What is a travel agency? how do travel agencies work and what are the roles played by different departments in the travel agency?

1. WHAT IS TOURISM
INDUSTRY AND TOUR
PACKAGE AND TOUR
COSTING

2. Travel agency
 A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that
provides tourism related services to the public on behalf
of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines,
hotels, railways, and package tours.
 Travel agencies have a separate department devoted to
making travel arrangements for business travelers and
some travel agencies specialize in commercial and
business travel only.

3.  There are also travel agencies that serve as general
sales agents for foreign travel companies, allowing them
to have offices in countries other than where their
headquarters are located
 A travel agent is a middleman between the service
providers and the passenger.

4. Travel Agency Table Organization
Manager
Administration
Bookkeeper
Cashier
Utility
Personnel
Operations
Travel
Counselor
Reservations
& ticketing
Liaison Officer
Sales
Account
Executive
Secretary

5. Types of Travel Agency
Travel Agency
Retail Travel Agency Wholesale Travel Agency

6.  Retail Travel Agency : A retail travel agency sells
tourists products directly to the public on the behalf of the
products suppliers and in return get commissions. Some
package tour is sold in two ways i.e., on a commission
basis and mark up the price.(travel agency)
 Wholesale Travel Agency: These agencies are
specialized in organizing package tours, which are
marketed to the customers/tourists through the network
of a retail travel agency or directly to the prospective
clients ( if wholesale travel agency has a retail division).
A wholesale travel agency purchases tourists’ product
components in the bulk and designs tour packages.( Tour
Operators)

7. Function of Travel Agency
Travel
Information
• Counseling
• Immigration
• Passport
• Visa
• Custom
• Clearance
• Health Certificate
• Landing permits
certificate
Tour Itinerary,
packaging &
costing
• Liaison with
providers
• Market research
• Costing & pricing
• Promotion of
package tour
• Executive tours
Booking
• Confirmation and
reconfirmation of
hotel rooms,
Airline tickets,
train, bus, cruise
line reservation
and confirmation
Travel Insurance
• Personal
• Baggage
• Tour
• Foreign Currency
• MICE activities
entertainment,
• Cultural
• Handling agency
for the tour
wholesalers

8. Tour Package
“A total tourism product consisting of transportation
from market area to the destination, accommodation at
destination and recreational activities performed by the
tourists”.
Packages are largely developed by travel
intermediaries such as tour wholesalers and operators,
incentive travel planners and convention/meeting planners.
Moreover, packages are also developed by primary
service providers like hotels, airlines and coach and car
rental companies

9. Combination of A Package Tour
Package
Tour
Stable Elements
Attractions/Destinations
Unstable
Elements
Transportation,
Accommodation, Meals
and tourist activities

10. Example of Package Tour
Name of the package tour: Thailand Surprise
No. of days: 05 N / 06 D
Price of tour: 26,500/-
Destinations to be covered: Bangkok, Pattaya
Tours includes: Air-fare, accommodation, s/s , daily
breakfast, buffet Indian dinners, transportation, travel
insurance ,tour manager service.

11. Components of Tour Package
Package Tour
Ground Arrangements
Accommodation,
Attractions, Transfer,
Meals, Tour Guiding,
Sightseeing, Insurance
Travel Arrangements
Transportation-Airways,
Railways, Roadways,
Waterways

12.  TRANSPORTATION: It includes return airfare/train fare
etc.
 ACCOMODATION: It includes stay in hotels, motels,
resorts on twin sharing basis etc.
 TRANSFERS: It includes pick- up from airport to hotel
and vice versa.
 SIGHTSEEINGS: It includes local sightseeing's in car /
coach.
 MEALS: It includes Buffet Indian Breakfast, European
Plane (EP), Continental Plane (CP), Modified American
Plane (MAP), American Plane (AP).
 TRAVEL INSURANCE / MEDICAL INSURANCE: It is an
important service in these days.
 TOUR MANAGER SERVICE: It includes services of a
tour manager or an escort (Tour Guide). In this the tour
escort or tour manager travel with the tourist.

