ABS~Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Advertorial~A paid advertisement in the print media that resembles a story or editorial comment.
AFTA~Australian Federation of Travel Agents.
AITT~Australian Institute of Travel and Tourism.
Allotment~A limited number of rooms or seats available to wholesalers to free sell.
ANR~Arrival notification report used by wholesale agents.
APEX~Airlines advanced purchase fare.
ATC~Australian Tourist Commission now part of Tourism Australia.
ATE~Australian Tourism Exchange. Australia's largest international tourism trade show for inbound operators, co-ordinated by Tourism Australia.
ATEC~Australian Tourism Export Council formerly known as ITOA.
ATLAS~Computer/reservation system used by some travel agents.
Attendance~Building Marketing and promotional programs designed to increase attendance at conventions, trade shows, meetings, and events.
Attraction~A man-made or natural facility, location or activity that offers an item or items of specific interest.
Average rate per room occupied~A very useful statistic that is calculated by dividing total sales of rooms during a set period by the total number of rooms occupied during that period.
AVIC~Accredited Visitor Information Centre.

B & B~Bed and Breakfast facility (usually not more than six rooms).
Bed Tax~A tax added to the price of a hotel room.
Benchmarking~Comparing results with similar tourism businesses or assessing the business against an industry average.
BEC~Business Enterprise Centre.
BLIS~Business Licence Information Service.
Block Booking~Hotel rooms held without deposit.
Booked~Hotel rooms, airline tickets or other travel services held for a specific client.
Booking~Term used to refer to a completed sale by a destination, convention centre, facility, hotel or supplier (ie convention, meeting, trade show or group business booking).
BTR~Bureau of Tourism Research now part of Tourism Australia (now known as TRA).
Business Travel~Travel for commercial, governmental or educational purposes with leisure as a secondary motivation.
Buyer~A member of the travel trade who reserves room blocks from accommodation or co-ordinates the development of a travel product.

Carriers~Recognised transport operators eg bus, ship or air.
CBO~Central Booking Office.
Chambers of Commerce~Chambers of Commerce serve as an advocate for the community and business as well as a resource for consumers and businesses. 
Charter Group~Group travel in which a previously organised group travels together, usually on a custom itinerary.
Commissions~A percentage of the total product cost paid to travel agents for selling the product to the consumer. 
Complimentary~No charge is made for the item or service offered.
Convention and Visitors Bureau~Local tourism marketing organisations specialising in developing conventions, meetings, conferences and visitation to a city or region.
Conversion Study~Research study to analyse whether advertising respondents actually were converted to travellers as a result of advertising and follow-up material.
Co-op Advertising~Advertising funded by two or more destinations and/or suppliers.
Co-operative Marketing~Marketing programs involving two or more participating companies, institutions or organisations.
Co-operative Partner~An independent firm or organisation which works with a tourism office by providing cash or inkind contributions to expand the marketing impact of the tourism office's program.
Cost Benefit Analysis~A comparison between costs and benefits.
Cover~Each diner at a restaurant.
CRS~Central Reservations System.


Demographic Profile~Personal information about customers used to understand their buying or selling preferences, e.g. age, income, gender.
Deposit Money~paid to secure a reservation.
Destination~A hotel, resort, attraction, city, region or state.
Destination Marketing~Advertising and promotions, aimed at consumer and trade, designed to build awareness and desire to travel to a particular location.
Discounted Fare~Negotiated air fare for convention, trade show, meeting, group and corporate travel.
Discretionary Costs~Costs over which an operator has control, e.g. salaries, marketing, training.
Distribution~A marketing term used to describe the physical means by which a product or service is made known to customers.
Direct Bookings~Reservations made directly with the operator.
Documentation~All the tickets and vouchers that are sent to agents by a wholesaler.
Domestic Market~Australians travelling within their own country.

ETA~Estimated time of arrival.
ETD~Estimated time of departure.

