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Topic 1: The role of automated

information systems in the tourism
industry
The tourism industry is the world's largest consumer of telecommunications and the
demand is growing. Today of course our clients can access their own information and
make bookings themselves using the Internet. If they seek information from us they
expect that we will provide the information they want in a timely and accurate manner
with the level of service they expect.

As we move through this module you will realise that our clients may not only be
travellers. They may be other tourism industry sector operators or distributors (eg.
Visitor Information Centres) who need specific information about a destination and its
products. They are our clients because they seek information to assist them to serve
the final consumer - the traveller. Some of our clients may not even work in the
tourism industry! We will talk about these types of clients later.

As professionals in the tourism industry we need to ensure that the information we

give to clients is:

accurate
timely
relevant to their needs
sufficiently detailed to satisfy their needs.

A properly maintained Automated Information System (AIS) or product information

system will assist us to do this.

An AIS manages the interaction between users and information contained within a
database and often uses an internet-based interface to do this. As such, the AIS allows
users (usually tourism industry staff) to gain access to supplier and destination
information that is current and accurate.

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Types of automated information systems
There are many different types of AIS available and used in the tourism industry. The
first time a computer and information network came together was in the 1960s when
American Airlines created the first Computer Reservations System (CRS). Many
different types of CRS have been created since then and those currently used reflect
the needs of the various sectors of the tourism industry.

Information databases

As the name suggests the most important reason these systems have been created is to
provide access to current and accurate information on tourism products and services.
Visitor Information Offices are seen as the experts on their own particular destination
by ensuring all information is up-to-date, thorough and accurate. Automated
information systems provide access to destination information and to the many
suppliers and services offered within a destination, region, or local area in a way that,
if well maintained, overcome these challenges.

The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW): http://www.atdw.com.au, is a

centralised database of Australian tourism product and destinations, and supplies New
South Wales product to a variety of websites (note that you will not be using this
internet address to access information during this module - this will be outlined where
appropriate). The ATDW is a storage facility for the services and product data (or
information) of State Tourism Organisations (STO) in Australia. Each STO maintains
its own database. Whilst a consumer may need to access each state/territory website
separately the system allows for consistency and quality assurance of data and
presentation across the country.

Currently the majority of state/territory/regional destination information organisations

use or are moving to a system called State Tourism Data Warehouse (or STDW). For
Tourism NSW, STDW is a central database of New South Wales tourism product and
destination information. It is utilised by Tourism NSW staff and many Visitor
Information Centres to answer questions, to research tourism products and to market
destinations. We will explore the STDW in detail shortly.

Visitor information offices within New South Wales and Western Australia are able to
update information on the STDW for their own destinations - other states must submit
information to their own Tourism authority for updating their central database. Some
suppliers of tourism services can also update their own information featured on the
system. There is a centralised area of quality control that checks all information that is
recorded according to set standards.

Some automated information systems are designed for use by clients and consumers
as well as staff, but not all areas of information will be accessible to client consumers.
If you access the automated information system via the Visit New South Wales
website (http://www.visitnsw.com.au) you will find a series of appealing and well
designed screens that are designed for consumers with images and features which
hopefully motivate the consumer to travel. If you are a tourism industry user of STDW
via a visitor information office, you will obtain access to the "product search"
interface screens which give you more detailed information but are presented in a
manner not as accessible for consumers. To use this you need a user ID and password
(see your facilitator for more information).

During this module you will be accessing the STDW using the product search "purple
screens" interface found at the website: http://stdwreports.tourism.nsw.gov.au. The
benefit of this site is that it allows access to both the consumer website and the
specialist STDW web interfaces. The important thing to remember is that STDW is an
automated information system that feeds information to the Visit NSW web site. How
you access the information will impact upon its presentation on the screen.

Computer reservations systems

Some automated information systems allow us not only to source information but
make reservations also. These types of automated information systems are referred to
as Computer Reservations Systems (or CRS). They allow tourism industry staff or
consumers to make reservations in addition to searching for the information they seek.

Some of these systems have evolved to the extent that they are referred to as Global
Distribution Systems (or GDS). "A GDS is defined as a CRS that has been modified,
enhanced or redesigned to distribute information in a number of different countries."
(Harris and Howard 2001 p143). These types of systems are mainly used by retail
travel agents to access current information (particularly airline schedules and fares)
and make reservations for their clients. Examples of these types of automated
information systems in the travel industry are Galileo, Amadeus and Sabre, although
there are others.