13. Types
of
Packages
Independent
Tours
Hosted Tours
Escorted Tours
Incentives
travel/Tours
Freedom Tours

14.  INDEPENDENT TOURS: Independent tours are
prepared for those who want to travel independently.
Some travel companies offer independent tours to
inbound, outbound and domestic tourits.
 ESCORTED TOURS: It is also known as ‘Conducted
Tour’.When a company includes the services of a well
educated trained tour manager in it’s package tour, the
tour is called as an escorted tour. The main duties of an
escort are to receive the guest at airport, help in custom
clearance, greeting etc.The escort accompany the group
till start of the tour to end.
 HOSTED TOURS: A hosted tours means when an
agency utilities the services of another agency at a
particular destination. For example-A group of french
tourists are coming to india.Thus at various destinations
different travel agency host them.

15.  INCENTIVE TOURS: It is a fully paid holiday which is
given by the company to his employees as a reward. It is
given to motivate the employees. For example- A
government provides the scheme of leave travel
concession to employees once in a year.
 FREEDOM TOURS: These tours are designed as per
the choice of tourists. The tourist are choose and plan
that how they want to travel and enjoy their holidays. For
example- ORBIT Travel Agency promotes these tours.

16. GROUP INCLUSIVE TOUR: It is pre-paid tour, in which
tourist travel in group. Size of group is normally
considered as 15PAX. All the members of the tour are
required to stay together. It is generally a discounted
tour.
FOREIGN INDEPENDENT TOUR: Foreign independent
tour (FIT) are wealthy (rich) and affluent (rich) travelers
who travel independently. They get their tours tailored by
travel agency, they know everything about their tour

17. Classification of Package Tour
 Regular Tour Packages: Assembled based on the need
or interest of a target market.
 Ad Hoc Tour Packages: Tour package that are tailor -
made to the requirements and specification of a
particular traveler or group of travels.

18. Costing Process in Tourism
Itinerary
Airline Seats and Railway
seats
Hotels and Meals
Ground Arrangement

20. Hotels
 Different types of hotels
 Types of rooms
 Tariff plans
 Extra bed charges
 Taxes
 Meals

21. Differential Hotel Tariff Plans
 Seasonal
 Regular
 Season
 Off season
 Weekend Tariff.
 Special rates for Corporate
 Discounted Rates for groups

22. Hotel
 Availability of rooms
 Exact no of Peoples
 Chain of hotels- Oberoi, Taj, etc.
 Regular Contact and Good Relationship
 Extra Bed: INR 1800 DB + INR 300 = INR 2100
 INR 2100/3 = INR 700 PP

23. Meals
Continental Plans (CP)= Room + Breakfast
Modified American Plan (MAP) =Room + Breakfast or
any one Meal.
American Plan (AP)= Room +All Meals.
European Plan (EP)= Only room – No meals.
A La Carte = According to the menu, Pay their own bills
Most Travel Agents don't include Lunch because of Sight
seeing.

24. Airline & Railway
 Travel Agents should have the knowledge of airfares for
different sectors as required for Itinerary or it can be
Supplement.
 TA should be familiar with train names, routes,
schedules, and fares.
 Indian railways allow 90 days prior ticketing.
 Also Tatkal Seva is available

25. Road Transport
o Pick-up and Drop Facility from Airport / railway Station to
Hotel, Visiting places of attractions or Sight Seeing.
o Travel Agent should contact local transport operator for
calculating the cost of the vehicle for entire tour.
o Drivers charges, parking charges, toll taxes etc.
o Km travel/ day. Extra charge for extra km
o Ac/ Non Ac vehicles

26. Cruise
Cruise
 Packages for Three to five days.
 Cost varies for different categories of rooms, cabins, on
board facilities etc
Local guides charges
 English speaking or Foreign Language speaker.
 Explain monuments or other sight seeing
 Thus costing includes total Guides charge divide per
person

27. Miscellaneous
 Entrance fees – Museums, Historical forts, palaces,
Churches and similar charges.
 Cultural Show in the evening
 Porter age,
 Desert safari
 Toll Taxes

28. Pricing
o Mark-up
 In order to earn profits the travel agents and travel tour
operators add a mark up to the total cost before quoting
the price to the client. Generally 7-15% commission
o Gross rate
 Supplier gives to the Travel Agent which includes the
commission generally 10%.

29. Preparation of Cost Sheet
 A document that reflects the cost of the items and
services required by a particular project or department
for the performance of its business purposes.
 Cost Sheet example
 Travel Budget Calculator

31. Thank You