Last week PRWeek reported that TA had put out a wide-ranging tender request, and more details have now been provided about the plan.
The tourism body is looking to establish PR panels in the UK, US, Latin America, Canada, China and Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore.
The agency panels will provide support across strategy, media and stakeholder relations, influencer programmes, content generation and publishing, social media, brand and reputation management, campaigns and business events.
The exact number of agencies on each panel is likely to vary by market.
A TA spokesperson said that the move towards a panel model was designed to ensure its key markets have access to the highest quality and best value services.
The tender closes on 20 February and all agencies will be selected through a competitive tendering process. Contracts will run for three to five years, with agencies working on a project-by-project and market-by-market basis.
Only markets where the existing PR agency contracts are coming to an end in 2015 have been included within the tender; Germany, France, Italy and Indonesia have been excluded and a procurement process will be undertaken in due course.
TA added that current contracts with each incumbent agency would remain unchanged, and that all had been invited to respond to the tender.
