This complete ETAG Travel Trade Resource is designed to help businesses work with the travel trade for the first time and establish easy and successful ways to be “trade ready” with the right product and the right engagement.
Tips for getting started:
- Draw on the experience of others – In Edinburgh and further afield there are tourism businesses working successfully with the trade. See the ETAG Travel Trade case studies for starters!
- Research – Know who you are dealing with and how they buy and sell.
- Audit what your business needs and wants are from the Travel Trade (time of day, period, market interests, revenue streams). What is deliverable?
- Create your bookable product with a clear trade rates strategy. Is a net or commission approach most suitable for your business?
- Product and rates need to be available in advance 12 – 18 months and beyond.
- Create a sales resource, see travel trade tool kit.
- Meet the trade – local sales meetings with local operators, workshops and invites to visit your business, direct dialogue will enable you to gather useful intelligence and also test out your offering & ideas.
- Allow time to build business with the trade. It can take a couple of years or more. B2B relationships are important.
- Remember the travel trade is only one part of a marketing and distribution plan.
- Take your colleagues on the journey with you, from bosses & budget holders to operational staff. Use this guide to give them a flavour of how the Travel Trade works and what the benefits are.
- Collaboration. Small or large business? – work with others to create a stronger product proposition- that may be how you get to feature on the travel trade itinerary/map!