It has given her business a doorway to the world not bad for a small husbandandwife operation that has a marketing budget of virtually nil.



"When I opened 10 years ago we distributed pamphlets. I don't do any of that now," Mrs McArthur said.



"All of our bookings now come from our website or linked through the SA Tourism Commission site. If it wasn't for that we wouldn't get such exposure.



"We've had guests from Alaska who found us through the internet."



SATC director of marketing and communications David O'Loughlin said good, useful data could now be gathered about travellers through their use of bailey button uggs the website and other digital marketing. The commission sought to have its main new website, its mass media campaign, its social media activity, its booking systems and its mobile phone systems all "talk" to each other and capture more data about travellers.



"We know a traveller has booked accommodation in the Riverland, then we learn later he's inquired about wineries on his smart phone through our new mobile site," Mr O'Loughlin says. "That might be backed up by us knowing he had an interest 12 months before in wineries in the Barossa.



"So we can uggs on sale use EDM (electronic direct mail) to contact him about a month before that time next year and present an offer for Coonawarra."



He says EDM is a tiny cost the cost of an email compared with expensive TV advertising, and it is targeted.



Onethird of SA operators are onboard and the new website is inspiring them to upgrade their IT capability to be bookable online, Mr O'Loughlin says. He says the SATC is excited about the data it can capture on travellers and its ability to "reserve" those people with relevant product offers, making the whole process of marketing more efficient and less costly.