Tour Operations Management: Analyzing Trends, Pricing & Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of tour operations management, focusing on current trends and developments within the industry. It examines the effects of these trends on tour operators like Trailfinders Ltd, Kuoni, and Alfa Travels, covering aspects such as digital technologies, responsible tourism, and trade bodies. The report assesses the stages and timescales involved in holiday development, including market research, planning, pricing, supplier cooperation, marketing, and execution. It evaluates different contracting methods for holiday components and various types of tour operators, along with calculating the selling price of a holiday package. Furthermore, the study evaluates planning decisions for brochure design, alternative marketing methods, and distribution strategies. Finally, the report evaluates strategic and tactical decisions made by different tour operators in varying situations, providing a holistic view of tour operations management.

Tour Operations Management
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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Task 1....................................................................................................................................................4
P1.1 Analyse the effects of current and recent trends and developments in the tour operators
industry..............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2....................................................................................................................................................8
2.1 Assess the stages and timescales involved in developing holidays..............................................9
2.2 Evaluate the suitability of different methods of contracting for different components of the
holiday and different types of the tour operator...............................................................................11
2.3 Calculate the selling price of a holiday from given information below......................................14
Task 3..................................................................................................................................................16
3.1 Evaluate the planning decisions taken for the design of a selected brochure.............................17
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............................................18
3.3 Evaluate the suitability of different methods of distribution used to sell a holiday for different
types of the tour operator and recommend the most appropriate for your tour package...................19
Task 4..................................................................................................................................................22
4.1 Evaluate the strategic decisions made by different types of the tour operator............................23
4.2 Compare the tactical decisions that could be taken by a selected tour operator in different
situations..........................................................................................................................................24
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................27
References...........................................................................................................................................28
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Introduction
In the reported study the positive and negative effect of present and current trends and growth
on the tour operators industry have been discussed in an effective manner. In simple words,
the tour operator is defined as a combination of travel and tour components to generate a
holiday package. This report includes the detailed information about the tour operations of
Trailfinders Ltd, Kuoni and Alfa Travels. The development of holidays is required to be done
in a systematic way. Trailfinders Ltd. is the UK and Ireland based Travel Company which
provides an unbeatable selection of holidays to their customers. Various techniques of
contracting for dissimilar constituents of the holiday are discussed in the report. The selling
price of the tour package along with price per person is calculated below. In addition to this,
the reported study also highlights the methods of supply used to trade a trip for various
categories of the tour operator. The tactical and strategic decisions are also prepared for this
reported study.
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Task 1
P1.1 Analyse the effects of current and recent trends and developments in the tour
operators industry.
Analyse the effects of current
and recent trends and
developments in the tour
operators industry.
Introduction
Huge changes in tour
operation industry are due to
the sudden changes in tour
market. Changes are required
to be done in any of the
manners. Trailfinders Ltd. is
UK based tour operator
which provides a range of
holiday packages. The
current and recent trends of
tour operator industry have
positive as well as negative
impact on travel and tourism
sector. Trailfinders Ltd. had
been impacted by the
different trends and
development. With the
sudden increase in digital
technology, customers have
become familiar with the
latest booking methods of
Trailfinders Ltd. Travel
European and global link-
European and global link
helps in providing a
number of strategies which
help to provide a global
presence to enhance the
tour operator industry. The
European Union is the sole
market where no charges
are forced on import and
export of resources and
raw materials. The tour
operators industry can
easily trade their services in
different regions (The
Week, 2017).
Promotion-New and
innovative promotional
ideas help in attracting a
large number of customers.
The tour operator
industries are also using
Conclusion
The above leaflet explains
various effects of present and
recent movements in the
context of Trailfinders Ltd.
The digital technologies are
providing various advantages
to the development of
tourism industry. European
and global link assists while
trading of raw materials. The
sudden changes in the
organisational structure of
trade bodies give a positive
effect on the tourism
industry. The Travel
Association and other
government bodies are
providing funds along with
trading permission.
Responsible tourism is
widely used by the tour
operator industry for
enhancing the well-being of
host communities in an
effective and efficient
manner.
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bodies like The Travel
Association, Association of
Independent Tour Operators
and others also play a vital
role in providing funds and
resources for the
development and growth of
tourism industry.
Effects of trends and
development
Various development and
trends of tour operator
industry are as follows:
Trade bodies- Trade bodies
is an organisation created
and sponsored by
industries that operate a
specific business. Trade
bodies such as Federation
of Tour Operators, The
Travel Association provides
suitable resources and
funds for the development
of Trailfinders Ltd.
various techniques like
social media,
advertisement, and face to
face communication for
transferring of their
services.
Environmental awareness-
Environmental awareness
evokes the necessity and
responsibility of the
individual to respect and
preserve the natural world.
Travel and tourism sector
are very conscious about
the environment. They are
also developing responsible
tourism for their customers
in which the negative
impact will get minimised.
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Structure of tour
operators- Changes in tour
operator’s structure assists
in increasing the
sustainability rate of
customers. The
organisational structure
can easily be developed in
an attractive way.
Technology- With the
immense increase in digital
technology, customers are
becoming much familiar
with the new destinations.
