for Not Having a Social Media Presence

Percentage of operators without a social media presence 4.4.4 Social Media Monitoring

The social media monitoring approaches are quite similar across the three cohorts, with ATDW operators engaging in it just slightly more. About two thirds of organisations with a



presence on social media in the GENERAL cohort actually monitored the number of consumers engaging with them through specific social media types (number of followers, subscribers, page likes, etc.) or the level of consumer engagement with their social media contents views (retweets, repins, shares, likes, number of comments). About four fifths of them indicated they monitor what consumers say about their products/services on social media sites. For the ATDW cohort, over seven tenths of organisations with a presence on social media actually monitor the number of consumers engaging with them through social media and about two thirds monitor the level of consumer engagement. About four fifths of them monitor what consumers say about their products/services on social media sites. Figure 42. Social Media Monitoring by Data Source

Percentage of operators that have a social media presence Accommodation businesses are least likely to monitor the number of consumers who engage and their level of engagement but still the majority of them does (over 56%). A large proportion of the operators across all industries monitor what consumers say; however, the percentage is quite considerably lower for the Hire & Transport sector. Figure 43. Social Media Monitoring by Industry

Percentage of operators that have a social media presence



4.4.5 Have a Company Blog

Company blogs are not very common among tourism operators in Australia. Only 11% of the ALL cohort, 15% of the ATDW sample and 9% of the GENERAL cohort are represented through a company blog. Across industry sectors, Tours (21%) and Hire & Transport (20%) are the sectors with the highest blog adoption rates. Figure 44. Have Company Blog by Data Source and Industry

Interestingly, none of the backpackers and hostels has a company blog while the Apartment establishments reported a high rate of blogging (18%). Figure 45. Have Company Blog by Accommodation

4.4.6 Have a Mobile App

About one tenth (12%) of the operators has a mobile app. Accommodation and Hire & Transport operators report the highest proportions (15% and 17%, respectively). This is also reflected in the proportions reported by the individual accommodation types. Only Backpackers and Hostels report a substantially lower availability of mobile apps (6%).



Figure 46. Have Mobile App by Data Source and Industry

Figure 47. Have Mobile App by Accommodation

About three fifths, seven tenths and two thirds of organisations in the GENERAL, ATDW and ALL cohorts respectively with a mobile app made bookings of products/services possible through their mobile app. Figure 48. Booking Through Mobile App

Percentage of operators with mobile app



5 COMPARISONS

Cross tabulations and Chi Square Tests were used to explore significant differences between the two data cohorts ATDW and GENERAL and among the different industry sectors. Comparisons were also made between the 2013 and 2010 findings as permitted.

5.1 COMPARISONS BY DATA SOURCE

Regarding their online presence, the tourism operators in the ATDW sample are significantly more likely to have an email address, to have a website, to be both represented on their own and on a third party website, to have a social media presence, and to have a company blog. Their websites are also more likely to be optimised for viewing on a mobile device. They are less likely to use Facebook but more likely to use YouTube, Pinterest, Google+1, LinkedIn and Flickr.

Table 1. Online Presence Indicators by Data Source

Data Source Significance % ATDW % General p<.05 Email address (n=2162) 98.4 89.1 *

Web presence (either own website, third party website, social media or blog) (n=2169)

100.0 89.4 *

Website (n=2151) 100.0 84.9 *

Own website only (n=2152) 3.5 22.8 * Third party website only (n=2152) 5.0 9.9 * Both own and third party (n=2152) 91.6 52.2 *

Social media presence (n=2169) 79.5 61.2 *

Facebook (n=1490) + 92.2 95.8 * Twitter (n=1489) + 30.1 30.4 YouTube (n=1490) + 29.9 17.1 * Pinterest (n=1491) + 10.5 5.1 * Google+1 (n=1489) + 24.1 14.4 * Tumblr (n=1489) + 1.7 1.5 LinkedIn (n=1488) + 25.8 10.3 * FlickR (n=1488) + 6.0 3.2 * Instagram (n=1671) + 1.8 3.3 Other (n=1670) + 5.4 5.3

Company blog (n=2113) 16.3 8.1 *

Mobile presence

Mobile app (n=2111) 12.0 12.8 Optimized website (n=1780) ++ 39.8 30.1 * Separate mobile site (n=1780) ++ 9.8 23.0 *

+Percentage of operators with a social media presence ++Percentage of operators with own website



The ATDW operators are significantly more likely to take bookings and offer the ability to check both availability and prices for their products/services on their websites. They are more likely to offer instant confirmation bookings on their website and process online payments through their websites. They are more likely to require full payments both on their own website and through third party bookings and significantly more of them always require full payments for bookings on their own website.

Table 2. Online Distribution Indicators by Data Source

Data Source Significance % ATDW % General p<.05 Take bookings (n=2166) 96.1 89.8 * Email booking requests (n=1679) + 90.3 88.3 Availability & price checking (n=1676) +

Only availability 2.1 1.9 * Only price 29.0 19.0 * Both price and availability 57.0 52.8 * Neither price nor availability 12.0 26.3 *

Total instant confirmation booking (n=1389) ++ 61.4 63.7

Through own website (n=1680) + 49.6 44.0 * Through third party website (n=1489) +++ 50.6 51.0

Total online payments (n=533) ++++ 95.9 91.1 * Through own website (n=781) +++++ 73.8 66.1 * Through third party website (n=725) ++++^ 87.2 86.6

Total online payments in full (n=373) ^ 99.5 92.9 * Through own website (n=544) ^^ 74.4 59.8 * Through third party website (n=619) ^^^ 94.3 86.0 *

Total online payments in full – always (n=373) ^ 34.6 29.2

Through own website (n=543) ^^ 50.9 38.8 * Through third party website (n=619) ^^^ 49.7 48.7

Booking through mobile app (n=258) # 80.8 56.6 *

+Percentage of operators who take bookings and have own website ++Percentage of operators who take bookings and are represented on own or third party website +++Percentage of operators who take bookings and are represented on a third party website ++++Percentage of operators who take instant confirmation bookings either on own or on third party website +++++Percentage of operators who take instant confirmation bookings on own website ++++^Percentage of operators who take instant confirmation bookings through third party website ^Percentage of operators who take online payments either on own or third party website ^^Percentage of operators who take online payments on own website ^^^Percentage of operators who take online payments through third party websites #Percentage of operators with mobile app



The ATDW sample is significantly more likely to have own websites. The ATDW operator websites are more likely to include product descriptions, links to the company social media sites, links to LTO, RTO and NTO websites, links to other companies, photo galleries and online videos but less downloadable materials. The ATDW operators are more likely to use organic search engine optimisation and less online paid services to drive traffic to their websites. They are more likely to measure website performance. They less likely to both host and maintain their website in-house and are less likely to update the website more often than once a week.

