Gone are the days when putting an ad in the paper made the phone ring. Marketing has had a huge shift since the internet became a household research tool.

(TRAVPR.COM) Tewantin, Australia - 21st December 2009 - The internet allows the average Joe to access a library of travel information 24/7 from the comfort of their lounge room.

Tourism and travel operators need to embrace new online marketing methods if they want to move forward and grow as we head to 2010. The internet allows any business large or small an equal playing field for the consumer dollar. Many small businesses with a great online presence are making waves across the industry.

Pay for performance marketing strategies such as affiliate marketing are now emerging in the travel and tourism industries. Leah Squire owner of internet based travel company www.byokids.com.au says “Not only can you use affiliate marketing to drive customers to your business but many tourism operators could use be earning a passive income from their websites”.

Squire has released a “How to” book on cheap and free marketing strategies for today’s tourism and travel industry. Leah’s advice should not be dismissed lightly her business has grown from an idea to a multi million dollar business in just 3 years, with a database of over 20,000 and more than 2000 people visiting the BYOkids website every day looking for a holiday. Squires book “Marketing with no money” also covers topics like how to get publicity, how to grow a database, branding, how to get your clients talking and more.

Tourism operators and travel agents need to embrace the internet and online marketing strategies and make the internet work for them rather than being afraid. The internet is here to stay and operators need to move with the times. “Marketing with no money” is available online at www.marketingwithnomoney.com.

###