IGCSE Travel and Tourism Unit 4 - Products and Services

benefits of increasing tourist accommodation at a destination

1. More tourist can stay

2. More tourists spend money

3. More profit is made to all T&T providers

types of Travel and Tourism providers

1. Travel Agent eg: Premier Tours and Travel

2. Tour operator eg: Thomas Cook

3. Accommodation provider eg: The Cresta Hotel

4. Transport provider eg: G-Taxi

5. Tourist Attraction eg: The Valley of the Waves

6. Catering outlet eg: a restaurant

7. Entertainment venue eg: Sydney Opera House

Five types of tour operator

1. mass market tour operators

2. inbound tour operators

3. outbound tour operators

4. domestic tour operators

5. specialist tour operators eg: golf or medical

Mass market tour operators

1. popular destinations

2. carrying large volumes of tourists

3. low price and high volume

4. focus on standardised products like sand, sun and sea

Independent Tour operator

1. focus on independent travel to particular "off the beaten track" geographical areas

2. Small volumes

3. more expensive

Inbound tour operators

produce packages, bring foreign visitors to the local destination (e.g. a tour operator in Chiang Mai sell chiang mai holidays to a tourist from America).

Outbound tour operators

selling to the local people tours in other countries (e.g. a tour operator in Chiang Mai sells to a customer in Chiang Mai tours in Antarctic.)

Domestic tour operators

tour operator in one country selling one's tours to customers in that country (Thailand sell Thailand tours to Thailand people)

Specialist tour operators

specialized in activities and destination (e.g. a tour operator that is selling only hotels or golf tours)

Strategies for tour operators to make their profit

1. Horizontal integration

2. Vertical integration

3. Economies of Scale

economies of scale

Cost advantages associated with large operations

Backward integration

tour operator takes over accommodation or transport service

Forward integration

tour operator takes over a travel agent

inter-relationship between Travel and Tourism providers

When one of the providers eg: a Hotel rely on another provider eg: bus or taxi company to get the tourists to the hotel.

Components in tourism products

1. A package product

2. An independent product

3. An all-inclusive product

components of a package holiday

1. transport (flights and shuttle to hotel)

2. Accommodation

3. other tourist services eg: tickets to Disneyland or a round of golf included

independent product

When the customer buys the product online directly from the provider eg: a rail ticket or sightseeing tour

all-inclusive product

includes flights, accommodation, unlimited drinks, meal and activities

ancillary service

additional service offered by T&T providers beyond the main product/service

Examples of ancillary service

1. Travel insurance

2. forex exchange

3. sightseeing tours

4. car hire

5. airport transfers

6. passport and visa information

7. rail tickets

8. tickets to museums, theme parks etc.

9. guiding services

guiding service

when you pay for a guide who has experience, training and local knowledge of the area

benefits of a sightseeing tour

1. usually in a bus with a good view

2. usually comes with a guide who gives a commentary

3. Hop-on and hop-off so you can stay a while at an attraction

4. goes directly to main tourist sites

Benefits of having a guide

1. Local knowledge

2. may offer a tour in your own language

3. has expert information about the wildlife/nature

4. knows the cultural background

currency (forex) service

Allows travellers to exchange their own currency for the currency of the destination

Problems of exchange rates cause for tour operators

a large exposure to risk because many tour operator costs are paid in foreign currencies over extended time periods

protection of consumers from dodgy travel agents

travel agents must be licensed (e.g. if a travel agent got license they will have more trust because if they are a bad agent they will lose their license.)

Infrastructure

built features that serve communities' developmental & operational needs

Example of Infrastructure

roads, airports, seaports, railways, telecommunications, education, health facilities

MEDC

More Economically Developed Country (e.g. America)

LEDC

Less Economically Developed Country (e.g. Africa)

8 types of accommodation

hotel

motel

guesthouse

hostel

holiday village or camp

holiday home

visitor apartment

bed and breakfast

Hotel

at least 10 rooms with a restaurant

Motel

at least 10 rooms primarily for travelers and located next to a road.

Guesthouse

at least 5 rooms with dinning services

Hostel

simple accommodation offering dining or cooking facilities

Holiday village or camp

tents, caravans, bungalows parking

Holiday home

fully rented to holiday makers with kitchen

Visitor apartment

rented in accommodation establishment with kitchen (condo)

Bed and breakfast

accommodation in a private house, including breakfast

Serviced accommodation

price includes a charge for cleaning, room service (meals available)

tourism products

a group of components or elements brought together to satisfy the consumer's need.

3 products/services from international 5 stars hotels for their leisure tourists

-swimming pool

-security

-cleaning services

-lobby

-restaurant

-etc

International 5 stars hotels for the needs of family visitors

-babysitting/ gymboree

-kids pool

-extra facilities

-bigger rooms

measuring popularity of different types of accommodation

Occupancy rates

occupancy rate

percent of beds/rooms occupied against the number of beds/rooms available

benefits of local transport

1. better access to sights and hotels etc

2. allows them to get around once they have arrived by air

types of public transportation

1. Taxis

2. Airport shuttles

3. Coaches and buses

4. Rapid Transport system (fast trains)

types of air transportation

1. International flights

2. Regional flights

3. domestic flights

types of services airlines offer

1. A scheduled service

2. A charter service

airport hub

A hub occurs where a network of airline routes pass through a major airport with many connecting services to and from other airports eg: Dubai

gateway

the name given to any destination or main point of access to a country or region because of its location and its transport links

airline alliance

a global network or partnership between two or more airlines that agree to cooperate

main intercontinental routes and airports

Hong Kong-Taipei, Cairo-Jeddah, and Kuala Lumpur-Singapore

operating economics of air transport

full fare versus budget ('no frills')

government regulation/deregulation of air transport

involves setting and enforcing standards for safety, operations, and fares, while deregulation removes many of these restrictions, allowing market forces to determine prices and entry