Table 3. Website Management and Strategy Indicators by Data Source

Data Source Significance % ATDW % General p<.05 Have website (n=2160) 95.1 75.0 *

Website features (n=1780) +

Description of own products/services 96.8 93.8 * Links to company’s social media sites 59.2 53.1 * Links to LTO, RTO, NTO websites 45.6 33.5 * Links to other tourism companies 42.7 32.1 * Maps 71.4 68.8 Photo gallery 88.8 82.6 * Web-based enquiry form 73.7 74.8 Downloadable materials 35.0 59.9 * User generated contents 32.4 35.3 Online videos 27.9 23.4 *

Use of organic search engine optimisation (n=1543) + 57.6 36.7 *

Use of paid online services to drive traffic (n=1776) + 40.8 46.5 *

Use of services to measure performance (n=1776) + 66.4 40.0 *

Type of hosting and maintenance (n=1686) +

Outsourced hosting & maintenance 23.0 25.3 * Outsourced hosting, in-house maintenance 53.2 29.0 * In-house hosting, outsourced maintenance 3.3 6.6 * Hosting & maintenance in-house 20.5 39.1 *

Frequency of website updates (n=1698) +

One to several times a day 2.0 10.3 * 2-7 times a week 14.3 15.9 * 2-4 times a month 32.5 20.6 * 2-12 times a year 34.5 33.0 * Once a year 11.1 12.7 * Less often than once a year 4.7 4.5 * Never 1.0 2.9 *

+Percentage of operators with own website



5.2 COMPARISON BY INDUSTRY SECTOR

The industry sectors differ significantly in terms of their adoption of email, their web presence, their representation on their own and on third party websites, their social media presence, and their mobile app adoption. They do not significantly differ when it comes to optimising their websites for access via mobile devices. Dining lags behind on traditional web presence measures but leads in terms of overall social media presence. Tours is the sector with the highest social media engagement across all types of social media sites, meaning that those operators in the Tours sector who adopt social media, adopt a wide range. Tours operators also lead in terms of email and blog adoption. Accommodation operators are the most likely to have a web presence through their own website as well as a third party website.

Table 4. Online Presence Indicators by Industry Sector

Industry Sig. % Acc. % Dining % Att. %Tour % HT p<.05 Email address (n=2162) 96.7 83.1 94.9 99.2 96.5 *

Web presence (either own website, third party website, social media or blog) (n=2169)

97.4 85.7 97.9 96.2 90.7 *

Website (n=2151) 96.8 78.3 97.4 95.3 88.4 *

Own website only (n=2150) 8.0 23.2 10.6 21.1 25.9 * Third party website only (n=2152) 7.1 12.1 8.5 2.7 2.3 * Both own and third party (n=2150) 81.8 43.0 78.3 71.5 60.5 *

Social media presence (n=2169) 64.0 69.5 78.2 75.8 66.3 *

Facebook (n=1490)+ 92.3 97.0 94.1 96.5 82.5 * Twitter (n=1489) + 20.9 30.1 36.6 48.2 46.4 * YouTube (n=1490) + 22.4 10.0 34.4 42.9 26.3 * Pinterest (n=1491) + 6.5 5.0 9.1 17.2 1.8 * Google+1 (n=1489) + 22.4 10.5 16.7 24.9 33.3 * Tumblr (n=1489) + 1.5 0.7 3.2 3.5 0 * LinkedIn (n=1488) + 16.4 9.8 22.5 31.3 29.8 * FlickR (n=1488) + 3.4 1.4 7.5 11.2 7.0 * Instagram (n=1671) + 0.5 4.3 5.3 3.3 1.6 * Other (n=1670) + 4.0 7.2 5.8 7.6 0 *

Company blog (n=2113) 9.9 7.1 15.2 21.3 20.5 *

Mobile presence

Mobile app (n=2111) 14.8 9.8 10.4 10.4 17.9 * Optimized website (n=1780) ++ 39.2 39.0 38.0 34.1 43.1 Separate mobile site (n=1780) ++ 19.4 18.5 17.3 20.3 16.9

Note: Acc = Accommodation; Att. = Attractions; Tour = Tours; HT = Hire & Transport; Sig = Significance +Percentage of operators with a social media presence ++Percentage of operators with own website



Attractions and Dining operators are the least likely to take bookings for their products and services. Those Attractions and Dining establishments who take bookings and have a website are still less likely to take email booking requests and online instant confirmation bookings through their own website than operators in other sectors. The Accommodation operators have the most sophisticated online distribution set up but are less likely to require full payment at the time of booking.

Table 5. Online Distribution Indicators by Industry Sector

Industry Sig. % Acc. % Dining % Att. %Tour % HT p<.05 Take bookings (n=2166) 97.8 87.4 80.6 95.4 90.7 *

Email booking requests (n=1679) + 94.6 80.2 79.5 91.2 92.4 *

Availability & price checking (n=1676) +

Only availability 2.5 1.3 1.8 2.2 0 * Only price 18.0 27.0 35.5 27.3 32.3 * Both price and availability 66.8 40.5 46.4 48.0 30.8 * Neither price nor availability 12.7 31.2 16.3 22.5 36.9 *

Total instant confirmation booking (n=1389) + + 76.6 46.5 32.9 52.8 46.9 *

Through own website (n=1680) + 59.4 33.2 28.7 38.5 34.8 * Through third party website (n=1489) + + + 68.9 32.1 17.9 34.6 26.0 *

Total online payments (n=533) + + + + 98.3 61.4 95.2 100.0 66.7 *

Through own website (n=781) + + + + + 76.0 33.6 79.2 86.4 62.5 * Through third party website (n=725) + + + +^ 92.1 53.0 92.9 90.2 61.5 *

Total online payments in full (n=373) ^ 96.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 80.0

Through own website (n=544) ^^ 59.9 66.7 81.6 93.3 93.3 * Through third party website (n=619) ^^^ 91.0 85.7 92.0 92.6 75.0

Total online payments in full – always (n=373) ^ 23.6 54.2 46.2 82.9 60.0 *

Through own website (n=543) ^^ 36.5 44.2 57.9 78.4 66.7 * Through third party website (n=619) ^^^ 44.5 55.8 64.0 80.0 50.0 *

Booking through mobile app (n=258) # 83.8 37.9 56.5 57.7 40.0 *

Note: Acc = Accommodation; Att. = Attractions; Tour = Tours; HT = Hire & Transport; Sig = Significance Note of caution: when the overall sample size is lower than 800, the number of Hire & Transport operators in the sample drops below 30. +Percentage of operators who take bookings and have own website ++Percentage of operators who take bookings and are represented on own or third party website +++Percentage of operators who take bookings and are represented on a third party website ++++Percentage of operators who take instant confirmation bookings either on own or on third party website +++++Percentage of operators who take instant confirmation bookings on own website ++++^Percentage of operators who take instant confirmation bookings through third party website ^Percentage of operators who take online payments either on own or third party website ^^Percentage of operators who take online payments on own website ^^^Percentage of operators who take online payments through third party websites #Percentage of operators with mobile app



Most Tours operators have a website while Dining operators lag behind. Regarding website features, the Tours sector links heavily to its many social media platforms. Consistent with their broad adoption of social media, the Tours sector also features user generated contents and online videos more than other operators. They are also more likely to engage in organic search engine optimization than other types of operators and engage in website performance measurement more than others. Dining establishments are the least likely to have links to destination marketing organisations and links to other tourism companies. On the other hand, they are the most likely to host and maintain their website in-house. Attractions and Tours operators update their websites more frequently than operators in other sectors.

