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Chapter 4: The Travel Trade

A photograph depicting people gathered on the side of a road next to a motorcoach bus, many with cameras. The landscape is of tall green mountains with rocky outcrops.
Tourists disembark from their tour bus to take photographs / Photo Credit: Christine McIntosh, CC BY-ND 2.0

Overview

The travel trade refers to the network of businesses and organizations involved in packaging, distributing, and selling travel services and products to travelers. This chapter provides an introduction to the key players that make up the travel trade, including suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. It also explores the role these players have in the travel product distribution chain.

This chapter begins with an overview of the history of the travel trade. It also explains the business models and operations for different trade segments, the relationship between trade segments, and trends shaping the future. Focused on teaching future tourism professionals how to effectively navigate this vital sector, this chapter delves into the complexity of travel distribution chains and how businesses in the travel trade industry package, market, and sell diverse travel offerings.

Objectives

Reading and reviewing this chapter will enable an attentive learner to accomplish the following tasks:

  1. Identify the four pillars of travel product distribution and provide examples of different business segments for each
  2. Articulate how technological innovation has affected the travel trade
  3. Summarize the challenges of reselling travel products
  4. Understand the business operations of the major players in the travel trade
  5. Identify career opportunities within the travel trade
  6. Discuss current issues and emerging trends shaping the future of the travel trade

Key Terms

  • Travel Trade
  • Intermediaries
  • Travel Product
  • Group Leader
  • Travel Product Distribution
  • Travel Product Chain
  • Suppliers
  • Wholesalers
  • Retailers
  • Consumers
  • B2B (Business to Business) Tour Operators
  • Consolidators
  • B2C (Business to Consumer) Tour Operators
  • Travel Agents
  • Online Travel Agents (OTA)
  • Tour Packages
  • Receptive Tour Operator (RTO)
  • Ground Operator
  • Destination Management Companies (DMCs)
  • Packaged Tour
  • Packaged Holidays
  • FIT Travel
  • Global Distribution System (GDS)
  • Corporate Travel Agencies
  • Travel Management Companies
  • Online Booking Tools (OBTs)
  • Domestic Travel
  • International Travel
  • Leisure Travel
  • Business Travel
  • Bleisure Travel
  • Travel Managers

Attributions

  1. Chapter opening image: Montserrat – en route by Christine McIntosh is released under CC BY-ND 2.0

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Introduction to Hospitality Copyright © by SBCTC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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