Tour Operation Management: Trends, Package Costing & Brochure Plan

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of tour operation management, covering recent trends and developments in the industry, including popular holiday types and destinations. It evaluates various methods of contracting holiday components for different tour operators and details the costing and pricing strategies for tour packages. Furthermore, the report explores the design and planning of brochures, assessing traditional and non-traditional communication methods. It examines non-traditional distribution methods for selling holiday packages and analyzes how tour operators respond to emerging trends, distinguishing between tactical and strategic decisions. The document also provides a detailed itinerary for a combined heritage, wildlife, and beach holiday package.

Tour Operation Management
1 | P a g e

Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................3
LO 1: Task 1.................................................................................................................4
Examine the recent trends and developments in the tour operations industry with a
brief analysis of the type of holidays taken, the emerging popular destination and the
effects of current and recent trends and developments on the tour operators industry.
(P1.1, M1).....................................................................................................................4
LO2: Task 2..................................................................................................................8
Evaluate the suitability of different methods of contracting the various components of
the holiday for different types of tour operators when developing holidays. (P2.1;
P2.2)...........................................................................................................................11
Carryout the cost of the components of the package and calculate the selling price of
your holidays (P2.3)....................................................................................................12
Design and plan a brochure and evaluate the process and planning decisions for the
proposed brochure, as well as assess the suitability of alternative methods (non-
traditional) of communication and promotion for different types of tour operator.
(P3.1; P3.2).................................................................................................................13
Analyse and evaluate the non-traditional methods of distribution that can be used to
sell holiday packages for different types of tour operator (P3.3)................................16
Using the findings from task 1 in assignment 1, analyse the emerging trends in the
UK tour operations sector and evaluate how the various tour operators (competitors)
responded to these trends (P4.1)...............................................................................17
Briefly examine the differences between tactical and strategic decisions, identify and
compare some of the tactical decisions that could have taken by your chosen tour
operator in different situations....................................................................................18
Conclusion..................................................................................................................20
Reference list..............................................................................................................21
2 | P a g e

Introduction
Travel industry is growing at a rapid rate and with the advancement in technology the
competition in this sector has significantly increased. The tour operators help in
contributing towards the economy of the country. This assignment will explore about
the current trends of the tourism sector and the impact of the trends on the business
of the tour operators. The stages through which a successful tour package is
developed has been analysed in an efficient manner. There are a number of
contracting methods that are used by tour operator fin order to deal with their
consumers; the contracting methods have been discussed in a detailed manner. This
project will help in understanding the methods that are followed by tour operators in
order to create an attractive brochure that provide vital information about their
services. The strategies that are used by the tour operators in order to sustain in
increasing competitive business environment has been mentioned.
3 | P a g e

LO 1: Task 1
Examine the recent trends and developments in the tour operations industry
with a brief analysis of the type of holidays taken, the emerging popular
destination and the effects of current and recent trends and developments on
the tour operators industry. (P1.1, M1)
Tourism industry is considered as one of the fastest growing industries that helps in
the growth and development of the country’s economical conditions. Now days it can
be observed that most of the traveller prefer to visit destinations that can provide
them with rich cultural heritage sites, adventurous wildlife scenarios and beautiful
beaches so that they can have a relaxing time. As per the preferences of the visitors
Africa, London, Spain, France are some of the most famous destinations that are
gaining popularity among the tourists due to their excellent tour operating industry
that provides satisfactory services.
Figure 1: View of London
(Source: visitlondon.com, 2018)
The tour operators are required to conduct market research to understand the
current trends so that they are able to provide their customers with better services.
4 | P a g e

Some of the most common current trends and development within the tourism
industry are:
5 | P a g e

Technological Advancement
Technological advancements are necessary for the growth of tourism sector; it helps
in increasing the interaction between the visitors and the tour providers (Xiang et al.,
2015). The communication, reservation, visitor service systems are improved with
the help of latest technologies. Currently most of the leading tour operators are
providing all the necessary information such as tour package prices, accommodation
services, destinations provided and more on their website so that visitors are able to
get basic ideas about their services. Customers are able to book their services with
the help of internet through the e-commerce websites in an effortless manner.
Dynamic Packaging
Dynamic packaging is one of the most beneficial advancement for online travel and
tourism operators. Most of the tour operators are making use of this application so
that they are able to attract a huge visitor number towards their firm.
Figure 1: Dynamic Packaging
(Source: Papatheodorou, 2016)
With the help of Dynamic packaging, the travellers are able to avail various services
concerning their travel package at a single search. The visitors can use the internet
in order to arrange their trip. This application allows the visitors to book their
accommodations, airline and all necessary products that will be required for the tour
6 | P a g e

by themselves. Dynamic packaging is considered as a cheaper medium as
compared to packages that are booked through tour operators.
7 | P a g e

