Tour Operations Management: Trends, Holiday Development & Pricing

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of tour operations management, focusing on the impact of current trends and developments on the tour operator industry. It examines the stages and timescales involved in developing holidays, including market research, planning, scheduling, contracting, cost identification, brochure creation, and duty allocation. The report evaluates the suitability of different contracting methods for various holiday components and tour operator types, such as transportation, accommodation, food, and guide services, considering fixed and variable contracts. Furthermore, it includes a detailed calculation of the selling price of a holiday package, incorporating accommodation, travel expenses, guide costs, and desired profit margins. This analysis aims to provide insights into the strategic and tactical decisions necessary for success in the travel and tourism business, highlighting the importance of adapting to changing customer needs and leveraging technology for promotion and operational efficiency. Desklib offers a wealth of similar resources for students.

Unit 14 Tour operations management
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Introduction
In the global economy, an increase has been noted in the travel and tourism sector. Due to this
high level of completion is there which will have to be dealt with in manner by which its
advantage can be attained. In the given report various aspects in respect of it such as trends that
are prevailing will be considered. Then the procedure which is required to be followed in the
creation of a holiday will be taken into account. Together with this the decisions which are to be
taken in respect of any brochure will also be explained. Report will also look into various
decisions regarding planning for developing a brochure along with analysing various alternatives
to the traditional method of brochure. The following report also looks into tactical and
strategically decisions regarding various elements that are concerned with travel and tourism.
This report will pay in detail attention towards the Travel and tourism business.
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Task 1
1.1 Analyze the effects of current and recent trends and developments on the tour
operators industry.
Title
Analyze the effects of
current and recent trends
and developments in the
tour operators industry.
Various types of tours
Earlier people used to travel
just for the leisure purpose but
with the changing environment
needs of people are also
changing. Now a day’s tours
are carried out various
purposes such as educational
trips, natural, devotional and
historical travels. So the
promotion shall be made in the
manner by which all of them
can be attracted.
Types of operator
Inbound operator: In this the
services are provided by
operator to all the visitors who
are visiting our country from
some other place.
Outbound operator: Under
this services are provided to all
the inhabitants and they are
taken to some other country
Conclusion
From this it can be concluded
that modification are required
to be made so that trends and
developments can be included
in business. For the attainment
of benefits by this Trailfinders
limited is also making the
needed alterations so that more
visitors can be gained.
Introduction
In tourism sector it is very
important that more visitors
shall be attracted and for
that, it is required that all the
trends shall be analyzed as it
will be affecting the process.
Due to this reason, required
steps shall be taken and all of
this will be explained in this
leaflet.
Impact of on-going
development and trends
In the changing environment,
there are various needs of the
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customers which are also
changing. There are various
services in which these
modifications are taking
place. So in order to meet the
requirements of them, it is
needed that tour operators
shall also incorporate the
relevant changes. Some of
the impacts which will have
to be considered are as
follows (Burkhard, 2016).
Technological
developments:
In the travel sector, there are
various operations in which
technology is required to be
used and so it is needed that
all the change which are
taking place shall be taken
into account. Online booking
system can be incorporated
and also promotion can be
made with the help of social
media and this will help in
the expansion of the
business.
for the purpose of tour.
Means of traveling
In past, there were very limited
means by which travelling can
be done but with the
improvement in technology,
new means have come into
use. Trains, buses, aircrafts
and cruises are some of the
main modes which are taken
into use in the current
environment. For the long
distance destination the most
important means is airplanes
as by that time is saved and the
other means are also changing.
In order to increase the
number of visitors proper
facilities are to be provided by
company to all the visitors.
Special facilities and events
For the attraction more people
tour operators are providing
them with some of the
additional facilities with the
package. In that special events
are organized for their
entertainment. Also facilities
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such as sports, guides and
others are provided in addition
to basic facilities (Quintanilia,
2017).
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Task 2
Introduction:
In this all the steps which are required to be followed in a holiday will be discussed together with
the various components of tour. Then the calculations will be carried out in which selling price
of the package will be determined.
2.1 Assess the stages and timescales involved in developing holidays.
A tour is required to be developed by the company in such manner that more people are attracted
to it. For this, there are various stages that are required to be followed. Below is presented a tour
which is developed for students and its stages are as follows:
Market research: In this stage, it is required that all the market conditions shall be identified
and evaluated in an appropriate manner. For this, the technique which will be used is PESTLE in
which political, economic, social, technological and legal conditions are taken into
consideration.so by that, all the educational sites will be identified which will be used by the
company.
Planning and scheduling of tour: This stage will include the proper planning in which schedule
in respect of tour will be prepared. Under the given case a trip for five nights is to be planned
which will be conducted in July 2019. Under this, it will be required that all the facilities which
will have to be provided to students such as food, accommodation, travel shall be planned in a
proper manner (Kristian, 2017).
Contracting: In this business, it will be needed that contracts shall be made with other
companies that will be providing services such as airlines, agencies, and hotels. So it is necessary
that best among them shall be chosen and then the contract will have to be made with them so
that no issues are faced in this respect.
