Reasons to work with the Travel Trade

Travel Trade definition

The Travel Trade is a collective term for intermediaries such as tour operators, travel agents and wholesalers who can facilitate business between you, the Wales tourism industry (i.e. accommodation providers, attractions and transport providers) and the end user i.e. the customers/consumers.

The Travel Trade is basically buyers and sellers of your product that then sell tours, holidays and experiences direct to consumers or to other buyers.

For many international holidaymakers the Travel Trade plays a crucial role in providing the information potential customers need to plan a trip and can even play a huge role in influencing a holiday destination.

Who can work with the Travel Trade?

Anyone! As long as you are able to offer special rates to operators. These are commonly known as net / commissionable / FIT (fully independent travel) rates / group rates. It is a common myth that only accommodation providers with a larger number of rooms, or attractions that caters for large groups are suitable for the Travel Trade. Online travel businesses are increasingly taking larger shares of the market, for example bespoke packages on Travelzoo, Virgin Experience Days and Groupon are platforms that any business willing to work with the market can take advantage of when working with the Travel Trade.

It's important to let the Travel Trade know on your website that you are happy to work with them and what you can offer.

The importance of the Travel Trade

Our 2023 Travel Trade research states: 

• in 2023 the overall value of business to Wales from operators in the research sample providing bed night data is approximately £33 million;
• operators are introducing new tours or programmes as a result of Visit Wales’ interaction and approximately 106 new tours / programmes have been generated in 2023;
• 59% of operators say they are interested in developing / selling more Wales products.

Therefore, as well as Visit Wales marketing directly to consumers we also have a team dedicated to undertake marketing to, and working with, the Travel Trade. This is also sometimes referred to as working Business to Business or B2B.

The key aims of the activities undertaken by the Visit Wales Travel Trade team are:

• to increase the Wales products and services included in tours and programmes sold by agents and operators;
• to improve the distribution network by working with wholesalers and tour operators;
• to increase the awareness of Wales as a tourist destination in order to encourage the Travel Trade to include Wales over other destinations in a competitive market.

Six benefits of working with the Travel Trade

1. Wider distribution

Sometimes it is easy to think that the Travel Trade are trying to take your business. This is another myth. The Travel Trade is just another channel to help you reach new business. In most cases you won’t be asked for an upfront fee. You will instead be asked to provide good net rates / discounted prices on which operators can add their commission to.

2. New customers reached

It’s sometimes difficult to reach markets and working with the trade means promoting your business in places that you’ve found hard to reach due to administration and marketing capacity or lack of market awareness.

3. Boost your bookings

If you are already always at capacity through direct bookings then we are thrilled. If not you may think that customers will come to you direct and you don’t need to work with the Travel Trade to gain extra bookings. New customers and certainly international customers will very often book via an agent or operator first. By having pricing levels which allow the trade to build in commission or discounted rates, you can generate additional sales to increase visitor figures or fill spare capacity. Tour operators can often bring you customers during off-peak season.

4. Pay only for results

In order for the Travel Trade to be successful the companies selling your product or service also need to be able to make a profit. In most cases you only pay commission or offer a discounted price when the sale is made. It provides an opportunity for greater promotional reach of your product at little extra cost.

5. Form long-lasting relationships

The trade gets to know and trust you to deliver a quality and consistent product. They will continue to promote and sell your product year after year, or until market demand suggests otherwise.

6. Less hassle all round!

The trade is the conduit between you and the consumer up until the time the guest arrives at your door. The trade deals with various general information enquiries, financial transactions and any problems the client might encounter. They often also have the ability to sell all of the other components of the traveller’s holiday. Working with inbound operators gives your business the opportunity to have international visitors whilst business is done in the UK, through English and paid in pound sterling. Inbound operators have a global client base although some may specialise in specific markets e.g. North America, Europe or Asia which helps you to target specific markets and also allows you to benefit from their contacts when bookings are made with you.