LO2: Task 2
Assess the stages and timescales in developing holiday packages and prepare
an itinerary for a combined heritage, wildlife and beach holiday and develop a
package in stages. (M2)
In order to develop a suitable holiday package planning is one of the most critical
process that comprises of a number of stages. The Different stages that are involved
in designing a tour to Africa including heritage, wildlife ns beach holiday have been
discussed below:
Market Research
It is the most significant step of the planning process. Market research helps in
analyzing factors such as political, economical, social, climate of a destination that
the tour operator is planning to include in the tour package (Mooi et al., 2018).
Market research allows the tour operator to gain knowledge about the famous tourist
spots that can be offered in the tour.
Planning and Scheduling
In this stage, the tour operator plans the schedule of the tour that, the tour operator
needs to schedule the period of the whole tour and the number of days that the
tourist will be spending while visiting various destination. The number of days for a
destination, hours that will be required for visiting a particular tourist spot and more is
scheduled in this stage.
8 | P a g e

Figure 1: Steps involved in developing holiday package
(Source: Szopiński, 2017)
Negotiating With the Suppliers
The tour operators are required to find suppliers that provide quality goods and
services, so that the tour of their visitors can be satisfactory. They need to negotiate
with the suppliers so that accommodation, food, transportation and other such
facilities for the visitors could be arranged at reasonable price range.
Pricing the Holiday Package
After arranging the tour services and products the operators are required to finalize a
price for the entire tour package so that they can start promoting and selling the
package in order to generate revenue.
Making the Brochure
After all the above steps have been completed, the tour operators are required to
create attractive brochure with adequate information about the tour and services
(Luo and Huang, 2015). Brochure will help the tour operators in attracting potential
visitors towards their firm and assist them in increasing their sale.
Execution of the Program
9 | P a g e

Execution is considered as the mot crucial part of the planning process. The
management o the organizations are required to design plan without any service
failure or any unexpected misconduct. The entire success of the tour designed by
the tour operators is dependent on successful execution of the plan. The success of
the tour will enhance the brand image of the tour operators.
Review and Feedback
After the completion of the tour the operators collect feedback from their visitors so
that they can gain information about their trip and improve their services in order to
attract, more tourist.
10 | P a g e

Evaluate the suitability of different methods of contracting the various
components of the holiday for different types of tour operators when
developing holidays. (P2.1; P2.2)
Trailfinders needs to identify appropriate methods in order to handle the entire tour
package effectively. Trailfinders can utilize several methods in order to develop the
overall management of the tour program.
Contract Fixing: Fixing of contract is one of the main components of Tour
operations, Trailfinders require to communicate with the hotels and guesthouses to
book rooms for 40 people. The tour-operating agency requires dealing with several
transportation providers to conduct the trip. Thus, to fix the contracts with hotels and
transport service providers, the tour-operating agency must take a certain amount of
money from the customers in advance.
Distribution: In this section, Trailfinders requires to distribute resources for different
elements of the tour packages as per the trends in present market and experience of
previous tours of the organization.
Ad-hoc contract: According to this contract, the tour-operating agency has an extra
opportunity to reserve added accommodation for the customers. Ad-hoc contracts
make it easy for the management department of the tour-operating agency to
commend the contract in case of emergency.
Various Tour-operating agencies
In this framework, operators refer to various kinds of business associates and
partners of travel and tourism companies. The operator makes it easy for Trailfinders
to develop a firm connection with their clients. Different types of tour operators are
mentioned below:
Inbound Operators: This kind of operators provides the clients with exclusive
services consisting of entertainment, currency exchange, and several related
services. Generally, Inbound operators deals with travellers directly and it shares a
considerable amount of profit to the chief tour-operating agency (Buultjens et al.,
2016).
11 | P a g e

Outbound Operators: This kind of operators usually provides exclusive tour
packages that make it easy for the tour-operating agency to enhance their brand
image among customers. An outbound operator gives a number of services and
conveniences in the tour packages in order to catch the attention of the customers
and other people by adding up extra luxurious services.
Ground Operators: The function of ground operator is to contact the customers of
the tour-operating agencies in order to promote their own company and increase
their profit margins. The operational fields in which ground operators operate are
sightseeing, local accommodation arrangements, and car rental services.
Domestic Operators: The operations that are carried out by domestic operators are
constrained to a specific area or region (Duke and Persia, 2015). According to the
scenario, ground operators associated with Trailfinders would be providing their
services within the Asian region Srilanka.
Carryout the cost of the components of the package and calculate the selling
price of your holidays (P2.3)
Exclusive and special rate has been proposed by the hotel of Srilanka for the group
of 40 people. The hotel charged 90 Euros per person with breakfast. The price
charged by the 45-seater luxury coach is 7,400 Euros and it consists of one tour
manager, two drivers, fuel, and other service related taxes. The price charged by the
local tour guide is 920 Euros for the overall tour duration. Trailfinders sums a mark-
up of approximately 30%. The rate of spot exchange is 1.15 pound per one Euro.
Number of
peoples
Room
rent/people
Transportation
services
Tour Guides Mark up
by
Trailfinder
s
40 90 £
7,400.00
£
920.00
30%
In Euros In Pound Sub Total
Peoples 40
12 | P a g e