In its simplest form a CRS is a supplier's automated booking system. Originally these
systems were developed by major airlines throughout the world and as such only
provided airline information such as flights, seat allocations, fares and so on. Now
these systems perform a number of functions including:

Storing of information concerning a huge range of supplier services and their

availability eg hotels, tour operators, attractions
Providing destination information varying from weather conditions to visa
requirements
Calculating fares for a multi destination journey in international currency
Calculating time changes throughout the clients itinerary
Providing reservations either by the industry, staff or the consumer via the
Internet
Recording client booking details and allowing these bookings to be retrieved
and altered if necessary
Processing payment for travel arrangements made
 Printing tickets, invoices and/or itineraries.

As you may imagine these systems are mainly used by retail travel agents as well as
wholesalers and airline staff. Not all the functions mentioned above can be performed
by consumers.

The Internet

The Internet is a worldwide network of computers linked via telecommunication links.

The exchange of information is possible by using agreed rules, or protocols, to
transmit and store information referred to as either "content" or "data".

The protocol that most interests us in the tourism industry is that used by the World
Wide Web or WWW. Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol that is
used to retrieve information connected with hyperlinks used by the WWW. It ensures
that the data sent from one computer is in a format supported by the receiving
computer. As a reader follows a series of hyperlinks, they will often be accessing
information on a series of different computers. As the links move from computer to
computer, HTTP will negotiate with each one to ensure that the transition is smooth
and that the information is transferred. As you have experienced, using the WWW we
can link to pages or files that contain information in the form of text, photographs,
graphics, sound and video. When you click on a link you are actually downloading a
page or link that can show text or graphics or allow you to play audio or video files.
Email is an example of another protocol that runs on the internet.

The Internet and in particular the WWW allows suppliers of tourism products and
services and destination marketing organisations to develop sites, which are accessed
for service and destination information. Because of their efficiency automated
information systems use databases to transmit their information to outside
organisations and consumers. The most common example of this is the database-
driven website of which STDW is one example.

Company designed systems

Some organisations in the tourism industry have developed their own automated
information systems based upon their own products and services. This is done to allow
staff access to the information about their company efficiently and effectively.

More and more computer software companies are developing products that perform
the job of information storage and booking mechanisms for tourism organisations.
Most of these systems are accessed via Internet technology.

One such system is called Bookrite. Bookrite is an Internet-based booking system that
is used by some visitor information offices to carry out the booking function. Not only
can the visitor information office perform a booking for a client using this system but
because it is Internet based the supplier is usually alerted immediately to the booking
being made. Some organisations in the tourism industry use Bookrite as a means of
allowing clients to make bookings via the Internet.

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The purposes of automated information systems

Whilst an automated information system allows us to perform many different roles
and functions, tourism organisations are embracing this technology because they see it
has many positive benefits. The most important focus of these benefits is meeting the
needs of clients.

Clients today expect information that is up-to-date, provided in a manner they

understand and is provided efficiently and effectively with professional friendly staff.
Considering these features of client expectations organisations in the tourism industry
recognise that staff need to be able to provide timely and accurate information that
does not rely on 'guess work'. Therefore automated information systems offer
organisations many benefits that assist in meeting client expectations.

These benefits include:

providing current, relevant, and accurate information that is maintained with

up to date information
providing excellent client service, which is dependent on access to current,
relevant, and accurate information
relieving the information officer to do other tasks because accessing
information is easy and efficient
providing quality assurance in providing information and recording data,
which relies on current, relevant, and accurate information and processes to be
followed to maintain the quality of the information
creating a professional image to the client of the organisation and its staff
because the information is current, relevant, and accurate and the client service
is excellent
providing advice on a broad range of tourism services and products across the
state
forming the basis of product selection based upon the services and products
contained within the automated information system (some automated
information systems charge suppliers to be featured and as such only those
suppliers listed have their information given to the client and/or bookings
made).
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The uses and functions of automated information

systems
There are many roles, uses and functions of an automated information system. From a
visitor information office point of view these will include the following:

To collect, organise and analyse information

To communicate ideas and information to others
To plan and organise activities
To solve problems
To access information for a client

To collect, organise and analyse information: There is such an enormous range of

information available on so many different types of products and services within the
tourism industry. It is impossible to remember every detail or even every product!
Without a computer-based system, it is of course possible to collect the numerous
brochures and printed information that every supplier in your destination produces and
arrange the information in a storage area like a filing cabinet or storage room. If you
know the filing system you can find the information reasonably easily. Once you have
found what you are looking for you can then analyse it by reading it. Filing
information, removing outdated information and cross-referencing takes enormous
amounts of time and requires sustained effort and efficient processes.

