Work with the Travel Trade

Working in the Travel Trade Industry allows businesses to target new markets and diversify their business portfolio.

The travel trade industry is a worldwide network of receptive tour operators (RTOs), tour operators/wholesalers, retail travel agents and online travel agencies that package, promote and sell experiences abroad. Partnering with them inserts your product into ready-made sales channels, and shares marketing costs you’d otherwise bear alone.

Why Get Involved

Benefit

Broader Market Reach

Diversified Revenue

Predictable Booking Windows

Opportunities to Support FAMS

Lower Financial Risk

Enhanced Customer Care

What it Means for You

Your product will appear in brochures, agent booking systems and consumer campaigns overseas.

International guests help fill shoulder seasons and will act as a buffer during times of less domestic travel.

Trade partners contract well in advance, letting you plan staffing and inventory confidently.

Opportunities to be featured in trade shows and familiarisation (FAM) Tours through Destination Organisation and Tour Operators

Canadian RTOs invoice clients and pay you in CAD, limiting currency and charge-back exposure.

Agents manage itinerary changes and emergencies, improving visitor experience.

Learn more about the benefits of working with the travel trade HERE.

Are you “Travel Trade Ready”?

To help businesses and destinations ensure they are properly prepared to work the travel trade, readiness has been grouped into three tiers: Visitor Ready, Market Ready, and Export Ready. Use this checklist to understand where your product lands and whether it is export ready.

Tier

Visitor Ready

Market Ready

Export Ready

Description

Valid licences & insurance, staffed premises with posted hours, year-round phone/email response and clear signage.

All Visitor items plus published rates & cancellation terms; brochure/website/social channels; prompt inquiry response (industry norm is within a day or two); high-resolution images/video; and trained front-line staff.

Visitor + Market items plus proven safe operation; $2-3 M liability cover; understanding of rack vs. net rates and typical 25–30 % trade margins; willingness to contract wholesale rates, accept vouchers and invoice operators; and a budget for international marketing.

Find further details about the criteria HERE.

Regional support: The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) collaborates with Destination BC on travel trade FAMs and product updates. Connect with them to learn more about working with travel trade and ensure TOTA has enough information to be able to share awareness about your product to the industry, to help you join in these opportunities.

Get Started with Travel Trade

1. Identify your priority markets & segments

  • Focus on countries and traveller types (e.g. FIT, small-group adventure) that align with your capacity and seasonality.

Learn more about choosing your markets HERE.

2. Close readiness gaps

  • Once you have an idea of the focused countries and traveller types that are most relevant to your product you can polish licensing, pricing structures and collateral before approaching partners.

3. Connect with TOTA & Destination BC

  • Join trade contact lists

  • Supply concise product fact sheets & current imagery

  • When possible, partner with CDMOs, TOTA and DBC to host or co-host FAM tours to let operators experience your product first-hand.

Learn more about connecting with you local partners like CMDOs and RDMOs HERE.

4. Cultivate operator relationships

  • When possible, attend trade marketplaces such as Rendez-Vous Canada. If attending is not feasible, ensure your CDMO and TOTA have up to date information about your product so they can best educate travel trade buyers on your offering at said marketplaces.

  • Respond quickly to B2B enquiries and confirm availability without delay

  • Offer clear net-rate contracts and straightforward payment terms.

5. Deliver & Continue Relationships with the Travel Trade

  • Consistently meet contracted service levels, refresh imagery each season, share guest stories that agents can reuse and review rates annually for the upcoming contract cycle.

Learn about how to work with the travel trade HERE.

Content Checklist to Help the Travel Trade Promote Your Product

Information is power when it comes to travel trade. Your local CDMO and TOTA are happy to help you promote your export ready product, but having the following assets is always recommended to ensure your information can easily be shared and circulated with travel trade partners.

Assets

Rate sheet (rack & net, covering a full operating year)

High-resolution images (≈ 2 MB+) & 30–60 s B-roll

Concise product description (≈ 120 words)

Booking & cancellation terms

Prompt availability confirmation

Sample itineraries & regional maps

Why they Matter

Needed to load brochures and booking systems.

Essential for brochures, websites and agent training.

Easy copy-and-paste for trade channels.

Required for agent Terms and Conditions, and consumer protection.

Industry standard is within 24 hours; consider live inventory tools if possible.

Help operators package you with nearby experiences.

FAM hosting guidelines (comp policy, standout moments, staff host)

Smooth logistics for visiting agents and media.

Ongoing best practices

  • Revisit the self-assessment regularly to keep licences, insurance and operational policies

  • current.

  • Refresh imagery and key copy whenever you update facilities, add experiences or win awards.

  • Maintain a rapid B2B response culture—speed signals professionalism and boosts conversion.

  • Review pricing structures annually to ensure margins align with operator expectations and

  • exchange-rate trends.

  • Stay visible in trade networks by attending key marketplaces when possible and volunteering for

  • joint marketing or FAM opportunities.

Becoming trade-ready turns your business or destination into a bookable, globally promoted product. Use the readiness checklist, build relationships through TOTA and Destination BC, keep your assets and information up to date and your responses fast, and you’ll remain relevant and resilient in the travel trade market.

If you are interested, or are already working with Travel Trade, please complete the TOTA Travel Trade Intake Form. For more information and training about the Travel Trade Industry, visit Destination BC’s learning centre and reach out to the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association at media@totabc.com.

—Former Customer