Comprehensive Report on Tour Operations Management for Audley Travel

This report provides a comprehensive overview of tour operations management, focusing on the operations of Audley Travel. It begins with an analysis of current trends in the UK tour operator industry, including technological advancements, responsible tourism, and the impact of Brexit. The report then details the stages and timescales involved in developing holidays, using a South Africa tour as a case study, and evaluates various methods of contracting for different components of the holiday, such as fixed, allocation, and ad hoc contracts. Furthermore, it calculates the selling price of a holiday package, considering costs like flights, accommodation, and profit margins. The report also evaluates planning decisions for brochure design and assesses alternative distribution methods. Finally, it examines strategic and tactical decision-making by tour operators, providing valuable insights into the industry's operational aspects.

TOUR
OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1.1. Analysation of the effects of current and recent trends on tourist operations industry........3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1. Stages and timescales involved in developing holidays......................................................4
2.2. Evaluation of the suitability of various methods of contracting for different components
of the holiday and different types of tour operators....................................................................6
2.3. Calculation the selling price of a holiday from given information......................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1. Evaluation of the planning decisions taken for the design of the brochure.........................7
3.2. Assessment of the suitability of alternatives to a traditional brochure for different types of
tour operators..............................................................................................................................8
3.3. Evaluation of the suitability of different methods of distribution used to sell a holiday for
different types of tour operators..................................................................................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
4.1. Strategic Decisions taken by various tour operators..........................................................10
4.2 Tactical decisions that could be taken by Audley in different situations............................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Tour operations management refer to development and execution of activities that are
necessary for package holidays. Tour operators are responsible for handling the operations of
these holidays. They are responsible to provide combined services of tours and travel industry
and amalgamate the same in packages to enhance the experience of customers of tourists
(Hoffman, Padberg and Rinaldi, 2013). The agenda of this management is to give consistent and
outstanding services to customers of this industry and ensure their long term engagement with
the tour companies. The report below is based on Audley Travel, which is one of the most
trusted tours and travel company headquartered in Witney, Oxfordshire. The report covers a brief
understanding of the tour operations industry within the travel and tourism sector along with the
stages involved in creation of holidays. It also covers brochures, distribution methods for selling
holidays and strategic and tactical decision-making for tour operators
TASK 1
1.1. Analysation of the effects of current and recent trends on tourist operations industry
The tour operators industry of the UK is very vast in scale and continuously evolves and
moulds itself according to the trends that are likely to affect its operations (Guo and He, 2012).
Before understanding these trends, it is imperative to gain knowledge about different types of
tour operators within the industry which are mentioned below: Inbound Tour Operators: The other name for these operators are 'ground operators' and
they are local experts in specific location's tourism. They cater for all the inbound tourists
from various other countries to the United Kingdom. Domestic Tour Operators: These operators provide their services to the residents of the
country itself and within the boundaries of the UK. These tours are limited to various
tourist attraction destinations that are present within the country.
 UK Outbound Tour Operators: These are another type of tour operators that are
responsible for taking residents of one country to another for travelling purpose. They
have no boundaries and provide their services all over the world.
There are various current and recent trends that influence the operations of tour
operations industry. These trends are mentioned below:

 Technological Advancements: Tour operators industry in the UK as well as the whole
world have been subjected to various technological advancements recently for instance
Wi-Fi Technology, AI, Internet of Things (IoT), etc. These advancements have
encouraged the industry to modify its functions and operations in providing services
(Gibson, 2012). Responsible Tourism: With rise in environmental awareness and protection of wildlife,
there are new policies and regulations in the industry promoting preservation of flora and
fauna.
 Brexit Effect: One of the most recent and crucial events in the UK is Brexit. It had its
impact on each and every industry in the UK. The reduction in the value of pound is
attracting customers from almost everywhere in the world to visit the country. Post-
Brexit, the industry contributed to a growth of 6.2% in the country's GDP in 2017 (Brexit
news: British travel and tourism industry booming despite doomsayers’ claims, 2018).
Lately, Asia, Africa and areas of South America are being chosen by loads of customers
to take a holiday as these destinations are vast in wildlife, heritage as well as tropical
destinations. With rise in social media and awareness, more individuals as well as travel groups
are opting these destinations as their prime location for holidays.
TASK 2
2.1. Stages and timescales involved in developing holidays
To ensure comfort and enjoyment in the tour packages, it is imperative for tour operators
to prepare itineraries that define the stages involved in development of holidays, along with the
the timescale. As per the scenario, the chosen destination for holiday is South Africa. Below are
the stages for the development of the holiday: Market Research: The first stage of developing a tour package requires extensive
research of the market. This requires the trends, determination of locations with
maximum tourist attraction, most suitable accommodation for customers, etc. This stage
requires 2 months to be effectively executed. Planning and Scheduling: This stage undertakes determination of activities,
accommodation, transportation and timescale for each location. Duration of development
of this stage must be at-least a month.

