Tour Operation Management

This document provides an overview of tour operation management in the travel and tourism industry. It covers topics such as planning decisions for designing brochures, traditional brochure methods, distribution strategies, and strategic and tactical decisions made by different types of tour operators. The document also includes a case study of Lcb travel agency and its current trends and developments.

Tour Operation Management

Table of Contents
INRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Covered in Leaflet.......................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................1
TASK3.............................................................................................................................................1
3.1 Planning decision for designing brochure.............................................................................1
3.2 Traditional brochure for tour operation.................................................................................2
3.3 Methods of distribution.........................................................................................................3
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................4
4.1 Strategic decisions made by different types of tour operator................................................4
4.2 Tactical decision for tour operator in different situation......................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INRODUCTION
Tour operations are important for the travel and tourism because they arrange holiday
package and help in providing various services which customers wants in their holiday package.
In tour operation the tour operator play a important role by managing tour package according the
customer. For doing this work they do work with hoteliers, airlines, car hire companies and other
travel services suppliers for providing travel services according the customers (Chand and Katou,
2012). Tour operators take help travel agents for selling their holidays package and other
travelling services. They provide applications for online booking and make it easy for the
customers. This given report is based on Lcb travel agency. It is started by Mr Lim in 1984 and
this company provide travel package for more than 50 destinations. In this assignment it is
explain that what are the current and recent trends occurs in the travel industry and the
developments of the tour operations sector. .
TASK 1
Covered in Leaflet
TASK 2
Covered in PPT
TASK3
3.1 Planning decision for designing brochure
This is important to the travel agency and tour operators to make planning for designing
broacher. If Lcb going to plan designing of brochures firstly it defines it brochure goals, define
market objectives, collect sample brochures, establish a budget and define vision of the brochure
(De Sausmarez, 2013). There are some elements for planning decision for designing brochures:
Cost- In this planning is related to the cost that how much cost is invest for designing
brochure. In this process, here include the cost of advertisements, number of copies and other
sources cost which use in the planning. The cost of Lcb Boucher is less then Thomas cook
because its quality is good rather then Thomas Cook.
Deciding the formate- It is important for designing a brochure. The formate of it depend
on the information which write down within it. It can be folded and one page according the
matter and the brochure cost are depend on the material which are used to design it. Lcb made
1

two fold brochures while Rthomas cook use one liner and Lcb brochures is attractive rather then
others.
Target market and budget- The brochures are designed for target market and they are
also designed according the customer need that what kind of information they want from
company. Lcb make plan for designing brochure according their customer's want. The designing
of the Lcb is attractive and good which attract the customers more then Thomas cook.
Determining print specification- The way of designing is also important for the company
to attract the customers because the brochures should have the information about destination,
travelling and other services which is provided by the travel agency. If the print of the brochure
will be good it can help in attracting more customers. Thomas cook's print its brochures in a
good way so it is attractive more then Lcb.
Timescales and stage of production- It is about the production of the brochure that how
much time it will take in production. It can be related to the deadlines, destination information,
demand and market. (Dhiman, 2012). Tomas cook brochures font size nad other features are
good more then Lcb.
3.2 Traditional brochure for tour operation
Brochure is a paper document which contains some information to related a particular
field and it can be folded in a template, pamphlet or leaflet. The size of it is differ and according
the customer and the information which is write down within it. There are different traditional
brochure which are used by tour operators. They are as follows:
E- brochure- They are internet brochure which use to provide information. Now these
days use of these brochures are increased because they save time and cost of fare and provide
the information to the customer within minutes. Thomas cook use these brochures more because
of its more customer rather then Lcb so Lcb does not use it.
IPad/Android applications- By making applications, tour agency providing the
brochures through these applications to their customers and create awareness. The technology is
develop and people use it most so the travel agencies also get benefits by using them (Filby and
et. al., 2014). Lcb does not use it more because it is costly but Thomas cook use this for
providing better facility to its customer.
2

