Escorted Tour: A tour which is conducted by a tour director. Tour members are escorted for the tour's duration by the director who stays at the same hotels and is available for advice and help throughout the trip.

Foreign Independent Travel(FIT): An individual trip arranged specifically for the client by a travel agency or perhaps by the traveler him or herself. This is generally the most flexible, but can be the most expensive way to travel.

Hosted Tour: A tour which uses the services of different local hosts at each destination for a limited time period per day to help tour members with optional sightseeing tours and independent plans.

Seasons: The most and least favorable times for travel to a given destination are defined by seasons. Peak or high season when the weather is most favorable or when there is some holiday or event in the area which makes travel to the location more attractive. It is during peak season that demand and prices are highest and facilities are most crowded. Off or low season is when the location is less desirable for whatever reason, thus prices are lower. Shoulder season is between peak and off seasons, and may be an excellent time to travel when crowds are thinner, weather not too bad, and prices are not at their highest.

Tour Operator/Wholesaler: The creator of tour packages, which are offered by travel agents to the traveling public.

Travel Agent: A retailer who sells indepedent tour or tour packages created by tour operators. Originally, the client did not pay for a travel agent's services because agents receive commissions from hotels, airlines, wholesalers on packaged tours, and other travel vendors. Since agent commissions have now been dramatically reduced, especially by the airlines, many agents charge a fee for their services. The trend in the industry is toward all agencies charging for their services.