TRAVEL AGENCY AND TOUR OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

• Travel Services - comprises businesses and functions that assist with planning and reserving components of the visitor experience.
• Tourism services - support industry development and the delivery of guest experiences
• [Components of Travel Services] Travel Agency is a business that operates as the intermediary between the travel industry (supplier) and the traveler (purchaser).
• [Components of Travel Services]Travel Agent is the direct point of contact for a traveler who is researching and intending to purchase packages and experiences through an agency.
• • [Components of Travel Services] Fully Independent Travelers (FITs) travelers have the option of researching and booking everything they need online without the help of a travel agent; creating their own itineraries.
• [Components of Travel Services] Online Travel Agents (OTAs) - companies that aggregate accommodations and transportation options and allow users to choose one or many components of their trip based on price or other incentives
• [Components of Travel Services] OTAs can provide lower-cost travel options to travelers and the freedom to plan and reserve when they choose.
• [Components of Travel Services]Tour Operators - packages all or most of the components of an offered trip and then sells them to the traveler
• [Components of Travel Services] Inbound tour operators - bring travelers into a country as a group or through individual tour packages
• [Components of Travel Services] Outbound tour operators - work within a country to take travelers to other countries.
• [Components of Travel Services] Receptive tour operators (RTOs) represent the various products of tourism suppliers to tour operators in other markets in a business-to-business (B2B) relationship.
• [Components of Travel Services] Destination Marketing Organizations include national tourism boards, state/provincial tourism offices, and community convention and visitor bureaus around the world.
• [Trends and Issues] Budgets - OTAs and business travel managers must constantly be aware of price sensitivity

  • all groups are increasingly forced to demonstrate return on investment to stakeholders
• [Trends and Issues] Technology - real-time and automated inventory management, pollution and weather detection chip, personalized information presented to visitors to help them narrow their choices, social technologies and on-the-go information sharing, virtual assistant holograms and tablets carrying information
• [Types of Travel Agencies]

  1. Wholesale Travel Agency
  2. Retail Travel Agency
  3. Full Service Agency
  4. Commercial Agency
  5. Implant Agency
  6. Group / Incentive agency
  7. Online Travel Agency
• [Types of Travel Agencies] Wholesale Travel Agency assembles different components of services to design tour packages for catering FIT and GIT customers.
• [Types of Travel Agencies] Retail Travel Agency - a business that performs the following functions: quotes fares, rates, makes reservations, arranges travel tickets and accommodation, arranges travel insurance, foreign currency, documents and accepts payments. Retailer gets commission from the gross sale of hotel rooms, airline, train, bus and cruise tickets, insurance, foreign exchange, etc
• [Types of Travel Agencies] Full Service Agency - It is a type of travel agent that deals with all kinds of services. It may be called as complete travel agents. Apart from being an accredited agent of IATA or any other principal service providers, this full-service travel agent owns the transport fleets and charter flights and cruises.
• [Types of Travel Agencies] Commercial Agency - It is a category of unconventional travel agency that deals with business travel. It books convention centers and stalls in exhibition center. It also arranges venue for conducting small and large meetings.
• [Types of Travel Agencies] Implant Agency - It is a type of travel agent that is located in the premises of corporate offices to make travel arrangements of employees. It is a registered travel agent appointed as per the agreements.
• [Types of Travel Agencies] Group / Incentive agency - It is an emerging form of travel agency business that a specialized category of agent acts as intermediary to deal with bulk bookings for employees and clients of corporate houses.
• [Types of Travel Agencies] Online Travel Agency - It resembles an offline travel agency in all its services. It operates on the internet through a website connected to a global distribution system.
• Factors Influencing Travel Business

  1. Demand for Air Travel
  2. Loyalty Programme of Airlines
  3. Technology
  4. Passenger Amentities
  5. Visa upon Arrival
  6. Travel Insurance
  7. Scenic Highways
  8. Regional Economic Growth
  9. Political Situations
  10. Rising Middle Class
  11. Rising Double-Income Family
  12. Increasing Senior Citizen Population
  13. Changing Pattern of Employment
  14. Changing Lifestyle
  15. New Travel Trends
  16. Branding Tourism Destinations
  17. Availability of Trained Human Resources
  18. Exemption Sales Tax
  19. Proactive Role of Travel Trade Association
  20. Travel as Bargain
  21. Accommodation Sector
  22. Travel Loans
• The functions of a travel agency and tour operation include providing travel information, market research and development, reservation of tickets, reservation of hotel rooms, reservation of ground services, selling cruise packages, preparation of itinerary, costing package tour, designing package tour, conducting FIT, GIT and FAM tours, promotion and publicity, reservation and cancellation, management of ground services, travel documentations, preparation of annual budget, corporate social responsibility, training and development, maintaining relationships with tourism ministry, and membershi
• [Travel Documentation and IATA Accreditation and Recognition from Government] Passport - is a document, issued by a national government for the purpose of the identity and nationality of its citizens. Used for obtaining visa for international travel. Contains the name, date of birth, sex and place of birth. Entitles the passport holder to present for identification and return to the country.
• Importance of Passport

  1. Documents required for leaving the country of origin
  2. Documents required for transit countries
  3. Documents required for entry to, and exit from the destination country
  4. Documents required for re-entry to the country of origin
• Alien – is a person living in a country of which he or she is not a citizen.
• Immigrant – is an alien who enters a country with the aim of establishing permanent residence.
• Transit passengers – are persons passing through a country without leaving international transit areas.
• Citizen – a person who possesses the nationality of a country. It is acquired by birth or naturalization.
• [Travel Documentation and IATA Accreditation and Recognition from Government] Visa - a certificate prepared by the immigration officials of the foreign country with stamp marked on a passport after verifying the person’s credentials. Gives the person the right to enter a country and stay for a temporary period.
• Visas specify the length of stay allowed, the period of validity, and the number of entries or re-entries permitted.
• [Several Types of Visa - To enter a country] Tourist Visa - for those visiting a country for pleasure or sometimes business.
• [Several Types of Visa - To enter a country] Transit – for those traveling through a country to another country.
• [Several Types of Visa - To enter a country] Immigrant – for those entering a country and intending to set up permanent residence.
• [Several Types of Visa - To enter a country] Diplomatic – for embassy or consular staff.
• [Several Types of Visa - To enter a country] Business – required by certain country; for those intending to transact business in the country of issue.
• [Several Types of Visa - To enter a country] Employment Visa – valid for one year at a time and is granted to foreigners provided the foreigner is a skilled and qualified professional.
• [Several Types of Visa - To enter a country] Project Visa – is a sub-set of employment visa and is granted to foreigners employed for executing Steel and Power Sector Projects.
• Student Visa – is granted to a foreigner coming to another country to pursue a course of regular and full-time academic studies in a recognized institution. It is valid up to five years or duration of course (whichever is less).