A market-ready business actively markets to potential visitors, communicates with potential visitors year round and is ready to accept advance bookings. Your business also has all the relevant licenses, permits and insurance in place to operate legally.
To be market ready, generally your business will;
-
Have a set schedule of operating hours and /or days that are easily viewable (e.g. online)
-
Be contactable year-round including automated response when closed
-
Have your own marketing materials with year round contact information (if seasonal, an automated response should be provided for phone and email) and provides details of your offering for visitors (e.g. via brochure, website and social media)
-
Provide at least a 24 hour response time to reservations/ booking requests
-
Publish prices and consumer booking, payment and cancellation policies
-
Ready to accept advance reservations online, or by phone or email
Being travel trade ready means that you are ready to market to and through travel trade sales channels. The travel trade are intermediaries such as tour operators, wholesalers, travel agents and online travel agents (OTAs). They are your expanded sales team or distribution network.
To meet the needs of this market you will need to have pricing structures (including wholesale rates and agent commissions), easily accessible booking systems and policies in place, offering year-round support to your travel trade partners, maintain consistent quality, and having sufficient capacity or allocation to accept additional visitors through these channels.
In 2022 Visit Isle of Man launched a new Travel Trade Hub, providing an online, dedicated resource to UK and International Travel Trade. This is aimed at travel agents, tour operators, coach and group organisers who are interested in developing tour programmes and packaging holidays to the Isle of Man.
Visit Isle of Man are looking for businesses who either currently are ready, or looking to work with the UK and International Travel Trade to feature in the Supplier Directory on the Travel Trade Hub, and accompanying marketing collateral, and be contacted regarding future opportunities.
To be Travel Trade ready, generally your business will;
-
Have met the former market ready criteria for one year or have a proven track record in working with the travel trade
-
Offer and understand wholesale or commissionable rates, and will be prepared to share these for inclusion on the Supplier Directory
-
Guarantee trade bookings and pricing as far as 12 to 18 months in advance and have cancellation policies in place
-
Respond to booking or cancellation requests within 24 hours or less
-
Provide a direct contact for travel trade enquiries
-
Provide high resolution imagery and / or videos that can be utilised by travel trade partners and Visit Isle of Man
-
Regularly provide up to date product information about your business to Visit Isle of Man
-
Have a business strategy that includes working with the Travel Trade and marketing plans and collateral to support this
-
Be willing to provide support (free or reduced rates) for travel trade familiarisation trips
To let us know if you are market and travel trade ready to enable your business to be featured on the Supplier Directory please email traveltrade@gov.im. Please include the following;
-
Trade pricing structure details
-
Commission Rate – e.g. 10%
-
Additional benefits for Tour organisers or the Coach Driver (i.e. free entry for the trip organiser
-
Name and contact details for the person who undertakes your Trade Sales
This site has a number of resources to help you develop your business to become market ready.
Our Target Markets
Training and Development
Product Audit Business Checklist
Social Media and Digital Media Help
The following resources are produced by other destinations but provide some useful definitions and guidance on the topic of working with the Travel Trade.
The English National Park Experience: Becoming Travel Trade Ready
Visit Aberdeenshire: Your Guide to Working with the Travel Trade
