The provided pie charts illustrate the changing preferences of international students regarding the booking methods for online English courses in Australia, the USA, and Canada, comparing data from 2009 to 2010.
Overall, the data reveals a pronounced shift towards booking via the Internet in Australia, and, to a lesser extent, in the USA. Conversely, booking upon arrival remained the dominant method in Canada, although its popularity declined significantly in 2010.
Focusing on Australia, the greatest change in student behaviour was observed here. Bookings made via the Internet soared from 24% in 2009 to 39% in 2010, establishing it as the most popular method. Simultaneously, pre-booked sales with an agent plummeted from 27% to just 11%. In the USA, methods remained more stable; Internet bookings held steady at around 25%, while pre-booked sales through an agent increased marginally from 24% to 28%.
Regarding Canada, a different trend was evident. In 2009, nearly half of the students (45%) booked their courses upon Arrival, making it the clear leading method. By 2010, this method saw a sharp decline to 26%, a change which was largely absorbed by agents, whose share surged from 22% to 35%. Meanwhile, Internet bookings remained largely consistent in Canada, showing only a slight decrease from 27% to 25%, and Arrival still represented the highest proportion of bookings along with agents in 2010.