ATDW – Simply Getting Better

Travel distribution has changed exponentially over the last 10 years due to advancements in online and digital technologies. According to Amadeus, 60% of leisure and 41% of business travellers are making their own travel arrangements online, with Internet travel booking revenue growing to more than 73% over the past 5 years! (Statistic Brain)

Whilst many consumers still choose to book their international holiday with a trusted travel agent their decision making on destinations, experiences and products is nearly always done online with an estimated 71% of travel research taking place on desktops, tablets and mobiles. This makes the internet absolutely vital for all travel brands. (Ecostatistics)

The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) has played an increasingly important role in supporting the Australian tourism industry through this transition and the modernisation of their distribution strategies.

In a nutshell, the ATDW is Australia's central storage and multi-channel distribution network for tourism industry products and destination information. The only nation-wide tourism database of its kind in the world, the ATDW was established in 2001, by all Australian State and Territory Tourism Organisations and Tourism Australia, to assist tourism operators across Australia to reach more consumers cost-effectively through the ATDW distribution platform and generate more leads for their business.

Since then, the ATDW has matured into a digital content platform of over 35,000 quality checked tourism product and destination listings with a distribution network of over 150 websites and mobile applications publishing ATDW content.

“Tourism products listed in ATDW have been seen over 50 million times by consumers this year alone. These are conservative numbers as not all distributor pages can be tracked, such as Google Maps which utilises the ATDW data,” commented Liz Ward, CEO of ATDW.

A recent comprehensive review of the role of Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW), which included research into best practice destination content management and an industry wide survey, has lead to a refreshed focus and commitment by the Government and the tourism industry to consider what more the ATDW can do to provide the best possible service and support to the Australian Tourism industry going forward.

A key change that will occur as a result of the review, is the refocus of ATDW to its core value proposition to the industry of being the highest quality, most comprehensive and accessible source of consumer relevant information about the Australian industry. Whilst this is a simple strategy, getting the database and distribution services that support publishers of the content into the best possible state utilising modern and flexible technologies will mean that tourism operators and distributors alike will benefit from improved content and consumer visits to their websites and apps.

“ATDW is a national asset for the tourism industry, and the recognition and support for ATDW within the tourism community gives us confidence that ATDW is focused in the right direction, helping the Australian industry to grow. Continual innovation is the key for ATDW to keep supporting the tourism business community by contributing the tools it needs to be competitive in a very fast changing market”, concluded Ward.

For further information, please contact Antoinette Lloyd.