Destination BC Learning Centre Resource: Working with the Travel Trade Six-Part Video Series

Destination BC has developed a Working with the Travel Trade Six-Part Tutorial Video Series for the Learning Centre, available 24/7 to BC’s tourism industry. Building on Destination BC’s previously established written Working with the Travel Trade Guide, this new video series format aims to make accessing this information easier by breaking it into consumable video segments.

There are several reasons why a tourism business may want to consider attracting international travellers, even if their primary clientele currently comes from regional visitors. Marketing through various channels allows for balancing business and revenues. Diversifying the customer base means a tourism business can continue to thrive despite potential adverse conditions. But how can international travellers be reached? This is where travel trade comes in. These are the organizations that operate as intermediaries in the tourism industry — including tour operators, receptive tour operators, wholesalers, and travel agents — who promote and sell to overseas markets and create an essential link between businesses and potential international clients.

This six-part tutorial series will help tourism businesses determine whether working with the travel trade is right for their business or community, or if it might not be a suitable match. It provides guidance on who the travel trade is, why, and how to work with them, and how local and regional Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) can help.

The series can be found on Destination BC’s Learning Centre in the Travel Trade & Travel Media category.

To get the highest value from these tutorials, watch the videos in the following sequence:

1. Part 1 Who Are the Travel Trade – Video: Describes travel trade, the five types of related organizations, and the role they play in the tourism supply chain.

2.Part 2 Why Work with the Travel Trade – Video: Explains the benefits to your business and customers of selling your tourism product or experience through the travel trade.

3. Part 3 Get Ready to Work with Travel Trade – Video: Guides you through the benefits to your business and customers of selling your tourism product or experience through the travel trade.

4. Part 4 Selecting Target Markets – Video: Helps you identify the international markets that align with your product offering, as you consider diversifying your geographic markets.

5. Part 5 Travel Trade and Your Local DMO – Video: Explains when, why, and how to contact your community/city and Regional Destination Management Organization about Travel Trade.

6. Part 6 How to Contact the Travel Trade – Video: Guides you through the steps to take when reaching out to Travel Trade to introduce your export-ready product offering.

Once tourism businesses have watched all six videos in the series, they can use Destination BC’s handy checklist to determine if they are travel trade ready.

Destination BC’s Learning Centre provides BC’s tourism industry with access to free resources and tools, featured articles, videos, guides and templates, 24/7.