Tour Operation Management (Essay Sample)

Tour Operation Management
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Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc390283717 \h 3TASK 1 PAGEREF _Toc390283718 \h 4P1.1 Analyze the effects of current and recent trends and developments in the tour operating industry PAGEREF _Toc390283719 \h 4TASK 2 PAGEREF _Toc390283720 \h 8P2.1 Asses the stages and timescales involved in developing holidays. PAGEREF _Toc390283721 \h 8P2.2 Evaluate the sustainability and different methods of contracting for different components of the holiday and different type of tour operators. PAGEREF _Toc390283722 \h 13P2.3 Calculate the selling price of a holiday from given information below. PAGEREF _Toc390283723 \h 14TASK 3 PAGEREF _Toc390283724 \h 15P3.1 Evaluate the planning decision taken for the design of a selected brochure. PAGEREF _Toc390283725 \h 15P3.2 Assess the sustainability of alternative to a traditional brochure for the following tour operators of the Thomas Cook group. PAGEREF _Toc390283726 \h 15P3.3 Evaluate the different methods of distribution used to sell a holiday for different types of tour operators within the Thomas Cook group PAGEREF _Toc390283727 \h 16TASK 4 PAGEREF _Toc390283728 \h 17P4.1 Evaluate the strategic decisions made by different types of tour operators PAGEREF _Toc390283729 \h 17P4.2 Compare the tactical decisions that could be taken by a selected tour operator. PAGEREF _Toc390283730 \h 18CONCLUSION PAGEREF _Toc390283731 \h 19References PAGEREF _Toc390283732 \h 20
INTRODUCTION
The various aspects of the tour management has been talked about in the assignment thus being an overall check on the prevailing tour conditions and factors favoring its expansion. The exploration of the different natures of the diversified groups of tour companies has also been dealt with in details. In the industry of tourism, there are the repeated cases of surprises that arise from the undertakings.
The establishment of a new venture is the most difficult undertaking; detailed analysis of the economic, social, cultural as well as the political factors has to be considered in the making of the investment decisions. This facilitates the venturing in the most favorable strategic location that would enhance the profitability of an entity for its sustainability.
The factors affecting the strategic decisions to be made for the effectiveness in the success of the venture has been outlined. The empowerment of the industrial decision making relies on the external as well as the internal factors affecting the quality of the decisions to be made.
TASK 1
P1.1 Analyse the effects of current and recent trends and developments in the tour operating industry
During the vacations, it’s a much more demanding for the tour companies as they are in high demand by the increase number of people be it the relatives, friends as well as companies who are usually in the need to enjoy their vacations. This makes the different tour companies have their prices for the different destinations according to the clients’ budget. Therefore, the tour companies with the detailed information from the clients have to make the strategic arrangements to make the vacations memorable to the clients.
The youngsters do spend most of their weekdays in their offices, however, during the weekends they do go for outings with friends, families or even with their spouses. This is done in the form of having parties as well as traveling to adventurous areas. The adventure places may be mountains, hills, lakes, dams, plains, hot springs as well as escarpments and valleys. All these may be done by the help of the travel agents who offers services including the jungle safaris to the willing clients. The bookings are usually done in advance to enhance the scheduling of the trips by the travel agents.
The use of the internet has facilitated the marketing of the tour companies as well as the online access of the company services. The company’s website offers the information needed on the back ground of the company thus offering a wider pool of the information needed by the clients in the analysis of the company’s services and products.
With the technology, the interested clients are able to know on the various destinations all over where they can access for their pleasure. The choice of the customer preference determines the areas that they find to be more satisfying for their visit, as soon would prefer visiting the Rome city in Italy due to the historical nature of the place some would however be satisfied in vising some other areas such as India due to the cultural activities and beliefs in the area. The information on the most suitable area to visit based on the tourist attraction sites are found in the internet thus being much easier to locate on the suitable place to have a look at.
It’s usually a complete ecstasy for all persons who adore traveling and checking out the beautiful places outside their boundaries. The online gateways helps in speaking out the language of owns culture, as a client can also have a chat with the operator for any further queries and can clear all the doubts. This is how far the tourism industry has come and with this pace, will reach the seventh sky pretty soon. Through such initiatives, the analysis of the most suitable places to visit is comprehensively enhanced.
On the selection of the suitable travel agents, the risks undertaken are usually reduced through the various strategies thus ensuring the quality services from the diversified group of the tour agents. Through this, the quality of the services offered by the agents is usually high quality due to the increased demand and the notion that the standards of the firms are known by the clients. In the move to have customer satisfaction, the agents have to offer the quality services including the loyalty programs to the loyal customer.
On selecting the right destinations, most of the clients want to have it done by themselves rather than by the tour agents. This is highly facilitated by the fact that all the required information is found on the portals through the internet.At times the clients do not feel safe to give their personal details on the website thinking it could be fake and their details could be misused, and because they want to be crystal clear that they are not paying a single penny extra for their tour, personal visits to the company offices or direct dealing with the travel agents are what they prefer instead of exchanging emails and telephone conversations for the efficiency in the scope of duty.
Subsequently, honeymoons are among the major tours and travel specialty. As people get married, they tend to have the enjoyment of some private life together as a form of a vacation. This is usually planned by the tour agents in the enhancement of a quality and successful event. With the weeding season, this is the peak season for the tour companies as there will be more honeymoons in the form of vacations.
Giving discounts as an incentive is among the many loyalty programs that a company does offer to the loyal clients. In the tour industry, discounts are usually given in order to attract the clients and keep them away from the competitors thus earning their loyalty. Having the total satisfaction of the clients is what that does create and impression in their mind thud having the strong believe in the quality of the services offered by the companies.
As company undertake their daily activities, they are legible to give some discounts or extra benefits for special packages to special clients as per company’s choice and policy. But it is one difficult task for the tour agent to make suitable adjustments as per their different requirements. Although the competitors are not behind so discussed below are some of the challenges faced by the industry. They are:
1. Custom Experiences
Due to the social classes, everyone in the plan for the tour adventures usually plan for the expensive packets considering them to be the most comfortable. However, it has been changing with time and people are spending a lot in the vacations. With the notice of the people’s perception on the most suitable and confortable packets, the tour companies and agents has been taking the opportunities to have the most suitable packets for the clients. Providing the clients with customized packets, class, standards as well as the combination of several destinations in a single tour makes the clients more attracted to the company thus helping the company in achieving a competitive advantage.
2. Adventure Tourists
With the different standards of the tour packets, there is the customization of adventurous tours that begun back in the year 2013. This was after an analytical study of the tour travel regardless of the age brackets. The company that conducted the study concluded that about 5% of the clients in certain age groups are more satisfied with the adventurous trips. ABTA suggested the introduction of the adventurous trips in the report that it tabled after the research. With the report, some of the adventurous events such as the sky diving, mountain climbing, deep sea diving among other adventurous events became much more popular than they were. With the rising demands of the adventures, the tour agents and companies has been in the move to strategize on the measures to enhance the satisfaction of the clients.
3. Value 
With the increased competition during the peak seasons in the tour agents and companies, the most appropriate booking time is during the off season. This makes the client have the customer services such as the advice on the budget and on the suitable places to visit. This also reduces the amount of the money spent in the bookings as well as for the tour. Booking during the off session is always cheaper as compared to bookin...