 Contracting: After scheduling, the next step is establishing contracts with the suppliers
which requires negotiation and signing contracts which gives a legal support in
conducting the activities. This requires another 2 months to find best suppliers and
coming into an arrangement with them. Costing of Holiday: Depending on the overall cost for suppliers and arrangements for the
travellers, the next step needs the establishment of costs for the package. In this scenario,
it includes the accommodation, heritage sites, beach stay and so forth. It requires a time
of 45 days for the company to denote proper costing of activities (Evans, Stonehouse and
Campbell, 2012). Financial Planning and Evaluation: Financial planning needs establishment of costs of
services per person and evaluation of where the methods used are appropriate for the
agenda of Audley. Proper financial planning and evaluation would take almost two and a
half months for proper development. Creation of Brochure: After the above stages, the next step is creation of brochures to
attract customers from all over the world. Advertising: Audley is required to use various methods of advertisements and
promotions like internet, TV and print media to share their holiday idea with the rest of
the world. Operations and Execution: This stage would need Audley to execute the plan effectively
and manage the holiday of customers.
 Post Tour Management: This is the last stage in which feedbacks are collected by the
company regarding the holiday with an attempt to establish long-term customer
relationships (De Sausmarez, 2013).
Following is the itinerary of holiday of 6 days in South Africa. This is mentioned below:
DESTINATION ACCOMODATION
DAYS ACTIVITIES HOTEL NAME LOCATION ROOM TYPE
DAY 1 Arrival at Tambo
International Airport and
bus journey to Pretoria
Hilton Hotel Menlyn, Pretoria Double Bed &
Breakfast
DAY 2 Visit to Cotton Gin, cotton Hilton Hotel Marble Hall & Double Bed &

ginnery and cotton farm Groblersdal Breakfast
DAY 3 Visit to Kruger National
Park. Hilton Hotel Near Kruger
National Park
Double Bed &
All Meals
DAY 4 Arrival at Durban Airport
to Pietermaritzburg and
visit to Powerhouse
Clothing
Hilton Hotel Durban Double Bed &
Breakfast
DAY 5 Durban Beach Hilton Hotel Durban Double Bed &
Breakfast
DAY 6 Visit to North Beach Hilton Hotel Durban Double Bed &
Breakfast
DAY 7 Departure from Durban
Airport - - -
2.2. Evaluation of the suitability of various methods of contracting for different components of
the holiday and different types of tour operators
It is quite important for tour operators to fix their contract with hotels and airlines to
provide comfortable transport as well as accommodation to the tourists. There are three type of
contracts that are suitable for different type of operators. These are described below: Fixed Contract: This is the type of contract which is established on basis of high
consumption. Under this contract, the operators provide a fixed package and specific
offerings are provided to every customers under same pricing (Chon and Yu, 2012). The
suitability of fixed contracts is most when the emphasis of operator is on maximising the
sales. Its usefulness rises in the off-season where there are high risks of cancellations.
Thus, it ensures that high risks generate higher returns. Allocation Contract: This contract refers to a pre-negotiated deals that tour operators
make with hotels or airlines. The allotments under this contract could be bought for a
certain span of time, for instance, the whole season. This is suitable for tour operators
who tend to avoid risks of cancellation. This means, that in case the rooms in hotels or

