Tour Operations Management: A Report on Trailfinders Ltd.

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes tour operations management, focusing on Trailfinders Ltd.

TOUR OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
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Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
LO 1................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 THE EFFECTS OF CURRENT AND RECENT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS ON THE TOUR
OPERATORS INDUSTRY.............................................................................................................. 4
LO 2.............................................................................................................................................. 10
2.1 STAGES AND TIMESCALES INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING HOLIDAYS.....................................10
2.2 SUITABILITY OF DIFFERENT METHODS OF CONTRACTING FOR DIFFERENT COMPONENTS
OF THE HOLIDAY AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOUR OPERATOR...............................................13
2.3 SELLING PRICE OF THE HOLIDAY FROM GIVEN INFORMATION..........................................17
LO3............................................................................................................................................... 18
3.1 EVALUATE THE PLANNING DECISIONS TAKEN FOR THE DESIGN OF A SELECTED BROCHURE
................................................................................................................................................. 18
3.2 ASSESS THE SUITABILITY OF ALTERNATIVES TO A TRADITIONAL BROCHURE FOR
DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOUR OPERATORS AND RECOMMEND THE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR
YOUR TOUR PACKAGE..............................................................................................................21
3.3 EVALUATE THE SUITABILITY OF DIFFERENT METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION USED TO SELL A
HOLIDAY FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOUR OPERATOR AND RECOMMEND THE MOST
APPROPRIATE FOR A LUXURY TOUR PACKAGE........................................................................23
LO4............................................................................................................................................... 25
4.1 EVALUATE THE STRATEGIC DECISIONS MADE BY DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOUR OPERATOR 25
4.2 COMPARE THE TACTICAL DECISIONS THAT COULD BE TAKEN BY A SELECTED TOUR
OPERATOR IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS....................................................................................27
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 28
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................29
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INTRODUCTION
The aim of this research is to understand the tour operators as defined by the EU Package
Travel Directive. The different types of tour operators are discussed along with their operations
like domestic operations, outbound operations and many others. The major tour operations
and their origins are analysed to understand their market segments, competition, number of
passengers carried and their market share. Also, the role of trade bodies like ABTA, AITO, FTO
and others are understood in the study. The stages involved in creating holidays are studied
with respect to market research to be carried out, planning, scheduling, forecasting and
controlling (Eide and Mossberg, 2013).
The planning issues are recognized by discussing the product, target market and the required
budget to carry out the task. The tactical decisions of selling holidays as done by tour operators
are done in the study which covers customer portfolio, decisions regarding distribution, the
investment as funded by the capitalization and other means of transport. The research
concludes with a highlight on price wars between tour operators, fluid pricing and yield
management.
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LO 1
1.1 THE EFFECTS OF CURRENT AND RECENT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS ON
THE TOUR OPERATORS INDUSTRY
While working at the product development department at Trailfinders Ltd. Which is a tour
operating company, it is been asked to prepare a study regarding the trends and developments
of the travel industry.
A tour operator combines tour and travel
components together to create package
holidays for selling it for commercial
purposes. The tour operators promote their
tour packages by advertising and producing
brochures which design the travel to be
made for the customers. A tour operator
controls plans and devises the whole trip
meant for the customers. He is the one who
operates the trip and decides on which
accommodation the persons will stay in and
other activities to be carried out on the trip.
The advertisement for the holidays is done
with the help of brochures, leaflets and
other promotional activities (Eide and
Mossberg, 2013).
The different types of tour operators are
described below-
Outbound Tour Operators- These
are those types of tour operators
which provide multinational tourism
opportunities. They specialize in
giving tourism services to many
countries and plan the holidays on
an international scale. They sell the
tour packages in their home country
for travelling and sightseeing in
other countries.
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Inbound Tour Operators- These tour
operators give services to foreign
tourists visiting their country (Eide
and Mossberg, 2013). They are
localities who are familiar with the
places of attraction and act as guides
to the foreign tourists visiting the
home country. These are therefore
called the inbound tour operators as
they assist the holidaymakers who
visit their home country like making
arrangements for their
accommodation, sightseeing, pick
and drop from airport and other
services.