Outdoor media- It is related to web advertisement, internet marketing, graphic designing
and Internet. By these travel operators present information to the customers and market. Lcb use
lower cost outrode media like giving add on TV etc. but Thomas use it largely.
Radio/TV Advertising- These days also many people listen radio so the company use it to
create the awareness about their tour package and the services which it provide within it. Many
people use TV so by giving add on TV about the tor package information. It is more effective
because it is directly affect the people. Some add are design like that they attach with the people
emotionally and they affected them. This is used by Thomas Cook more than Lcb.
Press(newspapers, magazines)- Many large company use this function they give add and
provide information in the newspaper to aware the consumer with their services because it is a
big tool of information. News paper and magazines are read by most of the people in every
where in cities as well as villages. It is an effective tool for the travel companies to crate the
awareness about its services. Thomas cook use this to provide the information to its all
customers but Lcb do noit use bthis on a high level.
3.3 Methods of distribution
There are different strategies of distribution which are used to sell holiday package for
various types of tour operators:
Direct distribution- Many tour company have their own hotels and transport services.
They provide direct sale of the products and services to their customers. Lcb and Thomas cook
provide good services and goods and the customers are loyal for them and they maintain a good
relationship with the customers. But the Thomas cook distribute its services directly to their
customer rather then LCB.
Two level Distribution- If the travel agencies and operators use an intermediate to serve
the services to their customer, it is two level distribution (Howes, Scarpaci and Parsons, 2012).
In Lcb these intermediate can be manufacturer sells, wholesaler, distributors and retailers who
sold the services of the company. Lcb used them so that it can present the services easily and
more customers. Like Lcb, Thomas cook also use two level distribution.
Through social network website- Lcb use many social network website to promote its
products and services of its travel package. The channels which it use can be Facebook, twitter,
Instagram and web advertisement etc. People are trust Of Thomas cook so it also sell and
promote their services by using social network websites.
3

Government website- For using these site, the person who use them he pay for them. Lcb
can used them for promoting and selling their services. Thomas cook use these sites for sale by
paying them.
Online travel agencies- These websites specially designed for the travel agencies. In
these sites the agencies can register itself and providing their services all over world (Hu, Cao
and Shi, 2012). By using this Lcb provide the information about its product through this function
and Thomas cook also designed its website for selling the services.
Visitors information centre- Lcb can use it for present information to the customer. It
can open the information centre in internationally so that it can provide the information to the
visors with correct location, maps, relevant place and others which are needed to the customer.
Thomas cook have different visitors centre to provide the information to its customers.
Review sites- These are those sites where the information available about the travel
companies services which they provide to their past customers. In these sites those people share
their experience who take the benefits of the services and goods. These are mainly feedback and
here people share their good which based on experience about their tour.
Voucher sites- It is a paper document and ticket which is provided by the company to
used it for pay on the place of money where it needed. Lcb is also provide to their customers so
that they can use them where paying is needed.
Concierge services- These are the service which are provided to the customers such as
hotels booking. Spa arranging and food services. They assist customer for choosing right travel
package. Lcb can also provided these services to attract more customers. Thomas cook has its
own hotels so it provide various services rather then other tour operators.
TASK 4
4.1 Strategic decisions made by different types of tour operator
Pricing Strategies- It is related to set the price of these services and goods which a travel
agency provide in its tour operator. For setting the price of their tour package the company use
different functions and strategies or technologies (Huang, Lu and Duan, 2012). And they can
create a department to set the price of them. Under this discount, offers, package deals and last
minute pricing etc. are different component conclude. Thomas cook provide costly services
rather then Lcb.
4

Surcharge policy- It is an additional charge which is pay by the customer in the form of
tax. It is an extra fees that is payable to the customers for the tour company after the booking of
the tour package. Lcb take this charge less then Thomas because Thomas cook is a big tour
agency.
Positioning and image/branding- Branding is a advertisement strategy which is used by
travel agencies to promote its services and create image of the company and its services in the
customer's mind (KhairatP0F and Maher, 2012). Lcb use symbol, sign, trademark and attractive
image so that customer never forget it. The company attract more customers by giving good
services on affordable price. Thomas Cook is also use graphic design and symbols for make the
image in the consumer mind.
Choice of product in relation to customer portfolio-The companies design portfolio for the
customer in which services and other factors are mentioned which are provided by a tour agency.
Lcb designed portfolio and provide all services which they get after the market analysis ans
customer choose the services as per their needs and desires. Thomas cook design its portfolio
btter rather thn other tour operator because it have large number of customers.
Distribution decisions- Travel companies used various distribution channels for distribute its
products and services such as agencies, suppliers and retailers or others. In lcb, for travel services
it different channels like airway, train and other transport services. Just like that in
accommodation they use various factor like hotels, motels, inns, resorts and for meal they use
restaurants services and catering services for the distribution for the food. Thomas cook have its
own hotel so al, the services it provide they are distribute easily rather then others,
4.2 Tactical decision for tour operator in different situation
Tactical responses-It is mainly about the feedback that is given by the customer to their
tourism Comoran for their services and good which they provided in their tour package. It can be
positive and negative and can be related with the price when they compare the service of the
company with the other company. If the customer who use the service of Lcb and their he face
any little problem related to cleaning of the room and he upload it in the response then other
customers attract to Thomas cook by seeing this.
Tactical pricing- It most affective factor which create high impact on the company's
profit. Lcb set the price of its service according their customer. It is not much high and low so
that the consumer can easily consume their services with and economical loss. They mange the
5

