Digital marketing specialist Jesse Desjardins said operators must use tools such as Facebook and Twitter to build relationships with customers and potential clients.

He said social media platforms should not be used as open-slather marketing channels - a lesson some had been slow to learn because they had not been brought up in the digital age.

“I think a lot of operators have treated social media as another marketing channel they can push their message down, and it’s not that at all, it’s all about relationships,” he told delegates at the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) symposium on Hamilton Island today.

“If someone says thank you about your product and writes a positive review online, you say thank you back.

“If I came up to you and said I had a great experience at your property, you wouldn’t turn around and walk away and do nothing, you’d actually say thank you back.”

Desjardins said operators in major cities had embraced technological change very well, but many in remote regions were still coming to terms with the benefits it offered.

“I heard someone the other day say they don’t want internet because they want their customers to relax and enjoy their time at their property,” he said.

“But if that’s what the customers want, and if it also allows them to tell their stories about what they’re doing at the time, it helps both sides.”

Desjardins said keeping abreast of social media was extremely labour intensive but the rewards could be very significant.

“You can’t go wrong by just giving, giving, giving and helping people out, and if you do that amazing things happen,” he said.

“People are frightened of opening their business up online because they’re used to controlling the message and if they open themselves up they’re afraid people are going to say something bad about them, but they underestimate people’s willingness to forgive, and their bullshit radar.”

He said he wouldn’t trust a site that had nothing but glowing reports about a tourism operation, and added operators needed to embrace criticism, respond to it and use it to drive change and improvement in their business.

TV watching on mobile devices and free-to-air are on the rise (Credit: TV.com)

Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) chief executive Petra Buchanan says the industry has found that the use of handheld devices to view TV shows was in addition to - not instead of - the time that people spent in front of the more traditional television screen.

"What we're actually seeing is that more than ever before, consumers are still in love with the box," Ms Buchanan said.

"They love sitting in their lounge room."

ASTRA is the industry body for the pay TV sector, and industry participants are expected to discuss the state-of-play and future of the sector at an ASTRA conference in Sydney this week.

Ms Buchanan said free-to-air and pay television viewing this year was up seven per cent nationally.

"So all TV viewing is increasing," she said.

"Even though there are these new multiple ways, what we're seeing is it is happening in addition to, not at the expense of, traditional television viewing.

"They're [viewers are] spending more time in front of the traditional television screens and the time they're spending on these other devices is on top of that," Ms Buchanan said.

A recent ASTRA online survey found that 35 per cent of people under the age of 25 had watched subscription television content on iPads or iPhones.

"They're individuals who would be prone to consuming media and have that attitude.

"But from our standpoint, we wanted to get a better understanding of how adept viewers were and where their demands were in terms of all of these new and great devices that are out there," Ms Buchanan said.

"More and more of these devices are making people look at the content that has to play in them quite differently.

"I think it's opening them up to think about content in a different way."

She said that while young people are more inclined to watch subscription television on a mobile device, the older demographic is less inclined to do so.

"The older viewers are still quite savvy about their media, but they're probably just not moving as quickly as the youth market."

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Unlike other travel companies, Expedia boasts that it doesn't charge flight booking fees. (Screenshot by CBSi )

But it seems Australia is lagging behind the US when it comes to booking holidays over the internet and paying fees and charges for the service.

A major online travel agency says Australia is one of the few countries in the world where booking fees are still a feature of the online travel market.

But pressure is growing for Aussie sites to cut booking fees, as the sector competes to stay ahead of airlines and hotel chains who are increasingly seeking to win consumers over the internet.

"Surprisingly, Australia is one of the rare countries in the world that charges booking fees for online travel transactions," Expedia Australia and New Zealand general manager Nicholas Chu said.

"We don't charge booking fees in the US any more, most of the countries in Europe don't charge booking fees."

Expedia.com cut booking fees 18 months ago in response to market demand, Chu said, although it was not the first in the US to do so.

