Allocation
A block booking of hotel rooms or airline seats by an operator or agent who can then call on that allocation without having to keep re-checking availability with the hotel or airline, until a specified release date

Benchmarking
Process of comparing performance and activities among similar organizations either against an agreed standard or against those that are recognized as being among the best

Business Travel or Business Events
Travel for commercial rather than leisure purposes. Business travel is sometimes used as a cover-all to include what are sometimes referred to as the “MICE” markets – meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions

Convention or Conference Bureau
Usually a publicly funded organisation charged with the promotion of a town or region for conferences, meetings and exhibitions.

Confidential Tariff
Discounted prices quoted to wholesalers, tour operators and travel agents, distributed in confidence and not published for public use.

Consolidator
A company or individual that brings together different group of people on air charters or at group rates on scheduled flights to increase sales, earn override commissions or reduce the possibility of tour cancellations.

Day visitors
Visitors who arrive and leave the same day, irrespective of why they are travelling

Destination Management Company (DMC)
A company working in a specific destination to handle all bookings and arrangements for tours or conferences, including hotel accommodation, transfers, sightseeing, meetings and special events. Tour operators or conference planners are likely to use the services of a DMC because of their specialist local knowledge.

Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO)
Company or consortia (often a public/private partnership) responsible for the promotion of a specific area or town. DMOs are becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Destination Marketing Partnerships are similar organisations. See the section on the structure of the tourism industry for more information.

Domestic Tourism
UK residents travelling within the country itself.

Dwell time
Length of time a visitor spends at an attraction or destination. Dwell time is often taken into consideration when setting admission fees as a way of ensuring perceived value for money

Ecotourism
Defined by The International Ecotourism Society as ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people’.

Familiarisation or fam. trip
Free or reduced rate trip, usually for tour operators, travel agents or journalists so they can experience a destination or tourism product first hand and then promote it

Ground operator or ground handler
Company making all arrangements for incoming groups or travellers from overseas, from the moment they arrive in the UK (or other destination) to the moment they leave the country. This may include anything from accommodation booking to transfers and sightseeing. Some ground handlers prefer the term, “incoming tour operator”

Incentive tour/trip
Once in a life time experience or trip, usually offered to either stimulate sales staff to sell more or as a reward for increased sales activity. Incentive trips are often handled either by specialist incentive houses or Destination Management Consultants

Incoming or Inbound Tourism
Refers to visitors from other countries coming to the UK.

Incoming tour operator
Incoming tour operators essentially offer the same services as ground handlers although they are more likely to offer their own programmes and not just react to clients’ demands.

Leisure tourist/visitor
Travelling for pleasure not business, including those who travel in order to visit friends and relatives

Length of stay
No of nights spent in one destination. Most tourist boards seek to find ways of increasing visitors’ length of stay

MICE
Umbrella term to refer to several aspects of business tourism: Meetings Incentives Conventions and Exhibitions

Net Rate
The price for hotel rooms, car hire or other products before they are “marked up” with an additional margin for profit for sale to the public

Occupancy rate
Refers to the number of rooms or beds occupied by guests on any given date, usually presented as a percentage. Because accommodation is perishable (i.e. if rooms are unsold on the 1st December, there won’t be another chance to sell them), high occupancy rates are essential to profitability.

Package Tour
A travel product (often sold by travel agents or direct “off the page”) with an inclusive price covering the different elements of the trip e.g. transport to the destination, accommodation, catering and perhaps some sightseeing activities.

Pax
Short hand for “passengers”

Rack Rate
The official rate advertised by a hotel or other tourism provider. This is the “rate across the counter” i.e. the one offered to the public, before any discounts are applied.

Sustainable tourism
According to the World Tourism Organisation, this is "envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled with maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life support systems."

Yield management
A practise pioneered by airlines and now used by accommodation providers and other tourism suppliers to maximise revenue by raising or lowering prices according to demand.

VFR
An important segment in tourism although often ignored, VFR stands for Visiting Friends and Relatives.

