Fam trip and travel trade terms explained

What do fam trip and travel trade terms mean?

CompAlso: complimentary

A room, activity or seat given free of charge, for example to a fam trip participant or a host leader.

Conservancy

An area of land set aside for wildlife, often next to a national park or reserve and leased from landowners or communities. Conservancies set their own fees and rules, which usually limit vehicle numbers.

Consortium

A group of independent travel agencies that combine their buying power to negotiate rates, marketing support and fam trip places with suppliers.

DMCAlso: destination management company

A destination management company: a business in the destination that plans and delivers trips on the ground for tour operators and travel agents, including transfers, guides, accommodation bookings and activities.

EducationalAlso: educ

A trade trip for travel agents. Often used as another name for a fam trip; some hosts use it for a more training-led trip with structured sessions or a certificate.
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eTAAlso: electronic travel authorisation

An electronic travel authorisation applied for online before travel, used by some countries in place of, or alongside, a visa.

Fam tripAlso: familiarisation trip, familiarization trip

A short, usually subsidised trip that a DMC, tourist board, rep or airline runs for travel agents and tour operators, so they can see a destination and its products and sell them afterwards.
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Ground handler

A company that delivers the on-the-ground parts of a trip, such as transfers, vehicles and guides, for a tour operator or DMC. Often used interchangeably with DMC.

Host agency

A company that provides independent and home-based travel advisors with supplier access, booking systems and commission payments, and can vouch for them when they apply for fam trips.

Hosted buyer

A pre-qualified buyer, usually a tour operator or agent, whose travel and accommodation to a trade show or workshop are paid by the organiser in return for attending scheduled appointments with suppliers.

Inbound tour operatorAlso: inbound operator

A tour operator based in the destination that sells to overseas tour operators and agents rather than to the public. In most of Africa the term overlaps with DMC.

Light aircraft

The small, scheduled or charter aircraft that link safari airstrips. They limit luggage to soft bags within a set weight, which shapes fam trip group sizes.

Net rate

The price a supplier charges a tour operator or DMC, which then adds its own margin. Compare a commissionable rate, where the supplier pays the agent a percentage of the public price.

Rack rate

A supplier's published public price, before any trade discount or commission.

RepAlso: representation company, sales representative

A person or company that represents DMCs, tourist boards and other suppliers in a source market, selling to tour operators and travel agents on their behalf. Reps often select agents for fam trips.
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Site inspection

A visit by one agent, or a pair, to check specific places to stay, usually with a particular client or booking in mind. Shorter and more focused than a fam trip.
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Source market

A country or region that visitors come from, and where suppliers sell through tour operators, agents and reps.

STO rateAlso: special tour operator rate

A contracted rate an accommodation supplier gives to tour operators and DMCs, below the rack rate. In southern and East Africa the term is used widely for the trade's net rate.

Tourist boardAlso: tourism board, destination marketing organisation

The body that promotes a country or region to visitors and the travel trade. Tourist boards often run specialist programmes for agents and host fam trips with private-sector partners.