Tour Operations: Trends, Packages, and Strategies Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of tour operations management, encompassing various aspects of the industry. It begins with an introduction to the tour operations sector and its significance in economic development, highlighting the impact of evolving trends on the tourism sector. The report then delves into the stages of holiday package development, using Trailfinders as a case study, outlining market research, planning, contracting, costing, financial evaluation, brochure creation, advertising, operation, and post-tour management. Furthermore, it explores the suitability of different contract methods and distribution methods for tour operators, along with the calculation of selling prices for holiday packages. The report also covers planning and design for brochure creation and evaluates strategic and tactical decisions made by tour operators, offering valuable insights into the industry's operations and decision-making processes. Finally, the report includes a detailed itinerary for a student tour, showcasing accommodation and activities for each day of the trip.

Tour Operations
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Impact of evolving and upcoming trends and developments upon tourism sector...............1
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................3
2.1 Timescale for development of holiday package....................................................................3
2.2 Suitability of contract methods for several tour operators and services...............................4
2.3 Calculation of Selling Price for holiday................................................................................5
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Planning design for brochure designing................................................................................6
3.2 Suitability of alternatives to brochure for various tour operators.........................................7
3.3 Suitability of distribution methods for various tour operators..............................................8
LO 4.................................................................................................................................................8
4.1 Evaluation of the strategic decisions made by different types of tour operators..................8
4.2 Tactical decisions..................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
The tour operations sector is one of the most rapidly evolving industries within the
confines of corporate world. The tour and travel industry is largely contributing towards the
overall economic development of a country. With the passage of time, tourism has gained
massive popularity owing to the wide array of services that pertain to this sector. Tour operators
are the business entities that are engaged in the provision of facilities related to tourism. They
design tour and holiday packages with an aim to attract a large pool of persons. A number of
developments have taken place within this sector which shape the way in which such companies
carry out their business activities in marketplace. Various marketing and promotional techniques
are taken into use by tour operators to gain the attention of audience towards the offerings of the
entity.
The present report will take into account impact of trends on tourism sector, stages in
development of holiday packages, suitability of various methods of contracting. Also, it includes
planning done for brochure designing, suitability of distribution methods and strategic decisions
made by tour operation entities.
LO 1
1.1 Impact of evolving and upcoming trends and developments upon tourism sector
Tour operators are one of the most important reasons for growth in the tourism sector in
the last decade. To enhance quality of services in this industry, various tour operators are
providing services to a large number of travellers. As per EU travel package directive, tour
operators are defined as a person or company that thinks of the idea of holidays, make research
for the idea and design a holiday plan that consist of all those services that will help in marketing
holiday package.
There are a number of types of tour operators that operate within the confines of tourism
sector, namely, domestic, outbound, incoming, specialist, direct selling. All of these work in
coordination with each other in order to give a boost to the overall economy of United Kingdom.
Segregation in the services provided by various tour operators is hereby made on the basis of
area they serve, on the basis of period they are serving the industry or on the basis of some
speciality services that are exclusively provided by certain tour operators.
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In tour and travel industry, there are four major operators serving UK, namely, TUI, Jet2,
Thomas Cook and Trailfinders. Tourist is a word that appeared in print much later, in 1772.
William Theobald suggested that the word tour come from a Greek and Latin word that means
turn and circle. As travel is evolved as an experience reserved for very few people into
something enjoyed by many. Tourism becomes business when Cox and Kings started first travel
agency in the year 1758. Ownership in travel and tourism industry can be of three types that is
public, private and voluntary. Private sector is the biggest among the three and majority of the
large tour operators companies belongs to this sector. Trailfinders organisation belongs to private
sector as operated privately. Market segments in tourism are segregated on the basis of
geographical area, financial criteria or demographically. Trailfinders provides tour packages
that are based on geographical area. Together with these packages, different plans are provided
for different age groups or trips that can be enjoyed by an individual alone or with family.
Tourism sector in UK is built with large companies that are leading the sector in one or
the other way. As TUI Group in UK is leading with providing services to largest number of
consumer group so this also makes important for them to focus on their quality as well, this will
help them in delivering the best possible services to their customers. For example, Thomas Cook
PLC has become a leading the organisation in tourism industry by grabbing largest UK market
share. Taking an example of Expedia INC, which is leading the industry with earning highest
revenue in the travel sector.