Familiarisation Tours~Organised free trips for travel agents, tour operators, tour wholesalers or journalists
Feasibility Study~A technique used to assess the financial potential of a proposed development. 
Feature~An article in a travel publication or a characteristic of a service or product, eg price,convenience, safety or quality.
FIT (Free Independent Traveller)~These travellers travel independently, not in a group, usually by rental car or public transport.
Fixed Costs~Do not vary and include costs that the operator has no control over eg rates, licences etc.
Fly/Drive~A package tour concept that includes a minimum of round-trip or one-way air travel and rental car to the destination.
FOC~Free of charge.
Frequency~The number of times an advertisement appears during a given campaign.
Free Sell~A travel component (room or seat) allotted to a wholesaler so they can sell, and confirm the booking, directly with the client.
Fulfilment Servicing~consumers and trade who request information as a result of advertising or promotional programs (e.g. brochure, website). Service often includes an 1800 number, sales staff and distribution of materials.

Galileo~Airline reservation system.
Gateway~A major airport, rail or bus centre through which tourists and travellers enter from outside the region.
GIT (Group Independent Travel)~Group travel where individuals purchase a group package in which they will travel with others along a pre-set itinerary.
Gross Rate~The accommodation rate quoted to the public. 
Group Rate~Negotiated hotel rate for convention, trade show, meeting, tour or incentive groups.
Group Travel~A prepaid tour usually with a set itinerary and number of travellers.
GSA (General Sales Agent)~A person who acts on behalf of a product or service for promotion and sales purposes.

High Season~The time of year when tourist activity and rates charged are normally at their highest.
Hospitality Industry~Another term for the tourism industry usually associated with hotel and restaurant operators.

IATA~International Air Transport Association.
Inbound Operator~Travel operators who work with international wholesalers packaging holidays for overseas travellers, in liaison with Australian suppliers.
Inbound Travellers~Overseas travellers coming to Australia.
ITB~Internationale Tourismus Borse, the International Tourism Exchange held in Berlin.
Icon~A facility or landmark which is visually synonymous with a destination.
Incentive House~A package tour operator, wholesaler or travel agency that primarily organises, packages and sells incentive travel.
Incentive Travel~Travel offered as a reward for top performance and the business that develops, markets and operates these programs.
Inclusive Tour~A tour program that includes a variety of features for a single rate (airfare, accommodation, sightseeing, performances, etc).
International Marketing~Marketing a destination, product or service to consumers and the trade outside of Australia.
Itinerary~Detailed description of a traveller's journey as shown on their tickets; can also include accommodation and other pre-arranged activities.
Inventory~The process of keeping track of available tourism product.

Leisure Travel~Travel for recreational, educational, sightseeing, relaxing and other purposes.
LGA~Local Government Authority.
LTA~Local Tourist Association.
Local Market~The intrastate market.
Low Season~The time of year when tourist activity and rates are at their lowest.


Mainstream Brochure~The brochure produced by a wholesaler that extends for a full year period.
Market Segmentation~The division of the total market into groups of customers with common characteristics.
Market Share~The percentage of business within a market category.
Market Volume~The total number of travellers within a market category.
Marketing Environment~All the outside factors that an operator has no control over and which affect their business, including government policy, technological changes, societal changes, competition and industry trends.
Marketing Mix~The mix of media (radio, print, television, direct marketing, etc) to bring your product to the attention of consumers.
Marketing Plan~Contains a mission statement, situation analysis, marketing objectives, strategies, tactics and programs of monitoring and control.
Media Release~See press release.
Media Visits~Organised trips for travel writers for the purpose of assisting them in developing stories about tourist destinations. Often journalists travel independently, though with the assistance of a state tourism office.
Mission~A promotional and sales trip co-ordinated by a state tourism office, convention and visitors bureau or key industry member

Nett Rate~The rate provided to wholesalers and tour operators that can be marked up to sell to the customer.
No Show~A customer with a reservation at a restaurant, hotel etc who fails to show up and does not cancel.

Occupancy Rate~A percentage indicating the number of bed nights sold (compared to the number available) in a hotel, resort, motel or destination.
Operator~The owner and/or manager of the product.
Override Commission~Special bonus commission for reaching pre-determined levels of sales over and above the normal average net commissions paid.

