Tour Operations Management: Effects and Strategies Report

This report delves into the intricacies of tour operations management, examining the effects of emerging trends on the tourism industry, with a specific focus on LCB Tours, a UK-based tour operator. The report explores the different types of tour operators and their responses to trends like technological advancements, low-cost carriers, and economic fluctuations. It analyzes the stages of holiday planning, including market research, scheduling, contracting, financial evaluation, brochure creation, advertising, operations, and post-tour management. Furthermore, the report evaluates suitable contracting methods and calculates the selling price of a holiday plan. It then assesses planning decisions regarding brochure design and explores alternative distribution methods. Finally, the report evaluates strategic and tactical decisions made by various tour operators, comparing LCB Tours with Hotel Hilton, providing a comprehensive overview of the tour operations management process from planning to execution and evaluation.

TOUR OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................4
1.1Analysing the effects of emerging trends and growth of the developing trendson tourism
industry...................................................................................................................................4
M1: Carrying out research of one tour operator and giving details about its operations.......5
Task 2: Group Presentation........................................................................................................6
2.1 Assessing the stages as well as the timescales concerned in developing a holiday plan. 6
2.2 Evaluation of the suitable methods of contracting concerning various ingredients of
holiday tourism regulators......................................................................................................7
2.3 Calculation of the selling price of the concerned holiday plan.......................................8
Task 3 – Report Writing.............................................................................................................9
Introduction............................................................................................................................9
3.1 Evaluating the planning decisions concerning the design of a selected brochure..........12
3.2 Assessing the suitable alternatives to that of the orthodox brochure for a variety of the
tourism business...................................................................................................................13
3.3 Evaluation of the feasibility of variety of methods of distribution to be used in selling a
holiday plan..........................................................................................................................14
Conclusion............................................................................................................................15
Task 4.......................................................................................................................................16
4.1 Evaluation ofthe strategic decisions made by variety of tour operators.........................16
4.2 Comparing the tactical decisions has been taken lcb tours and Hotel Hilton in different
situations...............................................................................................................................16
Conclusion................................................................................................................................18
References................................................................................................................................19

Introduction
The study would revolve around the planning of holiday packages, effects of current and
recent trends on the tourism industry and all the different stages and effects that the tourism
industry goes through. The study would explore the lcb Tours which is a tour coordinator in
the United Kingdom. The tour and tourism industry would be explored from every
perspective and comparison would also be presented concerning the different holiday plans
and a variety of brochures and their effects on the customers. The study would include a
presentation and a report along with a marketing leaflet and a comparison of three different
brochures.

Task 1
1.1 Analysing the effects of emerging trends and growth of the developing trends on
tourism industry
Tour Operators has been observed to be greatly affected by the changing trends and
developments having a direct effect on the workings and business growth of the organisation.
The current trends such as integration, technology advancements, rise and fall of inflation,
effects of Brexit, low-cost carriers and increased environmental awareness greatly depends on
the type of operators the tourism firm belongs to such as inbound tour operators, domestic
tour operators, UK bound tour operators and specialist tour operators.
Further, the analysis would be done on the basis of the type of operators with respect to the
different trends and developments.
Inbound Tour Operators: The inbound tour operators are the ones who provide services to the
customers wishing to visit some foreign country and help the visitors in getting picked up
from the airport, arrange for activities, hire local guides, etc. The current trends such as
advancement in technology, low-cost carriers and fluctuation in inflation effects greatly to
this tour operator (Mwesiumo and Halpern, 2018).The advanced technology would make the
operations much easier and feasible while the low-cost carriers would lower its cost and the
fluctuation of inflation is something which would affect every business, and so it does to the
tour operator.
Domestic Tour Operator: This operator helps its citizens of the country to visit various
different tourist destinations. The trends which affect hugely to the operations of the company
include almost all the trends mentioned above. This is so because the changes in the current
trends in the country would have a direct effect on the workings and execution of the
companies.

UK Outbound Tour Operators: As the name indicates these tour operators takes the citizens
of the concerned country to some different or foreign country. The trends prevailing in the
UK would not affect much this business because the operations of this business get executed
mainly in different countries and which depends on the trends and developments of that
foreign country. But the fluctuation in the inflation rate and the effect of Brexit may be
applied for this type of tour operator.
Specialist Tour Operator: This operator of tourism deals in some particular or specialized
destinations and thus the trends and other advancements do not greatly affect this operator
though the advancement in technology affects all the four types of operators, as it is
applicable for all the citizens of the country. The current trends such as advancement in
technology, low-cost carriers and fluctuation in inflation greatly affect the business
performance of this tour operator.
M1: Carrying out research of one tour operator and giving details about its operations
Concerning the lcb tours, the company was founded by Mr Lim Cheng Boon. He started off
with a transportation business for delivering the office factory workers at their destinations
and ad a capability of analysing the market and identifying the increasing demand for public
transportation. This made him start with the inter-state express bus services. Gradually he
established his own business of travel in 1984 and the existence of Lim Cheng Boon Tourist
Sdn .Bhd came into existence. It could be commented that he carried a sheer market analysis
power due to which he recognized the growth of the tourism industry in the near future, and
this made him establish every single process, and stages of travelling which included
providing professional advice and guidance, planning and bookings and all other respective
actions were taken care of by the company. In the current time, the concerned company
provides services in about 50 destinations, including both domestic and overseas (Cetin and
Yarcan, 2017). All the current trends from the technological advancement to fluctuation in

