This is a collective term for any businesses that supply services to and buy services from the tourism industry. As a supplier (i.e you have the product) you will contract with the tour operator etc (the buyer) who will then sell on your behalf.

Third parties are any businesses that are acting on your behalf under contract. These can be off line (tour operators, DMCs or hotel concierges for example) or on line (OTAs for example). The distribution part is how they reach their consumer clients to sell on your behalf. This could be through smaller tour operators in source markets (countries where visitors that you want to focus on e.g The US) or simply through the marketing reach particularly for the big OTAs. In general tour operators tend to be market specific and OTAs can have multi market or even global reach.

This is typically a membership body that represents a specific city or area within a region. LVEPs promote their partners and their area in general to both the travel trade and to the public at events or sales missions.

A group of LVEPs working in collaboration over a wider regional area is known as a Destination Development Partnership (DDP).

These terms only apply to England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all still use the term DMO

Destination Management Companies (DMOs) do still exist across England, but are not accredited by VisitEngland.  This does not make them valuable! Fundamentally they work in the same way as an LVEP.

This is a tour operator business that wholesales to agencies and small operators around the world. They will contract with lots of different types of accommodation providers, attractions, service providers (including car hire, transfer companies etc) in order to provide a ‘shopping list’ of products for their international clients to choose from – both via their website and through brochures. It is important to note that a DMC will have an exclusive relationship with their agents and operators, and these international businesses will only buy your product if it is contracted through their preferred DMC.

FITs may be individuals, couples, friends or families that are booking their holidays independently (i.e. not buying a full package). They will look for specific elements that they wish to purchase through the travel trade e.g. attraction passes, theatre tickets, exhibitions, individual attractions, tours or accommodation.

OTAs are defined as tour operators working online. These would include businesses like Trip Advisor/Viator, Get Your Guide, Tui/Musement, Tiqets, Expedia etc. They will target the FIT market often looking for late availability, special offers etc. Supplier businesses that work with OTAs will need to remain very engaged and ‘hands on’ ensuring that information is kept up to date – usually via a web portal. Ideally you will also have an API connection in place via your booking platform to manage live availability. There are other considerations to take into account as well, such as how much you charge for entrance , how often your product/service is available weekly, and how many months a year you are open.

Travel trade buyers will often prefer to buy your service or product when they need to rather than have to have an allocation. There are of course exceptions, such as events or attractions that have limited capacity or timed entry.

An allocation is a guaranteed number of admissions/bed rooms etc. that are pre arranged as part of a contract with you. Generally - free sale is preferred unless you have timed entrances, special events etc. where guaranteed tickets would be preferred. This will all be discussed with you in detail when you sign your contract.

Tour operators booking accommodation will want FIT allocations ideally as this will support them bringing you business. Remember, allocations are not a threat to your walk up or direct business as they can be released well in advance of any booking/arrival dates by agreement.

When it comes to this distinction, it is based on how the third party acts on your behalf. In general a tour operator will work off line. They use brochures and email communications to share information about your product or service and they will all run product training on your behalf for their clients. This is often done overseas in the offices of their top clients. You don't pay for any of this marketing. The commission that you pay on a confirmed sale contributes a little toward the costs of that travel and marketing work.

On line refers to the work that OTAs do through their platforms. Again, the costs of their SEO, investment in AI etc is all part of their business and marketing planning - again you are not paying for that.

Digital transformation is a broad term used to describe the process of positively transforming various aspects of a business —whether that’s how you work internally, the customer experience you provide, or the company culture you promote—via digital technologies.

However, an effective digital transformation strategy isn’t just about adopting the latest and greatest digital technologies and expecting them to work miracles. It’s also about making sure you have the right working culture in place to ensure the technologies are readily adopted and embedded into a company’s values, directly supporting future growth initiatives.

API - one of the few acronyms that still makes no sense when you know what it stands for (Application Programming Interface). Basically this is a 'bridge' between your booking platform and a third party reseller (such as an OTA). What the API does is to provide live information so that a booking can be made in the sure knowledge that it is available at the time slot or day that has been chosen. This means that there is no possibility of creating a double booking as even if you check your availability for that same time slot on your booking system, you will see if it has already been taken off sale. This process is ideal if you have a limited number of tickets available for any given activity, event or entrance time.

A booking platform will allow you to manage your inventory on an hourly or daily basis and be able to draw down reports on how people are booking (through your website for example or via distribution channel). If you are planning to work with an OTA, then this is important information for you to consider: There are many different booking platforms available, each offering different levels of services and connectivity as well as service fees. Some will provide the platform for free, but charge more per booking made via that channel (in addition to any commissions that you are paying to third parties such as an OTA). Some will also provide API connectivity (i.e. a direct connection to an OTA showing live availability for every timeslot), and others will require 'middleware' (see the API jargon buster topic above for more information on this). You will need to have a detailed discussion with several providers in order to choose the best option for you.