Australia

There were 17,033,826 internet users in Australia (representing 80.1% of the population) in June 2010, according to Internet World Stats. This was up by 158.1% since 2000. (Internet World Stats, June 2010)

There were 9.1 million active internet subscribers in Australia at the end of December 2009 (comprising 1,653,000 business and government subscribers and 7,459,000 household subscribers), according to findings of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Internet Activity Survey in December 2009.

The phasing out of dial-up internet connections continued with nearly 90% of internet connections now being non dial-up. Australians also continued to access higher download speeds, with 62% of access connections having a download speed of 1.5Mbps or greater.

Digital subscriber line (DSL) continued to be the major technology for connections, accounting for 51% of non dial-up connections. However, this percentage share has decreased since June 2009 when DSL represented 57% of non dial-up connections.

Mobile wireless via a datacard, dongle or USB modem was the fastest growing technology in internet connections, increasing to 2.8 million in December 2009. This represents a 40% increase from June 2009.

The Internet Activity Survey (IAS) collects details on aspects of internet access services provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia. This release contains results from all ISPs operating in Australia as at 31 December 2009. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, March 2010)

Digital Media

The number of hours Australians spend consuming media also continued to climb in 2008, reaching 89.2 hours per week compared to 84.4 hours in 2007 and just 71.4 hours in 2006, according to Nielsen Online. New technology was the main driver of the increased consumption, with the amount of time spent online up from 13.7 hours in 2007 to 16.1 hours in 2008, while PC Video (video either downloaded or viewed on a computer) usage jumped from 2.5 hours to 4.6 hours, and video games usage was up from 4.6 hours to 5.4 hours.

This increase in consumption has lead to an increase in the amount of media multi-tasking undertaken by Australians - over three in five internet users (61%) watch television while online and half (50%) use the internet while listening to the radio. Of those consumers who report multi-tasking, the internet is most commonly cited as the primary focus. (Nielsen Online, March 2009)

Searches Engines and Searches

Experian Hitwise revealed the top search engines in Australia for the 4 weeks ending May 22 2010, ranked by volume of searches.

Top search engines in Australia for the 4 weeks ending May 22 2010 by volume of searches:
1. www.google.com.au: 87.47%
2. www.google.com: 5.10%
3. www.bing.com: 3.40%
4. au.search.yahoo.com: 2.27%
5. www.ask.com: 0.35%
(Experian Hitwise, May 2010)

There has been a global trend in the lengthening of search terms in Australia, according to findings presented by Alan Long, Hitwise Research Director about how the Australian Internet user's interactions with Search Engines are changing.

The findings show a year-on-year decrease in one word search terms of 2.3% and two word search terms of 1.9%. In contrast search requests longer than three words have increased over the past 12 months by 2.8%, returning to the levels of 2006 and 2007. Four word searches have increased 1.2% and 5-words plus searches have seen a solid increase over the past two years, with a 1.2% increase in the past 12 months.

Search term length trends all search engines, Australia for the week ending 14 November 2009:
- 1 word: 18.6% (-2.3% in the past year)
- 2 words: 28.6% (-1.9%)
- 3 words: 24.2% (+2.8%)
- 4 words: 14.3% (+1.2%)
- 5+ words: 14.3% (+1.2%)
(Hitwise Australia Newsletter - December 2009, December 2009)

There were 11,514,606 active home internet users in Australia in June 2009, according to Nielsen Online. This was up by 2.47% compared to the previous month. (ClickZ, August 2009)

Experian Hitwise revealed the most popular travel websites in Australia for the week ending August 14 2010 in the categories Agencies; Destinations and Accommodation; Airlines and travel search terms.

Top Agency websites in Australia for the week ending August  142010 by % of visits:
1. Webjet Australia (www.webjet.com.au): 14.80% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. Flight Centre (www.flightcentre.com.au):  8.98% (2nd)
3. Expedia Australia (www.expedia.com.au): 7.65% (3rd)

Top Destinations and Accommodation websites in Australia for the week ending August 14 2010 by % of visits:
1. Wotif.com (www.wotif.com): 7.07% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com): 4.72% (2^nd)
3. Booking.com (www.booking.com/): 2.73% (3^rd)

Top Airline websites in Australia for the week ending August 14 2010 by % of visits:
1. Jetstar Airways (www.jetstar.com): 23.18% (3^rd)
Qantas Airways (www.qantas.com.au): 19.97% (previously ranked 1^st)
3. Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com.au): 17.86% (2^nd)

Top Travel search terms websites in Australia for the week ending August 14 2010 by % of clicks:
1. google maps: 1.52% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. jetstar: 1.00% (2nd)
3. virgin blue: 0.97% (3rd)

(tnooz - talking travel tech, August 2010)

Experian Hitwise revealed the most popular travel websites in Australia for the week ending June 5 2010 in the categories Agencies; Destinations and Accommodation, Airlines as well as travel search terms.

