A new mobile version of the Tourism Victoria website has been launched in response to the changing way visitors source tourism information.

Tourism Minister Louise Asher said today it’s anticipated the new website will attract wider use of the service and attract more visitors to Victoria.

“The new mobile website is a critical part of our future tourism marketing strategy and complements inroads already made in mobile marketing,” Ms Asher said.

Ms Asher said the new site was a response to consumers’ increasing use of mobile websites to access tourism information.

“It’s been estimated that by the end of next year, the use of the internet by mobile devices will overtake desktop usage globally.

“During August and September this year, 39 per cent of traffic to visitvictoria.com came from mobile devices, while 2.4 million visitors to the site in 2013 were from mobile sources.” Ms Asher said

“We wanted to create a site which had the depth of content that people expect from the current site while making it simpler to use.

“Every consumer page on visitvictoria.com appears in the mobile version including every listing with mapping, direct booking and click-to-call links,” Ms Asher said

The site includes a ‘nearby’ function which provides the user with the closest location search and maps for tourism information such as where to stay, what’s on, things to do and points of interest.

Ms Asher said the new mobile site’s integrated social media functions will assist in delivering increased online promotion for Victoria.

Tourism remains a significant economic driver for Victoria, worth $19.1 billion a year or 5.8 per cent of the total Victorian economy. The tourism industry provides jobs for over 200,000 Victorians and contributes seven per cent of employment in tourism and other industries.