In the current and future trends in Tourism Industry, there has been many things which
are included as such urban and rural destinations, family gatherings and leisure holiday, seaside
resorts' attractions. These are current trends and the future trends are related to robots, chatbots
and automation, artificial intelligence, recognition of technology and many other important
factors are included in the future trends of tourism sector. The impact of these current and future
trends in a source of attracting more and more people towards the products and services provided
by an organisation. As with the introduction of new developments and innovations, the mindset
of customers is diverted from one portion to the another and all these efforts are made in order to
increase the profit and brand image of an organisation so that they could capture the maximum
market share. This will also result in global increase in tourism in both the tourist arrivals and
expenditures made by them. There will be an increase in the overall competition in this industry
because the revenues in this industry are very high and this will attract new entrants in the
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market which will give rise to more intense competition. So not only in a single way, but in
many different aspects the current and future trends in this industry will impact upon the
working of this industry and their customers as well. The correlation in between prices and value
provided by the organisation in relation to any specific product or services is of great importance
in today's world. The increased focus of organisations on making advancements in their
technology will be the main source of attraction for customers as this technology will help in
providing customers with customised services and improved satisfaction from the services.
ABAT: The Travel Association ABAT in UK is responsible to grow business of their
members in a sustainable manner. ABAT has been around for 60 years and they plays important
role in looking to complaints of all the consumers who are taking services with tour operator
member with ABAT. Any issue when consumers are abroad is resolved by this organisation
only.
AITO: This stands for The Association of Independent Tour Operator which offers high
level of consumers satisfaction. All small companies are part of AITO and they are specialised in
providing tour packages with some specific destination with best services one can offer.
LO 2
2.1 Timescale for development of holiday package
Planning is regarded as an important part of travel and tourism sector as it sets pace for a
number of business activities associated with this industry. Development of tour and holiday
packages is an internal component of tour operations. In this regard, planning is required to be
done for a number of aspects related to holiday package development. In the present case,
Trailfinders is organising a luxury coach as well as an educational tour for students pertaining to
the age group of 18+ years in July 2021. The trip is being arranged for a group of 48 students for
a time span of 5 nights. It would take place from London, UK to Belgium while giving a visit to
Brugge, Antwerp, Brussels, Ostend and Ghent. For the development of holiday package for this
tour, Trailfinders will carry out a number of sequenced stages as described below:-
Market research: The tour manager within Trailfinders carries out market research at
regular intervals. This is done in order to ascertain the latest and emerging trends pertaining to
travel and tourism sector so that these can be accommodated within the educational tour being
organised for summer vacation in July 2021. This helps in acknowledgement of strategies
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adopted by rival so that the respective tour operator can come up with sound strategies to combat
with them at market place. This stage needs time period of 2 months.
Planning and scheduling: The next stage in the development of holiday package is the
execution of planning in order to determine effective locations whereby the tourists can be taken
to, facilities which can be rendered, modes of transportation, camping etc. Further, a proper
schedule of all the business activities is made to ensure timely completion of educational tour.
This activity will be completed in 20 days.
Contracting: This is one of the most crucial stages whereby contract is entered into, by
Trailfinders with a number of service providers to ensure attainment of high satisfaction from
clients. It will take time of 15 days to complete.
Costing: This stage witnesses the undertaking of decision regarding costs of holiday
packages. This is determined after taking into account expenses such as pick and drop facilities,
ticket, accommodation, sight seeing, transportation, food & beverage etc. This cost is reached
after segmenting all the costs into variable and fixed costs and then adding up both to arrive at
the final cost. Special offers, discounts, skimming, competitive pricing are all included as a part
of this stage. Only 10 days are needed to complete this activity.
Financial Evaluation and Pricing: The overall financial fixation of cost is done by
adding a margin of profit decided by tour operator to the cost attained by addition of variable and
fixed expenses. This is regarded as the the final cost of tour package to be charged from clients.
The following activity requires a time period of one month. The actual cost per individual
excluding profit will be £3900 and including profit, it will be £5000.
Creation of Brochure: Post the fixation of final cost, creative and attractive brochures
are designed in order to appeal to the audience in an effective manner. These consist of
information related to cost, locations, amenities included, mode of transportation etc. The data is
written in an eye catchy manner so that it can catch the attention of people easily. In 10 days,
brochures will be created.
Advertising: A number of strategies are taken into use by companies for promotion and
marketing of their holiday and tour packages. The methods undertaken by Trailfinders in this
regard is brochures, inserts in newspaper, online marketing etc. The required time in order to
complete this task is 2 months along with regular alterations in it.