Top Agencies websites in Australia for the week ending June 5 2010 by % of visits:
1. Webjet Australia (www.webjet.com.au): 13.10% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. Flight Centre (www.flightcentre.com.au): 10.18% (2^nd)
3. Expedia Australia (www.expedia.com.au): 6.48% (3^rd)

Top Destinations and Accommodation websites in Australia for the week ending June 5 2010 by % of visits:
1. Wotif.com (www.wotif.com): 6.57% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com): 4.73% (2^nd)
3. Totaltravel.com (www.totaltravel.com): 2.77% (3^rd)

Top Airlines websites in Australia for the week ending June 5 2010 by % of visits:
1. Qantas Airways (www.qantas.com.au): 21.13% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com.au): 19.70% (2^nd)
3. Jetstar Airways (www.jetstar.com): 18.88% (3^rd)

Top travel search term by % of clicks for the week ending June 5 2010 by % of visits:
1. google maps: 1.39% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. virgin blue: 1.05% (2^nd)
3. jetstar: 0.99% (3^rd)

(tnooz - talking travel tech, June 2010)

More than 16.5 million unique visitors have experienced australia.com (version four) in its first year. Tourism Australia's primary consumer online platform, australia.com is now available in ten languages with more to follow next year.

Since the launch 12 months ago, coinciding with the international roll out of the Come Walkabout campaign, the new website has attracted a record number of unique visitors and a prestigious People's Voice Webby Award.

australia.com has now doubled in size and contains over 220 pages of motivational destination content and feature articles to entice consumers to holiday in Australia. More than 26,000 tourism products are on the site via the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse and 57 ‘journeys' including adventure, coastal, romance, outback, nature and Indigenous experiences have been profiled. (Tourism Australia newsletter - essentials: tourism info you need 25/11/09, November 2009)

Australia's Minister for Tourism Martin Ferguson welcomed the launch of the Tropical North Queensland website in November 2009, which forms part of a long term tourism strategy to reposition the region.

The website is just one part of the Australian Government's $4 million New Destination Road Map for Tropical North Queensland announced in August 2008, following the withdrawal of air services from Japan. The Road Map aims to reposition the region in the long term, promote new tourism experiences and encourage flexibility in the tourism industry to adapt to changing economic conditions and consumer trends. (Tourism Australia newsletter - essentials: tourism info you need 18/11/09, November 2009)

Tourism Australia continues to inspire the youth market, encouraging British 18 to 30 year olds to take a working holiday in Australia. An online campaign in September and October drives consumers to www.australia.com/workingholiday and Tourism Australia's new youth targeted Facebook page www.facebook.com/australianworkingholiday.

The Facebook page enables young people to share their own real-life Aussie gap year experiences with those thinking of spending their gap year in Australia. The page has over 10,300 fans already and features an application that allows users to design their own virtual Aussie adventure and produce a motivational photo album that can be shared with friends. The youth activity is an ongoing campaign reaching over 5.8 million young experience seekers throughout 2009 and 2010. The next major media burst will take place in March and April 2010. (Tourism Australia Newsletter - essentials: tourism info you need 21/10/09, October 2009)

Social networking is helping to get more travellers talking and ‘tweeting' about Australia with Tourism Australia's presence on Facebook, and more recently Twitter, creating strong word-of-mouth advocacy. Tourism Australia has recently integrated Twitter followers' comments directly onto its Facebook page.

Tourism Australia's Managing Director, Geoff Buckley said social media is an effective way for people to connect instantly and share their love of Australia - whether they are locals or visitors.

Australians are also proving to be strong advocates for their country on Facebook and Twitter - often providing advice and tips to travellers, whether they are planning on visiting or are already there. 

Launched in March 2009, www.twitter.com/SeeAustralia has conversations about Australia between two audiences and two platforms. It acts as a conduit for fans and followers to "meet and talk".

Tourism Australia's activities on Twitter and Facebook are getting people to share their experiences of Australia with a community of travellers who are passionate about our country. This word-of-mouth is powerful in convincing people they should holiday here, according to Mr Buckley said. (Tourism Australia Newsletter - essentials: tourism info you need, 26 June 2009, June 2009)

The Hitwise Australia Online Performance Awards acknowledge excellence in online performance, by recognising the most visited websites in Australia, across over 100 industries. It is based on the internet usage of approximately 3 million Australians visiting over 140,000 Australian websites throughout 2008.