seats in the airline remain unoccupied, they could be returned back to their respective
entities before an agreed time period.
 Ad Hoc Contract: The most flexible and appropriate manner in which resources could be
arranged by the tour operators is provided by Ad Hoc Contract. The rates under this
contract are set according to the activities on an hourly or daily basis. This further ease
the pressure on the tour operators (Brown, Bessant and Lamming, 2013).
2.3. Calculation the selling price of a holiday from given information
It is imperative for Audley Travel to clearly calculate the selling price of their tour
package to South Africa. This calculation includes all the aspects of the tours such as
accommodation, transport, food and beverages (Al-Odeh and Smallwood, 2012). The customers
of the tour package of South Africa requires to be transported by British Airways. Currently,
British Airways are offering premium economy class seats for Heathrow Airport to Tambo
International Airport at £125.00 for a single one-way trip. The return trip would be from Durban
Airport which would be organised FlySafair Airlines which would charge £126.21, per ticket.
The another type of transport would be buses to help the customers travel to various locations at
ease. They would be staying in 5 star hotels like Hilton and Suncoast Casino. The firm expects a
profit margin of 15%. There are 10 guests for which the price has to calculated. All these aspects
are mentioned while calculating the selling price below:
PARTICULARS TOTAL COST (£)
FLIGHT 2512.1
ACCOMODATION (Including entertainment,
room services, other facilities)
12500
LUXURY COACH 8500
TOUR GUIDE 4000
TRANSPORTATION 2500
SUB TOTAL 30012.1
ADD: PROFIT MARGIN (15%) 4501.81
TOTAL 34513.91

TASK 3
3.1. Evaluation of the planning decisions taken for the design of the brochure
A brochure is a document that gives an information about the trips and tour packages by
the tour operators with keeping emphasis on precision and creativity. For this, it is imperative
that companies take wide scopes into consideration (Sigala, 2014). These scopes would help the
firm in effectively attracting the customers as well as would help to determine the most
appropriate distribution method for the company. Following is the evaluation of the planning
decisions that must be taken by Audley Travels while preparing for brochures. These are
mentioned below: Cost: The main emphasis of the firm while creating the brochure must be the cost. The
cost of preparation of the brochure must be suitable for the firm as it is not necessary that
each brochure brings in customers to the clients (Robinson and et. al., 2016). However,
while determining the cost of development of the brochure, emphasis must be on the
quality of the paper used. Also, the quantity produced must be specific in order to avoid
wastage. Format: It clearly depends on the tour package of the company to whether develop the
brochure in two-folds, three-folds or a booklet. For instance, in case of a week's trip, the
firm could use a two-fold format while designing the brochure. Whereas, for a month's
trip, three-folds format or booklets could be a viable option. Target Market and Budget: It is of vital importance that the target market of the firm to
which they would send their brochures. Target markets would play a vital role for Audley
Travels as the quality, design and creativity would be dependant on them completely.
 Determination of print specification: This means the design, quality of paper, font styles
and so forth that serve the purpose of brochure. The font size used must be clearly visible
to the readers as well as the fonts must not be too ambiguous for various customers to
understand (Medlik, 2016). All these aspects must be taken into consideration while
creating brochure.

3.2. Assessment of the suitability of alternatives to a traditional brochure for different types of
tour operators
There are various alternatives to traditional brochures due to enhancements in technology
and environmental concerns that serve different purposes for different tour operators. The
suitability of these alternatives are mentioned below: E-Brochure: This newest trend allows firms to generate electronic brochures that could
effectively be viewed by the customers on company websites. This is most suitable for
companies who want to effectively save the cost of printing the brochures (Luis and et.
al., 2012). Ipad/Android Application: This is another way of distributing brochures where
companies use mobile application to distribute their brochures in public. The customers
require to download the company apps on their phones and review the brochures
provided by the company on their mobile screens. This is suitable for companies that
want to stay ahead on technological upfront and spend a heavy amount on development
and management of applications. Internet: Tour Operator companies use e-mails of their customers as a medium to
provide brochures. They design and provide them in such a way that could easily be
downloaded and viewed by the customers. The suitability for this method is most when
companies have specific targeted customers who are loyal to the firm and the operations
and effectively follow the packages provided by the company. It saves efforts as well as
amount incurred in development and distribution of brochures (Kauppi and et. al., 2013).
 Social Media: This is the newest trend and is followed by almost all the big tour
operators companies. Under this, the companies provide their brochures on social media
platforms like Facebook, Instagram and so forth. This is suitable for almost all the tour
operator organisation who wish to attract customers from all over the world.
3.3. Evaluation of the suitability of different methods of distribution used to sell a holiday for
different types of tour operators
There are various methods through which the brochures are distributed which help tour
operators to maximise their sales volume by effective distribution of their holiday packages.
Some of these methods and evaluation of their suitability are described below:

 Direct Distribution: These are the methods used to sell the packages directly to the
customers. The agenda of this method is to effectively sell the holiday to those customers
who would surely accept the package and be a customer. This method works upon the
assumption that the package would surely attract the customers in adopting the package,
Thus, the deals are also presented in ways which successfully sell their holidays to the
desired customers. Social network Website: This is one of the most adopted methods of selling holidays. It
has no limitation and aims to attract a large group of customers by providing effective
and amazing experiences. Moreover, the most suitable aspect of this method is that
companies could effectively provide discounts to the customers and they could review
their packages with others (Gass and Harris, 2012).
 Government Website: the most appropriate and standard method for companies to ensure
that they definitely receive certain customers for their holidays. This is because the
concept of safety is properly addressed as it is posted on government website. This
increases its authenticity and helps operators sell their holidays successfully (Disch,
2016).
TASK 4
4.1. Strategic Decisions taken by various tour operators
The strategic decisions taken by various tour operators would depend upon various
current and emerging trends in the UK industry. These trends are described below: Technological Advancements: This is one of the major emerging trend that induces the
strategic decisions taken by the tour operator companies. Audley Travel is currently
working on making its operations spread online that attract more customers in the UK.
They must focus on using various AI and VR technologies that serve the purpose and
enhance experiences of the customers. Thomas Cook on the other hand is using
automated software and devices to ease the operations of payments, check-ins, etc. to
attract more customers. Responsible Tourism: Audley, to follow this trend successfully and enhance the
protection of environment, is working upon creating awareness through their websites on
the importance of preservation of environment. Thomas Cook on the other hand are using

electronic methods like mails, applications and so forth to provide the brochures which
preserve trees by non-usage of paper and increase the protection given to the
environment.
 Brexit Effect: Brexit has been one of the major events in the nation that has caused a
severe effect on every tourism activities inside the country. The more adverse effects
have been on the tourists within the countries who would be spending the vacations
within the country (Dietz, 2011). Thomas Cook in this situation is enhancing the level of
its services within the UK to attract more customers. Audley Travels must introduce
services for customers inside the country to enhance their holiday experience.
4.2 Tactical decisions that could be taken by Audley in different situations
Tactical decisions are defined as the decisions are necessary to attain short term goals. It
is imperative for these decisions to be appropriate as well as effective so that the goals be
achieved in timely and accurate ways.
There are various situations where Audley Travels are required to take tactical decisions
effectively (Chon and Yu, 2012). These situations are briefly described below:
SCENARIO 1
Audley Travels is aiming at strengthening their relationships with their customers present
in the UK. To fulfil the need, the decisions taken by the firm are mentioned below: Tactical Responses: The response in this situation which is most appropriate for Audley
is to acquire feedbacks from the customers in the nation which would help them to
identify the areas where they are lagging behind in enhancing their experience. Tactical Pricing: For strengthening the relationships, Audley must adopt flexible and
affordable prices for their customers in the UK to enhance their standard of living.
 Tactical Marketing: The marketing methods chosen must be those which are used and
favoured by the customers within the country.
SCENARIO 2
Audley Travels, after Brexit, wants to provide cheaper services to customers within the
country to travel outside the nation. Tactical Responses: The response of Audley must be to communicate to the suppliers
that could help the firm achieve the purpose.

 Tactical Pricing: The pricing in this scenario must be on cost for customers to effectively
afford it.
 Tactical Marketing: The methods used by Audley must communicate the agenda of the
firm regarding the cheap pricing of the package.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded that tour operations management is necessary for the tour operators
to enhance the experience of the customers. It is necessary to analyse the effects of the trends in
the industry which impacts the operations by tour operator companies. The stages and the
timescale must be clearly defined in order to smoothly organise the holiday packages. The
contracting methods must be defined clearly to mitigate the risks associated with the operations.
Planning decisions are imperative to be taken before developing the brochures. Lastly, it is
required that effective tactical decisions be taken to serve the short-term operations effectively.