Agent – A person or company that sells your product on your behalf, including inbound tour opertors (ITOs), wholesalers and retail agents

Allotment – A pre-negotiated number of seats/rooms/vehicles held by a wholesaler/inbound operator

Business tourism – Incorporates visitors who travel for conventions, conferences, seminars, workshops, symposiums, incentives, exhibitions and special events

Commission – The fee paid to agents for them to market, distribute and sell your product

Cooperative advertising – Advertising placement costs are shared between advertising partners

Distressed inventory – Unsold product

Distribution – The channels through which a consumer may purchase your product

Ecotourism – Nature-based activities that foster visitor appreciation and understanding of natural and cultural heritage, and are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable

Familiarisation (famil) – Provides trade and media representatives with the opportunity to experience your product first hand

Free sell – A room, seat or vehicle provided by an operator to a wholesaler or inbound tour operator in unrestricted quantities, until otherwise indicated, so a booking may be confirmed immediately to a client

Frontline staff  – The agents that deal directly with consumers including retail agents and reservation staff

Fully independent travellers (FIT) – Travellers who plan their own travel arrangements. There are a number of types of FIT including visiting friends and relatives, backpacking, and partially- packaged travellers

Gross rate – Also known as rack or door rate – the amount consumers pay for your product

Group inclusive travellers (GIT) – Travellers who purchase the bulk of their holiday arrangements before leaving home. Also referred to as package travellers

Inbound – People from overseas travelling to Australia

Inbound tour operator (ITO)  – An Australian-based agent who specialises in developing programs and itineraries for distribution channels. Also known as ground operators and destination management companies (DMCs)

Incentive travel – Incentive travel is a trip offered as a prize or reward, for top-performing employees or sales agents

Nett rate – Gross rate less the commission, which is the amount you receive from the agent

Online distribution – Using the internet and web portals to distribute or promote your product to consumers

Online travel agent (OTA) – Allows consumers to check live availability and pricing, and then book travel products in real time through the OTA website

Operator – The owner and/or manager of the tourism product

Outbound passengers/guests – People travelling overseas from Australia

Product manager – Responsible for identifying and selecting the products and suppliers that an ITO or wholesaler will sell

Real–time inventory – Details of rooms, vehicles, tour places or venues stored in the database of an online booking system. Details include the total places available and number of places sold for each day/date. The inventory is kept up to date automatically and inventory reports can be requested at any time

Retail travel agent – The link to the consumer. Retail agents book travel products for travellers either through a wholesaler, an ITO or direct with the supplier

Sales calls – Face-to-face meetings with agents. Purposes may include to update and educate them on your product; negotiate inclusion in their programs; or negotiate rates

Sustainable tourism – Tourism that can be sustained in the long term because it results in a net benefit to the social, economic, natural and cultural environments of the area in which it takes place

Travel trade – A collective term for the agents that make up the distribution system including ITOs, wholesalers, retailers and online agents

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) – Visitors whose main purpose is to visit with friends and relatives

Wholesaler – Wholesalers located in overseas markets and are the link between international travel agents and ITOs or suppliers

Tourism Acronyms

ABS – Australian Bureau of Statistics

AFTA – Australian Federation of Travel Agents

ASP – Aussie Specialist Program

ATDW – Australian Tourism Data Warehouse

ATE – Australian Tourism Exchange

CRS – Cooperative reservation system

FIT – Fully independent traveller

FOC – Free of charge

ITO – Inbound tour operator

IVS – International Visitor Survey

NVS – National Visitor Survey

OTA – Online travel agent

TRA – Tourism Research Australia

TXA – Tourism Exchange Australia

VFR – Visiting friends and relatives