The top Australian tourist body, Tourism Australia is campaigning for all Australian hotels to offer free WiFi and end expensive in room internet access.
They are not lobbying to cut costs for tourists though, their main aim is to encourage tourist to share their stories and photos with friends on social media via free WiFi- spreading the word about their fantastic holiday and therefore helping Tourism Australia to do their job.
The general manager of consumer marketing for Tourism Australia, Nick Baker, said ”How often have we promised ourselves that we’ll post a great holiday moment on Facebook, tweet out a photo or a review on TripAdvisor, but not been able to do so due to lack of WiFi access?”
Pro Dive on the Great Barrier Reef offers free WiFi on its diving vessels via laptops so that social-media savvy holiday-makers can share their experiences instantly.
The sales and marketing manager of Pro Dive in Cairns, Steve Brady, says providing free WiFi delivers “live publicity”, with the costs built into the overall marketing budget.
It also ensures Pro Dive doesn’t need to “chase up” customers after their dives to recommend the company on social media.
If you like the idea of getting your customers to market your business on your behalf, take a look at Purple WiFi.