Guide to tourism distribution channels

importance of tourism distribution channels

By Rezdy — 13 Nov 2023

1. What is tourism distribution?

2. why is tourism distribution important, 3. types of tourism distribution channels, 4. choosing the right tourism distribution channels, 5. managing your tourism distribution channels, 6. why use a tourism distribution channel management platform, 7. essential tourism distribution channel manager features, 8. the future of tourism distribution, 1. what is tourism distribution.

Online vs offline bookings

Tourism distribution refers to the ways in which tourism products, tours, activities and services are made available to customers. Tourism distribution can be achieved through direct or indirect channels . A tourism distribution channel refers to the stakeholders and methods involved in taking a tourism product from the supplier to the consumer. Direct channels are mediums that your business has control over, or indirect channels, which involve intermediaries such as travel brokers.

2. Why is tourism distribution important?

European tourism trends

Tourism distribution channels play a vital role in making sure your travel products are seen by the right audiences. By aligning your business with existing distribution channels, you connect with important stakeholders in the industry. Partnering with a variety of tourism distribution channels allow you to gain efficiencies from your marketing budget and the flexibility to test different systems from different organisations, to ultimately grow your tour and activity business.

3. Types of tourism distribution channels

the chain of tourism distribution

There are several types of tourism distribution channels that cover both direct and indirect classifications. Combining distribution channels allows your offerings to be seen by a broader customer base, leading to more exposure and more uptake.

Online travel agencies

Online travel agencies (OTAs) allow you to combine all elements of tourism distribution into one place. Online travel agencies allow customers to plan, book and pay for their flights, accommodation, rental cars and activities at the same time, which can work out a lot cheaper than booking them all individually. However, some customers may be dissuaded from doing so by the risk of overbooking and subsequent cancellations. Tour companies may also find the idea of paying commission to an OTA a downside.

Wholesalers and tour operators

Tour operators allow your offering to be seen by new markets. Generally, tour operators boast a high volume of guests, which allow you to accurately forecast sales and profits. However, if the tour operator fails to bring in the desired number of customers, your company suffers alongside the operator themselves. This loss of control may be a turnoff for your business, particularly if it is a small startup.

Direct sales

Leveraging your internal communication channels is a great way to maintain control over your marketing at a low cost. It can also bring in higher profits as there are no overheads to pay an intermediary. However, this is balanced out by the need to internally invest in advertising. Your business may also find it challenging to connect with customers directly, depending on your existing reach.

Social media

Social media is a hugely popular method for advertising your business to an active, broad public. It is a cost-effective marketing tool and holds significant visual appeal. Social channels also enable the possibility of user generated content (UGC), which can itself be a valuable marketing tool. However, social media is susceptible to vicious algorithm changes and overwhelming market saturation. It is also very sensitive to trends.

Search engines

Search engines offer the ability to finely target the reach of your tourism offering. You can also control the amount you spend on advertising more accurately by using a search engine. They also offer internal tracking metrics, which can be advantageous for a startup without an accounting department. However, competition is fierce and many people use adblockers, meaning that they may miss out on seeing your offering if it is advertised through a search engine. There is also limited space for a large number of brands, meaning keyword optimization is key to spreading your brand.

Metasearch engines

Metasearch engines give your offering increased visibility to a targeted audience. Generally speaking, they are also more trusted by online users. However, metasearch engines still suffer from stiff competition, and some will charge customers booking fees which may dissuade consumers from using them.

4. Choosing the right tourism distribution channels

Making the right decision on the distribution channels in hospitality and tourism is critical. Here are a few parameters you should consider:

Target audience

Consider the target demographics of your offering. Are they a broad audience interested in a niche subject? Are they likely to be active users of social media? Is value for money an important factor? Answering these questions about your target audience will help shape the best tourism distribution channels for your brand.

Think about how much your organisation has to spend on its distribution channel in hospitality and tourism. Finances will often dictate which distribution channels will work for your organization, ruling out online travel agencies and tour operators and focusing more on internal strategies pertaining to social media and direct sales.

Finally, consider your organisation at large. What does its online presence look like? Does it have its own assets, such as social media accounts, websites and app to leverage? Does the complexity of the product or service dictate which channels are used to market it?

eBook: For expert tips and tricks to create an effective distribution strategy download the eBook guide to growing your tourism business through distribution management tools

5. Managing your tourism distribution channels

With so many different ways of reaching your audience, effective management of tourism distribution channels is essential. Here are eight ways you can keep your business running smoothly.

