Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Be able to plan a long-haul tour
SECTION 5
Visitor proi les
Knowing how to plan long-haul tours is becoming
more important as the popularity of long-haul travel
increases and customers look for more individualised
travel arrangements rather than package holidays.
Planning a long-haul tour can take a great deal of time
and painstaking research, especially if more than one
destination is involved, i.e. a multi-centre tour. In this
section you will learn about what needs to be taken
into account when planning long-haul tours and
h
ow
to present information in the form of an itinerary,
wh
i
ch
you can refer to when completing the fi nal par
t
of your
assignment for the unit.
Long-haul tours must b
e
tailored to the specifi c needs
of individuals if they are to be successful. For example,
a coupl
e
of friends backpacking in the Far East and
Au
s
tr
a
lia for six months before going to university in
the UK will have fairly basic needs in terms of travel,
accommodation and attractions. At the other extreme,
a couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in
the Bahamas will want luxury travel and accommodation
options, and may well pay extra for special excursions
while in their destination. The itinerary that is prepared
must refl ect the needs of the clients and their budget.
We saw earlier in this unit that people have very
different motivations for visiting long-haul destinations,
such as relaxation, adventure, culture, inspiration,
entertainment, fun and education. People working in
travel and tourism must be able to match a client's
motivation for travel to a particular destination, e.g.
adventure tourism in New Zealand, cultural tourism in
Mexico, relaxation in the Maldives and entertainment
in Las Vegas or Sun City, South Africa.
Travel
We saw earlier in this
un
i
t that air travel is by far the
most common opti
o
n
f
or long-haul travel, given the
long distances inv
o
lv
e
d. Long-haul travellers take many
factors into acc
o
unt when choosing a particular service
by air, such a
s
cost, convenience, the reputation of the
airline,
d
e
p
arture and arrival airports used, frequency
of se
r
vices and facilities offered on-board and prior
to
t
ravel. Long-haul tours often involve exploring a
d
e
stination using a variety of transport modes, such as
a hire car, long-distance coach or even a camper van.
Content of long-haul tour
itineraries
Accommodation
Itineraries produced for long-haul travel must contain
all the information needed to allow the journey to
run as smoothly as possible. The precise content and
layout of an itinerary will vary between companies, but
will usually include:
The accommodation options available to long-haul
tourists were discussed in detail in the previous section
of this unit (see page 281). Long-haul travellers look for
accommodation that fi ts their budget, whether this is a
hostel in the outback of Australia or a 5-star hotel on a
Caribbean island. Tourists often stay for longer in long-
haul destinations than they would when taking a holiday
or short break closer to home - not surprisingly, they
want to make the most of their stay having travelled so
far. Some long-haul travellers combine staying in paid
accommodation with a period of time visiting friends
and relatives (VFR).
•
Client details;
•
Check-in details;
•
Transport type, e.g. aircraft, train;
•
Flight or service numbers;
•
Transport operator, e.g. which airline, train
company;
•
Class of travel;
•
Departure and arrival date/time (in local time);
