Posted by Chester Morton / Saturday, 14 July 2018 / No comments
The meaning of a tour operator and the role he or she plays in the tourism industry
MEANING OF TOUR OPERATOR
A tour operator is a person or company that puts together a
tour package, markets it to get people to sign on to it and executes
to the satisfaction of the customers.
ROLES OF A TOUR OPERATOR
Packaging
A tour package denotes the combination of different services
into one travel experience. A tour operator, for example, can put together
transport, accommodation, meals and tickets to venues at the destination and
charge a fee.
A tour can be packaged around a tourist’s special area of
interest, for example, adrenaline sports, arts, mountain climbing and so on. A
tourist who is interested in arts would pick a package that has been designed
around the arts. There are other niche areas though, and tour operators put
their footholds in such areas to maximize their earnings.
In most tour packages are included, travel tickets,
accommodation, car rentals, entrance tickets to places of interest and
insurance.
Marketing
After a tour has been packaged, it needs to be promoted to
the target market. As soon as a tour operator has finished pricing his or her
package, taking into account what commission to pay agents and ensuring that
everything is legit, the next thing is to promote the package. This way, as
many people as possible can become aware of the existence of the package.
There are traditional methods of promoting these packages such as
the use of radio and television advertisement. One tool which has been
perfected and has now become normal with the industry players is the use of
brochures. These are neatly designed and printed. It contains all information
that is important and needed, together with avenues for further inquiries. The
same are widely circulated to meet the targeted market. Sometimes they are
placed at strategic places such as hotels and restaurants to be picked by interested parties.
The internet is an important place to promote such packages.
Most tour operators now have their own working websites, Facebook, Instagram and
twitter accounts from where they reach their target markets. Such websites are useful because they can
be accessed from any part of the globe.
Executing of package
At this stage, everything that was promised in the
advertisement during the promotion stage needs to be put into effect. Timing is
of great importance. Everything would seem like it has been choreographed,
though there may be a few hitches here and there due to the special
circumstance of some of those on the tour. The package must be executed to the
letter or very close to it.
The tour operator must ensure that those on the tour really
experience what was promised them. When this is achieved, those on the tour
become the marketing tools that may kick into effect during the next tour. By
word-of-mouth, the tourists themselves would inform others about what they
experienced and why others must go and try it.
SAMPLE QUESTION(S)
1. a. Who is a tour operator?
b. Highlight the roles of a tour operator.
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