Set clear goals and objectives

Ensure your business has clear direction. For each tourism distribution channel, set long-term goals and create a list of objectives to help you get there.

Create and maintain accurate inventory

If your business relies on inventory, make sure its quantity and availability is recorded on a database so that you and your staff are able to process bookings easily. Keep this database up to date and share it with any of your distribution partners

Build relationships with your distribution partners

Your distribution partners are essential to the functioning of your business. Keep on top of any issues they may bring up, and inform them of any changes to your business or stock.

Offer competitive pricing and commissions

Considering pricing in your tourism offering is paramount. Multi-channel distribution allows you to clearly analyse what competitors are charging, and whether your pricing strategy needs any refinements. If your business is creating commissions with any of your channel partners, try to price them favourably.

Provide excellent customer service

Customer service sits alongside pricing as the lynchpins to a successful business. Be attentive to any reviews that are left, whether they be via email, online or through one of your distribution partners. If using a multi-channel distribution network, this may be more time consuming, but it is important to ensure that you engage with feedback from all channels.

Be flexible and adaptable

Running a tourism business can be difficult. Seasonality, disease outbreaks and politics are just some of the issues your business may face. It is important to keep a positive mindset in times of reduced custom, and make any changes to your business model that may encourage more traffic.

Monitor your performance

Keeping track of your performance is essential to your business’ success, both internally and through your distribution partners. Some channels will be easier to monitor than others. For example, using the Google search engine affords access to their inbuilt tracking metrics, whereas you may have to request the data from an OTA or tour operator.

Use a distribution channel management platform

The steps outlined above are essential for success in your business but they are time consuming and complicated. To streamline the process, you may wish to use a distribution channel management platform. Depending on your business’ needs, Rezdy offers a wide range of distribution management software to assist with bookings, ticketing, reselling and channel management.

6. Why use a tourism distribution channel management platform?

Get your guide

Using Rezdy’s booking management software such reduces the strain on your administrative staff by improving efficiency in a number of areas.

Automate repetitive tasks

Booking confirmations and tickets are essential evidence of payment for both consumers and businesses. However, creating these items can be painstaking and time consuming. Rezdy offers an all-in-one booking and ticketing system for tour and activity operators, centralizing the heart of your business and allowing customers to book online 24/7.

Improve accuracy and efficiency

Rezdy’s automated software allows your business to be more accurate and efficient. The Rezdy Channel Manager centralises your business’ distribution network, allowing you to manage all your channel partnerships in one place.

Gain actionable insights

Utilising the Rezdy Channel Manager allows you to access all your business data and reports in one place. Review, analyze, monitor and learn from the data Rezdy produces on revenue, transactions and product availability.

Centralize management

Rezdy’s Channel Manager keeps your business’ administration management in one place, simplifying your channel management and automating payments, commissions and refunds.

7. Essential Tourism Distribution Channel Manager Features

Support for all major distribution channels.

Rezdy’s Channel Manager connects your business to your selected distribution channels, including major OTAs, tour operators and regional and local resellers.

Real-time inventory updates

Your business can receive updates to its inventory in real time through the Rezdy Channel Manager, automating the amount of stock you have available to customers.

Pricing automation

Manage the costs of your business centrally through the Rezdy Channel Manager, including commissions and automated payments

Reporting and analytics

The Rezdy Channel Manager provides centralized real-time tracking data for your business across all your distribution channels.

Ease of use

Rezdy’s Channel Manager combines your bookings, distribution channels and analytics into one clean, clear interface.

How Rezdy connects tour operators to resellers

Rezdy’s Channel Manager for Suppliers provides solutions for tour operators to connect with their resellers and proactively manage their communications.

8. The Future of Tourism Distribution

Tourism distribution has a bright future, as people continue to indulge their passion for travel. Operators of tourism businesses will continue to require the use of multiple channels to advertise their offerings in the chain of tourism, travel and tourism. Rezdy will continue to develop its channel management software to ensure it remains the default platform for centralizing the management of your tourism business.

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, tourism distribution channels in european island destinations.

