Like most other industries, tourism promoters and holiday accommodation providers have had to get tech savvy over the past decade, with early adopters reaping great rewards.

Globally a quarter of all travel bookings last year were made online, and Google’s Australian travel and tourism statistics reveal 95% of people holidaying in Australia use the Internet to plan and research their holiday.

So why do people research online? Any number of reasons -for some it is convenience, for others it may be budget.

Recent research conducted for Santander UK revealed holidaymakers in Britain saved a collective total of £4.92 billion on holidays last year by cutting out the middle man and booking directly, with those cutting out the middle man saving an average of £423.

The survey shows that of the 22 million adults that holidayed away from the UK last year, 47% (11.6 million) saved money when booking their travel and accommodation by going online or calling directly to make their booking, rather than using a travel agent or tour operator.

The most popular method of saving money was to book online, with 44% of respondents reporting that they had done so. A third of holidaymakers (33%) saved money by contacting accommodation venues directly, while 17% said they saved money by staying with friends who live abroad.

Whilst on the topic of thriftiness, the research also found that six million Britons asked for an upgrade in the past year, with the most popular requests being for hotel rooms (50%) and aircraft seats (43%). Of those who asked for an upgrade, 60% were successful!

Thankfully not everyone is hassling for upgrades so they can fly business class to go couch surfing at their great aunts! Data shows accommodation venues are seeing growth, and while people may be pinching pennies, the great news for toursim operators is they are still travelling in great volumes both internationally and domestically.

On the local front, the number of nights Australian domestic travellers will spend in Queensland in 2010 is predicted to jump by 2.2 percent to more than 71 million, according to the tourism Forecasting Committee. The number of nights international visitors spend in the state should jump by 2.5 percent to more than 40 million, with data indicating overseas visitors are also spending more.

If these predictions are correct it will be another bumper year for the Gold Coast, which led the tourism turnaround last year. The latest International Visitor Survey reported that International visitors to the Gold Coast increased 2.3% in the months between January 2009 to December 2009, and was one of the few areas in Australia to see growth.

So if you are a Queensland-based tourism operator the key findings are that visitor volumes are strong and the forecast is rosy, but that a majority of travellers are now trying to cutting costs by researching online. How can you reach customers and effectively stand out from the crowd without blowing your marketing budget sky-high? The answer is online video.

Neilsons 2010 Internet & Technology Report shows 41% of all Australian internet users regularly stream or download videos. Additionally, 25% of respondents said they had downloaded or streamed information and reviews on future purchases or products.

Position yourself squarely in front of holidaymakers researching their next break. An online video creates instant visual appeal just like a TV ad, only far more cost-effectively and with wider reach. For as little as a $1000, a video commercial can be professionally filmed on location, edited, and formatted for online viewing. It can then be added to your website, to your online listings or social media pages, or used to promote yourself extensively online, driving traffic to your site and converting more bookings.

Online video allows you to grab the attention of customers while they are hunting for the services you offer. Like to find out more? Call Soul Arch Media today on 07 55358812 or visit www.soularchmedia.com to get expert advice on using online tourism videos to promote holiday accommodation.

 Although there is only a short time left to rack up online Christmas sales, it is still not too late to up your marketing efforts to drive traffic to your website.

One of the cheapest and most effective ways to do this is by distributing a press release outlining your special offers. If written using lots of relevant holiday keywords (perhaps with the assistance of a copywriter?) and posted with the right tags online, a press release can drive hundreds and even thousands of buyers to your site for minimal cost. We sent one out for Monster Baby clothing last week with tags like Toddler Christmas Gift Ideas, Childrens Christmas Presents etc etc. and already hudreds of potentail customers searching for holiday gift ideas and in the mood to buy online have clicked through to the site. A similar release we sent out for baby online store Bubbee.com.au last year has scored over 2,000 click throughs on one PR site alone, which when you consider a press release only costs around $150-$300 to be written and distributed is a pretty shrewd investment. A lot cheaper per click than Adwords anyway!

After some more ideas? See our blog for posts like 3 low budget ways to drive traffic for more tips. Wishing you all a happy and properous holiday season!

While print and TV advertising may never really fade away, they’ve certainly suffered a major decline in power and revenue in recent years. While many would claim the current global economic crisis may be partially sapping advertising funds normally earmarked for these mediums, there’s little doubt that fresher technologies - more specifically the internet and mobile handsets - are the main culprit.

Nearly half of all marketing spending is going to online strategies - a massive 47% - according to a survey conducted by Hearst Electronics Group and Goldstein Group Communications (GGC). (more…)