1. Structure of the International Travel and Tourism

Question 1

World Tourism Organisation

Answer 1

• The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
• Headquarters: Madrid, Spain
• Founded: 1975
• Parent organization: United Nations

Question 2

Tourism

Answer 2

• The activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes-WTO World Tourism Organisation.
• Travel – Getting there
• Tourism – What you do there
• Take part in leisure and tourism activities
• Away from their residence for up to 1 yr
• On a visit that is temporary or short term
• Away from home may be on business

Question 3

Purpose of Tourism

Answer 3

• Leisure
• Business
• VFR (Visiting Relatives and Friends)

Question 4

Leisure Tourists

Answer 4

People who are visiting somewhere for pleasure rather than business-related reasons, in other words, they are on holiday.

Question 5

Business Tourists

MICE (MEETINGS, INCENTIVES, CONFERENCES, EXHIBITIONS)

Answer 5

1. TRADITIONAL BUSINESS TRAVELLING OF MEETINGS
   -Intended for face-to-face meetings with business partners in different locations
2. INCENTIVE TRIPS
   -A job perk, aimed at motivating employees
3. CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION TRAVELLING
   Intended for attending large scale meetings. The words meetings, incentive, conferences and exhibition - abbreviated as MICE.

Question 6

VFR

Answer 6

VFR travel is a form of travel involving a visit whereby either (or both) the purpose of the trip or the type of accommodation involves visiting friends and/or relatives

Question 7

Types of Tourism

Answer 7

1. Domestic Tourism
   - The type of tourism when people take trips within their own country. Eg: A family visiting relatives in another part of their country.
2. Incoming/Inbound
   - This describes people entering the country in question from their home country. It’s a type of international tourism. Eg: Japanese visitors coming to the UAE on a trip.
3. Outbound
   - This term applies when people travel away from their home country to visit other international countries for leisure or business. Eg: A family from the UK going to the USA for a holiday.

Question 8

Six Key Areas of Travel and Tourism

Answer 8

1. Travel Agents
2. Tour Operators
3. Lodging and Catering
4. Transport
5. Information and Guiding
6. Attraction

Question 9

Travel Agents

Answer 9

-A travel agent provides information to the people on various travel destinations,
-Advises them of available holiday packages to suit their tastes and budget
and chart their travel plan.
-He would generally sell the travel associated products like
currency exchange, car rentals, insurance etc.

BUSINESS TRAVEL AGENT

• Specializes in arranging transport and accommodation specifically for business travel, whether to attend a conference or develop a new business, visit suppliers or customers.
• Travel Agents hold the role of selling and administering packages from various tour operators to their personal clients based on what they’re looking for and what package suits each client best.

Question 10

Tour Operator

Answer 10

Tour operators offer holiday packages which comprise of

1. Travel like by rail, road or air.
2. Accommodation like hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses
3. Travel services like airport pick and drop, sightseeing, excursions etc.

These tour operators may be the wholesale operators who operate tours only through retail travel agencies or they may be direct sell operators who market their product directly to the public.

TYPES OF TOUR OPERATORS
> Wholesale tour operators – who put together and operate tours only through retail tour operators.
> Direct sell operators – who sell their tour packages directly to the public.

> Tasks of the tour operators:
Produce brochures
Market research
Employ and train staff.

> A tour operator is responsible for operating and providing your vacation through the contracting, booking and packaging together of the various components of your tour such as your hotel, transportation, meals, guides, optional tours and sometimes flight.

Question 11

Lodging and Catering

Answer 11

• This components consists of those who provide accommodation to the people in the form of hotels, resorts, apartments, camps, guest houses etc.
• The accommodation may be marketed individually or through the tour operators in the form of package
• These service providers also take care of the catering needs of the people by providing them with huge cafeterias, various fast food outlets in the house.

Question 12

Transport

Answer 12

Transport providers are those operating any major form of transport. They could be airlines, cruise lines, car rentals, and rail companies. A tourist’s choice of transport would depend on the following:

• Price
• Destination
• Time – how much is available
• Reasons
• Departure points – how easy to get there
• Convenience

Question 13

Information and Guiding

Answer 13

The tourist information and guidance providers include a number of service providers such as those offering:

• Insurance
• Recreational
• Communication
• banking services
• government agencies
• tour guides
• packaging agents - ticketing -agents and holiday sellers.

Question 14

Tourist Attractions

Answer 14

The principle of attraction is to establish the need for the attraction in a particular location to invite more footfall. It may be a huge theme park, a museum, a gallery, a heritage building, an educational center etc. Many countries see the need to have one or more visitor attraction in the area to widen their appeal and attract huge potential tourist.

