Distribution refers to where your product is available for purchase beyond your own channels, such as your website and your reception desk.  

Reach more potential customers through distributors, and enable potential customers to book with you 24/7.

Find out how to sell your bookable tourism products directly to customers on your website and work with third party distributors like online travel agents to make your products widely available online. Sell your tourism product to international visitors by partnering with the inbound travel trade. 

Find out how to become export ready, tailor your product for international visitors, and prepare your business to connect with distribution partners.

Sell Your Bookable Products Online

Working with wholesale travel distributors allows you to reach new markets, and leverage their marketing power and trusted reputation. 

This brief guide explains the roles of retail travel agents (such as Flight Centre), wholesalers that supply travel agents, inbound tour operators who support international visitors, and online travel agents (such as Booking.com), and how these distributors help guests purchase your product. 

Online booking is expected by today’s travellers, and you can miss out on a lot of sales by not offering this option. But which platform is right for your business? 

(Some businesses such as cellar doors, breweries, galleries, museums, and cafes and may not accept advance bookings and consumers don’t typically have an expectation to book in advance.)  

This guide reviews the pros and cons of going it alone, and of using free, low-cost, and high-end third-party distributors, and provides general information on popular platforms, such as Viator. 

How to Choose the Right Booking Platforms

Learn how to choose a booking system based on your business needs. 

This provides the steps involved in selecting the right booking system for you. 

How to Select the Right Online Booking System

With most bookings nowadays taking place online and outside of business hours, selling online is now essential.

Learn how to sell via your website, and via distribution partners. This guide includes a list of booking systems suitable for different kinds of businesses (tours, activities, attractions, accommodations).

Sell Your Bookable Products Online

Distributors such as travel agents and tour operators are another way to sell your products to travellers (another distribution channel), enabling you to sell to a new market of travellers you otherwise might not be able to access. Selling through this channel requires you to pay commission, and have quality marketing information available to provide to trade partners. 

Do you want to attract more international visitors to your businesses?

This guide covers all aspects in a how-to format, including information on international travellers, the travel distribution system, pricing, trade shows, working with media, marketing, and developing an export plan. 

Read the Tourism Export Toolkit

The training is for businesses new to distributing their product through trade partners (such as travel agents), and existing tourism operators looking to refresh and upskill. 

The training provides extensive information on understanding the travel distribution system and how to work effectively with trade partners. It begins with an understanding and appreciation of the marketplace, target audiences, and their specific needs. The ‘Australian Tourism Toolkit' pdf guide to becoming trade ready is included. The training is free for ATEC members and available for a fee for non-members. 

Learn About the Tourism Trade Ready Training Program

Learn how businesses similar to your own have become trade ready. 
Find case studies of trade ready tourism businesses (and other trade ready resources as well) .

Discover Trade Ready Resources