What Does FIT in Travel Mean?
Once you've been in an industry for awhile, it's easy to throw around acronyms with abandon. And by doing so, you completely forget that newer peers may not know what in the world you're talking about. (I'm guilty as charged!) Next time someone throws out a "I'm planning a FIT" comment, you'll be able to hold your own because today, my friend, we're going to help you understand what FIT means in the travel industry!
First thing to know: FIT is pronounced F-I-T. Remember to spell it out instead of pronouncing and you'll fit in perfectly. 🤣🤣
What Does FIT Stand For?
The origin story of what FIT stands for is murky. I've been in the biz a few decades and have heard at least a dozen different pronouncements when it comes to what the F, I, and T stand for.
That said, here are some of the most common answers to what FIT stands for in travel:
- Flexible Independent Travel (most common)
- Foreign Independent Travel
- Fully Independent Travel
If you wanted to complicate things--which apparently some people do--I've seen some real enthusiastic peeps change out the T to 'traveler' or 'tourist'. I wouldn't recommend that.
What Does FIT in Travel Mean?
While you could debate someone about the exact meaning of each letter in FIT, what's really important to understand is what FIT means in the travel industry.
FIT in travel means a trip that is highly customized to the traveler's needs and desires and is not a pre-existing itinerary. The travel advisor booking the trip may work with a single tour operator or DMC to put together the itinerary, or they may use multiple companies to find the perfect trip for their client.
It can be air, car, and hotel with everything down to the dinner reservations each night. Or it can be a car rental and hotel only.
The vast majority of FIT travel is international, but domestic trips could be considered FIT if the travel advisor is putting everything together piecemeal.
If someone were to ask me what classifies a trip as FIT, I would say if the itinerary was specially crafted for a client or a group of clients and it isn't marketed to others outside of those travelers, it would be an FIT trip. So yes, you could have a group FIT if their trip is uniquely tailored to that particular group.
Hear from Erica Carr, a travel advisor who specializes in luxury FITs:
And here's another advisor, Ja'Vonne Harley, who focuses on come-along FIT trips for groups of up to 100 travelers:
Travel Advisors and FIT Bookings
One of the things we do here at HAR is we publish research papers brimming with data on the travel agency community. You may have heard the term FIT for the first time just recently, but I guarantee you it will pop up all over the place now that you've run across it!
Our latest reports found new hosted travel advisors (less than 3 years of experience) listed FITs as the 5th most common product booked. Experienced travel advisors listed FIT travel as the 4th most common product booked.
There are two other important things to know about FIT travel.
The first is that clients that book FIT trips spend more than those that book pre-existing itineraries (which typically means higher commissions for advisors). Makes a lot of sense when you consider FIT clients won't have the economies of scale working in their favor. :)
The second thing to know is that due to the extra complexity and time involved with FIT bookings, it's commonplace for a travel advisor to charge a fee for FIT travel. How much do travel agents charge for FIT travel? Our latest reports found the median per booking fee for FITs clocked in at $200.
Looking to charge fees but not sure how? Check out our Travel Agent's Guide to Charging Fees!
Got Other Travel Industry Acronym Questions?
If you're just starting to look into becoming a travel agent, we know there is a lot for you to learn. Pop your questions-- regarding FITs, acronyms, or otherwise--in the comments and we're always happy to help!
Another option is checking out our 7 Day Setup Accelerator course, where we have a full glossary of 700+ travel terms to help you navigate the travel industry waters as you get your agency set up.
Whatever route you end up going, we're glad you stopped by so you could throw around the term FIT like an old pro at travel conferences and other industry events! Remember to fit in, spell it out, don't pronounce it. :)
