tour operator

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Tour Operator and Travel Agency
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Objective

• To distinguished the difference of a tour
  operator to a travel agency
• Classify what are the job description and
  responsibilities of tour operator and a travel
  agent.

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History of travel agency

• 1841
• Thomas Cook ( the Father of Travel Agencies)
• 570 people to accompany him in traveling from
  Leicester to Loughborough.
• 1880 emerged in the US 1st travel agents selling
  steamships and tickets and some arranged tours.

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Definition of Tour operator

• Puts together a vacation, packages and sells it
  to consumer at a cheaper price.
• Is the person responsible for actual arrangements
  of transport and accommodation facilities in any
  tour or vacations.
• Creates packages from the value chain of tourism
• Shall mean an entity which may either be a single
  proprietorship, partnership or corporation
  regularly engaged in the business of extending to
  individuals or groups, such services pertaining
  to arrangements and bookings for transportation
  and/or accommodation, handling and/or conduct of
  inbound tours whether or not for a fee,
  commission, or any form of compensation

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Definition of Travel Agent

• Acts as intermediaries for the customers.
• Acts as brokers for the tourist
• They arrange everything, from tour operators to
  accommodation.
• Receives commissions from their suppliers, such
  as hotels, FB establishments and tour operators.
• Middlemen between tour operators and prospective
  clients as these people have a client base and
  are expert in matching tours and vacations
  according to the needs and requirements of their
  clients. 

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• Travel Agent

• Tour operator

• is like a waiter at a restaurant as he welcomes
  the guests and takes orders that are prepared by
  the tour operator.
• has many vacation packages under his belt, and he
  suggests or recommends tour plans to their
  clients based upon their budgets and other
  requirements.

• has the responsibility to look after the finer
  details of a vacation or tour such as hotel,
  accommodation, meals, conveyance etc.
• taking up the bulk of the responsibilities, his
  fee is obviously much greater than that of a
  travel agent.

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Relationship
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Types of Travel Agency (Europe)

• Independent
• Miniples
• Multiples

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Types of Travel Agency (Europe)
10
Major Tour Operator group

• USTOA
• 1972 by a small group of California tour
  operators concerned about tour operator
  bankruptcies. These founding members recognized
  the need for a unified voice to protect the
  traveling public, as well as to represent the
  interests of tour operators.
• 1975, USTOA became a national organization with
  headquarters in New York.

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USTOA

•  Integrity in Tourism requires members to
  adhere to the highest standards in the industry.
  Among these is the principle of ethical conduct,
  which requires members to conduct business
  according to a set of professional standards
  which include representing all facts, conditions
  and requirements relating to tours and vacation
  packages truthfully and accurately.

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National Tour Association

•  is the leading business-building association for
  professionals serving customers traveling to,
  from and within North America.

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Major Tour Operators in The Philippines

• Rajah Tours Philippines, Inc.
• Sharp Travel Service (Phils.), Inc.
• Thresher Shark Divers
• Blue Horizons Travel and Tours, Inc.