There are many different types of travel and tourism organisations. From tour operators to airlines, to tourist boards and conservation activists, each organisation is different. However, most travel and tourism organisations can be grouped into one of three categories: private, public or voluntary. This article explains each of these types of travel and tourism organisations, with examples.
Types of travel and tourism organisations
Travel and tourism is big business and there are many different types of travel and tourism organisations. Travel and tourism supported around 366 million jobs worldwide in 2025, roughly one in ten of all jobs, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. There are many different components of tourism, meaning that there are a wide range of organisations that are involved in the operational logistics of tourism management.
Travel and tourism organisations can be broadly separated into three categories: private, public and voluntary. Each type of organisation is explained below.
Private travel and tourism organisations
The first, and most common, types of travel and tourism organisations are privately owned. The majority of the travel and tourism industry is made up of private travel and tourism organisations. This includes many of the well-known companies that most of us are familiar with.
What is a private travel and tourism organisation?
A private organisation is one that is owned by an individual, a group of people or a company.
Some private organisations are public limited companies (PLCs). This means that the company is owned by shareholders, who buy shares in the organisation. These shares are sold on the stock market. The price of shares goes up and down depending on the market value of the company.
Private travel and tourism organisations come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small companies, often known as small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Others are large companies, multinational companies and conglomerates.
Staff who work for a private travel and tourism organisation are generally paid a salary or wage, although pay in many travel and tourism jobs is relatively low, especially in developing countries.
Aims of private travel and tourism organisations
These types of travel and tourism organisations have several aims. First and foremost, most private organisations aim to make a profit. Their most dominant motive is making money.
Many private travel and tourism organisations will also aim to increase their market share. This means that the company wants more customers than its competitors.
Private companies will often aim to grow their business and increase their turnover each year. In other words, they want to make more and more money every year.
Increasing revenue can be difficult and complicated, and businesses need to consider factors such as market research, pricing, marketing, staffing and investment when planning for growth.
Image is an important part of being a successful travel and tourism business. Private organisations will often try to portray a good image and/or improve their image. They can do this through taking on social projects, demonstrating a commitment to environmental conservation or through charitable acts.
This is often referred to as corporate social responsibility.
Another way that private travel and tourism organisations can make more money and increase their profit is to diversify the range of products and services that they offer. In other words, the more different products/services that they sell, the more customers that they can potentially attract.
Examples of private travel and tourism organisations
Most organisations in the travel and tourism industry are privately owned. Some examples are outlined below. Read more about the role of the private sector in tourism planning and development.
Tour operators
A tour operator is an organisation that puts together, or packages, the different components of a holiday.
There are many tour operators all over the world, in all shapes and sizes. You may be familiar with some of the larger brands, such as TUI and Jet2holidays, as well as specialist operators such as Intrepid Travel. Many smaller specialist operators in the UK are members of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO).
Travel agents
A travel agent sells holidays on behalf of tour operators and other travel suppliers. They can also sell individual travel products, such as flights or ancillaries (e.g. insurance, car hire, attraction tickets). There are several different types of travel agents.
Examples of travel agents that you may be familiar with include Hays Travel and Trailfinders in the UK, online travel agents such as Expedia and Booking.com, and the growing number of independent and home-based travel agents. Many UK travel agents and tour operators are members of ABTA.
Transport organisations and hubs
Transport is a key component of tourism and there are different methods of transport depending on the holiday.
A hub is a connecting point where passengers may change from one form of transport to another, for example a major airport, bus station or railway station.
Examples of major transport operators that you may be familiar with include British Airways, easyJet, National Express and Megabus.
Examples of major hubs include London Heathrow Airport, London Waterloo train station and London Victoria bus station.
Visitor attractions
Many, but not all, visitor attractions are private travel and tourism organisations.
The types of visitor attractions vary widely, from theme parks to botanic gardens to historical buildings.
Examples of private visitor attractions that you may have heard of include Disneyland Paris, Alton Towers and the SEA LIFE centres operated by Merlin Entertainments.
Accommodation providers
Most accommodation providers are privately owned.
There are many different types of accommodation, ranging from bed and breakfasts to caravan parks to hotels.
Accommodation providers that you may be familiar with include Hilton, Premier Inn, Travelodge and Airbnb. Airbnb has become a major player in the tourism industry in recent years as part of the sharing economy.