By storing information on an automated information system the information you

collect is current, more easily stored and can be accessed more easily and efficiently
by a wide range of users. Information can be searched in a number of ways including
by date, by region, by type of place or activity etc. The information is gathered and
presented in the same way, which enables you to access what you are looking for
using the same methods you always use. Once details change, you and other users can
make the changes quickly and cost efficiently (unlike brochures and other printed
information).

Some of the downsides of maintaining an automated information system include high

operating costs for the system owner and the time-consuming nature of keeping a
database up to date at all times

Communicate ideas and information to others: Not all clients know the names of
places or experiences they want information on. For instance, a client may want a list
of all accommodation in your destination and the rates for a single room for each. By
using an automated information system, you can find this information easily and
provide it to the client. You can help the client to make a decision based upon the
information and either provide them with a copy or make a booking for them based
upon their choice. In addition you can search the database on specific criteria other
than price and location

Plan and organise activities: Apart from providing information to clients you may be
required to carry out a number of other activities in your office. For instance you may
need to assist in the production of the new destination brochure, or prepare an itinerary
for a group of visiting officials, or prepare a presentation for a Rotary group. All these
activities require planning and organising and need to rely on accurate and timely
information. An automated information system allows you to do this.

Solve problems: There may be many times when others require the assistance of your
destination expertise. It could be the local council, a journalist or another organisation
in the tourism industry. These organisations may contact you to help solve a problem.
For example an inbound tour operator calls to ask you if there is anywhere in New
South Wales that a tourist can see fairy penguins. Their clients don't have time to
travel to Melbourne and visit Philip Island. Do you know the answer? You can see
fairy penguins at Montague Island on the south coast of the state. If you didn't know
the answer an automated information system can help you solve the problem.

Access information for a client: Probably the most common use you will have for an
automated information system is to access information for a client based upon their
needs and wants. You may not have all the knowledge you would like on every
product and service in the destination or simply may want to check that what you are
saying is accurate. To do this you need to have access to an automated information
system that can find what you are looking for quickly and efficiently.
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The range of information accessible from an

automated information database
The type of information stored on an automated information system will depend upon
its major use. Automated information systems used within visitor information offices
focus on providing information on tourism destinations, regions and areas.

The range of information stored on automated information systems can include:

accommodation
attractions
hire services
tours
events
transport
 destination information.

Within these categories there are numerous fields or data areas that are provided for
every entry. These fields are created based upon the type of product. For example, an
accommodation product would have fields for the number and type of rooms as well
as the rates. An attraction would not have the same fields as there are no rooms as part
of the experience for sale. It is important that when you use an automated information
system you are familiar with the various product areas and the fields available in order
to be efficient in its use.

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Who uses an automated information system?

Automated information systems are used by many different organisations within the
tourism and other industries, and more recently by clients or potential clients via the
Internet. Each type of user requires the information for different reasons.

The different types of users of automated information systems can include:

Suppliers of tourism services

Tourism Industry organisations like retail travel agents and tour wholesalers
The media
Consumers
Government
Educational/training organisations

Suppliers of tourism services: Suppliers are the foundation of automated information

systems. Without them there would be little if any need to create such a system. A few
automated information systems (including STDW) allow suppliers of tourism services
to access their own listing or site within the automated information systems enabling
the supplier to update information when it changes. To provide an example, an
attraction may have recently developed a package with an accommodation property in
their area. The attraction supplier can log on to their own site and add the information
about this package, its description, and the costs and so on. This means that as soon as
the information is screened for quality control, this package can be promoted on the
automated information system. Alternately the database is maintained centrally and
information is updated once notified by either suppliers or by the organisation's own
agents.

Tourism Industry organisations like retail travel agents and tour wholesalers:
Tourism organisations involved in the packaging and selling of tourism products and
services (e.g. tour wholesalers, inbound tour operators and travel agents), need to
access current and relevant information specific to their client's needs. As you can
imagine, it is impossible for the staff to know every type of product in detail for each
destination. Accessing an automated information system allows these industry
organisations to carry out their duties effectively and efficiently.