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Operation and Execution: This is the phase which includes taking deposit from clients
for booking of package, booking of tickets for tour etc. It is an important stage as it helps in
setting the pace for execution of holiday package in the desired manner.
After Tour Management: It is the final phase of holiday package development which
starts post the execution of planned tour. It is inclusive of undertaking feedbacks from customers
regarding the services received by them. With the help of this, Trailfinders bring about changes
in its offerings for provision of better services to client in future course of time. Also, this
comprises of payment of dues by entity to a number of service providers.
DESTINATION ACCOMODATION
DAYS ACTIVITIES HOTEL NAME LOCATION ROOM TYPE
DAY 1 Arrival at Brussels Airport Monsieur
Maurice Brugge Double Bed &
Breakfast
DAY 2 Going to Antwerp by Train
in Exhibition August Hotel Antwerp Double Bed &
Breakfast
DAY 3 Visit to Museum of
Musical Instruments FunKey Hotel Brussels Double Bed & All
Meals
DAY 4 Arrived to Ostend Using
Bus
Hotel Mercure
Oostende Ostend Double Bed &
Breakfast
DAY 5 Arrived Ghent and visited
Museum of Fine Arts 1898 The Post Ghent Double Bed &
Breakfast
2.2 Suitability of contract methods for several tour operators and services
Contracts can be referred to as the agreements that are entered into by 2 or more parties
which agree on the terms and conditions mentioned therein. With reference to travel and tourism
sector, contracts are signed by the tour operators depending upon the type of service components.
There are a number of types of tour operators, namely, domestic, outbound, incoming, specialist,
direct selling. All of these enter into contracts with service providers and tourists as per their
scale of operations as well as the type of service. Thus, the different types of contracts that
pertain to the confines of tourism sector are briefly explained underneath:-
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Fixed contract: This is the type of contract which involves terms and conditions
associated with booking in advance for individual tourists or groups. This type of contract is
suitable for outbound and specialist tour operators as both of these deal with tourists across the
globe which have unending expectations from tour companies in relation to services pertaining
to holiday packages. In the following contract, fixed package and specific offerings are provided
to their customers under same pricing. These contracts are good when the focus of operator is on
maximising their profits. In off seasons, it is more preferable because there are more chances of
cancellation of tours.
Allocation contract: It is a type of contract which is entered into by tour coordinator with
the manager of hotel. Hereby, the contract contains information regarding the quantum of beds
required to be booked so that remaining ones can be sold off by the management of the
respective hotel. This type of contract is also entered by tour coordinator for booking of flight
tickets. This type of contract is suitable for domestic tour operators as their main aim is to satisfy
the local people in order to inflate their profits. Whereby there is no shortage of rooms for
domestic tourists, they get satisfied with the services provided by the tour operator.
Ad-hoc contract: This is regarded as the contract which is entered into by the tour
company for over booking of flight tickets or beds such that there isn't any kind of shortage faced
by the company in case of sudden increase in demand. This type of contract is suitable for
specialist tour operators such as Trailfinders to enter with hotel and airlines. The rates are set
according to activities on hourly or daily basis. Suitability is when to reduce the pressure on tour
operators.
2.3 Calculation of Selling Price for holiday
Selling Cost can be referred to as the price reached after taking into account the margin
for tour operators during the design of a travel package.
In the present scenario, Trailfinders is organising a luxury coach as well as an educational
tour for students pertaining to the age group of 18+ years in summer vacations in July 2021. The
trip is being arranged for a group of 48 students for a time span of 5 nights. It would take place
from London, UK to Belgium while giving a visit to Brugge, Antwerp, Brussels, Ostend and
Ghent. The selling price of the tour is determined as follows:-
Accommodation cost is 82.5 Euros per person.
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Thus, Total Accommodation Cost (in £) = 82.5/1.17*1*48 = £3384.6
Facility Price (in £)
Accommodation Cost 3384.6
Cost of Luxury Coach 6149
Charges of visitor attraction (39.99/1.17*1*48) 1640.6
Tour Guide Charges (820/1.17*1) 701
Total cost 11875.2
Add: Profit margin @25% 2968.8
Selling Price 14844
In accordance with the above calculation, the selling price of overall package is £14844.