Package~A fixed price saleable travel product that makes it easy for a traveller to buy and enjoy a destination or several destinations. 
PATA~Pacific Asia Travel Association.
PAX~Passengers.
Preferred Agents~Agents with a formal arrangement with a wholesaler who prefers to use their product.
Press/Media Release~A news article or feature story written by the subject of the story for delivery and potential placement in the media.
Pre and Post Convention Tours~Packages that are specifically designed for attendees of a particular convention or meeting.
Pre-Registration~A guest is pre-assigned a room by the property to be available upon arrival.
Product~A hotel, motel, inn, lodge or other accommodation facility as well as tour, attraction or activity.
Providers~Suppliers of tourist services and products.

Qualitative Research~Research which obtains in-depth, open-ended responses allowing respondents to put answers in their own words. 
Quantitative Research~Involves the use of structured questions in order to provide uniform results which are representative of the desired population. 

Rack Rate~The accommodation rate quoted to the public. 
Reach~The percentage of people within a specific target audience reached by an advertising campaign.
Repeat Business~Business that continues to return, thereby generating increased profits.
Reservation~The advance booking of a travel product or component.
Reservation Systems~Computerised systems used by travel agencies offering airline, hotel, car rental and tours to determine availability and arrange bookings.
Retail Agent~A travel agent.
Retailer~Another term for travel agents who sell travel products directly to consumers.
Room Allocation~A limited number of rooms or seats available to wholesalers to free sell.
RTA~Roads and Traffic Authority.
RTO~Regional Tourism Organisation.


Sales Seminar~An educational session in which travel agents, tour operators, tour wholesalers or other members of the travel trade congregate to receive briefings about tourism destinations.
Seasonality~Business variations across the seasons.
Seasonal Travel~Travel industry business cycles such as high or peak, low or off peak and shoulder season. Peak Primary travel season. Off Peak Period when business is slowest.
Shoulder Period~between peak and off peak periods when business is stronger, but has room for growth. 
Share~room in a hotel, motel, B&B or cabin etc.
Shells~A promotional piece that depicts a destination, accommodation or attraction and provides space for copy to be added at a later date. 
Site Inspection~An assessment tour of a destination or facility by a meeting planner
Standby Rate~Lower than the rack rate.
Stakeholders~The individuals and organisations who are  potentially involved in developing policy, strategy, initiatives and decision-making.
Suppliers~Those businesses that provide industry products like accommodation, transportation, car rentals, restaurants and attractions.

Talkabout~Annual Trade Show where wholesalers present their products to travel agents.
Target Market~A specific group at which marketing activities are directed.
Tariff~Rate of fare quoted and published by a travel industry supplier.
TASAC~Tourist Attractions and Signposting Assessment Committee.
Tourism Accreditation~A scheme designed to ensure continuous provision of quality service and product by tourism operators.
Tourism Australia~Government Statutory Authority responsible for international and domestic tourism marketing and research and forecasts for the sector.
Tourism Component~A single travel component. Grouped together tour components form a package.
TRA~Tourism Research Australia 

Tour Wholesaler~An individual or company that sells tour packages and tour product to travel agents. 
Tourist~Someone who leaves their own area (usually going a distance of a minimum of 50 to 100 kilometres) and stays overnight.
Trade Show~Exhibition of tourism goods and services to the industry.
Travel~Leisure and other travel including travel for business, medical care, education, etc. All tourism is travel, but not all travel is tourism.
Travel Agent~An individual who arranges travel for individuals or groups.
Travel Product~Refers to any product or service that is bought by or sold to consumers of trade including accommodation, attractions, events, restaurants, transportation, etc.
Travel Industry~The collective term for tour operators, wholesalers and travel agents, also known as Travel Trade.
Traveller~The same as a tourist, however they have a less fixed itinerary.

Unique Selling Proposition~The sustainable competitive edge that the product has over other products.

Variable Costs~Costs of goods that vary when purchased eg fuel and food.
Visiting Friends and Relatives~The same as a tourist however they are usually staying in private homes and their principal reason for travel is to visit friends or relatives.
Visitor Information Centre~A destination to provide information and sometimes bookings for accommodation, tours, activities and events for visitors to the area. 
Voucher~Confirmation slip, advice notice or pre-payment instrument that is exchanged for the travel service.

Wholesaler~A person or organisation that creates packages for retail travel agents.

YHA~Youth Hostels Association.
Yield~The dollar amount generated from a customer transaction after deducting all the fixed, variable and discretionary costs.