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

ISSN : 0959-6119

Article publication date: 8 January 2018

Advances in information communication technologies (ICTs) have changed the tourism distribution channels model, as traditional players continue to disappear or change their business model, while new players and channels emerge because of technological developments. Therefore, this study aims to propose a tourism distribution channels model for European island destinations.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an exploratory approach, interviews with 34 tourism stakeholders were conducted at ITB Berlin and WTM London in March 2014 and March/November 2016, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

The findings revealed that a number of changes have taken place within the distribution channels market over the past six years. The disappearance of incoming travel agents has increased, while new forms of online communication and distribution have appeared. In particular, social media, online review sites and mobile channels play an increasingly important role for hoteliers.

Practical implications

ICTs change the online landscape for tourist distribution in island destinations, and practitioners should make use of new online channels and be aware of disappearing tourism players to remain competitive.

Originality/value

First, this paper provides indications for the increased disintermediation in regard to incoming travel agents within the Cretan hospitality and tourism industry. Second, it investigates the issue of tourism distribution channels using a broad range of key tourism and hospitality players to provide a tourism distribution channels model for future reference. Finally, this study offers implications for the development of distribution strategies for tourism businesses and hoteliers in Crete.

  • Information communication technologies
  • Tourism distribution channels

Tom Dieck, M.C. , Fountoulaki, P. and Jung, T.H. (2018), "Tourism distribution channels in European island destinations", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 326-342. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2016-0649

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Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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Distribution Channels for Travel and Tourism: The Study of Crete

Profile image of Timothy Jung

2015, Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism

The tourism distribution channels network is extremely complex. In particular, the emergence of technologies; the development of online social networks, online review sites as well as mobile location-based services has added additional channels of distribution. The awareness of new opportunities within the tourism distribution channels is essential for tourism professional in order to remain competitive and successful. Therefore, this study aims to update the tourism distribution channels model within the context of Crete, Greece. Twenty managers from hotels and tour operators were interviewed and the data were analysed using content analysis. Interviewees identified an increased importance of social media and mobile for today’s distribution market and the future decreased importance of incoming agents. Instead, the tourism industry has to start focus on Extranet/XML.

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What are the main types of tourism distribution channels?

what are the main types of tourism distribution channels

The travel and tourism chain of distribution

Variations in the chain of distribution, what is a tourism distribution channel.

For the owners and employees of travel businesses, it’s important to have a good understanding of the distribution channels available to you. The digital revolution means there is a wide choice of online channels today. But do not forget your strategic partnerships and offline channels too. To avoid spending unnecessary time and money, you need to know which channels do the best job of getting your travel products in front of your target audience.

But before we look at the various sales and marketing avenues at your disposal, we need to focus on the chain of distribution first. In order to maximize opportunities and efficiencies, it’s essential to understand the chain of distribution and where your company is positioned within the chain.

Generally speaking, there are four key stages within the chain of distribution . These are: principals, wholesalers & aggregators, retailers, and consumers (see chart 1).

Chart 1: The Travel and Tourism Chain of Distribution

Travel and Tourism Chain of Distribution

The principals are the separate components of a travel product. For example, a leisure traveler buys a three-night stay in Paris that includes flights, accommodation, entrance to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, with other ancillary services such as travel insurance and foreign exchange thrown in too. In this case, each of the principals could have been sold separately. Instead, they were bundled together by a travel business and sold as a mini-break promotion.

Wholesalers & aggregators

Tour operators take various components of the travel experience and create a travel product which is then traditionally sold by a travel agent.

At the wholesaler stage in the distribution chain, the tour operator is providing a business-to-business (B2B) service by selling the product to a travel agent who then sells it to the consumer (a B2C service). They have their tour operator business plan which they follow to provide the best options to other travel-related businesses.

A global distribution system (GDS) is a computer system that holds records of availability from airlines, hotels, and car hire. Retailers such as OTAs and B2C travel agents are able to directly access this inventory.

As the oldest type of distributor in the travel industry, GDS are predominantly involved in the sale of air tickets rather than accommodation.

Destination Management Companies (DMCs) or Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) often contract travel products and sell on packages and itineraries relevant to their destination to a tour operator.

A bed bank is a B2B company that buys rooms from hotel groups and other accommodation providers in bulk at discounted and fixed prices for specific dates.

Some bed banks might also sell ancillary services such as tickets to visitor attractions or car hire.