tour package according consumer budget (Mohan and Baskaran, 2012).During the travell if the
customer of Thomas cook paid extra price like for purchasing water then he told this to the
company about its services.
Tactical marketing- it is related with the services which a tour agency provide to its
consumers. They do marketing to find out and analyse the market that which services customers
want. These services can be related to travel sources, destination, places, accommodation
services and other services which are giving by the company. The marketing can be doing
advertisement, creating brochures and generating websites etc. to reach the information to
customer and customer to company (Nakayama and Bucks, 2During the time of making
brochures if the organization do not use the print size according the customer then it can be
create a problem for the company.
CONCLUSION
In this above assignment it is concluded that Tour operation management play a good
role in the tour industry. The tour operators make essay travel for the customers so that the
customer can make its journey restful, peaceful and joyful. In this report Lcb, a travel agency
which provide its services and goods to the customer and using different bodies and strategies to
make them better. By using different stages and scales like market research, planning and
schedule, financial evaluation and other factors it make its holiday package developing. Making
and creating brochure for presenting the information towards the customers it can use different
alternatives and technologies.
6

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chand, M. and Katou, A. A., 2012. Strategic determinants for the selection of partner alliances in
the Indian tour operator industry: A cross-national study. Journal of World Business.
47(2). pp.167-177.
De Sausmarez, N., 2013. Challenges to Kenyan tourism since 2008: crisis management from the
Kenyan tour operator perspective. Current issues in tourism. 16(7-8). pp.792-809.
Dhiman, M. C., 2012. Employers' perceptions about tourism management employability skills.
Anatolia. 23(3). pp.359-372.
Filby, N. E., Stockin, K. A. and Scarpaci, C., 2015. Social science as a vehicle to improve
dolphin-swim tour operation compliance?. Marine Policy. 51. pp.40-47.
Guo, Y., Liu, H. and Chai, Y., 2014. The embedding convergence of smart cities and tourism
internet of things in China: An advance perspective. Advances in Hospitality and
Tourism Research (AHTR). 2(1), pp.54-69.
Howes, L., Scarpaci, C. and Parsons, E. C. M., 2012. Ineffectiveness of a marine sanctuary zone
to protect burrunan dolphins (Tursiops australis sp. nov.) from commercial tourism in
Port Phillip Bay, Australia. Journal of Ecotourism. 11(3). pp.188-201.
Hu, Z., Cao, Z. and Shi, J., 2012. Research of interactive product design for virtual tourism. In
Advances in Electronic Engineering, Communication and Management Vol. 2 (pp. 411-
416). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Huang, Z., Lu, X. and Duan, H., 2012. A task operation model for resource allocation
optimization in business process management. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and
Cybernetics-Part A: Systems and Humans. 42(5). pp.1256-1270.
KhairatP0F, G. and Maher, A., 2012. Integrating sustainability into tour operator business: An
innovative approach in sustainable tourism. Tourismos: An international
multidisciplinary journal of tourism. 7(1). pp.213-233.
Mohan, B. C. and Baskaran, R., 2012. A survey: ant colony optimization based recent research
and implementation on several engineering domain. Expert Systems with Applications.
39(4). pp.4618-4627.
Nakayama, F. S. and Bucks, D. A. Eds., 2012. Trickle irrigation for crop production: design,
operation and management (Vol. 9). Elsevier.
Rohani, M. M., Wijeyesekera, D. C. and Karim, A. T. A., 2013. Bus operation, quality service
and the role of bus provider and driver. Procedia Engineering. 53. pp.167-178.
Tsiotsou, R. H. and Goldsmith, R. E., 2012. Strategic marketing in tourism services. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Neubauer, J. and Wood, E., 2014. Thru-life impacts of driver aggression, climate, cabin thermal
management, and battery thermal management on battery electric vehicle utility. Journal
of Power Sources. 259. pp.262-275.
Belady, C. L., AND ET. AL., 2014. Data center system that accommodates episodic
computation. U.S. Patent 8,849,469.
Lück, M., 2016. The teachable moments on marine mammal tours: Watching versus swim-with
tours. Coastal Management. 44(2). pp.131-138.
Khuong, M. N. and Nhu, N. V. Q., 2015. The effects of ethical leadership and organizational
culture towards employees’ sociability and commitment–a study of tourism sector in Ho
Chi Minh city, Vietnam.Journal of Advanced Management Science. 3(4).
7

Sheng, J., Amankwah-Amoah, J. and Wang, X., 2017. A multidisciplinary perspective of big
data in management research. International Journal of Production Economics. 191.
pp.97-112.
Felicen, S. S., Rasa, L. C., Sumanga, J. E. and Buted, D. R., 2014. Internship performance of
tourism and hospitality students: Inputs to improve internship program. International
Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 4(6). p.42.
Online
Travel Expenses. 2018. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/travelexpenses.asp>.
8