ROLES OF TRAVEL AGENCIES
& TOUR OPERATORS
Tour & Travel Management
Travel Agency
■ Is a type of business that acts as intermediary or middleman between the tourism
products’ and the tourist/travelers
■ Main functions of the travel agency is to market and promote all types of tourism
products and services
■ Is considered as one of the essential businesses in the tourism industry
Tour Operator
■ Is an organization, firm, or company that buys travel components
individually and combines them into a package tour that can be sold
to the direct customers or through tourism channel
■ Also known as the manufacturers of tourism products and services as
they are responsible for delivering and performing all the products and
services included in the packaged tour they offer to their customers
■ Is one who has the responsibility of putting the tour ingredients
together, marketing it, making reservations, and handling actual
operation
Functions of Tour
Operators
■ Planning a tour
■ Creating tour packages
■ Organizing tour
■ Providing travel information
■ Making a reservation
■ Managing a tour
■ Evaluating the available options
■ Promotion
■ Sales and marketing
■ Taking care of problems that may arise
during the tour
Planning a Tour
■ Assist the travelers to plan the most
memorable experience that they could
have during the travel
Creating a Tour
■ Tour operators purchase travel
components separately from
transportation, accommodation, food
and beverages, to tourists’ attraction
and assemble them to create new
travel products known as tour
packages
Organizing a Tour
■ Arrange or organize a tour package
based on the preferences of the tourist
■ Their goal is to give tourist satisfaction
with their travel
Providing travel
Information
■ Tour operator tasks is to complete the
travel experience of the tourists is to
provide necessary information
concerning their travel to chosen
destination
Making a Reservation
■ Are tasked to assists tourist in the
reservation of the travel components
needed for the travel and stay in the
chosen destination of the tourist
Managing a Tour
■ One of the responsibilities of the tour
operator is to manage the entire tour
availed by the tourist
■ Tour operator should check every detail
of the tour from time to time of its
execution until it is done
Evaluating the Available Options
■ Usually assess and evaluate the tour packages that they offer to
tourist
■ They make sure to consider all the possibilities and other options
to make the travel of the tourist more memorable and
remarkable
Promotion
■ Tour packages and other products offered by the tour operator
and travel agency businesses should be promoted
Sales and Marketing
■ As part of the transactions in the tour operation business, tour
operators also do sales and marketing especially to their target
markets to attract their attention and eventually have them avail
their products and services
Taking Care of Problems that may Arise
During the Tour
■ They take charge of all the issues and problems that may arise
during the tour
■ They are prompt to fix identified glitches and provide the best
solution
Difference Between Travel Agency and
Tour Operator
Travel Agency
•Acts like an independent reseller and receives commissions for the sale of the
tour operator’s package
•Small to medium enterprise
•Acts as the distributor/reseller of the tourism products
•Deals with one component of travel products
Tour Operator
•Purchases travel components from different suppliers, forms a single tourist
product, and sells them using its own pricing
•Usually large companies
•Acts as the supplier or manufacturer of tourism products
•Offers a variety of tour programs
Types of Travel Agencies
Retail Wholesale
Travel Travel
Agency Agency
Types of
Travel
Agencies
Retail Travel Agency
■ Acts as resellers of tourism products and services
■ Sells products and services directly to the tourists and receive
commissions from the suppliers as their income
Wholesale Travel Agency
■ Purchase travel components in bulk from suppliers, assemble tour
packages, and sell them to the tourists through retail travel agencies
Difference between Wholesale Travel
Agencies and Tour Operators
Wholesale Travel Tour Operator
Agency
Does not sell their products and Sells different travel components
services directly to public directly to tourist
Deals with one component of Offers a variety of tour
travel products and services products/programs
Medium to large business Large business organization
organization
Types of Tour Operators
■ Inbound Tour Operators
■ Outbound Tour Operators
■ Domestic Tour Operators
■ Ground Operators
Inbound Tour Operators
■ Receive tourists in the host country and handle all their land
arrangements
■ Based locally, and offer local destinations, attractions, events, and
other services to the tourist
Outbound Tour Operator
■ Promote tours for foreign destinations
■ Normally worked with international travelers and offer specialized tour
packages in a particular country or region
Domestic Tour Operators
■ Creates and assemble travel components into all-inclusive tours and
market them to domestic travelers
Ground Operators
■ Organizes and arrange tours for incoming tourists on behalf of
overseas operators
■ Make sure that the entire travel in the destination is in accordance
with the package tours or arrangements the tourists have with the
overseas operators
Emerging Technology in the Operation
of Travel Agencies & Tour Operators
■ Internet usage
■ Use of social media
■ Mobile technology
■ Digitalization
■ Big data
■ Artificial intelligence
■ Virtual reality
Internet Usage
■ The internet helps create modern travel agencies and tour operators
■ Every transactions involved in the process can be done over the
internet; thus, to remain in the business world, they have to go with
the flow
Use of Social Media
■ Travel agencies and tour operators need to have personalities of their
own
■ They can use social media as part of marketing and communications
strategies
Mobile Technology
■ Travelers have all the pertinent information about their trip in the palm
of their hand
■ Travel agencies and tour operators have to adapt to this swift change
in reality to be able to sustain their business
Digitalization
■ Helps travel agencies and tour operators to be highly competitive in
the business world
Big Data
■ A customer’s data base can help the travel agency and tour operator
analyze it’s customers’ behavior patterns as well as guide it in
forecasting based on their behavioral information
Artificial Intelligence
■ Is incorporated into mobile devices and applications
■ It is a great help for travel agencies and tour operators, offering
convenient and comfortable services in assisting their clients
Virtual Reality
■ Can be used by travel agencies and tour operators as a marketing tool
to entice more people to travel as virtual reality allows them to explore
their dream destinations