Wholesaler
A company that doesn’t sell to the public but through travel agents and particularly tour and coach operators. They generally rely on low margin, mass market products

Key abbreviations at a glance

AA - Automobile Association
ABTA - Association of British Travel Agents
ACORN - A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods
AIM - Association of Independent Museums
ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
AONB - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
ARELS - Association of Recognised English Language Schools
ATOC - Association of Train Operating Companies
B&B - Bed and Breakfast
BAA - British Airports Authority
BABA - Book-a-bed-ahead
BACD - British Association of Conference Destinations
BAFA - British Arts Festivals Association
BC - British Council
BHA - British Hospitality Association
BITOA - British Incoming Tour Operators Association (now UKInbound)
BTA - British Tourist Authority (now VisitBritain)
BTTF - British Travel Trade Fair
CAA - Civil Aviation Authority
CABE - Commission for Agriculture and the Built Environment
CAMRA - Campaign for Real Ale
CBI - Confederation of British Industry
CIM - Chartered Institute of Marketing
CIMTIG - Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Industry Group
CPRE - Council for the Protection of Rural England
CPT - Confederation of Passenger Transport UK
CRS - Computerised Reservation System
CTC - Coach Tourism Council
CTC - Cyclists' Touring Club
DCMS - Department for Culture, Media and Sport
DDA - Disability Discrimination Act
DEFRA - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
DINKS - Double Income No Kids
DMO - Destination Management Organisation
DMS - Destination Management System
DRC - Disability Rights Commission
DTI - Department for Trade and Industry
EFL - English as a Foreign Language
EH - English Heritage
ERDF - European Regional Development Fund
ETB - English Tourist Board (which then became the English Tourism Council)
ETC - English Tourism Council (which then became VisitBritain)
EU - European Union
F&B - Food and Beverage
FIT - Fully Inclusive Tour
FIYTO - Federation of International Youth Travel Organisation
FMD - Foot-and-Mouth Disease
GDP - Gross Domestic Product
GDS - Global Distribution System
GLA - Greater London Authority
GNP - Gross National Product
HCIMA - Hotel & Catering International Management Association
HHA - Historic Houses Association
HLF - Heritage Lottery Fund
IATA - International Air Transport Association
ICOMOS - International Council on Monuments & Sites
ICT - Information & Communications Technology
IiP - Investors In People
ILAM - Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management
IPS - International Passenger Survey
IT - Inclusive Tour
IT - Information Technology
ITG - Institute of Tourist Guiding
ITMA - Incentive Travel and Meetings Association
IYHF - International Youth Hostel Federation
LDA - London Development Agency
LGA - Local Government Association
LSC - Learning and Skills Council
LTB - London Tourist Board (now VisitLondon)
MAFF - Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (now DEFRA)
MGC - Museums and Galleries Commission
MIA - Meetings Industry Association
MICE - Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions
MMC - Monopolies and Mergers Commission
NDPB - Non-Departmental Public Body
NGO - Non-Government Organisation
NQAS - National Quality Assurance Scheme
NT - National Trust
NTB - National Tourist Board
ONS - Office for National Statistics
QA - Quality Assurance
RAC - Royal Automobile Club
RADAR - Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation
RDA - Regional Development Agency
REVPAR - Revenue Per Available Room Per Annum
RNIB - Royal National Institute for the Blind
RNID - Royal National Institute for the Deaf
RPI - Retail Price Index
RTB - Regional Tourist Board
SITE - Society of Incentive Travel Executives
SME - Small and Medium Enterprise
SPAB - Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest
TIC - Tourist Information Centre
TIP - Tourism Information Point
TMI - Tourism Management Institute
TSA - Tourism Satellite Account
UKTS - United Kingdom Tourism Survey
UN - United Nations
UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
VAQAS - Visitor Attractions Quality Assurance Service
VAT - Value Added Tax
VFR - Visiting Friends and Relatives
WHS - World Heritage Site
WTM - World Travel Market
WTO - World Tourism Organization
WTTC - World Travel and Tourism Council
YHA - Youth Hostel Association