The pie charts illustrate the methods used by international students to book online English courses in Australia, the USA and Canada in 2009 and 2010.
Overall, the Internet became the most popular booking method in Australia in 2010, while pre-booking with agents was the leading method in Canada. In contrast, the figures for the USA remained relatively stable, with only small changes across the four methods.
Looking at Australia and the USA, in Australia, the use of the Internet increased considerably, from 24% in 2009 to 39% in 2010. The proportion of students who booked on arrival rose from 26% to 30%. However, pre-booking with agents showed a sharp decline, falling from 27% to 11% in 2010. The figure for other methods decreased slightly from 23% in 2009 to 20% in 2010. In the USA, the changes were much smaller. The percentage of arrival remained stable at 24%, while internet booking fell marginally from 26% in 2009 to 25% in 2010. The figure for pre-booking with agents rose to 28%, while other methods declined from 26% to 23% in 2010.
Looking at the methods in Canada, the use of the Internet declined slightly from 27% in 2009 to 25% in 2010. The proportion of students booking on arrival fell sharply from 45% to 22%, while pre-booking with agents increased significantly, from 22% to 35% in 2010. Other methods also increased from 6% in 2009 to 18% in 2010.