Domestic Tour Operators- These are
those kinds of tour providers that
provide tourism services within the
country (Wong and McKercher,
2012). They explore the various
places within the country and this is
why they are called domestic tour
operators. They do not fly
internationally and promote local
tourism and sightseeing. They can
also be engaged in providing
pilgrimages, honeymoon packages
and group trips, etc.
Retail Tour Operators- These travel
agents are the point of contact for
the consumers and directly sell the
package holidays to the consumers.
They also earn commission for
providing their services. They usually
sell travel packages through retail
outlets, shops or online which is
easily accessible to the consumers
(Wong and McKercher, 2012).
Specialist Tour Operators- These are
those kinds of tour operators that
sell tour trips to a particular set of
the audience or to a targeted group.
They may also offer tour services to
a particular geographic location or
may specialize in certain kinds of
travel providing services (Gladstone,
2013). An example can be adventure
treks providers that specialize in
creating and managing treks for
various groups
Direct Sell Tour Operators- these
are those kinds of tour operators
who sell the travel packages directly
to the consumers without engaging
the travel agents. These kinds of
packages are available to the
consumer at a lower price as the
consumers do not have to pay for
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the commission to the travel agent
(IIBM, 2018)
These are the types of tour operators that
give their services to consumers in various
ways. They promote tourism activities and
plan holiday packages for various groups of
people.
MAJOR TOUR OPERATORS TABLE
Major Tour
operators
Origins Ownership No of
employees
No. of
passengers
carried
annually
Annual
Turnover
Thomas cook British Thomas Cook
AG
21, 788 19.1 million £12
million
Cox and Kings UK and India Ajay Ajit Peter
Kerkar, Urrshila
Kerkar, Liz
Investments
Private Limited
and Mr A.B.M.
Good
3703 5340 $417.3
million
Expedia Group American Mark D.
Okerstrom
22,615 20,000 $60.8
billion
American
Express Travel
American Stephen J.
Sqeri,
Jeffrey C.
Campbell
55,000 1.00,000 $30
billion
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RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
Tourism should be conducted responsibly
as it impacts the place where tourism
activities are held and also portrays the
culture of the place where tourism takes
place. The tour operators must have
awareness for the environment where the
holiday is taking place so as to have no
negative impact on the environment. While
conducting the tour activities, the aspect of
cleanliness and hygiene must be maintained
so as to keep the environment clean and
cause no negative impact on the
environment (Wong and McKercher, 2012).
Whether it is inbound or outbound tourism,
the tour operations must be carried out
responsibly so as to protect the travellers
from any harm or damage. Carrying trips
responsibly act in favour of the tour
operator as the tour operator can be
trusted and is reliable for giving the best
services.
EXPANSION OF THE CRUISE MARKET
The cruise industry is expected to grow
steadily in 2018. A number of new ships are
being launched which promotes cruise
tourism and trips. In 2017, there were
roughly 26 million cruise passengers and in
the coming years, this figure is bound to
rise. This is a great market for tourism
which can fetch revenues. Cruise tourism
can contribute significantly to the
destination's economy and progress rate.
The developing countries can take
advantage of cruise tourism as it is
considered a luxurious journey and
consumers always appreciate good cruise
tourism.
ROLE OF VARIOUS TRADE BODIES
Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)
This is the association of major travel agents
operating in Britain. Its motto is ‘Travel with
Confidence’. It gives consumers suggestions
about the holiday packages they can take
and the reliable sources where they can get
the best holiday packages (Gladstone,
2013). The association covers British Travel
agents that provide quality holiday
packages to consumers and comply with all
health and safety standards.
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Association of Independent Tour operators
(AITO)
This is the association of the independent
tour operators in the UK. They carry out
individual trips for the consumers and
design the trips based on the consumer’s
preferences. It was founded in 1976 that
represents around 120 specialist tour
operators and they belong to more than
170 countries. It upholds standard quality
measures and influencing policy that serves
in the best interest of the consumers.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
The organization overlooks the aviation
department of the UK and serves in various
responsibilities in this area (Wong and
McKercher, 2012). It issues the licenses of
pilots and renews them. CAA also overlooks
at the testing and calibrating of equipment
to be used in the aviation and aircraft. It
also gives training to the aircraft engineers
for flying to various airlines and tour
operations. Along with these, it has many
other duties to serve in the aviation
industry.