Public travel and tourism organisations
Public travel and tourism organisations make up an important part of the travel and tourism industry. Public organisations provide many of the essential fundamentals that enable the tourism industry to function. These types of travel and tourism organisations are less common than private organisations, but are an important part of the travel and tourism industry.
What is a public travel and tourism organisation?
A public travel and tourism organisation is an organisation that is owned or funded by the government.
Public organisations can be local, operating in a specific area (such as a council-run museum), or national, operating across the whole country.
Public travel and tourism organisations will likely have paid staff as well as volunteers, who are unpaid.
Aims of public travel and tourism organisations
The main aim of these types of travel and tourism organisations is to provide services to the public.
Public organisations are allocated funding by the government. The amount of funding that is allocated to a particular area depends on a number of factors, including a needs assessment and the government budget.
Each year, the government decides where and how to allocate money that is raised largely through taxes.
Public organisations should ensure that the best level of service is maintained. However, public organisations often have limited funds compared to private organisations. Therefore service levels can sometimes be lower in public organisations than in directly comparable private organisations (i.e. they are the same type of business operating in a similar way).
Unlike private organisations, public travel and tourism organisations are not profit-driven. Whilst many organisations do need to make money to survive, their main focus is not profit, but instead is the level of service. This means that prices can be kept lower for consumers.
Privatisation in travel and tourism
Privatisation is a controversial topic within the tourism industry and beyond. Privatisation is the process of selling public organisations to private companies.
By selling public organisations, the government can raise money and focus their efforts in alternate areas. However, this means that the government no longer have control over aspects such as pricing and service quality.
There are many examples of privatisation in the travel and tourism industry. In the UK, British Airways was privatised in 1987 and went on to become one of the world’s most profitable airlines. On the other hand, the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s led to rising fares and widespread dissatisfaction with service levels, and since 2025 the government has been returning passenger rail services in England to public ownership as their contracts expire, ahead of the creation of Great British Railways.
When public organisations make profit, the intention is that this money is reinvested. The money may be reinvested directly into the same business. Alternatively, the money may be allocated elsewhere within the annual government budget.
Examples of public travel and tourism organisations
Public organisations are some of the most important types of travel and tourism organisations. They are often the backbone of the rest of the industry, without which it could not operate. Below are some examples of public travel and tourism organisations.
Tourist information centres
A tourist information centre (TIC) is an organisation that provides information to tourists.
Tourist information centres will often be located in tourist areas such as towns and cities and coastal destinations. They are also found at some airports and major transport hubs, although many have closed in recent years as more visitors look for information online.
Tourist information centres often provide free information such as maps, apps, brochures and leaflets about tourism in the area.
Tourist boards
A tourist board is an organisation whose responsibility is to provide information about and promote a particular tourist area.
Tourist boards can be regional or national. Their job is to encourage tourism in the area in which they are based.
Tourist boards that you may have heard of in the UK include VisitBritain and VisitEngland (the national tourist boards), VisitScotland and Visit Wales, as well as regional and local organisations such as Visit Cornwall.
Visitor attractions
Some visitor attractions are publicly owned.
In the UK, many national museums and galleries are public organisations. The government funds free entry to national museums such as the Natural History Museum and the British Museum.
Keeping a tourist attraction in public ownership enables protection and preservation of the area and of the attraction itself. It also enables sustainable tourism management by assessing capacity levels and visitor numbers.
Public tourist attractions that you may have heard of include the Natural History Museum in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Great Wall of China.
Local transport organisations
Many transport providers are publicly owned.
Buses, trains and airports are often public organisations, although, as explained above, some of these have been privatised.
Keeping transport in public ownership can help to keep prices lower, although the service may be inferior to private transport companies, which may choose to invest money into their products and services in anticipation of greater financial outcomes.
Regulatory bodies
A regulatory body is an organisation responsible for regulating an industry. These organisations monitor and assess, imposing requirements and rules as needed. Regulatory bodies set standards and enforce compliance.
Regulatory bodies relevant to travel and tourism in the UK include the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which regulates airlines and airports and runs the ATOL financial protection scheme for package holidays, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which protects consumers.
Government bodies
A government body is a department or agency given responsibility for an area of government policy. These bodies make decisions, develop policy and help to create laws.
In the UK, tourism policy is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), while other departments, such as the Department for Transport, also play an important role. Public bodies such as Natural England and the Forestry Commission manage many of the landscapes that tourists visit. At an international level, the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency for tourism.