Table 6. Website Management and Strategy Indicators by Industry Sector

Industry Sig. % Acc. % Dining % Att. %Tour % HT p<.05 Have website (n=2161) 89.8 66.5 89.0 92.6 86.0 *

Website features (n=1780) +

Description of own products/services 96.7 89.4 96.6 98.3 95.9 * Links to company’s social media sites 48.5 62.3 62.5 65.4 54.8 * Links to LTO, RTO, NTO websites 48.5 17.4 46.6 38.6 31.5 * Links to other tourism companies 46.2 14.0 39.9 41.9 34.2 * Maps 77.9 64.3 70.2 57.0 52.1 * Photo gallery 91.6 82.6 82.7 77.6 64.4 * Web-based enquiry form 78.3 67.7 63.9 81.0 73.0 * Downloadable materials 37.3 63.1 59.1 54.4 46.6 * User generated contents 35.5 35.0 26.0 38.0 20.3 * Online videos 22.3 18.3 33.2 41.9 27.0 *

Use of organic search engine optimisation (n=1543) + 46.4 37.0 48.3 58.7 47.0 *

Use of paid online services to drive traffic (n=1776) + 40.8 49.0 38.8 48.3 50.0 *

Use of services to measure performance (n=1776) + 54.8 36.9 54.6 65.0 58.3 *

Type of hosting and maintenance (n=1686) +

Outsourced hosting & maintenance 26.9 20.7 21.3 23.5 23.9 Outsourced hosting, in-house maintenance 42.9 27.7 45.7 45.1 40.8 In-house hosting, outsourced maintenance 5.6 6.2 3.0 3.1 7.0 Hosting & maintenance in-house 24.7 45.3 29.9 28.3 28.2 *

Frequency of website updates (n=1698) +

One to several times a day 5.6 4.0 7.1 12.7 11.3 * 2-7 times a week 11.6 18.5 21.4 17.1 15.5 * 2-4 times a month 23.9 27.9 29.1 29.4 19.7 * 2-12 times a year 36.6 33.9 30.1 25.9 32.4 * Once a year 15.4 8.2 7.1 9.6 12.7 * Less often than once a year 5.2 3.5 3.1 4.4 8.5 * Never 1.6 4.0 2.0 0.9 0 *

Note: Acc = Accommodation; Att. = Attractions; Tour = Tours; HT = Hire & Transport; Sig = Significance +Percentage of operators with own website



5.3 COMPARISON OF 2010 AND 2013 FINDINGS

Table 7 compares findings for 2013 with 2010 results with respect to online capability. For every main area of email booking requests, website presence on own website, availability and price checking, and instant confirmation bookings, there was mostly a marked improvement in 2013. The only exception was website presence on others’ website which showed a similar proportion of three quarters to 2010 for the ALL cohort. Capabilities regarding online payments can unfortunately not be compared as numbers are reported as percentages of operators who take bookings in 2010, while the 2013 survey measured percentages of operators who take instant confirmation bookings online.

Table 7. 2010 vs. 2013 Online Capability

Online Capability 2010 - ALL

2013 - ALL

2013 - ATDW

2013 -GENERAL

Own email address 84 93 97 91

Total Website presence 84 91 100 85

Own website 71 83 94 78

On others’ website 74 76 94 65

Email booking requests 62 89 86 89

Availability and price checking 41 54 47 54

Total Instant confirmation bookings 42 62 61 64

Through own website 27 46 41 45

Through others’ website 36 50 38 52

Search engine optimisation 37 40 46 33

n=1904 n= 2164 n= 975 n= 1200

note n= refers to own email address; other n= may differ

In other measures of capability such as search engine optimisation in 2010, 37% of those organisations which had a website used organic search engine optimisation, compared to two fifths of the ALL cohort, almost half of the ATDW cohort and one third of the GENERAL in 2013. This does not show much difference in 2013 compared to 2010. The increases could be greater, considering that the 2010 records may be over supplied with ATDW businesses or organisations relative to those in GENERAL and so show higher capability than a representative sample. The comparative advanced website development is shown by the increased adoption percentage of the select list of website features in Table 8. Here a much greater percentage of operators has advanced features in place in 2013 compared to 2010 while basic features have remained the same or have decreased. For example links to social networking sites increased from about one quarter in 2010 to over half in the ALL and GENERAL cohorts and three fifths in the ATDW cohort; online video from 13% to about one quarter; user generated content from less than one tenths to at least three tenths in 2013; however, the projected 40%



adoption rate reported in the 2010 survey has not yet been achieved. Blogs stayed the same at about one tenths in the ALL cohort and slightly decreased in the GENERAL sample.

Table 8. 2010 vs. 2013 Website Features

Online Capability- website features 2010 -

ALL 2013 -

ALL 2013 - ATDW

2013 - GENERAL

Description of non-tourism related products/services 95 95 96 95

Web-based inquiry form 76 74 69 76

Downloadable materials 54 49 40 59

Links to social networking sites 26 56 61 52 Online video 13 25 27 25 Photo gallery 91 86 87 83 Blogs 11 11 15 9 Maps 78 70 71 70 User Generated Content 6 34 30 35

n=1904 n= 2164 n= 975 n= 1200

6 CONCLUSIONS

6.1 DIGITAL CAPABILITY SUMMARY

Overall the ATDW cohort was more advanced than the GENERAL cohort that is representative of the population in the select main tourism industry sectors and includes some ATDW members. There were also significant differences across industry sectors, with dining establishments lagging behind other sectors in terms of general digital capabilities. Regarding the level of sophistication in uptake of various digital technologies associated with tourism websites, web presence and bookings were good but payment, checking availability and price and instant confirmation of bookings need much more development. For social media, progress has been made but much more development is needed to extend uptake and enhance capacity of tourism operators. In terms of managing their web presence, most of the Australian tourism operators do not currently take advantage of either organic search engine optimisation or paid services that provide online advertising opportunities. There is also limited capability in terms of monitoring website performance. Further, there is no collaborative strategy with only minimal links to other tourism companies and destination marketing organisations. The tourism operator websites are mostly not mobile-ready.

6.2 EXTENDING UPTAKE AND ENHANCING CAPABILITY

Policies suggested by findings which enable and facilitate ongoing appropriate government support in extending uptake and enhancing capability following those introduced after the



earlier 2010 report are set out below. They cover two main areas of digital capacity – extend the industry sector reach for greater inclusion of the dining sector and facilitate/extend and enhance operators’ website and social media presence.

6.2.1 Extend Industry Reach to Dining Sector

The dining sector as shown in the GVA data had significant tourism economic impact of $3bn in 2010-2011 (Table 9), making an important contribution. However there are relatively few ATDW dining members and generally in all indicators of digital capability dining businesses lagged. Therefore policies could be introduced to extend the dining industry sector reach for greater inclusion of the dining sector in recognition of its importance in delivering high quality tourism experiences. This could be achieved in part through their industry associations.

6.2.2 Web Presence Update and Website Enhancement

Two policies are suggested to facilitate web site uptake - first target select sectors and second, address reasons for not having a website: Target select sectors: Whilst almost all the ATDW cohort had a website, fewer (four fifths) of the GENERAL and even fewer (three fifths) of the dining GENERAL cohort did. Therefore policies could focus on facilitation of web site introduction in non ATDW operators, and particularly amongst the dining businesses. Address select reasons for not having a website: Reasons which could be addressed include unsure of where to obtain training or lack of training support and lack of technical expertise. These can be addressed by ATDW through a wider membership uptake, presuming that these businesses and organisations are not already ATDW members. For those which lack technical expertise, this could be addressed by provision of paid consultancy services advertised though ATDW and industry associations. Addressing not only training needs but also needs for platforms that allow micro-businesses to pool resources and overcome their size issues will be increasingly important as more consumers expect digital services. Enhance websites and their management: More advanced and more frequently updated websites are important in distributing information and driving online distribution. Three policies are suggested to enhance operator websites – first develop greater uptake of advanced website features and interlink sites, second increase website optimisation for viewing on mobile devices and third increase organic search engine optimisation of websites as well as paid search/online advertising. Website features not only increase the persuasiveness of websites and add informational and experiential value, they are also important for driving traffic, e.g. links to and from social media as well as links to and from other businesses and destination marketing organisations. Further, initiatives such as optimising a website for mobile viewing, frequent website updates and integrating user-generated contents make websites much more search engine friendly. However, the World Wide Web is huge and consumer attention spans are short. The Australian tourism industry cannot rely on consumers actively searching for their products.