Some of these tourism organisations use Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) to do

this while those that specialise in more independent travellers or who require more
detailed information may choose to use both a CRS and another automated
information system specific to a destination. For example a client may want to travel
to South Australia. They visit their travel agent for information about their trip. The
type of information they seek is quite detailed and not available from an existing tour
wholesale package or brochure. In this situation the retail travel agent can search the
automated information system via the South Australian Tourism website. This means
that the client has all the information required, and the travel agent has provided
excellent client service. The client may then ask the travel consultant to make a
booking for them.

Alternatively the retail travel agent can contact a visitor information office who can
access information and provide it to them.

The media: The media (newspapers, magazines radio and television) provide
destinations and the products and services offered within them with opportunities for
publicity (exposure on the product, service and so on). Most of the time this publicity
is generated by the supplier or the destination organisation. Often however, the media
organisation needs to supplement their information or stories using more detailed yet
accurate information and often photography.

To do this the media can therefore access an automated information system

themselves using the Internet, or may contact the destination organisation to access
information for them. This destination organisation will often use an automated
information system to access the correct information and send the information via
email or fax as it is recorded on the automated information system.

For instance, a journalist wants to do a story on whale watching experiences in New

South Wales for a special feature to appear on the television program "Getaway". The
journalist wants to organise a film crew to visit each location, but does not know
where whale watching experiences can be found. The journalist then searches the
Internet using the Tourism New South Wales website to find the information. The
Tourism New South Wales web site has the STDW automated information system
linked to it and this enables the journalist to find the information quickly and
accurately. Alternatively the journalist can contact the organisation to obtain the
information for them. There are also some specialised websites for journalists.
Consumers: Consumers are using the Internet more and more to seek information on
their travel plans. This is because:

it is easy to access from home or another location where the client may be
it is quick and the amount of information available is enormous
the client is free from influence of a travel agent and can therefore make their
own decisions (something independent travellers like)
in some cases the client is free to follow up the information search and make a
booking online.

Even though there are a huge variety of sites available for clients to access, they
usually seek the website of the supplier of the service or the visitor information
organisation. Some clients recognise that visitor information offices are not partial to
one supplier but can provide information on all within the destination. Remember that
the visitor information organisations are often a government body (local, state or
national government) and as such the integrity of the information can usually be relied
upon.

These types of organisations (like Tourism NSW, Tourism Queensland, Dubbo

Information Office etc) have an automated information system that can provide the
information and link the client to the supplier's information and or the specific tourist
information office for the destination.

Let's use an example to illustrate how this might work. A client wants to travel to the
Blue Mountains to do some abseiling. The client wants to know about what type of
accommodation there is available. To do this they can access the Tourism New South
Wales Visit NSW website (http://www.visitnsw.com.au) and search for
accommodation in Katoomba. The automated information system linked to the site
would then provide the client with a list of all accommodation in the Blue Mountains.
If they searched for the Blue Mountains Visitor Information Centre they would be
linked to the same information because the Blue Mountains Information Centre
website is linked to the same automated information system.

Alternately a client may visit a Tourism Information Centre with a request. The TIC
staff may use the STDW "product search" web interface to access the same
information for the client.

Not all visitor information offices have chosen to be linked to the same database.
Those that are update their own information on their own destination.

Government: Government bodies may be tourism or non-tourism focussed. Because

tourism impacts on so many areas of a community, government bodies often seek
information on the level of tourism activity in a given destination. To do this they can
access an automated information system via the Internet of a local/regional or state
tourism firm to obtain the information required.
For instance CountryLink, the regional arm of State Rail in New South Wales is
operated by the NSW Government. CountryLink services and packages are linked to
an automated information system .The product development staff may use this same
automated information system to develop a new package to a new destination that rail
services reach. As you know a package requires accommodation and sightseeing
options. The CountryLink staff can determine what suppliers are in this new
destination via an automated information system and can then make contact to
develop the package.

Educational/training organisations: As a student you know that your studies in

travel and tourism involve many modules including destinations and products. Your
teachers' access automated information systems to update their product and destination
knowledge regularly as well as to prepare teaching resources. It is important that
information they discuss is up-to-date and accurate. You have probably been asked to
access information on products and services for your assignments. All this information
may be sitting in an automated information system and be accessible to you via the
Internet.