Identification of cost: In this stage, the price which will have to be fixed for the tour will be
determined as all the cost which are to be incurred have been identified in the earlier step. So a
percentage of profit will be added to that by which company can ensure success.
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Creation of brochure: This is the stage in which a brochure will have to be made so that all the
operations and tour of the company can be promoted. By the help of this customers will be
provided with the required information and features of the tour so that they can take their
decision on basis of it.
Allocation of duties: As all the planning is done but then its execution is also required. So for
this, all the responsibilities will be allocated among the staff members who will be required to
perform them for better attainment of targets (Vasylyna, 2013).
2.2 Evaluate the suitability of different methods of contracting for different components of
the holiday and different types of tour operator.
In the process that is involved in planning for a tour, there is the need to make various contracts
which will be made with different agencies in relation to various services that are provided by
them. For this purpose, it is required that knowledge shall be gained about several forms of
contract which can be made by the organization. Some of the relevant contacts to be made are as
follows:
Transportation: In this business, there is the need to provide the visitors with the travel
facilities and for that contract will have to be made with the agencies providing transport
facilities. The selection of company will be based on various factors. In this, it will have to be
noted that the one which is giving services at the lowest cost will have to be selected. This will
be required as if the cost will be less than the profits which will be earned will be increased. In
this, there will be fixed number of students who will be traveling so there can be fixed contract
which can be made by the company. By this, all the facilities which are required to travel will be
provided by the air broker at a fixed cost. This way there will be a limited cost which will have
to be incurred as in this all the routes are already decided and payment in respect of them also
decides in advance (Mammadov, 2012).
Accommodation: This facility is required to be given in all the tours and so it shall be
considered that the contracts in respect of it are made inappropriate manner. In this, it will have
to be identified that how many rooms are required and then they will be booked on the basis of
their preferences and taste. There two methods fixed and variable contracts but in this case,
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variable will be more appropriate as a tour is for five days. By the help of this, it will be
identified that how much payment shall be made as calculation can be made for each day and
night in a separate manner and this will be a variable cost. By this, the amount which is to be
paid in the fixed method will be saved and this will lead to increase in overall profitability of the
company.
Food: In this, each person has different taste and also it is difficult to know that how much of the
food shall be booked. So the contract shall be made in the variable manner in which the food
which will be ordered will be noted and then payment for that will be made by the company to
the hotels and agencies with which contract has been entered.
Guide facility: In the educational trip there are various sites which are to be visited by students
and for that it is needed that guide shall be provided to them so that they get all the knowledge
about it. Under this such guides will be hired who are qualified and will be providing the
students with the information which is needed by them to explore the places in proper manner. In
this a person is fixed and payment will be made to him and in this it does not matter that how
many students are there so here fixed contracts will be taken into use. By the help of this
company will be able to ascertain the cost which will be incurred and that will help in calculation
of the profits that are made by the company. The overall earnings will be identified and then it
can be decided by the company that whether the tour will be beneficial for the business or not
(Rezy, 2013).
2.3 Calculate the selling price of a holiday from given information below
In the process of determination of the selling price which will have to be charged from the
visitors for the package, it shall be ensured that firstly cost shall be determined in which all the
direct as well as indirect cost shall be included. This is very much important to calculate the
total expenditures which are made. After this a mark-up will be made which will determine the
final price. The students will be staying in the hotels and there are in whole 42 students so the
cost will be carried out for each stay. The travel will be made in three cities and therefore all of
them will be taken into consideration. There are various methods of calculating price which
includes competitive pricing in which price will be calculated by considering the competition
that is prevailing in the market.
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The calculations which are made in respect of this are provided below:
Conversion rate of Euro in pounds = 1/1.12 = £ 0.8929
Calculation of selling price per student
Particulars Amount £
Accommodation facility with breakfast (96*5=480) (480*0.8929) 428.6
Travelling expense (11200/42) 266.67
Cost of guide (945/42) 22.5
Cost per Student 717.76
Desired profit (33% of cost) 236.86
Selling price per student £954.62
Calculation of selling price of overall tour package
Particulars Amount £
Accommodation facility with breakfast (96*42*5 = 20160) (20160*0.8929) 18000.86
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Travelling 11200
Cost of guide 945
Total cost of package 30145.86
Desired profit for company (32305*33%) 9948.14
Selling price of complete package £ 40094
The tour is being provided to students in respect of education and for that selling price has been
determined by the company in which all the costs are taken into account which have been
incurred by the tour operator.
Conclusion
For this report all the knowledge in respect of the manner in which holiday package shall be
created has been identified. The procedure which shall be followed and factors that shall be taken
into consideration are explained.
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Task 3
Executive summary
It is important for the operators to develop an attractive Brochure in order to get hold of
prospective customers. Before developing a brochure operator need to have looked at the
various alternatives that are available in contrast to the traditional way of making brochure.
Introduction
This task will concentrates on panning about Brochure and various alternatives that can be used
in place of the traditional Brochure. The report will look into different methods of distribution
used by the operators to sell their products. Task will consider various alternatives that the
operator can make use of in place of traditional Brochure.
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