5-1 Tour Operators and Travel Agencies

Reading: Tour Operator

Overview:

Tour operators are involved in planning, development, promotion, administration and implementation of tourism products. They oversee all the day-to-day tasks and also supervise, motivate and train staff. They are employed by tour or transportation companies, resorts or attractions. They may travel to proposed tour sites, check them out and experience the services first hand before assessing their tourism potential. In Canada, the median hourly wage for tour operators is $16, while the median annual salary is $30,000.

Duties:

• Use operations management skills
• Use sales and marketing skills
• Manage human resources
• Develop products
• Use financial management skills

Experience:

Management and tourism experience, human resource management skills, leadership and team-building skills, and financial management skills are all required. Good communication and excellent customer service skills are also necessary. Knowledge of relevant destinations, attractions and travel are important, as are research skills. Desired experience and skills include a second language, risk management skills and time management skills.

Education:

A secondary school diploma is required. A university degree or college diploma in tourism or history is an asset, as is knowledge of the National Occupational Standards for Tour Operator.

Career Path:

Senior Manager, General Manager, Owner/Operator of tour operation.

Travel Agencies

A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays. In addition to dealing with ordinary tourists, most travel agencies have a separate department devoted to making travel arrangements for business travellers; some travel agencies specialize in commercial and business travel only.

There are also travel agencies that serve as general sales agents for foreign travel companies, allowing them to have offices in countries other than where their headquarters are located. As the name implies, a travel agency's main function is to act as an agent, that is to say, selling travel products and services on behalf of a supplier. Consequently, unlike other retail businesses, they often do not keep a stock of tickets and tours in hand.

A package holiday or a ticket is often only purchased from a supplier once a customer request for that purchase has been made. The holiday or ticket is then supplied to them at a discount. The profit is therefore the difference between the advertised price which the customer pays and the discounted price at which it is supplied to the agent. This is known as the commission. A British travel agent would consider a 10-12% commission as a good arrangement. In some countries, airlines have stopped giving commissions to travel agencies. Therefore, travel agencies are now forced to charge a percentage premium or a standard flat fee, per sale. However, some companies still give them a set percentage for selling their product. Major tour companies can afford to do this; because, if they were to sell a thousand trips at a cheaper rate, they would still come out better off than if they sold a hundred trips at a higher rate. This process benefits both parties.

Other commercial operations that are undertaken by travel agents include the sale of in-house insurance, travel guide books and timetables, car rentals, and the services of an on-site bureau de change, which deal in only the most popular holiday currencies. The majority of travel agents have felt the need to protect themselves and their clients against the possibilities of commercial failure, either their own or a supplier's. They will advertise the fact that they are surety bonded, meaning in the case of a failure, the customers is guaranteed either an equivalent holiday to that which they have lost or if they prefer a refund. Many British and American agencies and tour operators are bonded with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), for those who issue air tickets; the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) for those who order tickets in; and the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) or the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), for those who sell package holidays on behalf of a tour company. In some countries, the national government makes sure that travel agencies hold insurance for their customers.

A travel agent is supposed to offer impartial travel advice to the customer. However, this function almost disappeared with the mass-market package holiday and some agency chains seemed to develop a 'holiday supermarket' concept, in which customers choose their holiday from brochures on racks and then book it from a counter. Again, a variety of social and economic changes have now contrived to bring this aspect to the fore once more, particularly with the advent of multiple, no-frills, low-cost airlines.

Vocabulary

Listening