Paid search is important and for online advertising to deliver high returns on investment, website performance measurement is needed. There is also a clear need for the LTOs, RTOs, STOs and the NTO to more clearly and widely state their case and provide hard evidence for their value in driving business to the operator websites.

6.2.3 More Sophisticated Social Media Use

While Facebook has been widely adopted, other social media types have been neglected despite general consumer trends indicating increased uptake of for example You Tube, Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram. Here industry needs guidance from ATDW and other industry bodies regarding the use of different media to enhance digital capability. Two policies are suggested: Informed social media uptake: Firstly, several reasons mentioned for not engaging in social media marketing and distribution can be easily addressed through training. Second, social media trends change fast and consumer markets differ hugely in terms of their social media use and perceptions. More research is needed that can inform Australian tourism operators’ decisions in which markets to invest. Enhanced maintenance and monitoring: Maintenance of social media needs to be improved through more frequent updating of all contents in order to achieve currency of information, meet consumer expectations and increase consumer engagement with contents. For visitors, it is vital that information is current, especially for those already arrived at the destination who want correct information to make decisions and book/pay whilst on the move. Whilst many operators monitor consumer sentiment and engagement on their social media, the proportion could be much higher, arguably to approach 100%. Monitoring provides an excellent means to track consumer trends and therefore increases the capacity of the operator to respond.

6.2.4 Tackling Mobile Apps

Mobile app development is costly and time consuming and out of the realm of the many micro-businesses that make up the Australian tourism industry. Developing thousands of apps also makes little sense from a consumer perspective. It is therefore recommended that the Australian tourism industry needs to envision a common mobile future with investments made to develop key apps of benefit to a large number of tourism operators.



7 REFERENCES

Australian Government (2009a). The Jackson Report On behalf of the Steering Committee

Informing the National Long-Term Tourism Strategy. Commonwealth of Australia Canberra

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/documents/tmc/jackson-report-july09.pdf

Australian Government (2009b). National Long-Term Tourism Strategy. Commonwealth of

Australia Canberra

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/documents/tmc/dret%20tourism%20strategy.pdf

Australian Government (2010a). Tourism Operators Online Capabilities Benchmark Survey

2010 Research Report Commonwealth of Australia Canberra

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/Documents/tmc/Digital%20Distribution%20Working%20Gr

oup%20-%20Benchmark%20Survey%202010.pdf

Australian Government (2010b). Going Global an Action Plan to Adapt to the Changing

Tourism Distribution Landscape Commonwealth of Australia Canberra

Australian Government (2011a). National Online Tourism Strategy. Accessed 1 July 2012

at http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/Documents/nltts/NOST.pdf

Australian Government (2011b). National Long-Term Tourism Strategy (NLTTS) Progress

Report 2011 Commonwealth of Australia Canberra

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/documents/nltts/2020/nltts-annual-report-dec11.pdf

Australian Government (2012). Digital Distribution Working Group. Accessed

21 December 2012 at

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/policies/nltts/workinggrps/digital/Pages/default.aspx

Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (2012) Tourism e kit September 2012. Australian

Tourism Data Warehouse: Brisbane. Accessed 29 October 2012 at

http://www.atdw.com.au/tourismekit.aspx

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/documents/tmc/jackson-report-july09.pdf

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/documents/tmc/dret%20tourism%20strategy.pdf

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/Documents/tmc/Digital%20Distribution%20Working%20Group%20-%20Benchmark%20Survey%202010.pdf

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/Documents/tmc/Digital%20Distribution%20Working%20Group%20-%20Benchmark%20Survey%202010.pdf

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/Documents/nltts/NOST.pdf

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/documents/nltts/2020/nltts-annual-report-dec11.pdf

http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/policies/nltts/workinggrps/digital/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.atdw.com.au/tourismekit.aspx%20accessed%2029%20October%202012

APPENDIX A: METHODOLOGY

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A.1 Approach

The project had a steering group consisting of four members - Dr Leo Jago (Chair), Tourism Research Australia, Don Richter, Tourism Victoria, Liz Ward, ATDW, and Deborah O'Connor, Destination NSW. They provided guidance of major decisions made, occasionally in consultation with other NOST members. The approach selected was to ensure continuity with respect to the 2010 survey but at the same time had to take into account new technological developments: In terms of the topics, more questions relating to social media and mobile presence were added. The questions regarding the respondent intentions to develop the business or organisation web presence further were eliminated to allow the social media questions without lengthening the estimated survey completion time. A further problem was discussed by email after the project started. Because the tenders for the proposed phone survey of 2000 respondents all quoted cost amounts far beyond the allocated budget for the project it was decided to have an additional approach to achieve the 2000 respondent target – an online survey of ATDW members in the selected industry sectors. The value of this approach is that it allows comparison of the industry sector population with the cohort of ATDW members. Given that ATDW plays a significant industry education and training role, these research findings will be a very valuable benchmark of the comparative digital capability. The results are reported separately for each cohort, that is for GENERAL (CATI) and for ATDW (online).

A.2 SAMPLE DESIGN

There were two methods of data collection - phone interviews of 1200 respondents and an online survey of ATDW members in select industry sectors. A.2.1 The Sensis Sample for Interviews by Q&A Market Research Pty Ltd For the interview sample, the first task involved consideration of the relative proportions of five main industry sectors to be targeted. For this research report, in consultation with the project steering group, it was decided to use the Tourism Satellite Accounts data for real Gross Value Added (GVA) of tourism businesses as a guide (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011, p16). By way of note, the Account released on 26 April 2013 after the project commenced contains similar proportions (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013, p16). Table 9 shows the numbers and proportions of GVA of accommodation, restaurants, bars, travel agents/ tour operators and motor vehicle hire, with accommodation, restaurants having more than two thirds or $8740m of the GVA. Bars were not included separately as the restaurant sector includes dining – hotels and pubs. These data do not show attractions, an important sector as probably there is no equivalent ABS Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) category for data gathering, though some would be included in museums, art galleries, and theme parks classifications. They were not listed in the GVA table (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011, p16). Therefore an attraction industry sector was added giving it an estimated relative proportion (11%).

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Table 9. GVA Numbers and Proportions

2013 AMENDED PROPOSED

Real GVA ($m) 2010-2011 (select sectors)

industry sector ($m) % Accommodation 5300 0.44 Restaurant 3440 0.28 Bars 1290 0.11 Travel Agents Tour Operators 1500 0.12 Motor Vehicle Hire* 542 0.04 TOTAL 12072 1 Source: ABS Cat. No. 5249

The five final industry sectors in descending order of their proportions are accommodation (44%), dining (29%), tours including travel agents/consultants (12%), attractions (11%), and hire and transport (4%).

Table 10. Industry Sector Proportions Targeted for the CATI Interviews

Industry Sector % Accommodation 44 Dining 29 Attractions 11 Tours 12 Hire & Transport 4 100

Sensis used ANZSIC codes and related Yellow Pages headings to retrieve a total of 20,000 records of Australian businesses. Table 11 shows the breakdown of records by industry sector enterprise/business, ANZSIC code and description as supplied by Sensis; these are exact proportions of the five industry sectors noted above. These records were then used by the interviewing firm Q&A Research to target respondents for the survey. The resulting sample represents a general industry sample, including some ATDW members, and therefore is referred to as GENERAL cohort in the report.