Voluntary travel and tourism organisations
The voluntary sector plays an important role in our society. There are many different types of voluntary organisations, some of which can be defined as tourism-based organisations. These are explained below.
What is a voluntary travel and tourism organisation?
A voluntary travel and tourism organisation is a not-for-profit organisation. Any surplus that it makes is directed back into the organisation and its aims, rather than being paid to owners or shareholders, as would be the case with a private travel and tourism organisation.
Voluntary travel and tourism organisations are often funded through charitable donations or government grants. Some also receive income from legacies left in people’s wills.
Some voluntary organisations charge entrance fees to help with maintenance and running costs of the business.
Voluntary travel and tourism organisations often rely on unpaid volunteers to operate. There will also usually be some paid staff, although salaries in the charitable sector are typically quite low.
Aims of voluntary travel and tourism organisations
The aim of a voluntary travel and tourism organisation is usually to preserve or protect particular aspects of society, heritage or the natural environment.
This can include environmental protection and conservation, such as a turtle breeding programme in Costa Rica or a volunteer tourism project operating in the Amazon rainforest.
Voluntary travel and tourism organisations may focus on the conservation of buildings, particularly if they are of historical or cultural value. They may also work with tourism stakeholders on landscape designs and features, often to ensure that any new development is in keeping with or does not have a negative impact on the existing landscape.
Many voluntary travel and tourism organisations will work to lobby or campaign on particular issues. This will likely include cultural preservation, environmental protection and economic distribution. If there is a proposed development that they do not approve of, the voluntary organisation will often campaign against it.
Many voluntary travel and tourism organisations will centre around the concepts of conservation and sustainability.
Examples of voluntary travel and tourism organisations
There are many voluntary travel and tourism organisations around the world. Some examples of these types of travel and tourism organisations include:
Visitor attractions
Some visitor attractions are non-profit, voluntary travel and tourism organisations. Sometimes these are natural attractions and sometimes these are man-made attractions.
Examples include the properties cared for by the National Trust and conservation-based projects, such as accredited elephant sanctuaries in Thailand or marine conservation programmes on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Transport
Some transport is operated on a voluntary basis. Many UK heritage railways, for example, are run largely by volunteers and attract tourists to the areas they serve.
Charities
There are a number of charities that are associated with the travel and tourism industry.
Organisations such as WWF (the World Wide Fund for Nature) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) are linked with a number of tourism-related projects and campaigns, particularly around wildlife tourism.
Pressure groups
A pressure group is an organisation which campaigns for change.
There are a number of pressure groups that are not tourism-based, but that are related to tourism management, such as Animal Aid and Friends of the Earth.
There are also pressure groups that focus specifically on travel and tourism, such as the Aviation Environment Federation. Tourism Concern, a well-known UK campaign group on ethical tourism, closed in 2018.
Types of travel and tourism organisations: To conclude
There are many different types of travel and tourism organisations, ranging from large to small and from profit-making to not-for-profit. The three main types of travel and tourism organisations are private, public and voluntary, and all three work together, as stakeholders in tourism, to make the industry function.
Types of travel and tourism organisations: FAQs
Below are answers to some of the most common questions about the types of travel and tourism organisations.
What are the three types of travel and tourism organisations?
The three types of travel and tourism organisations are private, public and voluntary (not-for-profit) organisations.
What is a private travel and tourism organisation?
A private travel and tourism organisation is owned by individuals, a group of people or shareholders, and its main aim is usually to make a profit. Examples include tour operators, travel agents, airlines and hotel chains.
What is a public travel and tourism organisation?
A public travel and tourism organisation is owned or funded by the government. Its main aim is to provide a service rather than make a profit. Examples include tourist boards, tourist information centres, national museums and regulatory bodies such as the Civil Aviation Authority.
What is a voluntary travel and tourism organisation?
A voluntary travel and tourism organisation is a not-for-profit organisation, often a charity, that aims to protect or promote heritage, communities or the environment. Examples include the National Trust and conservation charities.
What are the aims of private sector tourism organisations?
The main aims of private sector organisations are to make a profit, increase market share, grow the business, maintain a good image and diversify their products and services.
Further reading
If you found this article on the types of travel and tourism organisations useful, you may also be interested in these:
- The 10 Major Types of Events
- The 8 Major Types of Cruise
- 150 types of tourism! The ultimate tourism glossary
- 20 Popular Types of Hotels Around The World
- 21 Types of Tourists Around The World
