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
