Key Vocabulary

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 362.

Travel Agents and Tour Operators

Unit 2

Travelling makes one

modest ... you see what a

tiny place you occupy in

the world.

Rudyard Kipling.

The term agent is used throughout the travel industry when referring to the travel agency itself or to the owner/manager of the agency. According to the dictionary: “agent - 1. a person acting on behalf of another, called his principal. 2. Colloq.- a representative of a business firm, especially a salesman; a canvasser; solicitor.” The travel agent is all of this and much more. He is the middleman between the customer and the principals, who will actually provide the services requested for the customer.

This fact must be clearly emphasized to the agent's clients. The travel agent is the “retailer” - not the “supplier.” Unless the travel agent is also a “wholesaler” or “supplier”, the average agency does not have an inventory of airline seats, hotel rooms, or other services to be sold to the public. The agent's responsibility ends when the client picks up tickets and vouchers, provided, of course, that the reservations are confirmed and the tickets have been properly written. The responsibility for providing services to the client now falls on the carriers, tour operators, hotels and so on .

Travel is more and more becoming a popular activity for the average budget-conscious family. Each year millions of people travel in their country and abroad, spending billions of dollars. Many make their own travel arrangements, with varying degrees of success. But a good proportion find that the expert services of a travel agent can save them considerable time, money and legwork, while also avoiding disappointments and vexation while on their trip.

A competent travel agent is not merely a ticket seller. He is a specialist whose experience and know - how enable him to counsel you on how to travel wisely and within the confines of your budget. Here are some of the ways in which the travel agent serves his clients.

1. Arranges transportation - air, steamship, cruises, bus, rail, car rentals in the country and abroad, and car purchases abroad.

2. Prepares individual itineraries and personally prepared package tours.

3. Arranges for hotels, motels, resort accommodation, meals, sightseeing, transfers of passengers and luggage between terminalsand hotels, and special features such as music festivals and theatre tickets.

4. Handles and advises on the many details involved in modern day travel and baggage insurance, language study material, travellers checks, auto garaging, foreign currency exchange, documentary requirements (immunization and other inoculations).

5. Uses professional know-how and experience, e.g. has schedules of air, train, and bus connections; rates of hotels and their quality; whether rooms have baths; and whether their rates include local taxes and gratuities. All of this is information on which the traveller can spend days or weeks of endless phone calls, letters, and visits to secure - and still may not get it right.

6. Arranges reservations for special- interest activities such as religious pilgrimages, conventions and business travel, gourmet tours, sporting trips, etc.