CHAPTER 8Travel Agency and Tour Operation

GROUP LIBERTYName Roll

Khadiza Noor 55

Cynthia Islam 101

Aaqib Md Shatil 87

Zakia Shabnam Maria 27

Poly Talukdar 47

TRAVEL DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL Travel and tour operators have a dominant position in

the sale of travel Tour operators channel by

Direct mail travel Counters in banks Insurance companies Department stores Supermarkets Community associationto broaden their product exposure and build up their owndistribution channels

The new way of marketing tourism developed in UK USA Germany France

BEGINNINGS OF THE TRAVEL AGENCY Emerged in

England in 1841 by Thomas Cook Organized a trip of 570 fellow members From London to Loughborough

Second was by Glasgow An excursion of 800 people

Third one was again by- Thomas cook In 1851 Of 16500 excursionist From Yorkshire

Thus Thomas Cook became the pioneer of tour operator companies

CONTINUED… In 1867 he introduced “circular notes "for tourist which

had values banks, restaurants, hotels & shops. Now it is known as “traveler's cheques” In 1899, at the year of his death, his company “Tomas

cook and sons” include three aspects of travel Selling tours banking Foreign currency exchange Shipping

After 2nd world war British govt. find some interest on is company The policies of the company then determined through a holding

company of British govt. In 1972, the company was sold to Midland Consortium for 858.5

million US dollar. Now the company has 1200 offices with 13000 employees in

145 countries

CONTINUED…. American Express-

internationally known travel agency Emerged in 1841 By Henry wells First office was in London 1909 and second was in

1915 in USA Invented the travelers cheque in 1891 Playing an important role in the international

transaction Provide Amex card which is the most popular credit

cad To pay bill of restaurants, tickets & Airlines Reserve hotel in no time

TRAVEL RETAILING Prior to air travel, the railways and shipping

companies provided their ticketing and reservation services only in their terminal offices and by travel agents

For convenient direct sales, airlines and other moods of transport establish convenient outlet for the customer where product can be sold

Travel agencies also take the chance and they started to travel retailing in a large scale

ROLE OF THE TRAVEL AGENT A retail travel agents may be defined as one who

Acts on behalf of the original provider of tourist services such as hotel company, an airline, a tour operator or shipping company

Acts as a booking agent Does not purchase travel for resale Does not carry stocks of travel products Sells principle service Rewarded by commission Don’t take liability of principle services Has less brand loyalty towards a particular product or company Provides a convenient location where potential tourist may take

information and guidance Posses specialized and up-to-date knowledge about the tourist

product Provides advise and package to the customers Provides documentation and three financial services also which are

Insurance Foreign exchange Credit

CONTINUED… Insurance

Very important and in some cases obligatory Provides coverage for several contingencies Act as brokers for insurance companies earn a high percentage

(upto 40% in UK) Foreign currency

Exchange is provided by the Travel Agencies Credit

Provide traveler's cheque Other travel credit cards are

AMEX card Dinner’s club card Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP)

Thus travel agent facilitates the travelers in their entire traveling experiences

TRAVEL AGENCY COMMISSION Travel agents earn his revenue in the form of commission on

the sales of the principal's product Commission varies on different objects and mode of transports

International commission on rail booking s 7.5% in Europe No standard scale for sea traffic.

Normally ranges from 4%-12% Commission depends on

Shipping lines Routing Class

Road travel also does not have any standard All ticketing agents authorized by IATA and licensed by the

corresponding airlines are entitled to a commission on the sale of air ticket GSA may charge commission based on agreements Normally 9% are paid on passenger traffic On charter flight the commission is 10% They are paid an incentive commission for achieving prefixed target

APPOINTMENT AND APPROVAL In order to prevent any abuse and regulate payment ,

IATA has adopted a system of licensing or appointing TA

The IATA appointment which is issued in the form of Passenger Sales Agency Agreement is the approval of commission

The travel agencies must be approved by the railways, domestic airline, international airlines, national coach companies etc.

DEVELOPMENT IN TRAVEL RETAILING For facilitating depth of the operation now a days all the

processes are computerized mainly for Ticketing Reservation Fare construction

Now it is giving the facility of – registering availability of transport and accommodation at short

notice Making immediate reservations, amendments, cancellation Quoting complex of fares and conditions of travel Rapidly processing documents like tickets Providing AIS and MIS

A number of system is using now a days Two system is widely used which are –

Travicom Modulus

CONTINUED… Another development is the entrance of non travel

organization like (banks, petrol stations etc )into travel sense

Travel agencies are providing Personalized service and sound product knowledge through

computer system t the customers Tour guiding training to its employees to more facilitates the

customers Brochures to facilitate travelers Word of moth recommendation

TOUR OPERATION The function of tour operators in the tourism industry are

different from that of travel agents Tour operator makes a bulk purchase of separate elements of

tour at substantial discounts and combines them with attractive packages

Tour operators have played an important role in reducing the cost per passengers of aircrafts

They have contributed in the rise of occupancy ratios in hotels Inclusive tours by charters succeeded in reducing real price of

travel abroad Introduction of Affinity Charters and Advance Booking

Charters are two other important factors.