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Topic 2: Access and retrieve tourism

information within STDW
Logging in and logging off
Most automated information systems require you as the user, to "log in" when you
want to use the automated information system and then "log off" when you have
finished. This occurs on a special screen or page that will appear when you have
accessed the automated information system. Logging in will allow you to access the
'home page' of the automated information system, the page where you can start to
search for information.

To "log in" to the automated information system you must have a "user name" or a
"user id" (id= identification) - this may be your name, the name of the place where
you work or it might be a special code. If you are accessing the automated information
system in this way you will be given a user id.
Once you have typed in your user name you will need to type in a password. This
password may be your own unique or if you work in a call centre or reservations area,
it might be the same for each staff member.

Sometimes there are requirements for passwords to be a certain length, for example at
least 5 characters or a mixture of letters and numbers.

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Searching websites for tourism information

The main problem when using the search engine within Tourism NSW's website is not
that it doesn't find what you are looking for but that it finds too many occurrences of
it. Typing a simple, single word query such as 'tours' would generate a list of hundreds
of Web pages containing the word 'tours'. This is a common problem when using
internet-based automated information systems.

Using search engines

Most search engines (like Google: http://www.google.com.au) provide a way of

narrowing down your search. Exactly how they do this varies but most provide a help
button so that you can find out the best way to search. Sometimes the help button or
link may be described as 'Search Options'. A little exploration will help you here.

In spite of the variations, there a few common ways of refining your search. Suppose
you want to find out about working holidays. If you simply type working holiday as
your query, you are likely to get a list of pages containing either the word 'working' or
the word 'holiday' or both. To make the search engine consider working holiday as a
single phrase, put it in double quotation marks like this: "working holiday".

Even using this phrase, you are still likely to get information on hundreds of thousands
of pages. So, it would be helpful if you decided on a specific country to visit. You
could then tell the search engine that the name of this country had to be included, like
this: "working holiday" + France. Putting a + in front of a word means it must be
included. If you didn't really know where you wanted to go but knew you didn't want
to go to America, you could tell the search engine to exclude America by typing
"working holiday" America. Putting a - sign in front of a word means that pages
containing that word should be excluded from your search results.

Another way of limiting your search is to use the categories which some portals
provide. For example, some enable you to limit your search to Australia. Others
enable you to limit your search to a particular category such as Medicine or
Computers.

Navigating the Visit NSW website

Use your internet connection and web browser to navigate to the "Visit NSW" public
website at: http://www.visitnsw.com.au. (All images courtesy of Tourism NSW)

The Visit NSW homepage offers a wide variety of methods for finding the kinds of
information that consumers will be seeking. Some of the questions they may have in
mind might include:

Where is the Hunter region?

What is there to do in New England?
How can I contact the Zoo in Dubbo?
Where should I go for a nature holiday?
How do I get from Wagga to Newcastle via Bathurst?
Where can I stay in Bathurst?

Each of these queries can be answered in a number of ways.

"Where is the Hunter region?" can be answered by using to the "where to go"
page.
"What is there to do in New England?" might lead to the "Select a region" map
on the front page and then to the "Events" menu.
 To contact the Dubbo Zoo, you might do a "Quick search" for the major town
of Dubbo and then look for "Attractions" - the details for Western plains Zoo
will be found there.
"Where should I go for a nature holiday?" - clicking on the "Nature" tab on the
left opens a new separate website called "Nature in NSW" with information
about NSW "natural secrets", national parks, world heritage listings etc.
"How do I get from Wagga to Newcastle via Bathurst?" Under the "Maps"
drop-down menu is the "Driving directions" mapping feature.
"Where can I stay in Bathurst?" Either use the "Accommodation" page and
then search for Bathurst or do a Quick Search" for Bathurst and then choose
Accommodation from the left hand navigation - results will be the same.

Note that these directions are useful for consumers searching for information for
themselves. As a tourism industry professional you may also use the STDW product
search "purple screens" interface to search for information for clients. This interface
interacts with the STDW database - allowing you to search the Visit NSW website
directly via a link to the purple screens interface. More information on how to do this
can be found under the topic "Logging on to the STDW".

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Logging in to the STDW database

Note: make sure you obtain a User ID and Password from your teacher for the State
Tourism Data Warehouse (STDW) before you attempt this section.