inflation rate has been under consideration of the concerned organisation which has been the
reason behind its success. Many different such firms emerged up but could not grow in the
pace of the lcb tours, and thus it has been one of the oldest companies in providing such
services.
Task 2: Group Presentation
2.1 Assessing the stages as well as the timescales concerned in developing a holiday plan
Planning a holiday involves a number of stages and steps which if attended carefully and
accurately then the holiday plans provide the maximum benefit to the company and also the
services delivered carries a quality mark which builds up the goodwill of the concerned
company.
While planning for the holiday plan from the UK to France, some major stages have been
considered which included the following. The holiday plans should include time frames too,
as this would help in maintaining and calculating the costs and other relevant calculations for
the plan. The stages of holiday plan are as follows
a. Market Research: This step helps in finding out the current trends and workings of the
tourism industry. The demands of the customers get acknowledged, and the workings of the
competitors also get revealed. Through market research, it was revealed that France has been
gaining popularity as a holiday destination because of its culture and other attractions.
b. Planning and Scheduling: The plan would include the destinations such as Eiffel Tower,
Louvre Museum, Notre-Dame de, Palace of Versailles, 2 days in French Riviera, Marseille.
The hotels that would be in reach would include Le Roch Hotel and Spa, Maison Souquet,
Hotel des Grands Boulevards, and Hotels de Crillon. All these hotels are rated as 8.5 out of
10 in their services. The tour would begin on 24th December 2018 and end on 14th January
2019. The total number of people who could be a part of this holiday is 30.

c. Contracting: Planning would include the contracts with the transporters, accommodation,
dealers to hotels, etc. This has been done with no negotiation and on fixed rates.
d. Financial Evaluation and Pricing: The evaluation of the finances and the pricing has been
done with a thorough analysis of each of the factors that would contribute to the plan and the
pricing of the holiday for a couple has been estimated to be about 1000 pounds (Hollandand
Leslie, 2017).
e. Creating the brochure: This would include the most marketing thinking which would
attract a large number of people to the plan. The brochure has been framed with colourful and
attractive pictures and providing every single detail about the holiday.
f. Advertising: This has been done through various modes such as television, hoardings,
radio, emails to existing clients and distributing pamphlets.
g. Operation and Execution: The operations and the execution of the plan would be
conducted by the respective departmental heads, and they would report all the information to
the planner's head.
h. Post Tour Management: This requires that all the customers reach their homes back and
safe with no complaints in their heart or mind.
Timescale for the activities: The time taken for all the procedures to be completed would be
from the 24th December 2018 to 14th January 2019.
2.2 Evaluation of the suitable methods of contracting concerning various ingredients of
holiday tourism regulators
Planning the holiday would be done by following the steps as mentioned earlier and this has
been done quite smoothly but with proper analysis and accurate estimations. The holiday
planning also involves the analysis of the contracts that need to be considered with the
respective components so that the best suitable result is achieved. Contacting also needs to
consider some regulatory bodies which help in the smooth and clear functioning of the

contract namely, Association of British Travel Agents, Association of Independent Tour
Operators, Federation of Tour Operators, UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) etc. Generally,
there are three suitable ways of contracting which includes the fixed contract under which all
the conditions and the materials are fixed as per the contract. This is suitable for market
research, costing and creation of brochures contracts (Hsu et al. 2016).This is suitable for the
domestic tour operator along with the other three types of tour operators. The other way of
contracting is allocation which is suitable for the stages such as financial evaluation and
pricing, advertising and operation and execution. This is suitable for the out bound and
specialist tour operators. The last suitable and feasible contact is the ad hoc which is suitable
for post-tour management and planning and scheduling. This feasible contract is suitable for
the inbound tour operator.
2.3 Calculation of the selling price of the concerned holiday plan
The holiday plan from London to Paris can be seen to be comprised of various direct and
indirect costs including the fixed and variable costs, by the calculation of which the selling
price per visitor can be estimated as:
Variable costs
Visitors 45
Seasonal offers 1 %
Special offers 0.5 %
Fixed costs In Euro In GBP Subtotal
Room rent/visitor
€
90 £ 79.20 £ 3,564
Transport £ 12,000 £ 12,000
Guide £ 750
£
750
Exchange rate 0.88
Cost £ 16,314
Total Discount £ (Seasonal + Special Discount)

245
Selling price £ 20,392.50 (Cost + Mark up price)
Selling price after discount £ 20,147.79 (Selling price-Total Discount)
Selling price/ visitor £ 447.73
Source: Created by author
NB: Exchange rate from Euro to GBP= 0.88 (€1 = £0.88)
Mark up =25%

Task 3 – Report Writing
Introduction
Providing a holiday plan and get success in achieving the desired number of customers for
that plan, is something which hugely depends on the marketing of the plan and the
presentation of the plan. The brochures framed for the holiday plans play a vital role in
attracting the people towards a plan, and this includes a number of factors and considerations.
Considering the Hotel Hilton, it has been known for providing quality services for its
customers. The brochures of the concerned company have been quite effective and
responsive. Every organization tries to deliver the best pictures and destinations with a
complete and zestful of information in the brochures. The report would provide a discussion
on the selected three brochures of a holiday plan which would help in acknowledging the
pros and cons of the respective factors considered in the brochures.

Figure 1: Brochure 1
(Source: Virginholidays, 2018)

Figure 2: Brochure 2
(Source: Bob.org.uk, 2018)
Figure 3: Brochure 3
(Source: Anglowelsh.co.uk, 2018)