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Table 11. Industry Sector, Product Type and Approximate ANZSIC Codes in Sensis Records

INDUSTRY SECTOR PRODUCT TYPE ANZSIC CODE

Accommodation

GUEST HOUSES 4400

MOTELS 4400 CAMPS 4400 HOLIDAYS & RESORTS 4400 BED & BREAKFAST ACCOMMODATION 4400 BACKPACKERS ACCOMMODATION 4400 APARTMENTS-SERVICED 4400 HOTELS-ACCOMMODATION 4400 Accommodation - 44% - 8800 Total Attractions MUSEUMS 8910 CARAVAN & TOURIST PARKS 4400

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, INFORMATION &/OR SERVICES 7299

ZOOS, SANCTUARIES & ANIMAL PARKS 8921, 8922 Attractions - 11% - 2200 Total Dining RESTAURANTS 4511 CAFES 4511 THEATRE RESTAURANTS 4511 HOTELS-PUBS 4520 Dining - 29% - 5800 Total Hire & Transport CAR &/OR MINIBUS RENTAL 6611 AIRLINES & AIRLINE AGENTS 4900 CAMPERVANS & MOTOR HOMES-HIRE 6619 MOTOR CYCLES-HIRE & TOURS 6619 Hire & Transport - 4% - 800 Total Tours SHOPPING TOURS &/OR SERVICES 5010 SKI CENTRES, TOURS & RESORTS 6639, 5010 TRAVEL AGENTS &/OR CONSULTANTS 7220 ADVENTURE TOURS & HOLIDAYS 5010, 7220 SPORTS TOURS & HOLIDAYS 7220 BUS & COACH CHARTERS & TOURS 4621 Tours - 12% - 2400 Total

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A.2.2 THE ATDW SAMPLE The choice of industry sectors for the ATDW cohort was identical to that for the GENERAL cohort with one modification – an information services group was added. This sector included visitor information centres, state, regional and local visitor organisations, etc. which constitute an important, though small category of ATDW members. However as its response rate was very low – only 13 completions, they were included in the ATDW cohort and not analysed separately as an industry sector. The industry sector proportions in the 2010 sample were based on those of ATDW members. In the 2010 sample there was a greater proportion in Accommodation (60%) and Tours (14%) but lesser in Dining (5%) and Attractions (11%). These proportions differ markedly from those derived from the GVA data which guided the 2013 sample proportions. This strongly suggests that ATDW members’ product categories do not reflect the wider Australian population of select tourism industry sectors. Records on the ATDW members’ database are classified at a broad level by Product Category and within that Product Type. As members often nominate multiple categories, each record could be classified to several Product Categories and several Product Types - that is, ATDW reported that a single product member may identify with multiple product types. For the purpose of industry sector listing, ATDW was instructed to record product category once only in the appropriate industry sector. The email address of business enterprises and organisations in the ATDW sample records which duplicated those in the phone listings of the Sensis data were removed by ATDW from their list of member email addresses. Additional rules were applied to ATDW records to determine their in-scope status for the survey. Records were excluded from the survey frame if they were not active or had expired as at the date of the report or did not contain email address. The resulting ATDW sample included a total of 14,527 records. A.3 FIELDWORK

The interview survey was conducted by Q&A Research using CATI (Computer assisted telephone interviewing); 1200 interviews were completed between 20 May and 4 June 2013 with randomly selected business enterprises and organisations across Australia in five industry sectors as noted above – accommodation, dining, attractions, travel agents/tour operators and motor vehicle/other hire/transport. The interviews met the 12 minute desired time span, average length being 10 minutes. Interviewing proceeded smoothly, though there were several minor problems which were satisfactorily resolved on a case by case basis:

1. For the position/job of the respondent (see Appendix B question QC1a), there were a large range of job titles initially reported, often which had little meaning for the purposes of the survey; therefore respondents were asked to describe their primary responsibilities and the essence of their role; these were matched to the code which matched the level of focus. Even so, there was a significant proportion which were coded ‘other’.

2. The industry sector allocated in the Sensis records was typically incorrect. This meant that in order to fill quotas, the industry sector was taken from the respondents’ nomination to the question QC2 ‘Which of the following tourism activities is your

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organisation mainly involved in?’ Table 12 lists the totals achieved from that nomination for each industry sector; the rows give sector allocated in the Sensis data. For example in accommodation only 289/528 records were Sensis classified as accommodation – the remainder were classified as dining, tours, attractions, hire and transport (63, 4, 3, and 1 respectively).

3. There was delay in achieving the required numbers for the dining sector (see

Appendix B question QC2) –several phone calls had to be made before the appropriate manager was available and/or many reported their restaurant was part of an accommodation business or an attraction.

4. For many respondents it was hard initially to give a considered response to the

website traffic question (see Appendix B question QB11), even if they knew; the interviewer had to ask that they quietly reflect on it, read out the list of possible channels and ask for their proportions as applicable; this was too hard to work through or they had no idea and so no response was recorded for a significant proportion.

Table 12. Sensis Industry Sector Classification vs. Classification Achieved

From Sample Location

Final Quota Accommodation Dining Attractions Tours Hire &

Transport TOTALS

Accommodation 289 27 179 31 2 528 Dining 63 272 7 0 0 342 Attractions 3 14 103 13 0 133 Tours 4 1 18 122 1 146 Hire & Transport 1 0 4 39 7 51 Total 360 314 311 205 10 1200

For the online survey, operators in the ATDW sample were emailed a link to an online survey (see Appendix B) programmed using the online survey platform Qualtrics. The email was sent on behalf of the ATDW CEO Liz Ward, with a note encouraging their participation. An earlier newsletter included advice of survey TBA. Note that Queensland numbers were affected by the TEQ requirement of only including products with an expiry date of 30 June 2014 or later. The online survey fieldwork took part in the period 4 to 18 June 2013. The initial email invitation was followed up by a reminder email 14 June.

Table 13. Online Survey Summary

Initial Invitation – 4 June 2013 Follow-up Reminder Email – 14 June 2013 Emails sent 14,527 Emails sent 14,178 Unique opens 3,815 Unique opens 3,142 Bounced 890 Bounced 593 Unopened 9,822 Unopened 10,443 Clicks 886 Clicks 626

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Tourism Operators’ Digital Uptake Benchmark Survey 2013 for Tourism Research Australia All Research is conducted in accordance with the requirements of University of New South Wales ethics approval 136020 set out in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research; Q&A operate in accordance with industry standard

ISO20252 procedures

Table 14. CATI Response Summary

Table CATI Response summary Previous Status New Status Overall Accommodation Dining Hire &

Transport Tours Attractions

Contact made, eligibility established, eligible, interviewed Interviews 1200 360 314 10 205 311

Contact made, eligibility established, eligible, not interviewed

Soft appointment 550 55 288 27 95 85

Hard appointment 5 1 1 1 2 0

Quota Failure 24 1 3 0 3 17

Contact made, eligibility established, not eligible

Quota not Available 997 118 261 111 347 160

Screener - Not in tourism 4 0 0 0 3 1

Screener - DK Bookings 1 0 0 0 1 0

Screener - DK Email 1 0 1 0 0 0

Screener - DK Website 0 0 0 0 0 0

Screener - DK Other website 10 3 5 0 1 1

Non-business number 34 4 12 0 12 6

Contact made, eligibility not established

Refusal 683 154 310 14 131 74

Out/answering machine 414 17 300 13 22 62

Engaged/busy 16 0 11 0 3 2

Language 76 0 73 0 3 0

Fax (Kill 1) 40 4 18 1 12 5

Contact not made, eligibility not established

Virgin 12144 6998 3208 197 591 1150

TMD (Kill 2) 678 74 344 44 155 61

Dead 591 76 378 3 70 64

Total 17468 7865 5527 421 1656 1999

Incidence Rate: Completed/ (Screen outs + Completed) 53% 74% 53% 8% 36% 65%

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Tourism Operators’ Digital Uptake Benchmark Survey 2013 for Tourism Research Australia All Research is conducted in accordance with the requirements of University of New South Wales ethics approval 136020 set out in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research; Q&A operate in accordance with industry standard