We will be using the Product Search "purple screens" to access the STDW. Remember
that this site will act as a gateway to BOTH the Visit NSW consumer website and the
STDW database. Our first step will be to access the STDW site through the purple
screens - once a link has been established between the two, the purple screens can be
used to navigate both sites directly.

Getting started with STDW

Step 1: Link to the STDW in your Web browser:

http://stdwreports.tourism.nsw.gov.au/ and select the "Product Search" link as shown.
Step 2: Select "Blue Mountains" from the Region drop-down menu and then select
"Go!" as shown

Step 3: A list of search results will appear. Select "STDW" for the first entry in the list
- in this case the destination town of "Bell" - on the right as shown.

Step 4: The STDW System Login screen displays in a new window as shown. Type
your user name and password in the appropriate fields (No login? See your teacher).
When you type in the password it usually appears as a row of asterisks like this
********. Click the login button to proceed.

Only those people who are 'authorised' can perform "log in". Being authorised means
that you have authority to access the automated information system. You may be:

a supplier
a visitor information officer working within one of the state's visitor
information centres
or you work for the firm who operates the automated information systems (in
STDW case that is Tourism New South Wales).

Step 5: A link has now been established between the "purple screens" and the STDW
database. To confirm this first make sure both browser windows remain open then
switch back to the "product search" window and repeat step 3. The results for Bell
should now appear in the second log-in browser window.
You can use the purple screens to perform searches for tourism information. Once you
find the appropriate results from your search, selecting STDW or VisitNSW will bring
up detailed results from either the STDW database or the Tourism NSW website. Note
that you will need to keep both browser windows open at the same time.

Remember that both pathways use the same information. The difference lies in the
way the information is formatted and presented. The Visit NSW website is aimed at a
consumer audience and features promotional images and clear layout. The Tourism
NSW Product Records screens are designed for tourism professionals - both to access
information and for clients to update the information contained in the database about
their feature, attraction etc. The Product Records allow access to more detailed
information.
end advice

Step 6: Once you have finished using the automated information system you need to
"log off" or "log out":
 Click the Logoff button at the top of the screen.
You will be logged out and the System Login screen will display.
Remember that if your computer is not used for a period of time (usually 20
minutes) the system will log you off automatically. You will need to login
again.

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Searching for information using the STDW

Once you have accessed the STDW through the Product Search purple screens, you
will find that there are many methods of accessing information. You will first need to
think about what kind of search you need to perform based on the information
required. For instance, is the client seeking an event, an attraction, accommodation or
just information on a particular region? The information on STDW is arranged by the
following search fields:

Name
ID (specific STDW product number)
Region
Area
City/Town
Suburb
Category
Type
Sub Type
Experience
Activity
Membership

The method you use will also be based upon the knowledge you have of the
information required. For instance a client may want accommodation prices for a
particular hotel in Sydney and you have the name of the hotel - enter any part of the
name in the "Name" box and press "Go!". Or you may be asked about information
about a particular festival and you know the name of the town associated with it. In
this case you simply choose one or more categories from the drop-down menus and
click "Go!". Once the STDW database has retrieved you search results, use either the
"STDW" or "Visit NSW" links to access information from the listing of your choice.

STDW Product Search

If you access the STDW information from your search results you will find that the
information there is also broken up into categories according to the type of
information you have requested. Here are two examples:

1 - If you looked up "Blackheath" as a destination you get STDW information under

only two categories - Destination and Destination Details:

However if you looked up "Blackheath Club" you would find operator information
with sub-headings under four categories - Operator Details, Contact Details, Details
and Rates:

Visit NSW website

If you follow your search results links to the Tourism NSW website, you will find
information organised slightly differently.

For instance if you looked up "Blackheath" as a destination, you would find an "About
Us" description with a photo, a link to the local Echo Point Visitor Information
Centre, plus links to local facilities and directions on how to get there.
However if you looked up "Blackheath Club" via the Visit NSW website, you find a
promotional statement followed up with facilities, how to get there and rates
information.
The important point to note is that the choices offered vary with the kind of
information search being performed.

Using more advanced searching techniques

There will be times however when you cannot do a quick search but need to combine
the areas to locate the information you seek.

