Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.
A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destination. Travel agencies can provide outdoor recreation, arranging logistics for luggage and medical items delivery for travellers upon request, public transport timetables, car rentals, and bureau de change services. Travel agencies can also serve as general sales agents for airlines that do not have offices in a specific region. A travel agency's main function is to act as an agent, selling travel products and services on behalf of a supplier. They are also called Travel Advisors. They do not keep inventory in-hand unless they have pre-booked hotel rooms or cabins on a cruise ship for a group travel event such as a wedding, honeymoon, or other group event.
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via automobile, buses, charter airline, and may also include travel between areas as part of the holiday. Package holidays are a form of product bundling.
A vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment, house, or professionally managed resort-condominium complex on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. Other terms used are self-catering rental, holiday home, holiday let, cottage holiday and gite.
ABTA Ltd, operating as ABTA – The Travel Association and formerly known as the Association of British Travel Agents, is a trade association for tour operators and travel agents in the United Kingdom.
Transat A.T. Inc. is an international, vertically integrated tour operator with nearly 20 business units in 8 countries. The company is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Canadian Affair is the UK's largest tour operator to Canada, providing services including scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, hotels, motorhome hire and car hire. Since it was founded in 1995, Canadian Affair has flown over one million passengers to Canada.
Orion Airways was an airline based in the United Kingdom with its head office on the grounds of East Midlands Airport in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire. It was established as the charter airline of Horizon Travel and went on to develop scheduled services. The airline operated a fleet of Boeing 737-200s, Boeing 737-300s and Airbus A300s between 1979 and 1989.
Virgin Vacations was the inclusive tour arm of Virgin Atlantic featuring land components in combination with Virgin Atlantic air to London. It was initially established in 1994. In May 2002, Virgin Vacations became a separate company after partnering with other airline carriers traveling to various worldwide destinations. Virgin Vacations offered travel packages to Europe, Asia, the South Pacific, Central America, South America, and South Africa. Travellers had the option of choosing complete vacation packages or the opportunity to create their own personalized vacation.
Thomas Cook Group plc was a global travel group, headquartered in the United Kingdom and listed on the London Stock Exchange from its formation on 19 June 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG — successor to Thomas Cook & Son — and MyTravel Group until 23 September 2019, when it went into compulsory liquidation. The group operated as a tour operator and airline, and also operated travel agencies in Europe. At the time of the group's collapse, approximately 21,000 worldwide employees were left without jobs and 600,000 customers were left abroad, triggering the UK's largest peacetime repatriation.
Kuoni Travel is a tourism company, operating various services including charter and scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, and hotels in destinations around the world across nine different geographic regions.
The World Travel Monitor (WTM) / European Travel Monitor (ETM) is a worldwide tourism information system detailing the foreign (outbound) travel behaviour practiced by a country’s respective resident population.
The International Inbound Travel Association, formerly known as the Receptive Services Association of America, is a 501(c)6 trade association of major North American–based receptive tour operator companies and suppliers. Based in Lexington, Kentucky, IITA is the only association focused solely on international inbound travel to the United States.
Emirates Airline has diversified into related industries and sectors, including airport services, event organization, engineering, catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has four subsidiaries, and its parent company has more than 50.
Tourism in Armenia has been a key sector to the Armenian economy since the 1990s when tourist numbers exceeded half a million people visiting the country every year. The Armenian Ministry of Economy reports that most international tourists come from Russia, EU states, the United States and Iran. Though relatively small in size, Armenia has four UNESCO world heritage sites.
The American Bus Association (ABA) serves as a trade association for motorcoach operators and tour companies operating in the United States and Canada. With its headquarters situated in Washington, D.C., the association has a membership comprising approximately 1,000 companies engaged in bus operations or bus-based tours, alongside around 2,800 organizations representing the broader travel and tourism industry. Additionally, several hundred suppliers of buses and related products and services are affiliated with the ABA.
Trip.com is a multinational travel service conglomerate with 45,000 employees. It is one of the world's largest online travel agencies with over 400 million users worldwide, and also the parent of Skyscanner. It is headquartered in Singapore.
Cosmos is a UK independent tour operator providing a range of package holidays to the UK market. The tour operator is connected to the international Globus Travel Group, founded in 1928, which remains family owned with headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland. Under parent company Cosmos Tours Ltd, the tour operator offers holidays through two brands: Cosmos and Avalon Waterways.
Jet2holidays is a British package holiday provider and tour operator. It was formed in 2007 as a subsidiary of Dart Group PLC, and a sister to Jet2.com, the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK. As of 2023 Jet2holidays is the largest tour operator in the United Kingdom, by ATOL licenses in 2023.
Thomas Cook Tourism (UK) Company Limited, known as Thomas Cook UK, is an Anglo-Chinese package holiday provider which offers 'Flight + Hotel' packages and Hotel only bookings. The company was launched in 2019, when Chinese firm Fosun International purchased the brand from the insolvent Thomas Cook Group, and began trading in September 2020.