Research conducted by Expedia earlier this year found there is nearly universal hatred among Australian consumers - 75 per cent of us - for the booking fees.

"In the US, which is a much more mature online travel market, everyone is aware of fees, and I can tell you that no one wants to pay fees," Chu said.

"Why would you pay an extra $50 for nothing, while if you book directly with the carrier you won't have to pay the fee."

Chu's comments come in the wake of action by the consumer watchdog against a group of airlines who failed to display airfares inclusive of all fees and charges.

The group of eight carriers, including Tiger Airways, Air Asia X and Qantas subsidiary Jetstar, reached a deal with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week.

But laws that prevent component pricing by airlines don't apply to booking fees charged by online travel websites.

According to the ACCC that's because travel sites charge fees across an entire booking, rather than per flight.

In Australia, online travel sites have captured about 20 to 30 per cent of the market, compared with 50 per cent penetration in the US.

Margins for online retailers are being squeezed as airlines and hotel chains compete by offering bookings directly from their websites.

Chu said the industry must respond with greater transparency, cut fees and charges and focus on adding value for the customer.

"What was quite interesting was that actually when people were aware of fees they were quite angry about those," Chu said.

"Why would they have to pay for something that they are doing by themselves?"

Chu said fees contributed a small portion of revenue and Expedia had "been able to compensate for that with the increased volume".

"The whole idea is to offer consumers added value that they won't get from the supplier direct."

"We need to be transparent, but we also need to bring something, we need to add value for consumers."

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The humanitarian crew had none of the usual high-tech guidance and support as they swooped to rescue British oil workers amid last week's chaos and bloodshed.

Flight lieutenant Stuart Patton was in the cockpit for the nerve-wracking mission - which Tripoli's air traffic control had not sanctioned.

The 29-year-old from Colchester, Essex, said: "I'd been handed some information from the internet that had been hastily printed out, including a black-and-white satellite image from Google Maps.

"You had to laugh and we knew we were going to have to conduct an assessment of the site ourselves to see if it was suitable for landing."

He added: "As the field came into view it became clear that there was a runway in decent condition, and after a close inspection proceeded to land and taxi to the area we'd identified as both a suitable area to receive the passengers and to make a quick getaway.

"While the crew sat waiting for news of the passengers, we laughed about the surreal situation we found ourselves in, sat on an unmanned runway hundreds of miles into the Libyan desert."

Patton's C130 Hercules had collected its 40 terrified passengers when the plane had to leave urgently as Libyans tried to block it.

"We need to go now," the loadmaster shouted as ground troops bellowed the order: "Go."

Patton said: "We'd prepped everything for just this eventuality and were rolling down the runway before he'd finished his sentence."

An accompanying Hercules had 136 passengers on board.

Later, safely back in Malta, the pilots discussed the frightening mission.

"Had that really just happened? Two aircraft in the middle of the desert, rescuing evacuees. Just surreal," the pilot said.

Earlier in the week Patton, based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, had rescued 64 Brits "and a dog".

He later flew a third mission saving 27 evacuees.

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The English company will use the one-off 102EX, based on the company's Phantom limousine, to see how customers respond to a fully electric-powered car. After its stint on the motor show dais it will take a tour of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America.

Possibly the classiest battery gauge ever.
(Credit: Rolls-Royce)

"We have engineered the world's first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment," chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos said in a statement.

"With this vehicle, we begin an exploration into alternative drivetrains, seeking clarity on which alternative technologies may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future."

The company wants to ascertain how long the car can drive between recharges and how it operates in extreme weather conditions, but there are no plans yet to develop a production version.

"I must be convinced that any alternative drivetrain we choose for the future delivers an authentic Rolls-Royce experience," Muller-Otvos said.

"It must be a technology that is right for our customers, our brand and which sets us on a sound footing for a sustainable future."

The high-end car maker - owned, effectively, by BMW since 2003 - has launched a website, dubbed Electric Luxury, to gauge buyer, public and media attitudes towards an electric Roller.

