Travel Trade Business Support

Growing your Travel Trade Business
 

Great West Way Travel Trade Connections 

Working with the travel trade is one of the most effective ways for tourism businesses and destinations to reach new domestic and international markets, extend length of stay, and increase year-round bookings.

The Great West Way Travel Trade Connections sector group brings together Ambassadors who want to grow their business through working with tour operators, wholesalers, DMCs, online agents and inbound partners. This collaborative sector group of Great West Way Ambassadors are focused on strengthening the route’s presence in the travel trade. We work together to improve how Great West Way products are packaged, promoted and sold in key UK and overseas markets.

The group operates under agreed Terms of Reference and supports the delivery of the Great West Way travel trade strategy.
Travel Trade Connections aims to:

• Increase awareness of Great West Way among domestic and international travel trade.
• Grow the volume and value of Great West Way products sold through trade channels.
• Support Ambassadors to become “travel trade ready”.
• Influence and shape Great West Way travel trade activity, campaigns and priorities.
• Create new commercial opportunities and partnerships.

Travel Trade Connection Meeting Notes:

February 2026:
Great West Way Activity Update Mid-September 2025 - February 2026
Agenda

September 2025
Great West Way Activity Update June - September 2025
Great West Way Connections Meeting Notes - September 2025
Abbey The Destination Experts Presentation

June 2025
Great West Way Activity Update March - June 2025
VisitBritain's Market Update - Canada
VisitBritain's Market Update - USA
Great West Way Connections Meeting Notes - June 2025

February 2025
Great West Way Activity Update October 2024 - February 2025
VoltShare Slides 
Great West Way Connections Meeting Notes - February 2025

---

Travel Trade Tactical Activity Plan

A travel trade strategic activity plan, identifying routes to market for both domestic and international trade is produced annually. You can view the latest Great West Way Travel Trade Tactical Activity Plan 2026/2027.

---

Travel Trade Opportunities
You can see the latest 2026 Travel Trade Opportunities and the Travel Trade Directory Advertising Opportunity. Please contact Flo to discuss and book. 

---

Great West Way Travel Trade Marketing Services & Business Support

Supplier Industry Support and trade engagement services are available to tourism businesses and destinations.

We have years of experience and an award-winning travel trade team, with excellent trade relationships who can support and deliver B2B leisure trade visitors through your door. So, whether you’re looking for additional visitors to attend your events, or to increase footfall to your shopping centre, attraction, accommodation or destination, we can help. We offer:

• Trade Marketing & Sales Strategy Development
• Tactical Activity Plans
• Trade Engagement, Sales and Distribution
• Trade Events & Exhibition representation
• Itinerary Development
• Strategic Destination Partnership Activity
• Content distribution
• Trade product development
• Development of trave trade resources

With trade databases targeting group travel organisers, coach and tour operators, wholesalers, trade press, destination management companies (DMCs) and a whole host of international trade contacts, we are extremely well placed to support all your B2B needs.

Grow trade sales for frequent independent travellers (FIT), coach or mini-bus sized groups or target specialist tours for lunch stops – the choice is yours.

B2B leisure business is an important part of the marketing mix and with a good lead time can help increase occupancy and bookings during quieter days and shoulder season months. 

Call us today on 07436 588860 or email flowallace@GreatWestWay.co.uk to arrange a meeting to discuss how we can help grow your travel trade business.

---

Travel Trade Training for Ambassadors

Great West Way works in partnership with VisitEngland, tourism organisations, Official Tour Operators and industry partners to deliver travel trade training programmes for businesses and destinations along or within easy reach of the route. We run virtual training programmes aligned with DMOs along the route and aimed to assist tourism businesses/ destinations, become Travel Trade ready, enabling them to develop and implement future trade strategies to help boost tourism. It helps people understand markets and how to target the travel trade to generate additional visits and spend. These sessions are free of charge for Great West Way Ambassadors and recordings of the following sessions can be accessed via the Ambassador log in here.

Foundation Course: An Introduction to Working with the Travel Trade - Facilitated by B2me, Tourism South East and Great West Way. A basic foundation and understanding of the travel trade with a domestic focus. It includes details on the Travel Trade landscape, group demographics and building relationships, sound bites from GTOs, Tour Operators and Coach Operators, positioning and first steps into market, developing a Travel Trade strategy/activity plan and working with your regional DMO. Ambassadors can access a recording of the session here.

Sharing Best Practice - Facilitated by UKinbound CEO, Joss Croft. Includes top tips for working with the travel trade from our supplier panel of experts - Windsor Castle, Holiday Inn Salisbury Stonehenge, English Heritage and Bombay Sapphire Distillery. Additionally, Joss will present a UKinbound update including COVID impacts for the inbound industry, Group friendly charter and post COVID initiatives. Ambassadors can access a recording of the session here.

Sustainable Tourism - Facilitated by the Great West Way team. It includes the importance of developing sustainable tourism product for the travel trade. Official Tour Operator partner, Vera Lett from Tour Partner Group presented how TPG are working to support sustainable travel trade programmes. ‘Off the route’ Ambassador Blenheim Palace presented on how they are working towards shaping a greener future and selling sustainable tourism to the travel trade. We also heard from Andrea Nicholas from Green Tourism who supports the travel and hospitality industry.  Ambassadors can access a recording of the session here.

Taking England to the World - x 3 sessions run by VisitEngland and Great West Way:

• Understanding Your Markets
• Product Distribution & Pricing
• Building Relationships, Travel Trade Marketing & PR

Find out more about Taking England to the World here.

---

If you would like to find out more about how Great West Way can help you target the trade please contact flowallace@GreatWestWay.co.uk