A little stigma exists, let’s face it, around guided travel. When you hear this, what pictures spring to mind? Do you see throngs of people being pushed from one tourist site to the next, hardly scratching the surface of their destination’s cultural offerings? Alternatively, tight schedules that don’t allow for independent exploration or getting lost? Let’s debunk some myths if that’s the case.
Making new acquaintances, bridging cultural divides, and experiencing new things are all made possible via guided travel. You might also be surprised to see the flexibility you’ll have to customize the journey according to your preferences, with plenty of time to accomplish the things that are essential to you and the ability to make decisions along the route.
Here comes the function of travel agency in the picture. The task of planning travel falls to a travel agency. An agency is a location where all travel-related goods and services are managed and coordinated for the efficient operation of the travel agency company.
What is the Primary Function of a Travel Agency?
The principal function of travel agency is to gather, organize, and present to travelers all of a country’s tourist attractions, access points, facilities, and supplementary services. Another function of travel agency is to create a connection between tourists, travelers, and service providers. In fact, travel agencies are essential to fostering and advancing travel inside a nation or to a particular location.
The travel agency arranges pick-up from the airport, lodging reservations, and plane travel, among other things. Though, the prime function of travel agency is to exclusively cater to or care for the visitor. However, by reserving the ticket or the room, a travel agent has also benefited the airline or the hotel. In all of these services, the travel agency has helped the visitor while also bringing in revenue for the service providers.
This indicates the significance of the travel agency, whose function in the modern world is expanding. After all, not every traveler has the time or energy to plan every aspect of their trip.
What are the Types of Travel Agencies?
Travel agencies are mainly divided into two types: retail travel agencies and wholesale travel agencies.
Retail Travel Agency
A retail travel agency represents the product providers by selling travel-related goods to the general public directly in exchange for commissions. Some package tours are marketed using two different strategies: commission-based sales and price markups.
The commissions that the travel agency gets from the suppliers are its major source of income. However, the commission rate varies from company to company and travel component to travel component.
Wholesale Travel Agency
These businesses specialize in setting up package trips. They are offered to clients or tourists either directly or through the network of a retail travel agency (if a wholesale travel agency has a retail division). A wholesale travel agency creates trip packages by purchasing tourist product components in large quantities.
Package vacations are put together by wholesale travel companies and sold to customers by retail travel companies. Airline tickets, lodging, and sometimes other services like entertainment, sightseeing, sporting activities, etc. are all typically included in package tours.
A wholesaler may agree to book a big number of tickets with a specific airline or rooms at a specific hotel or resort, in which case they will earn volume discounts from the main suppliers.
11 Functions of a Travel Agency
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Travel assistance
The key function of travel agency is to arrange trips. Giving out information has become a crucial component of the travel agency industry. It distinguishes one travel agency from another one.
Tourists are given the information in a comfortable setting where they may inquire about it and get clarification regarding their intended trip. Regardless of its size, a travel agency is required to give travelers essential travel information.
A major function of travel agency is to provide current, accurate, and timely information on the mode of transportation, accommodations, sightseeing, shopping, customs clearance and process, health and security standards, and different permits necessary to travel in certain areas, among other things.
To help sell goods, the presentation to a potential buyer must be persuasive, and exciting variants must constantly be developed. Another function of travel agency includes providing you with information about regional laws, customs, weather, travel papers, and travel warnings that apply to your location.
Travel agents often expand and update their expertise by going to conferences and seminars, as well as going on vacations to get to know new places.
2. Determining the target client’s profile
The travel agency must decide which market group it wishes to target because it’s possible that one cannot efficiently service all types of customers.
Another important function of travel agency is to keep records of the travel preferences of its clients: It’s useful to keep note of client preferences in a database, including transportation seats and hotel smoke vs. non-smoking choices, frequent flier numbers, hotel facilities requirements, and other things you can use as a guide so you can consistently deliver a tailored travel experience.
The functions of a travel agency also involve thorough research on different locations. Whether or not you’ve been to a specific location, you should stay up with the innovations, attractions, and changes in the most well-known tourist destinations as well as any new ones that your clients mention.
3. Creating an itinerary
The word “tourism itinerary” refers to the starting point, final destination, and all rest stops in a traveler’s excursion. It was created after a thorough analysis of the market and is made up of a variety of components. An important function of travel agency is to create an itinerary, covering all the major stops of a destination.
4.Service price negotiations with principals
After the schedule has been created, the next function of travel agency is to contact the principals (hoteliers, transportation providers, etc.) to see whether they can offer the services in quantity at potential dates and under what conditions.
This is a crucial stage since it has a significant impact on the tour operator’s capacity to remain profitable. He will be able to obtain high-quality services at steep discounts and increase his income if he can successfully negotiate.
5. Booking and ticketing for airlines
Another crucial function of travel agency is that it offers a range of travel-related goods for sale. Booking and selling airline tickets continue to be a significant source of income.
On behalf of numerous airlines, travel firms handle reservations and tickets for flights, and it is also counted as the prime function of travel agency. Selling airplane tickets is a common source of satisfaction for small travel firms. The job of the travel agent got more difficult in the current environment of the abrupt changes in domestic and international airlines’ schedules as well as the sporadic addition of new routes.
The reservation process for both rail and air travel as well as hotel rooms has seen a significant transformation in recent years thanks to the computerized reservation system (CRS).
6. Tour pricing and packaging
Tourists can purchase prepared tour packages from travel agencies. The cost of trip packages heavily relies on the competence of the travel agent and how well he can bargain with the major suppliers.
7. Foreign exchange regulations and documentation
If the package includes crossing international borders, the tour operator, similar to a travel agency, expedites the documentation process—passport, visa, permits, etc.—as well as making arrangements for foreign exchange from relevant authorities.
Some of the important documents required while traveling are mentioned below:
i) Passport – Valid for at least 6 months following your date of travel.
ii) Visa – Valid visa for the nation you’re visiting. If you are traveling for some time longer than 12 hours, you will additionally need a transit visa. Please review the country’s transit visa requirements.
iii) Air Tickets – Only those with a student or working visa, as well as their families, can purchase a one-way ticket.
8. Travel Insurance
Large-scale travel businesses occasionally carry out extra tasks for their customers. Travel insurance shields passengers from personal and luggage losses brought on by a variety of travel-related incidents and issues.
9. Currency exchange services
Bureau de change service is another unique function of travel agency. Tourists can exchange currencies through a functionally approved travel agency that has been approved by a government entity.
10. Package Deals for Travel
The market for tours and activities is getting more competitive, but businesses don’t have to spend a fortune on marketing and promotion. Utilizing several mediums creatively will help you engage your audience and increase the season’s reservations.
11. Actual Tour Package Activity
Executing the tour that has been sold is the final and, perhaps, the most significant function of travel agency. He must make sure that the visitors receive all the amenities that were promised to them by the principals and, in turn, by him to them. When required, tour groups are also deployed with guides and interpreters.
A travel agency is required by both business and leisure tourists. An agency must make sure that it is able to meet the unique requirements of its customers. Platforms such as Pathfndr helps a travel agency in maintaining seamless operations and fulfilling each function of travel agency by offering travel booking management tools. In fact, Pathfndr allows you to launch an AI-powered website through which you can keep a track of all the booking made by your customers when it comes to flights, accommodation options, airport transfers and more.