South West Tourism Growth Fund
Travel Trade Information Template
for industry (excluding accommodation)
VisitWiltshire are leading on a project on behalf of the South West Tourism Growth Fund to develop a
sales tool of suitable South West England business information. This will be distributed to international
tour operators and travel agents in order to encourage them to feature more South West businesses
within their UK itineraries. This project target markets are North America, Australia & New Zealand,
German speaking markets, Benelux, Scandinavia and Republic of Ireland. It will be completed by the end
of March 2016.
The template below is designed to help gather as much consistent information as possible about products
in the South West region that can be sold to travel trade partners.
Travel trade partners such as tour operators who receive this information will be able to use it to help sell
your product to their clients, not only to groups but also in many cases to smaller parties such as couples
or families (sometimes referred to as FITs). They will do so in a number of ways, which may include featuring information about your product in printed brochures, on their website, or through other forms of
collateral and activity such as direct mail shots.
Before you complete the template, it may be useful to note the following points:
 Tour operators are planning up to 18 months in advance so any information you provide must be
accurate for at least that period of time, if not longer
 Tour operators will expect a commission payment which typically means that you must sell to
them at a discounted rate of anything between 15 to 30% less that your normal admission price
 Tour operators normally work on the basis of being invoiced after a visit (30 days is a normal term
of payment) and will expect your booking team/admissions staff to be able to receive a company
voucher as proof of visit/entry in which date of visit, number of people in the group or party and
types of tickets sold are usually recorded
 Your product ideally needs to be available for all sizes of groups and ideally available daily or on a
regular weekly basis
 Please bear in mind that due to the longevity of working with the travel trade, the product that
you are offering will need to be available on agreed dates at least eighteen months in advance. If
for example a tour operator chooses to feature your product in a brochure the information about
it must be accurate for its lifespan. An example of how this can cause problems is a case whereby
a particular weekend event at an attraction changed the dates of an event but did not inform a
tour operator client. The tour operator had already sold 500 tickets to the event on the basis of
the original date, leading to a lot of very unhappy customers.
 For short term or ad hoc events, such as festivals, it is possible however to sell to some tour operators, especially those who work solely on line
Completing the template:
Please use bullet points rather than full sentences wherever possible. If a particular field of information is not relevant, please fill in with n/a
If you have any queries whatsoever when completing the template please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Macnair either by email at andrewmacnair@b2me.net or by telephone on 07866 315882
NEED TO KNOW:
Your full company name (as you would like to be promoted
to international travel trade)
Which international markets do you currently target?
Which international markets are you most interested in targeting?
What are the main themes under which you would like your
product to be promoted?
 Culture & Cultural Activities eg. History, heritage,
gardens, legends and creative art
 Urban/Trendy & City Breaks eg. Food, festivals,
events and entertainment
 Outdoor & Active eg. Rambling, water sports, cycling
 Film & TV eg. Film sets and inspiration heritage
 Inspiration eg. Contemporary, wellness & wellbeing
Opening and closing times
Access to site – are there any uneven surfaces or health
and safety issues to be aware of (this can include step
stairs, low ceilings, slippery surfaces, cobbles etc.)
Wheelchair access
Recommended length of visit
Minimum and maximum group sizes
Dates for any specific ad hoc events in 2016 and 2017
Prices valid until the end of 2017 where possible – please
state individual gate prices as well as group prices
Full address including town/city, county and post code
(for Satnav) and any further information required for visitors to find venue
Coach parking facilities or if none, coach drop off facilities
Access by public transport (if relevant)
Your website address and where possible the link to
travel trade group page
Social media information – Twitter / Facebook / Instagram
/ Pinterest etc
Do you work with your local Destination Organisation, if
so, which one (s)?
If you work with tour operators currently please state
which ones and whether they are UK based or if international, in which country they are based
Payment terms e.g 30 days and ability to accept vouchers
Which awards or accreditations does your business have,
eg quality grading schemes?
What is the main barrier for you in accessing international
travel trade?
What else would you like to see the South West Tourism
Growth Fund or your local Destination Organisation doing
to help grow your international travel trade business?
Do you sell ready-made itineraries?
GOOD TO KNOW:
Location of toilets (in comparison to main entrance and
coach/car park)
Do you provide visitor information in foreign languages and
if so what e.g. leaflet, guided tour
Do you offer any added value elements to a visit without
charge e.g. meet and greet on arrival, Special Interest Tours
etc.
For groups, best time to visit during the day (e.g. for ease of
access to site, or to avoid school groups)
What special offers or facilities do you provide for group
leaders/coach drivers?
Do you provide free familiarisation visits for travel trade
partners ?
Can groups access your refreshment facilities without paying an entrance fee?
Can groups access anything additional for free?
DID YOU KNOW:
Quirky (but truthful) facts that you would consider to be an
insider’s piece of knowledge. These need to be relevant to
you and to the service/product that you are offering. Information that tour operator or tour manager would be
keen to share because it is interesting and potentially useful
as a sales insight.
WHO TO KNOW:
Primary point/person to contact for contracting
Telephone Number
Email address
Days/Times available
Response times to email or voicemail
Please forward your completed template by Friday 15 January to Andrew Macnair b2me Tourism
Marketing Limited via email andrewmacnair@b2me.net