This helps in exploring
various features of
Trailfinders Ltd. The high-
speed internet allows for
fast communication in
which booking and other
activities can easily be done
in a minute. Trailfinders
Ltd. can do pricing
comparison with their
competitors in a matter of
seconds. One additional
challenge Trailfinders Ltd.
face is that some of the
travelers are doing online
research first. The negative
feedback from previous
customers can be
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responsible for
demotivating wide range of
customers (Travel
Technology & Solutions,
2018).
Progressive development of
marketing in the tourism
sector- Tourism is an
important economic
activity and continues to be
the fastest growing sector.
Marketing. Trailfinders
Ltd. is continuously
organising road shows all
around the world for the
promotion of their holiday
services (U and Joseph,
2011).
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Task 2
Introduction
This section of the reported study talks about the various stages and timelines used for
developing the packages. It is important to develop each and every step by analysing the
needs and demand of the customer. The stages include planning, preparing, pricing and other
phases. The selling price of each person is calculated below.
(Source: Reactor, 2018)
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2.1 Assess the stages and timescales involved in developing holidays.
Planning is defined as a process of organising the activities which are required for achieving
the organisational goal and objective in a systematic manner. The management of
Trailfinders Ltd. had recently developed an educational tour for adult students (over age
group of 18) from London, the United Kingdom to Brussels and Brugge, Belgium. It is
important that the development of holidays needs to be done before the deadline. The
proposed group size of students is 42 and the tour is for five nights. Following are the stages
and timescales involved in the development of an organised holiday:
Market research- Market research is an action for gathering information about the needs and
demand of the customer. This will be helpful in making an estimation of the current trends
and financial rate of holiday packages. Trailfinders Ltd. can easily be able to determine
weather condition along with the accommodation and food and beverage cost. They can also
hire professional volunteer who will be able to communicate with the customers. For an
effective market research, one month is required (Lumsdon, 2016).
Planning and scheduling- In the second stage, planning and scheduling process are done.
The gathered information regarding the holiday package is created by a personal expert. The
planning of holiday package includes financial, transportation, lodging, miscellaneous
expenses and food and beverage. The time required for planning and scheduling of holiday
package is 15 days.
Pricing of holiday package- The selection of appropriate pricing strategies helps in meeting
the needs of a market environment. Penetration and skimming pricing can be used while
developing the cost of packages. The low price of services during the initial phase will be
helpful in luring the customers away from the competitors. The pricing of holiday requires
approx. seven days.
Cooperation with the suppliers- In this stage, communication with the stakeholders and
suppliers are important. They are responsible for providing funds and resources for the
development of holiday packages. Cooperation with the suppliers will require three days.
Marketing- The marketing of services is important. It covers a wide range of public relation,
promotions, and advertising. In this step, the developed product and services are introduced
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and promoted to the target customers. Various advertising strategies can be used for the
promotion of the product. The organisation can also provide brochure and pamphlets to their
customers. The completion of this stage can be done within five days.
Execution of packages- In this stage, the tour operator can develop tour manual to their
customers. Practically, the tour manual includes the policies, guidelines for the tour
customers. The execution of packages can be done in approx. seven days (Lumsdon, 2016).
Timescale
Activities Duration
Market research 30 days(one month)
Planning and scheduling 15 days
Pricing of holiday package 7 days
Cooperation with the suppliers 3 days
Marketing 5 days
Execution of packages 7 days
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2.2 Evaluate the suitability of different methods of contracting for different components
of the holiday and different types of the tour operator.
Contracting is a voluntary arrangement between two or more parties. Different methods of
the contract are as follows:
Allocation method- In the allocation method, the tour operator company contract between
lodging house owners. This helps in booking the suitable rooms as per the needs and desire of
customers. The allocation method includes the booking of bus, trains, flights and another
vehicle for sight-seeing.
Ad hoc method- In the ad-hoc method, the planning and costing of services are based on the
daily activities made for the customers. In this type of contract method, tour operator contract
on discounted rates with hotels and transportation.
Split charter- In the split charter, the local and general customers are not able to book their
tickets. VIPs or other rich people are allowed to book their flights.
Fixed contract- Fixed contract generally last for a specific period. Travellers are not allowed
to cancel their tickets after booking.
Tour operators are responsible for providing traveling activities like flight booking, food and
beverage and others. The different types of tour operator are underneath:
Tour operators Description
Outbound operators The outbound tour operator provides
multinational tour packages to the customer.
They generally take residents of their own
place for visiting another country. The
outbound tour operator sells their tour
products and services to the customer who
wishes to travel in another region. They also
provide all the facilities like transportation,
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food, and beverage to their customers.
Domestic operators The domestic operators are also known as
resident operators. They provide trips within
the boundaries of the country. This type of
operator only fulfills the traveling needs of
their local customers. The customers who are
interested in national park tours and other
places can use domestic tour operators for the
further booking of their packages.
Incoming operators Incoming operators are also known as
inbound operators. They provide local trips
to the tourist who visits from another region.
This type of tourist generally makes a local
arrangement like drop service, sight-seeing
transportation, local guides and others. The
local guides are able to communicate in any
of the languages.
Specialist operators The specialist operators provide products and
services to the niche market that has interest
in the particular geographical area. They
offer new and developed holidays which are
untouched by the customers. VIPs and rich
people can only afford the holiday packages
of specialist operators (Cruise Job Finder,
2018).
Direct sell operators The direct sell operators sell the tourism
packages directly to their customer. The
additional commission of travel agents is
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