ISO20252 procedures

CATI Response Summary Legend

Status Description Virgin These are sample items that were never accessed by our system Interviews Completed sample items that originally came from this location Refusal Respondents that refused to complete the survey for us Out/answering machine Sample items that were called less than 6 times and didn't pick up Engaged/busy Sample items that were called less than 6 times and didn't pick up Soft appointment Respondents that were contacted and gave us a soft appointment Hard appointment Respondents that were contacted and gave us a hard appointment Language Respondents that had language difficulties and couldn't complete the survey with us in English Quota Failure Sample items that were filed as Quota Full as we already had enough surveys for the quota Fax (Kill 1) Sample items that were picked up by a fax machine TMD (Kill 2) Sample items that were disconnected

Quota not Available (Kill 101) Sample items that did not qualify for an interview e.g. - Head Office looks after online presence - Person responsible not available for survey period - Wrong number

Screener - Not in tourism (Kill 6) QC2 Terminate Screener - DK Bookings (Kill 7) QC6 Terminate Screener - DK Email (Kill 8) QC7 Terminate Screener - DK Website (Kill 9) QC8 Terminate Screener - DK Other website (Kill 10) QC9 Terminate Non-business number Sample item was a residential number Dead Sample item was called 6+ times with no resolve

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A.4 FIELD SUMMARIES

The response rates for the CATI cohort are listed in Table 14 with an overall completion rate of 53%; the complete rate varied by the industry sector: Accommodation 74%, Dining 53%, Attractions 65%, Tours 36% and Hire and Transport 8%. The table also shows the final counts of respondents for each industry sector and the sample history. Overall, the CATI effort achieved the desired 1200 respondent goal and the industry proportions set out based on GVA proportions. Of the ATDW operators who received the invitation email and clicked on the survey link, 1042 started the survey. 46 indicated that they did not want to complete the survey after reading the information section or dropped out after the first question. 996 completed the job title question. Three dropped out after that and 8 did not qualify for the rest of the survey as they were either not involved in tourism activities or where unable to indicate what business they were in. This resulted in an overall sample of 985 ATDW members. A.5 SAMPLE WEIGHTING

The data were weighted to achieve a sample that is representative of the Australian tourism industry in terms of the relative importance of industry sectors based on their GVA contributions. A.5.1 General The general sample derived from the CATI fieldwork largely corresponded to the industry proportions determined and therefore did not have to be weighted. A.5.2 ATDW The ATDW sample was weighted to reflect the proportions of industry sectors in the ATDW membership base. A.5.2 Total For the construction of the sample that included ALL records (General + ATDW), the information services operators were eliminated as the tourism satellite accounts GVA table does not include any values for information services and the response rate was also extremely low in this category. The records were then weighted to reflect the GVA based industry proportions.

Table 15. Sample Weights Summary

Industry sector GVA proportions

ATDW member proportions

ATDW sample proportions

Total proportions

ATDW weights

Total weights

Accommodation 0.44 0.361 0.550 0.493 0.656 0.892 Dining 0.29 0.200 0.059 0.184 3.383 1.576 Attractions 0.11 0.306 0.165 0.137 1.845 0.803 Tours 0.12 0.089 0.174 0.146 0.511 0.822 Hire/Transport 0.04 0.027 0.038 0.041 0.721 0.976 Info Services - 0.017 0.013 - 1.292 -

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRES

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Tourism Operators’ Digital Uptake Benchmark Survey 2013 for Department of Resources, Energy & Tourism All Research is conducted in accordance with the requirements of University of New South Wales ethics approval 136020 set

out in the National Statement on Ethical conduct in Human Research; Q&A operate in accordance with industry standard ISO20252 procedures

Tourism Operators’ Digital Uptake Benchmark Survey 2013

Interviewer _______________ Response No: _____ __ Date__________ Time _____ Record: Name of business ..................................................................................... Phone number ....................................................... Postcode ........................................................ INTRODUCTION GUIDE TO POTENTIAL RESPONDENTS PHONE Good morning/afternoon. My name is ……… I’m calling regarding a survey we are conducting for Tourism Research Australia on how tourism businesses and organisations use the Internet for marketing and distribution. Participation is voluntary, but it’s a great opportunity for you to contribute to this important tourism initiative. Can I please speak with the person who is responsible for your organisation’s online marketing activities. Would you be available now to answer some questions? – it will only take about 10 minutes? IF NOW – CONTINUE IF NOT NOW – MAKE APPOINTMENT IF REFUSED – THANK and TERMINATE The research is conducted by the University of New South Wales and University of Wollongong on behalf of Tourism Research Australia. You will be asked questions about your company’s online activities and capabilities. Refusing to participate in the study will not have any negative consequences for you. Regarding confidentiality and disclosure of information, any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission, except as required by law. If you give us your permission by participating in this study, we plan to publish the results as a Tourism Research Australia report and in academic journals. In any publication, information will be provided in such a way that you cannot be identified. Complaints may be directed to the Ethics Secretariat at the University of New South Wales ASK IF THEY WOULD LIKE CONTACT INFO AND ONLY READ OUT IF YES: Phone: +61 2 9385 4234 Fax: +61 2 9385 6648 Email: [email protected] Completion of this telephone survey will imply consent to using your data in our study. We would be happy to post/email you the Participant Information Statement and Revocation of Consent Form if you are interested. (if interested- record post/email address.)

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CLASSIFICATION DETAILS ASK ALL

QC1a. Firstly, can I please confirm your position/job title. Are you the…..

READ OUT. SINGLE ANSWER ONLY:

Owner ................................................................................................................................. 1 Manager ............................................................................................................................2 Marketing manager .............................................................................................................................. 3 Sales manager ................................................................................................................................. 4 IT/web manager ................................................................................................................................. 5 Other ............................................................................................................................... 96 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ................................................................................................... 99

QC1b. What is the postal code of the main office location of your company in Australia? TYPE IN POSTAL CODE: ____________________________

QC2. Which of the following tourism activities is your organisation mainly involved in:


Accommodation ................................................................................................................................. 1 Dining ................................................................................................................................. 2 Attractions (e.g. theme parks, zoos, galleries, museums, etc) ............................................................. 3 ours ................................................................................................................................. 4 Hire (e.g. car, bike, skis etc) ................................................................................................................. 5 Transport ................................................................................................................................. 6 Other (Please Specify) ........................................................................................................................ 96 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ................................................................................................... 99 NOT INVOLVED IN TOURISM (DO NOT READ OUT) ........................................................... 98 IF NOT IN TOURISM (code 98 at QC2) – THANK AND TERMINATE, SAYING: Sorry, thanks anyway but we are only interviewing those involved in tourism for this survey. IF “ACCOMMODATION” (code 1 at QC2), ASK QC3, OTHERS (codes 2-96, 99 at QC2)

GO TO QC4

QC3. Which one of the following best describes the TYPE of accommodation your organisation is mainly involved with:


Apartments .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Backpackers and Hostels .................................................................................................................... 2 Bed and Breakfasts ............................................................................................................................. 3 Cabins and Cottages ........................................................................................................................... 4 Caravans and Camping ....................................................................................................................... 5 Hotels/Motels/Resorts ........................................................................................................................ 6 Self-Contained ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Other .............................................................................................................................................. 96 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ................................................................................................. 99

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QC4a. Which one of the following best describes your organisation?


