Uniquely Texas: Glossary of Tourism Terms (A-G)

Glossary of Tourism Terms
A - G | H - R | S - Z

ABA - American Bus Association; comprised of bus companies, operators and owners

Attendance Building - Marketing and promotional programs designed to increase attendance at conventions, trade shows, meetings, and events.

Attractions - General all-0inclusive term travel industry marketers use to refer to products that have visitor appeal, like museums, historic sites, performing arts institutions, preservation districts, theme parks, entertainment and national sites.

AVHRM - Association of Vacation Home Rental Managers.

Bed Tax (Transient Occupancy Tax of TOT) - City or county tax added to the price of a hotel room.

Blocked - Hotel rooms held without deposit

Booked - Hotel rooms, airline tickets or other travel services held for a specific client.

Booking - Term used to refer to a completed sale by a destination, convention center, facility, hotel or supplier (i.e. convention, meeting, trade show or group business booking).

Business Travel - Travel for commercial, governmental or educational purposes with leisure as a secondary motivation.

Buyer - A member of the travel trade who reserves room blocks from accommodations or coordinates the development of a travel product.

Carrier - Any provider of mass transportation, usually used in reference to an airline.

Chambers of Commerce - Typically, a Chamber of Commerce will specialize in local economic development that can include tourism promotion.

Charter Group - Group travel in which a previously organized group travels together, usually on a custom itinerary.

C of C - Chamber of Commerce

Commissions - A percent of the total product cost paid to travel agents and other travel product distributors for selling the product to the consumer.

Convention and Visitors Bureau - These organizations are local tourism marketing organizations specializing in developing conventions, meetings, conferences and visitations to a city, county or region.

Conventions and Trade Shows - Major segment of travel industry business. Trade shows differ from conventions in that they have exhibit space that provides product exhibition and sales opportunities for suppliers, as well as information gathering and buying opportunities for customers.

Conversion Study - Research study to analyze whether advertising respondents actually were converted to travelers as a result of advertising and follow-up material.

Co-op Advertising - Advertising funded by two or more destinations and /or suppliers.

Cooperative Marketing - Marketing programs involving two or more participating companies, institutions or organizations.

Cooperative Partner - An independent firm or organization which works with a tourism office by providing cash or in-kind contributions to expand the marketing impact of the tourism officeÕs program.

Cover - Each diner at a restaurant.

CTRLA - Car and Truck Rental and Leasing Association.

CVB - Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Destination - A hotel, resort, attraction, city, region, or state.

Destination Marketing - Marketing a city, state, country, area or region to consumers and trade.

Destination Marketing Organization - Local tourism marketing organizations, such as convention and visitors bureaus or chambers of commerce.

Discounted Fare - Negotiated air fare for convention, trade show, meeting, group and corporate travel.

Discover America - Theme used by the Travel Industry Association and its marketing partners to market travel within the United States.

Fam Tours - Organized trips for travel agents, tour operators, tour wholesalers or other members of the travel trade for the purpose of educating and ÒfamiliarizingÓ them with tourism destinations. By seeing the destinations where they are sending travelers, the travel trade is better prepared to answer customer questions and promote travel to the location. Also called ÒfamsÓ or Òfamiliarization tours.Ó

Feeder Airport/City - An outlying city which feeds travelers to hubs or gateway cities.

FIT (Free Independent Travel) - Individual travel in which a tour operator has previously arranged blocks of rooms at various destinations in advance for use by individual travelers. These travelers travel independently, not in a group, usually by rental car or public transportation.

Frequency - The number of times an advertisement appears during a given campaign.

Fulfillment - Servicing consumers and trade who request information as a result of advertising or promotional programs. Service often includes an 800 number, sales staff and distribution of materials.

Gateway or Gateway City - A major airport, seaport, rail or bus center through which tourists and travelers enter from outside the region.

GIT (Groups Independent Travel) - Group travel in which individuals purchase a group package in which they will travel with others along a pre-set itinerary.

Group Rate - Negotiated hotel rate for convention, trade show, meeting, tour or incentive group.