Bed banks are middlemen, or intermediaries, between hotel companies and retailers. They might sell on their discounted bulk accommodation products to airlines, other bed banks, travel agents, OTAs or tour operators (see Chart 2). Chart 2: Bed Bank Distribution Chain

Bed Bank Distribution Chain

Retailers and consumers

Retailers are the organizations that sell the travel products directly to the consumer. These include traditional travel agents with a physical store in the high street such as TUI, Hays, and Cooperative Travel in the UK, for example. Other travel retailers are found online and include OTAs, B2C tour operators, and travel agents that specialize in business travel. Consumers are the end-users who buy the travel products or services. The main types of consumers are business travelers, leisure tourists (either domestic or international) and people who are visiting friends or relatives.

Chart 1 identifies the four key stages in the chain of distribution, although this process can vary and be more direct or indirect. For instance, a leisure traveler booking accommodation directly from a hotel website means there is only one stage in the chain. A bed bank that sells to another bed bank, results in five stages in the chain.

The wholesaler and retailer stages may be carried out by the same company . This is known as vertical integration , which happens when two or more organizations at different stages in the supply chain merge.

It is fairly common for tour operators and travel agents to buy each other. After all, the role of tour operators in sustainable tourism is quite significant. When mergers occur at the same level in the distribution chain, this is called horizontal integration . The original brand names are often retained, so consumers may not be aware that booking.com, KAYAK, Agoda and priceline, for instance, are all owned by one company: Booking Holdings. Digitalization and corporate mergers have resulted in plenty of crossover and consolidation in the travel and tourism distribution system.

As a B2C travel agent or tour operator, distribution channels represent the various ways to sell or market your product. You need to have a multi-channel presence to maximize your sales opportunities and brand presence, and to reduce your risk. There is specialized tour operator software that can help you manage this workload more efficiently. At the same time, depending on the size of your business and the resources you have available, it could be an error to spread yourself too thinly over too many channels.

Choosing the best distribution channels for your business needs to be done with care and attention.

Generally speaking, we can divide distribution into three main categories: online channels, strategic partnerships and offline channels (see Chart 3).

Chart 3 Travel & Tourism Distribution Channels

Travel & Tourism Distribution Channels

Online channels

As a tour operator or travel agent, the overriding benefit of optimizing your own website is that you pay no commission on direct bookings and have full control over how consumers interact with your brand.

Being listed on Google My Business is essential today. Google is the default destination for most consumers to gather information of any kind. Your listing will come up in Google searches and on Google Maps and registering is free.

Online travel marketplaces like Bookmundi and Viator have large audiences. Most are free to join but take a significant amount of sales commission, so monitor performance carefully.

Select one or two and keep your profile and listings current. The same goes for review sites such as Tripadvisor and TrustPilot . Only concentrating your energies on one or two review sites is a sensible strategy.

Channel managers, such as HRS , provide a service that sources hotel accommodation for corporate clients from a wide variety of OTAs instead of the client having to go directly to each separate OTA.

Similarly, instead of having individual accounts with OTAs, many hotel companies – big and small – will use channel management technology.

Omnibees , for example, allows hoteliers to sell to end-users and intermediaries through a single platform connected to the hotel’s property management system. Such solutions can automate sales and reduce the amount of commission paid by hotels.

Strategic partnerships

Working with other travel agents or tour operators is a great way to increase your sales. Working directly with Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO) will allow travelers to book with you directly when you advertise on the DMO website.

Building a relationship with travel bloggers will help get your name out there, as will close involvement with trade bodies associations.

To attract more bookings made directly on your website , a ffiliate digital marketing services are an option .

Offline channels

It would be a mistake to overlook offline distribution channels. The worldwide web may give you global reach, but cross-selling partnerships with local businesses such as stores, restaurants, cafes and hotels can turn out to be extremely valuable distribution channels.

Visitor information centers can be useful too because many tourists do not book tours and activities until they are in the destination.

Attending trade shows and industry events can be costly, especially for small businesses, but the resulting contacts and sales leads are often invaluable.

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Cristóbal Reali, VP of Global Sales at Mize, with over 20 years of experience, has led high-performance teams in major companies in the tourism industry, as well as in the public sector. He has successfully undertaken ventures, including a DMO and technology transformation consulting. In his role at Mize, he stands out not only for his analytical and strategic ability but also for effective leadership. He speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. He holds a degree in Economics from UBA, complementing his professional training at Harvard Business School Online.