In addition to this, the selling price per person is £309.25
LO 3
3.1 Planning design for brochure designing
A brochure can be referred to as the template design used by several tour operators with a
view to gain the attention of a large number of people towards the holiday as well as tour
packages offered by entity in market place. This is regarded to be a marketing strategy which is
adopted by the tour and travel companies for persuading people to buy their packages. Brochures
are designed owing to a number of purposes. This allows the setting of effective communication
between travel companies and clients. Trailfinders also design online and offline brochures so as
to provide information about their offerings and services to the population at large. In this regard,
the planning decisions that are undertaken by this entity while designing the brochures are
described below:-
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Design: This decision in relation to designing of the brochure consists of selection of a
structure or a layout which makes the brochure seem appealing and attractive to people.
Cost: This is one of the most essential parts of designing brochures for Trailfinders
which includes the fixation of cost for developing an attractive brochure. This consists of cost
related to papers, print, designs and distributions.
Format: This element of brochure designing is inclusive of deciding upon the writing
style, colour, font, size, cover, content etc. which form the main layout of brochure. Topic is the
main theme related to which information is to be transmitted among public. The contents of
brochure is associated with the topic. The colour of brochure is selected such that it complements
the fonts and content. Apart from this, graphics, pictures and charts serve as a visual treat for
people.
Target market and budget: It is imperative for the travel company to ascertain the
target audience or market for which the brochures are being designed. Apart from this, budget
assists an entity in determination of type of brochure which would be developed by the tour
operator.
Print specifications: This decision related to the brochure is regarding the colours which
would be used for the content and background scheme.
Timescale and stage of production: The type of brochure which has to be developed is
dependent on the stage of production. In this regard, it can be said that in case of beginning stage
of an entity, it should create an appealing brochure. On the other hand, a business which has been
already existing in market place for long time should launch a descriptive brochure. In reference
to this, Trailfinders come up with an informative brochure at regular intervals to provide
maximum details to clients.
3.2 Suitability of alternatives to brochure for various tour operators
The comparison of two tour operators brochures will be done. The first will be of
Trailfinder and the second will be of Thomas Cook which are been presented as under:
Brochure of Trailfinder:
The following Brochure is of Trailfinder which is giving the main points of attraction
during their tours. It is an A4 Size Paper which is having very attractive look. This brochure is
having very less written content but the pictures of main points of attractions are presented in the
Brochure so that it could attract the customers. The following is a two fold brochure having high
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resolution photos. The tour is of two places which are in China and Japan and the use of one
page Brochure is also done in very well manner and provide it a attractive look. The quality of
paper used in this Brochure is high. Attractive print is used in this Brochure which is another
source of attraction for customers.
Brochure of Thomas Cook:
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The following Brochure is of Thomas Cook Organisation. This brochure is in stretched
more horizontally. Thomas Cook is providing their customers with single place tour which is in
Australia. This brochure is single folded which is also making use of less words and the main
focus is on pictures as well. As providing pictures of location will help customers to decide
whether to visit or not to the place. Quality of paper is also good which has been used by this
company. Font size is also good as the use of heading and sub-headings is done in an appropriate
manner.
So from the above two brochures, the best will be two-folded brochure in which
customers are provided with more information and pictures about the destination as from single
picture is not enough to buy any package or not. It also provides a lot more information to
customers and makes them curious to make use of services.
3.3 Suitability of distribution methods for various tour operators
Various distribution methods that can be undertaken by tour operators for the sale of
holiday as well as tour packages at market place are traditional brochure, e-marketing, direct
sale, telephonic sale and agency channels. The suitability of these methods for the tour operators
is given as follows:-
E-marketing: Hereby, an entity carries out marketing activities and processes over the
internet. This method will be suitable for outbound tour operators as they have to attract tourists
belonging to different parts of the globe. To reach to audience at such a large scale, e-marketing
will allow these tour operators to provide information to public about their holiday packages.
Mass marketing: Hereby, a company avoids getting indulged in market segmentation
and appeals to the overall market. This method will be suitable for domestic tour operators as
their reach is already confined to domestic territory and thus segmenting the limited audience
would deflate the scope for these tour operators to enhance their profits.
Social Media Marketing: Hereby, a company carries out marketing activities by making
use of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat etc. This would be
suitable for specialist tour operators such as Trailfinders as they can make use of this method to
inflate their reach and thereby communicate the features provided by them to maximum number
of persons. With this, the scope for them to increase their revenues and profits will also increase.
This will be suitable for marketing the luxury tour packages of company.
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