A stand-alone business ......................................................................................................................... 1 A franchise ................................................................................................................................. 2 A business that is part of a group/chain ............................................................................................... 3 A Government agency; or .................................................................................................................... 4 A not for profit organisation................................................................................................................. 5 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ................................................................................................... 99

QC5. How many employees (counting full-time, part-time and casual) are employed by your organisation

<<across all locations in Australia>> excluding any seasonal peaks you may have in your business?

RECORD IN APPROPRIATE CATEGORY BELOW:

Less than 5 ................................................................................................................................. 1 5-9 ................................................................................................................................. 2 10-19 ................................................................................................................................. 3 20-199 ................................................................................................................................. 4 200 or more ................................................................................................................................. 5 Can’t say ............................................................................................................................... 99

QC6. Does your organisation take bookings for its products or services? This can be either offline or online

through your own website or through a third party.

Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ............................................................................................................................... 99

IF CAN’T SAY (code 99 at QC6) – THANK AND TERMINATE, SAYING: Sorry, thanks anyway, but we need to speak with people who know about bookings. OTHERS CONTINUE

QC7. Does your organisation have its own email address(es)?

Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ............................................................................................................................... 99

IF CAN’T SAY (code 99 at QC7) – THANK AND TERMINATE, SAYING: Sorry, thanks anyway but we need to speak with people who know about this. OTHERS CONTINUE

QC8. Does your organisation have its own website?

Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ............................................................................................................................... 99 IF CAN’T SAY (code 99 at QC8) – THANK AND TERMINATE, SAYING: Sorry, thanks anyway but we need to speak with people who know about this. IF NO (code 2 at QC8) – CONTINUE THROUGH TO QA2; THEN SKIP QB1- QB7; CONTINUE

QB8- QE1; SKIP QB10- END AND THANK RESPONDENT

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QC9. Is your organisation represented on any other parties’ website? Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say …………………………………………………………………………………99

IF NO WEBSITE (code 2 at QC8) –GO TO QC10a THEN SKIP QB3-QB7; QB10- QB14 END OTHERS CONTINUE

QC10a. Does your organization have an official presence on any of the following social media sites?

READ OUT. MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE

Facebook ....................................................................................................................... Yes=1 Twitter ........................................................................................................................... Yes=1 YouTube........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Pinterest ........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Google+1 ....................................................................................................................... Yes=1 Tumblr ........................................................................................................................... Yes=1 LinkedIn ....................................................................................................................... Yes=1 Flickr ............................................................................................................................. Yes=1 Other (Please specify). .................................................................................................. Yes=1 NONE ............................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ............................................................................... Yes=1

IF YES (QC10 codes 1 – 96): IF NO (QC10 codes 97 and 99): skip to QC12 QC10b. How often are the contents of your social media sites updated? ONLY READ OUT THOSE OPTIONS THAT WERE INDICATED ABOVE:

One to several times a day 6

2-7 times a week 5

2-4 times a month 4

2-12 times a year 3

Once a year 2

Less often than once a year 1

Never 0

Can’t say 99

Facebook Twitter YouTube Pinterest Google+1 Tumblr LinkedIn Flickr Other

QC11a. Does your organization monitor the number of consumers engaging with your company through

specific social media types (e.g. number of followers, subscribers, page likes, etc.)? Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say …………………………………………………………………………………99

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QC11b. Does your organization monitor the level of consumer engagement with your social media contents (e.g. views, retweets, repins, shares, likes, number of comments, etc.)? Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ……………………………………………………………………………….99

QC11c. Does your organization monitor what consumers say about your products/services on social media sites?

Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say …………………………………………………………………………………99

QC12. Does your organization maintain a company blog? Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say …………………………………………………………………………………99

QC13. Does your organization have a mobile app that people can download to their mobile devices?

Yes ................................................................................................................................. 1 No ................................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ………………………………………………………………………………...99

IF ORGANISATION HAS MOBILE APP (code 1 at QC13), ASK:

QB14a. Is it possible to make bookings of your products/services through your mobile app?

Yes .................................................................................................................. 1 No .................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ................................................................................................................ 99

ORGANISATIONS WITHOUT OWN WEBSITE (code 2 at QC8)

IF DOES NOT HAVE WEBSITE ASK:

QA1. Which, if any, of the following reasons explain why your organisation has no website?


No need to as customers contact us by other means.................................................... Yes=1 Website of another party offers information/bookings ............................................... Yes=1 Other online presence (e.g. on social media) is sufficient . ..........................................Yes=1 Unsure of benefits for my organisation ....................................................................... Yes=1 Cost ............................................................ Yes=1 My organisation is too small ............................................................ Yes=1 Lack of technical expertise ............................................................ Yes=1 Lack of availability of training providers/support ....................................................... Yes=1 Unsure of where to obtain training ............................................................ Yes=1 No time ............................................................ Yes=1 Not relevant to my organisation ............................................................ Yes=1 Poor Internet connections ............................................................ Yes=1 Haven’t thought about it ............................................................ Yes=1 Other (Please specify). ............................................................ Yes=1 No reason in particular (DO NOT READ OUT) ......................................................... Yes=1 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ............................................................................... Yes=1

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ORGANISATIONS WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE (code 97 at QC10)

IF DOES NOT HAVE ANY SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE ASK:

QA2. Which, if any, of the following reasons explain why your organisation has no presence on social media?


No need to as customers contact us by other means.................................................... Yes=1 Security/privacy concerns ............................................................................................ Yes=1 Worried that consumers will post negative opinions .................................................. Yes=1 Other online presence (e.g. website) is sufficient .... ................................................... Yes=1 Unsure of benefits for my organisation ....................................................................... Yes=1 Cost ............................................................ Yes=1 My organisation is too small ............................................................ Yes=1 Lack of technical expertise ............................................................ Yes=1 Lack of availability of training providers/support ....................................................... Yes=1 Unsure of where to obtain training ............................................................ Yes=1 No time ............................................................ Yes=1 Not relevant to my organisation ............................................................ Yes=1 Poor Internet connections ............................................................ Yes=1 Haven’t thought about it ............................................................ Yes=1 Other (Please specify). ............................................................ Yes=1 No reason in particular (DO NOT READ OUT) ......................................................... Yes=1 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ............................................................................... Yes=1

ORGANISATIONS WITH OWN WEBSITE – Code 1 QC8 (Section B)

QB1. Which, if any, of the following features are provided on your organisation’s website?


Description of your own tourism-related features and services ................................................. Yes=1 Links to your company’s social media sites ............................................................................... Yes=1 Links to local, regional or national tourism organisation websites ............................................ Yes=1 Links to other tourism companies (attractions, transportation, etc.) .......................................... Yes=1 Maps ........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Photo gallery ........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Web-based order or enquiry form ............................................................................................... Yes=1 Downloadable materials .............................................................................................................. Yes=1 User generated contents (comments, reviews, photos) .............................................................. Yes=1 Online videos ........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ............................................................................................. Yes=1

QB2. Has your website been optimized for viewing on mobile devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.)?

Yes – existing site is optimized ............................................................................................. 1 No – have separate mobile site.............................................................................................. 2 Neither optimized nor separate mobile site .......................................................................... 3 Can’t say ................................................................................................................ 99

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BOOKINGS

IF ORGANISATION TAKES BOOKINGS (Code 1 at QC6), ASK: QB3. You mentioned your organisation takes bookings. Can people make email booking requests

from your website?

Yes .................................................................................................................. 1 No .................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ................................................................................................................ 99

QB4. Can people check the availability and price <<availability – IF DINING CODE 2 AT

QC2>>of your products or services on your website? IF DINING: This refers to availability of a table for example,rather than availability of a menu online.

INTERVIEWER: IF”DINING” THIS RELATES TO AVAILABILITY (E.G. OF A TABLE,

FUNCTION ROOM ETC). IT DOES NOT REFER TO A MENU!