Mize is the leading hotel booking optimization solution in the world. With over 170 partners using our fintech products, Mize creates new extra profit for the hotel booking industry using its fully automated proprietary technology and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue across its suite of products for its partners. Mize was founded in 2016 with its headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices worldwide.

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Travel Marketing, Tourism Economics and the Airline Product pp 105–115 Cite as

Tourism Distribution Channels

  • Mark Anthony Camilleri 2  
  • First Online: 30 September 2017

96k Accesses

7 Citations

4 Altmetric

Part of the book series: Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management ((THEM))

The distribution channels link the customers with the businesses. For many years, the tourism businesses may have distributed their products and services through intermediaries. However, the latest advances in technology have brought significant changes in this regard. More individuals and corporate customers are increasingly benefiting of ubiquitous technologies, including digital media . The development of mobile devices and their applications, are offering a wide range of possibilities to the travel industry. Consumers are using smart phones and tablets to purchase tourism products. These issues have inevitably changed the structure of the tourism industry; in terms of control and value for money to consumers. In this light, this chapter describes the traditional and contemporary travel distribution channels as it raises awareness of the potential of new distribution technologies. Afterwards, there is a discussion on the role of digital media in the distribution chain as tourism businesses are increasingly selling directly to customers through the internet via websites and travel search engines . In conclusion, this chapter anticipates what the future holds for the distribution of travel and tourism products.

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Camilleri, M.A. (2018). Tourism Distribution Channels. In: Travel Marketing, Tourism Economics and the Airline Product. Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49849-2_6

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  2. Channels of Distribution Marketing Project Class12th #parulcreations #project #class12

  3. Types of Distribution Channels #class12businessstudies #shorts

  4. What is Tourism Geography? #tourismgeography, #geography, #definition

  5. New tourism director talks about gaining trust, goals in role

  6. 12 Time Zones & Antarctica Claim! 🕒 #shorts #trivia

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  1. What Are the Main Types of Tourism Distribution Channels?

    The chain of distribution in tourism refers to the businesses and platforms involved in selling, distributing, and bundling tourism products. This process begins with the primary tour and activity provider all the way to the end consumers experiencing it. Generally, there are four steps to the distribution chain: 1. Suppliers/principals.

  2. Distribution Channel in Tourism

    A tourism distribution channel is a network of intermediaries through which a traveler purchases a good or service. This system is a complex, global network of independent businesses that link people with tourism providers. It is especially important for international travel. Different combinations of intermediaries result in a wide range of ...

  3. Tourism Distribution

    2 Distribution Channels in Tourism. Distribution is regarded as the place of sale in the traditional marketing mix, along with product, price, and promotion (Borden, 1964 ). It describes the location and availability of the product-offering and the method by which it is distributed to consumers.

  4. The Ultimate Guide To Tourism Distribution Channels

    Tourism distribution refers to the ways in which tourism products, tours, activities and services are made available to customers. Tourism distribution can be achieved through direct or indirect channels. A tourism distribution channel refers to the stakeholders and methods involved in taking a tourism product from the supplier to the consumer.

  5. PDF Distribution channel, tourism

    structure of tourism distribution channels. Before the introduction of Internet, tourism distribution channels existed as a networked information technology: the global distribution system (GDS). The first GDS began as an American Airlines computer reservation system known as the Semi-Automated Business Research Environment, which was initially

  6. Tourism Distribution Channels: The Visitors' Perspective

    Abstract. This article extends research on tourism distribution channels, a topic dominated by studies of providers and intermediaries, by addressing the use of multiple channels from the visitors' perspective. The article reports the results of intercept surveys of international and domestic independent visitors, and their use of a range of ...

  7. Channel Design for Effective Tourism Distribution Strategies

    Elaborating a channel design process constitutes the last phase in a major 5-year project aimed at developing a more systema-tic understanding of the diverse distribution channels for New Zealand tourism and examining ways of increasing their effective-ness (Pearce, 2003). The final objective of the project was to develop a set of best practice ...

  8. Distribution Channels

    This report analyzes the following issues: - The distribution System in International Tourism; - Travel Distribution Intermediaries: Functions and Importance; - Promotion and Sales Techniques; - National Tourist Administrations and the Travel Trade; It also includes, in the end, the Conclusions and Recommendations.

  9. (PDF) Examining the tourism distribution channel: Evolution and

    Abstract. Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution and transformation of tourism distribution channels, focusing on the role the internet has played in such a process. It ...