NON-CHARTER TOUR OPERATION Tour excursion fares (ITX) were introduced to counter

inclusive tours by charters ITX fares enabled the tour operators to secure air seats for

independent inclusive tours, also known as foreign inclusive tours (FITs)

It also enabled the tour operators to secure air seats for bulk inclusive tours (BITs)

TYPES OF OPERATORSThere are four types of operators Large tour operators Plan large scale of tours relating mass market Specialist operators Specializes in particular geographical regions. Offer long

distance Its to exclusive destinations Incoming tour operators Sell ITs only to the particular destination in which they are

based Domestic tour operators Assemble and sell inclusive tours to destinations within a

country where the tourists reside are domestic tour operators

PROMOTION TECHNIQUES Travel Catalogue Travel catalogues present an entire travel program with

numerous destinations, various choices of accommodation, activity and excursions, alternative departure dates and transport arrangements in a very complete yet concise form.

Travel Brochure Brochure are less voluminous than catalogues and less

costly. Their main advantage lies in the possibilities they offer to describe and illustrate destination or service in more detail than a catalogue.

Other than regular brochure, there are two other kind of brochures, shell folders and umbrella brochures

COMPLAINTS AGAINST TRAVEL AGENTS

Travel agents earn their money from commissions on their sales and thus consumers pay only indirectly for their service.-Consumer organizations claim that -Travel agents are unlikely to make clear the full range of holidays available.-Interested in offering the holidays of a few specific operator's only-Difficulty if trying to establish who is responsible and who to claim against, the tour operator or the travel agent.

SURVEY OF CONSUMER ORGANIZATION

In order to ascertain the true concerns of consumers, WTO Secretariat undertook a survey and identified the follow areas:  -Lack of adequate information  -Quality of the tourist product   -Areas of consumer law  -Conditions of booking contracts  -Safety and environmental protection matters  -Clear procedure for dealing with complaints.

TRAVEL AND TOURISM PROMOTION ORGANIZATION

OECD(Organization for European Cooperation and Development)

CTA(Caribbean Travel Association) COTAL(Confederation of Tourist Organization

of Latin  America) PATA(Pacific area travel association);

PATA Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel

Association is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.

The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organizations, comprising 88 government, state and city tourism bodies, 22 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 62 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond.

PATA Largest travel promotional organization and

promotes travel within the Pacific region.  The association has eight categories of

members. These are:   1.active government members   2.associate government members   3.Carrier members    4.Active industry members   5.Associate members   6.Sustaining or affiliated industry   7.Allied members   8.Affiliated allied members

BOARD AND STANDING COMMITTEE Each years members gather together at an annual

conference to elect among members Board of Directors comprising 46 individuals of whom 30represent either carriers or governments, 8 represent allied members and 2 represent the associate members.

The board director is served by 11 standing committee each charged with specific functional responsibilities which together encompass every facet of the travel industry.

One of the reason for the great success of PATA is the balance of power between the major categories of carrier, govt. and travel agents.

PATA- FUNCTIONS In partnership with private and public sector members, PATA enhances

the sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to-from-and-within, the region.

The Association provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to its member organizations, comprising 87 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 31 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 61 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond.

PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) offers unrivalled data and insights including Asia Pacific inbound and outbound statistics, analyses and forecasts as well as in-depth reports on strategic tourism markets

PATA’s events create millions of dollars of new business each year for its members

Thousands of travel professionals belong to 43 active PATA chapters worldwide and participate in a wide range of PATA and industry events.

The PATA Foundation contributes to the sustainable and responsible development of travel and tourism in Asia Pacific through the protection of the environment, the conservation of heritage and support for education.

PATA CHAPTERS To assist in the fulfillment of its objectives, PATA has

set up a network of regional or area chapters and promotional chapters.

There are two types of chapters:

- If the chapter is situated within the Pacific area, it is recognized as Area Chapter.- If the chapter is situated outside the Pacific area, such as North America or Europe, it is recognized as promotional chapter.

TRAVEL AGENT’S ORGANIZATION National Travel Agency organizations exists in

most countries of the world. Some of them have formed regional associations. They are:

- Arab Association of Tourism and Travel Agents.- East Asian Tourist Travel Association- Travel Agents’ Association of India.

The objective of NTAA is to safe guard the interests of its members, consumers and to lay down guidelines for second business operations with industry principals, other travel agencies and the travel public.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TRAVEL AGENTS

ASTA is the largest professional travel trade association in the world. It was formed by a small group of travel agents from New Jersey and New York in 1931 as American Steamship and Tourist Agents Associations.

ASTA is a non profit association operated by its members. Its objective is the advancement and promotion of the travel agent industry. It is the primary trade association of travel industry and currently represents over 19000 members in 128 countries.

There are 2 types of member in ASTA- active and allied. Active- Accredited travel agencies. Allied - Travel Supplier

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TRAVEL AGENTS

Membership in ASTA provides several benefits:

- Education and Training program.- Provision of the Society's weekly newsletter, monthly magazine containing in-depth coverage of important issues affecting the travel agents besides special programs. - Information about airlines, cruise lines, hotels, rail companies and tour payment.- Group insurance plan which offers agency employees comprehensive insurance at preferred rates.