Only availability .................................................................................................................. 1 Only price .................................................................................................................. 2 Both price and availability .................................................................................................... 3 Cannot check price nor availability ...................................................................................... 4 Can’t say ................................................................................................................ 99

QB5. Can people make instant confirmation bookings on your website?

Yes .................................................................................................................. 1 No .................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ................................................................................................................ 99

IF INSTANT CONFIRMATION BOOKINGS POSSIBLE (code 1 at QB5), ASK: QB6. Can people make online payments through your website for these instant confirmation bookings ?

INTERVIEWER: IF WEBSITE CAN JUST COLLECT CREDIT CARD DETAILS BUT NOT PROCESS THE ACTUAL PAYMENT THEN CODE AS ‘NO’ BELOW

Yes ................................................................................................... 1 No ................................................................................................... 2 Can’t say ................................................................................................. 99

IF ABLE TO MAKE PAYMENTS THROUGH WEBSITE (codes 1 at QB6), ASK:

QB7. And are people required to pay in full at the time of making these instant confirmation bookings on your website?

IF RESPONDENT SAYS DEPOSIT REQUIRED: PROBE WHETHER ANY OCCASIONS WHERE FULL AMOUNT REQUIRED. IF NO CODE AS 3 “NEVER”, IF YES CODE AS 2 “SOMETIMES”

Yes – Always required to pay in full ................................................................................................... 1 Yes – Sometimes required to pay in full .............................................................................................. 2 No – Never required to pay in full ....................................................................................................... 3 Can’t say ............................................................................................................................................. 99 IF ORGANISATION TAKES BOOKINGS AND IS REPRESENTED ON OTHERS WEBSITE AS

WELL (code 1 at QC6 and code 1 at QC9), ASK:

QB8. Do other parties offer instant confirmation bookings online for your organisation (eg WOTIF, booknow, Stayz, etc)

Yes .................................................................................................................. 1 No .................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ................................................................................................................ 99

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IF OTHER PARTIES OFFER INSTANT CONFIRMATION BOOKINGS FOR ORGANSATIONS (code

1 at QB8), ASK:

QB9. Do these other parties also take payments online for you? Yes ................................................................................................................................................ 1 No ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Can’t say .............................................................................................................................................. 99

IF OTHERS TAKE PAYMENTS THROUGH WEBSITE (codes 1 at QB9), ASK:

QB9a. Are people required to pay in full at the time of making these instant confirmation bookings on these

websites???

IF YES: PROBE FOR ‘ALWAYS’ OR ‘SOMETIMES’ IF RESPONDENT SAYS DEPOSIT REQUIRED: PROBE WHETHER ANY OCCASIONS WHERE FULL AMOUNT REQUIRED. IF NO CODE AS 3 “NEVER”, IF YES CODE AS 2 “SOMETIMES”

Yes – Always required to pay in full ................................................................................................... 1 Yes – Sometimes required to pay in full .............................................................................................. 2 No – Never required to pay in full ....................................................................................................... 3 Can’t say ........................................................................................................................... 99

IF INSTANT BOOKING NOT POSSIBLE ON OWN WEBSITE (code 2 at QB5), ASK:

QE1. Which, if any, of the following reasons explain why your organisation does not offer instant booking on its website?


No need to as customers contact us by other means.................................................... Yes=1 Website of another party offers instant bookings ........................................................ Yes=1 Security/privacy concerns ........ ................................................... Yes=1 Unsure of benefits for my organisation ....................................................................... Yes=1 Cost ............................................................ Yes=1 My organisation is too small ............................................................ Yes=1 Lack of technical expertise ............................................................ Yes=1 Lack of availability of training providers/support ....................................................... Yes=1 Unsure of where to obtain training ............................................................ Yes=1 No time ............................................................ Yes=1 Not relevant to my organisation ............................................................ Yes=1 Poor Internet connections ............................................................ Yes=1 Haven’t thought about it ............................................................ Yes=1 Other (Please specify). ............................................................ Yes=1 No reason in particular (DO NOT READ OUT) ......................................................... Yes=1 Can’t say (DO NOT READ OUT) ............................................................................... Yes=1

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MANAGING AND MEASURING TRAFFIC TO SITE IF ORGANISATION HAS WEBSITE (code 1 at QC8), ASK QB10. Do you use organic search engine optimisation for your website? <ONLY READ IF EXPLANATION NEEDED: organic SEO means improving the ranking in the search results by optimizing the content and/or link structure of the website to facilitate indexing by search engines and increase the relevance of the site for certain search terms>

Yes .................................................................................................................. 1 No .................................................................................................................. 2 Can’t say ................................................................................................................ 99

QB11. Which, if any, of the following marketing services do you use to drive traffic to your website?


Google Adwords ........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Yahoo! Search Marketing ........................................................................................................... Yes=1 Microsoft adCenter ...................................................................................................................... Yes=1 Facebook Advertising ................................................................................................................. Yes=1 Others (Please specify)............... ................................................................................................. Yes=1 Does not use paid services to drive website traffic............... ...................................................... Yes=1

CAN’T SAY (DO NOT READ OUT) ....................................................................................... Yes=1 QB12. Which, if any, of the following services does your company use to measure the performance of your

website?


Google Analytics ........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Salesforce ........................................................................................................................ Yes=1 Customized solution .................................................................................................................... Yes=1 Others (Please specify)............... ................................................................................................. Yes=1 Does not measure performance of website .................................................................. .............. Yes=1

CAN’T SAY (DO NOT READ OUT) ....................................................................................... Yes=1 … QB12B How do customers reach your website? Please insert % for each type of channel from which you receive referrals to your website. Must add up to 100%. Please provide your best estimate. Search engines _______% Local, regional or state tourism office websites _______% www.australia.com ______% Your company’s social media sites _________% Partner business websites _______% Yellowpages and similar paid directory listings _______% TripAdvisor and similar rating/virtual community sites _______% Other (Please specify) _______% CAN’T SAY (DO NOT READ OUT) ............................................................................................ 999 QB12C How did you derive the percentages?

Actual numbers obtained from tracking website traffic ........................................................................ 1 Estimate based on customer feedback, etc............................................................................................. 2 Other (Please specify)............... ......................................................................................................... … 96

http://www.australia.com/

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QB12D What percentage of users accesses your website with a mobile device? Percentage of website users who access through mobile device: _____% CAN’T SAY (DO NOT READ OUT) ............................................................................ ……………. 99 QB13. How do you maintain your website?

Housed on internal web server and content is maintained in-house ..................................................... 1 Housed on internal web server but content maintenance is outsourced ............................................... 2 Outsourced hosting of web site but content is maintained in-house ..................................................... 3 Outsourced hosting and content maintenance ....................................................................................... 4 Can’t say ................................................................................................................................... 99

QB14. How often is your website updated?

One to several times a day 6

2-7 times a week 5

2-4 times a month 4

2-12 times a year 3

Once a year 2

Less often than once a year 1

Never 0

Can’t say 99

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND INTEREST, IT’S APPRECIATED!

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ONLINE SURVEY

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If Other:

If Accommodation:

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If Other:

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Note: only options selected in the previous questions are displayed. If social media presence:

If mobile app:

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If no website:

If Other:

If no social media presence:

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If Other:

If own website:

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If takes booking and has own website:

If instant confirmation booking:

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If online payment:

If takes booking and is represented on third party websites:

If instant booking through third party websites:

If third party websites take online payment:

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If own website and takes booking but does not offer instant confirmation booking:

IF Other:

If own website:

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If Other:

If Other:

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If Other:

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TOURISM OPERATORS’ DIGITAL UPTAKE BENCHMARK SURVEY …

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