  10. (PDF) Tourism Distribution Channels

    Abstract. The distribution channels link the customers with the businesses. For many years, the tourism businesses may have distributed their products and services through intermediaries. However ...

  11. PDF Tourism Distribution Channels

    The tourism industry has seen a number of interesting trends and developments for many airlines and their intermediaries. It may appear that the travel "distribution" is becoming like "e-commerce," with campaigns, offers, and channel marketing. For many years, the GDSs had a dominant position in the travel industry.

  12. Distribution channel, tourism

    A tourism distribution channel is a network of intermediaries that facilitates the sales and delivery of products and services specifically related to tourism from suppliers to consumers (Buhalis and Laws 2001; Kracht and Wang 2010; Longhi 2009).Tourism distribution channels can be distinguished from the ones of tangible goods in that goods are conveyed to consumers whereas tourists, in most ...

  13. Tourism distribution channels: The visitors' perspective

    This article extends research on tourism distribution channels, a topic dominated by studies of providers and in-termediaries, by addressing the use of multiple channels from the visitors' perspective. ... Greece, serving as the research field of a longitudinal study. The findings underscore the important role that VFR travel holds in ...

  14. Tourism Distribution Channels by Mark Anthony Camilleri :: SSRN

    In this light, this chapter describes the traditional and contemporary travel distribution channels as it raises awareness of the potential of new distribution technologies. Afterwards, there is a discussion on the role of digital media in the distribution chain as tourism businesses are increasingly selling directly to customers through the ...

  15. PDF Distribution Channels for Travel and Tourism: The Case of Crete

    the tourism distribution channels model within the context of Crete, Greece. Twenty managers ... resilience and importance within the distribution chain. Following the example of Sabre in having a stake in an online travel agency, other GDSs owners formed relationships with OTAs, just as they had with traditional agents in the past. ...

  16. Channel Design for Effective Tourism Distribution Strategies

    The issue of channel design has been virtually ignored in the tourism distribution literature. This article seeks to contribute to filling this gap by developing a practical step‐by‐step process to preparing an effective tourism distribution strategy. It is based on a review of the channel design literature and consideration of the ...

  17. Tourism Distribution Channels: Knowledge Requirements

    Finally, the importance and the necessity of a more intense collaboration among all the stakeholders and between academic researchers and the industry was emphasized. This chapter presents a summary of the presentations and the discussions concerning electronic distribution channels in tourism and hospitality held at the 2015 t-Forum. Both ...

  18. Distribution Channels

    Distribution Channels. This report analyzes the following issues: - The distribution System in International Tourism; - Travel Distribution Intermediaries: Functions and Importance; - Promotion and Sales Techniques; - National Tourist Administrations and the Travel Trade; It also includes, in the end, the Conclusions and Recommendations.

  19. Tourism distribution channels in European island destinations

    In particular, social media, online review sites and mobile channels play an increasingly important role for hoteliers.,ICTs change the online landscape for tourist distribution in island destinations, and practitioners should make use of new online channels and be aware of disappearing tourism players to remain competitive.,First, this paper ...

  20. Distribution Channels for Travel and Tourism: The Study of Crete

    The tourism distribution channels network is extremely complex. In particular, the emergence of technologies; the development of online social networks, online review sites as well as mobile location-based services has added additional channels of ... The recent recognition of the importance of distribution as a source of competitive advantage ...

  21. PDF 9: Tourism Distribution

    9.2 Distribution Channels in Tourism - 286 9.2.1 Levels of Distribution in Tourism and Hospitality - 287 9.2.2 Issues in Distribution in Tourism - 289 9.2.3 Intermediaries in Tourism - 290 ... Fig. 9.3 The principles of distribution, and the important role of travel agents and tour operators. (Source: Author's creation) Chapter 9 ...

  22. What are the main types of tourism distribution channels?

    7 min.For the owners and employees of travel businesses, it's important to have a good understanding of the distribution channels available to you. The digital revolution means there is a wide choice of online channels today. But do not forget your strategic partnerships and offline channels too. To avoid spending unnecessary time and money, you […]

  23. Tourism Distribution Channels

    Distribution channels enable customers to buy or gain access to travel products . Therefore, they may refer to all aspects of the link between the businesses and their customers (whether individual consumers, groups or corporate customers). In the last fifty years, the tourism service providers and their intermediaries have used technology to ...