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LO 2
2.1 STAGES AND TIMESCALES INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING HOLIDAYS
It is been tasked to prepare a holiday package for a group of 50 adult students From London to
Brussels and Bruges, Belgium. The tour is of five days and will commence in July 2020. The
accommodation is provided by the Grand Casselbergh in Bruges and the transport is through a
54-seater luxury bus (Gladstone, 2013).
MARKET RESEARCH
This is the first step in creating the holiday. The market has to be thoroughly researched to see
the scope of this trip. How the trip will benefit the students academically is studied. An in-depth
market research will reveal why Bruges and Brussels are the best destinations for
understanding the cultural and historic aspect of the academic study for the students.
PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
The planning includes highlighting the places of interest in Brussels and Bruges to identify the
key areas where the students have to be taken which can benefit them in their project and
studies. The schedule has to be followed according to the timescale prepared. This will ensure
timely completion of the planning and scheduling task which will cause the trip to begin at its
intended time (KhairatP0F and Maher, 2012).
CONTRACTING AND COSTING OF HOLIDAY
The contract of the holiday has to be placed with the suppliers so that negotiation can happen
to reach at a fair price suitable to both. To undertake the tour, the suppliers have to be
contacted for facilitating the services on the tour like hotels, accommodation, sightseeing and
other educational activities.
FINANCIAL EVALUATION AND PRICING
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This aspect covers the financial aspects of the holiday which cover the student’s fare for
travelling in the coach, ferry charges, meals in between and sightseeing in Bruges and Brussels.
All these financial aspects along with the tour operator’s charges and the cost of the guide who
will accompany for the trip is also added in the financial aspect of the trip.
CREATING THE BROCHURE
The brochure will also be created which will be distributed among the students. Those who are
interested can contact the numbers mentioned in the brochure. The brochure will give the
basic information about the trip, the places to visit and the charges per person.
ADVERTISING
The advertising of the brochure is also important as the students who are interested in going to
the trip can get all the information about the trip from the brochure. The brochure can begiven
to all prominent colleges where history students are studying about medieval history and can
gain knowledge from this study tour.
POST TOUR MANAGEMENT
This is also an important aspect of the tour management as the things which did not go well in
the tour can be rectified and also archived for the next trip that may happen. The feedback of
the students can be taken to ask if they enjoyed the trip or had any suggestions or complaints
about any aspect of the trip.
TIMESCALE
Events Jan-
Feb
2019
Mar-
Apr
May-
June
Jul-
Aug
Sept-
Oct
Nov-
Dec
Jan-
Feb
2020
Mar-
Apr
May-
June
Book the bus
Book the hotel in
Bruges
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Hire a Guide
Planning travel
itinerary
Registration of
Students
Ensuring First Aid
in Trip
Commencing the
trip
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2.2 SUITABILITY OF DIFFERENT METHODS OF CONTRACTING FOR DIFFERENT
COMPONENTS OF THE HOLIDAY AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOUR OPERATOR
An agreement is created which outlines the terms and conditions of the trip. The agreement
has to be signed by the students taking the trip that confirms that they are taking the trip on
their own responsibility and that they are themselves responsible for any misbehaviour that is
seen from them. The students taking the trip are suggested to have a travel insurance so that
they can get any claim in the occurrence of any injury or sickness that happens on the trip.
AD HOC CONTRACT
This is an initial stage before the final contract is created to familiarize the students about the
agreement. It can be said as a temporary or a generalized contract that is flexible and does not
include strict penalties.
FIXED CONTRACT
This contract is a fixed contract that encompasses strict rules and legal penalties in case the
contract is found breached
SALES ONLY CONTRACT
This contract is based on the customer requirements and is tailor-made for each customer. Due
to these unique reasons, this kind of a contract is more expensive than the others.
ACTIVITIES TO DO IN BRUGES
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