Question 15

Other terminilogies

Answer 15

> If the holiday was in abroad you were on outgoing tourist.
Destination may be long haul or short haul or VFR
Different methods of transportation by land, sea and air
Accommodation may be serviced or self-catering
Destination may be a natural or built attraction using the services of a local tourist Information Centre(TIC) or guides
Holiday may be booked through a travel agency or a tour operator

Question 16

Role of Sub-Sectors of the International Travel & Tourism Industry.

Answer 16

-

Question 17

Role of the Travel Agent

Answer 17

A travel agent acts as agent for variety of principals. Arranges travel services from suppliers such as airlines, railways, bus companies, car rental firms, hotels and sightseeing operators.

Question 18

Types of Travel Agencies

Answer 18

Multiples: Agencies that have branches throughout a country and often in countries abroad as well, ex: Thomas Cook Agency.

Miniples: They are smaller independent travel agents which are not part of a national chain.

Question 19

Functions of Tour Operators

Answer 19

• Identify and meet customer expectations.
• Assemble tourism products as per the customer requirement.
• Complaint Handling
• Promotion of particular products or packages.
• Negotiation in the price.
• Quality of facilities and products.
• Pre and post-experience marketing research.
• Issue and deliver travel documentation.

Question 20

Types and Roles of Accommodations

Answer 20

> Hotels provide private serviced rooms for guests. They range from very basic budget-style to extremely luxurious accommodation.

> Hostels (often referred to as “youth hostels” or “backpackers”) are a loosely-defined form of guesthouse, generally low-budget compared to other places to sleep. Although often used by youth there is usually no upper age limit.

> Capsule hotels are a cheap form of accommodation in Japan, usually more or less on par with a dorm bed in a hostel, in terms of pricing. The “rooms” are little more than small one-person capsules with only a mattress, radio, and TV. [Note that most capsule hotels are segregated by gender, while many, if not most, don’t accept female guests at all.}

> Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) and Guesthouses provide hotel-style rooms. However, they are typically smaller residences and you will interact with your hosts and other guests, often eating together and sharing common spaces. Bed and Breakfasts and Guesthouses are found both inside and out of major centres. There are many associations and websites that offer help finding a Bed and Breakfast in your travel area.

> Motels. Rooms usually open out to a parking lot. As the name implies it caters mostly to motorists.

> A hospitality exchange or homestay network is an organization that connects travellers with local residents in the cities they’re visiting. If travellers can connect with the right people at the right time, they can get a room and sometimes board in the place they’re visiting for free or at a deep discount. Network size goes from a few thousand to a hundred thousand, and most networks are growing steadily.

> Serviced apartments offer the comfort, privacy and flexibility of a self-catering property, combined with a city centre location and often with the added benefits of many hotel-type services – such as maid service, room service and reception.

> Serviced apartments offer the comfort, privacy and flexibility of a self-catering property, combined with a city centre location and often with the added benefits of many hotel-type services – such as maid service, room service and reception.

> Holiday villages/ resorts. With pools, sports centres, horse riding, evening entertainment, and many other activities you can’t help but have fun. Many also have a ‘Kids Club’, so Mum and Dad can relax a little more during their stay. From the more traditional holiday camps to the modern climate-controlled sites, they are a great way of combining accommodation with on-site leisure facilities and entertainment.

> Car camping, Caravanning, RV camping… it goes by many names, and the experience varies widely, but this form of camping involves carrying your equipment in your motor vehicle, which you drive right to your campsite. Unlike more traditional camping, car camping allows you to carry quite a bit more equipment, and the focus is usually to enjoy the site, cook-outs, day hikes, and other outdoor activities

> Camping is do-it-yourself accommodation: you carry your roof and your bedding in your backpack or your car. It’s often the only choice of accommodation you have when you’re travelling off the beaten track, but there are also very popular sites for camping holidays.

> Vacation rentals. Many residents of popular tourist destinations lease their houses and apartments to vacationers. The residence may have been bought specifically for this purpose or the normal occupants may vacate it during some parts of the year.very popular sites for camping holidays.

Question 21

Serviced accommodations provide:

Answer 21

• Overnight Stay
• Catering
• Housekeeping
• Valet services
• Game rooms
• Health facilities
• example: hotels, guesthouse, bed and breakfast, hostels etc.

Question 22

Self Serviced accommodations provide

Answer 22

• Only overnight accommodations
• Other needs are independent
• example: villas, apartments, cottages