The 102EX features a Spirit of Ecstasy lit in electric blue.
(Credit: Rolls-Royce)

Rolls-Royce has only issued two images and limited information about the Phantom 102EX. More will be revealed on 1 March, so stay tuned for more shortly.

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eBay, the online auction site, says the sector is meeting the needs of the modern, time-poor consumer.

The company's Australia and New Zealand managing director, Deborah Sharkey, has told a conference in Sydney today the local sector is looking at double-digit growth in 2011.

She rejected concerns that consumer spending is favouring offshore internet retailers.

"I am thrilled at the thousands of Australian businesses who are already capitalising on this trend and evolving to meet the needs of the modern consumer," she said.

"I look forward to watching their ranks swell over the next few months.

"The statistics are clear, 10 million Australians are voting with their clicks and they're telling us that the future of retail is online."

In 2010, the turnover of the top 2000 sellers on eBay was more than $120,000.

The top seller generated turnover of more than $12.6 million, Sharkey said.

More Australians are buying online due to the strong Australian dollar exchange rate, which is making offshore purchases cheaper than ever before.

But it's not all roses for Australian retailers.

On Thursday, local booksellers Borders and Angus & Robertson went into administration.

Book retailers across the globe have been hit in recent years due to the rise of internet-based book sellers such as Amazon and electronic books.

Australian retailers, such as Gerry Harvey, recently called for offshore internet purchases to be subject to GST, like goods sold in traditional stores.

Sharkey said on average Australians spend an hour and 40 minutes shopping online each week.

Australia also had one of the the highest penetration of smartphones in the world, with a quarter of Australians using their phone to shop.

Every 15 seconds an Australian buys something using eBay's mobile phone app, she said.

Sharkey was speaking at an Online Retail Forum, which is being attended by senators Stephen Conroy and Nick Sherry.

The event was packed with guests having to watch the proceedings via a webcast in an "overflow room" at the Westin Hotel in the CBD.

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(Sydney Ferries image by Kim Navarre, CC BY-SA 2.0)

NSW Transport Minister John Robertson said that from Monday all First Fleet ferries, including the Charlotte, Golden Grove, Scarborough, Friendship, Borrowdale and all Manly ferries will offer free Wi-Fi.

"Last year we commenced a trial of free Wi-Fi on the Manly ferry and more than 140,000 people logged on, and took advantage of the service.

"As a result, free Wi-Fi is being extended from today, to nine extra vessels and almost 1500 extra services per week," Robertson said in a statement.

Free wireless internet is now available to 70 per cent of all Sydney Ferries users.

The free Wi-Fi access includes 30 minutes or 30MB of download per device, for a morning and an afternoon session each day.

The extension of the ferry Wi-Fi comes as the NSW State Government trials free Wi-Fi service across Sydney Bus services travelling along the M10 commuter route.

Ferries offering free Wi-Fi from Monday include services from Balmain, Birchgrove, Balmain West, Woolwich, Greenwich, Milsons Point, Kirribilli, Cremorne Point, Neutral Bay and Pyrmont Bay.

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The group said they had come up with a device that not only filters out the sound but allows people to listen to their own music too.

It contains a microphone and a chip which analyses the incoming sound wave and then produces an inverted wave to cancel out the unwanted noise.

Patients hook up their MP3 player to the device, then plug their headphones into the gadget.

They can still hear the dentist talking to them, as the device locks on to the sound waves, removing them even if the pitch changes as it bores into teeth.

"Many people put off going to the dentist because of anxiety associated with the noise of the dentist's drill," said Professor Brian Millar of King's College London (KCL).

"But this device has the potential to make fear of the drill a thing of the past.

"The beauty of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy, and any patient with an MP3 player would be able to benefit from it, at no extra cost."

Experts from KCL and the universities of Brunel and London South Bank are seeking funding to take the project on.

"What we need now is an investor to develop the product further, to enable us to bring this device to as many dental surgeries as possible, and help people whose fear of visiting the dentist stops them from seeking the oral healthcare they need," Millar said.

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