The methods outlined above provide a straightforward way of finding information

using STDW. Note however that the "purple screens" menus are "context sensitive" -
that is, the options given change according to the categories already selected. For
example, you may want to find an event in the Sydney region within a certain
timeframe where children are catered for. First you would select "Sydney" region and
then "Event" category - once you do this the calendar tool will appear on the right
hand side as shown below. Note also that there is a box to tick to check whether
children are catered for.

There are also quite a few activities in the Task section of this module to enable you to
become familiar with the various methods you can use to search more accurately for
information.
Close | Print

Topic 3 Downloading information for

clients from STDW
Downloading from the Internet simply means retrieving and transferring an electronic
file from another computer to your computer. When you download information you
are retrieving it from its original place on the automated information system and either
printing it or saving it in another form. Every automated information system will have
its own methods of downloading information.

The main methods for downloading information from STDW and from most websites
include:

Print
Save to hard disk, floppy, memory stick, etc
Copy and paste
Take a screen grab
Send web page
Send URL
Export information

In general if you are searching for information from the State Tourism Data
Warehouse (STDW) for your clients, it will be easier to provide information in a user-
friendly format from the Visit NSW website rather than the STDW Product Search
facility.

Print

The simplest way to 'download' information from the STDW for a client is to Print the
information from the web page.

Printing from internet pages can be confusing. Often web pages are contained within
other "frameset" pages and unless you click on the correct page, may print the wrong
part of the screen. The easiest solution for this is to access the "Print" function by
clicking your right-hand mouse button within the page you want. Other problems
include information not fitting on a printed page, images not printing and poor use of
colour making headings unreadable in print.
Some web pages will provide a "Print this page" link which will automatically format
the page for printing. Where this does not appear you will use your browser's Print
commands.

Save

To keep an electronic copy of information from a web page, you will need to save it.
This can be useful for record keeping, for formatting the information for use in
another application, for emailing a document to clients, to save to floppy disk for a
colleague etc.

From the File menu of your browser select Save. Browsers differ on the options
available but if you select "Save as type" your choices may be similar to these below:

Web Page: will save the file and all images separately to your computer
Web Archive: creates a single archive file of the page and other connected
pages
Web Page: HTML only: save only the formatted text as a web page - not the
images
Text File: saves only the text unformatted - can be opened in a word-
processing application

Copy and Paste

It is possible to simply highlight the text that appears onscreen in your web browser,
select it and then Copy. This information can then be pasted into a document in many
applications, or directly into an email message. You may need to reformat the
information.

Screen grab

Taking a "screen grab" is like taking a photo of what you see on screen - the
information is stored as an image - not as text. This can also be attached to an email or
pasted into a word processor document. The images in this web page were made as
screen grabs.
To make a screen grab, simply press the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. The
image is stored in memory and you can either open a picture editing program such as
Paint, Photoshop etc. and paste it as a new picture, or paste the image directly into a
word processor document. To limit the area of the screen grab to just one window,
hold down the Alt key as you press Print Screen. On an Apple computer, hold down
both the Shift and Apple keys and then press "3".

Send web page or URL

From within internet Explorer you can use the Send command to initiate a new email
message with the page already attached. Simply choose "File" then "Send" then "Page
by email".

Some web pages are quite large and if fixed as an attachment to an email, may be slow
or may fill up the recipient's inbox. In most cases it is OK to just send a link to the
web page address or Universal Resource Locator (URL). Two ways to do this - either
follow the Send prompts as above - but select "Send link by email" or else copy the
URL out of the the address bar and manually paste it into an email.

Remember when using STDW that the URL will not be useful for a client if they do
not have log-in access to the database - send the URL of the public site instead.

Export information

Some database applications will enable you to save your search results as a file in a
specified format (such as MS Excel or MYOB accounting software). STDW does not
allow this but you may come across the feature in other databases that you deal with.

Hint

If the client wants to view the information themselves and has Internet access you can
always direct them to the accompanying page on the consumer website so that they
can view it themselves.

FTP

Some automated information systems allow you to download information in other

ways. FTP (file transfer protocol) is a method of sending and receiving files on the
Internet between computers. FTP is a client server protocol and is designed for
distributing files to a number of users. The files are stored on a computer with a large
capacity and a permanent server. FTP is similar to copying files from a floppy disk to
the hard drive of your computer. The only difference is you are copying over the
Internet.
FTP files have addresses that begin with ftp:// because they can use file transfer
protocols unlike web addresses that start with http://. FTP connections usually require
a special URL and a login password given by the site's administrator.