The winners in the travel industry were:
- Agencies: www.webjet.com.au
- Cruises: www.pocruises.com.au
- Destinations and Accommodation: www.wotif.com
- Maps: maps.google.com.au
- Transport: www.qantas.com.au
(Hitwise, March 2009)

The number of Brits heading to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa is 20% higher than 12 months ago, according to the latest statistics from the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). Between July and December 2008, 20,851 Working Holiday Visas were granted, compared to 17,327 that were issued in the same six months in 2007.

The rise has been partly attributed to campaigns with MySpace and Bebo. More than 6,000 people clicked through from the MySpace Australia page to the Australian immigration website (May - September 08), and there have been more than 3 million views to date of ‘The Gap Year' videos that included specific Working Holiday Visa messaging on Bebo.

Tourism Australia UK/Europe says that these campaigns are getting through with their target audience and the results are showing in the increased applications for, and grants of, the Australian Working Holiday Visa.  Tourism Australia has been investing in the promotion of the visa for 12 months now, so it is encouraging to see more Brits are heading to Australia to experience the Aussie lifestyle for an extended period on the back of their marketing campaign. (Travelmole, February 2009)

Traveller numbers have declined in Australia, but the proportion of online bookings has grown sharply, increasing by 26%. Tim Russell, managing director of Amadeus Australia and New Zealand, said that online travel agencies are benefiting from the current economic environment, with travellers believing that the best prices can be found online. (TravelMole, June 2009)

Expedia has launched a new one-minute commercial in Australian and New Zealand which officially introduces Expedia to Australian and New Zealand's travellers, according to a report by campaignbrief.com.

Expedia is seeking to break the mould with travellers and prove that it really does matter where they book.  Louise Crompton, marketing manager for Expedia.com.au and Expedia.co.nz said that they want to be the single best place for Australians and New Zealanders to book travel.

The commercial highlights the supremacy of the online travel company. The commercial shares that over 190,000 hotels beds are booked everyday by Expedia, suggesting that consumers should "book with the world's largest online travel company". (eyefortravel, May 2010)

Tourism Australia, the NTO for Australia, and travel search engine Wego.com have launched Great Australian Roadtrips in Singapore.

Wego.com features 14 Great Australian Roadtrips and highlights the must do's and sees along the Roadtrips on the micro-site. It worked closely with Tourism Australia and its State Tourism offices to develop the list of must-dos on each journey. The travel search engine has focused on creating a user friendly profile to meet "the adventurous consumer's budget and needs". There are suggested itineraries for each Roadtrip and access to a range of airfares, accommodation and restaurants.

User-generated content is also featured on the site allowing those who have gone before to share their personal highlights of each Roadtrip route.

The Great Australian Roadtrips micro-site can be viewed at www.wego.com/feature/australia. (EyeForTravel, May 2009)

gapyear.com has partnered with Northern Territory Tourism to release two online guides and a web marketing campaign aimed at Gap Year and backpacker travel to Australia.  The guides aim to capitalise on the growth of the resilient independent travel and backpacker markets.

The guides are downloadable from gapyear.com and are designed to help independent travellers research and plan their Gap Year trip to Kakadu National Park and the Northern Territory. (EyeForTravel , March 2009)

97% of Australian internet users had broadband access at home, according to Nielsen Online. This was up from 84% in 2007. (Nielsen Online at , March 2009)

With the release of the Apple iPad in Australia, Alan Long, Research Director for Experian Hitwise, investigated the online search behaviour of consumers. He found similarities in search behaviour, as for the Apple iPhone, whereby consumer interest moved from product searches to an increasing focus on data plans and prices as the launch date loomed. However, application searches have not been as dominant after iPad's initial announcement, as they were for the iPhone.

With Apple initially launching the iPad in the US, Australians have been able to read reviews and news from the US market to understand the benefits on owning an iPad, before its launch here. Applications are no longer the mystery they were when the iPhone was launched, so the excitement/interest, whilst still relatively strong, has not been the key search driver. The major interest has been around news, reviews, pricing, applications and of course the final release date of the iPad.

Optus and Telstra are the dominant carrier's associated with the iPad, no doubt benefiting from the iPhone's popularity, followed by Vodafone. Telstra and Optus' positions are reversed, when compared to the weeks leading up to iPhone launch in July 2008 - this is seen through the search term portfolios relating to iPad and the respective carrier brands.

(Experian Hitwise Australia Newsletter, June 2010)

Ownership of wireless technology such as laptops has jumped from 49% to 63% in 2008 in Australia and wireless LAN ownership is up more than 20 pts to 53%, according to Nielsen Online.

Nielsen also reveals that mobile ownership has almost reached saturation point in Australia, with 92% now reporting to own a mobile phone. Overall device capabilities and use of a range of mobile functions such as GPS navigation, document reader and mobile internet has also seen an increase compared to 12 months ago, particularly for younger users (aged 16 to 29 years), although cost remains a key barrier for expanded mobile capabilities. (Nielsen Online, March 2009)