Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
UNIT 9
Retail Travel Operations
INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT
Retail travel i
s
one of the most vibrant and visible industries in the travel and tourism sector - we are all
familiar with tr
a
v
e
l agencies on our high streets. Thousands of UK travel agencies offer a variety of holidays,
fl ights and other
travel services to a wide range of leisure customers. Retail travel is a very competitive
industry, with m
an
y well-known companies and many smaller, independent agents all working hard to
tempt customers t
o
b
uy their products and services. The retail travel industry is going through a period of
considerable change
at the moment, infl uenced by company mergers and new technologies such as the
internet, mobile tech
n
ology and call centre operations. Companies must constantly evolve in order to meet
the ever-changing nee
d
s
of their leisure travel customers.
In this unit you will explore
the environment in which retail travel agents operate and learn about their
operational practices. You wi
l
l also investigate how retail travel agents try to gain a competitive advantage
over their rivals. You will hav
e
the opportunity to develop your practical skills by selecting, costing and
providing information on packag
e
and tailor-made holidays for leisure travel customers.
WHAT YOU WILL STUDY
When you have completed this unit you should:
1.
Know the retail travel environment;
2.
Know retail travel operational practices;
3.
Understand how retail travel organisations s
ee
k to gain competitive advantage;
4.
Be able to select, cost and provide information for
leisure holidays to meet the needs of customers.
You will be guided through the main topics in this unit with the help of the latest developments, statistics, industry
examples and case studies. You should also check out the web
l
inks throughout the unit for extra information on
particular organisations or topic areas and use the activities thr
oug
hout the unit to help you learn more.
ASSESSMENT FOR THIS UNIT
This unit is internally assessed, meaning that you will be given an assignment (or series of assignments) to
complete by your tutor(s) to show that you have fully understood the content of t
h
e unit. A grading scale of
pass, merit or distinction is used when staff mark your assignment(s), with higher grades awarded to students
who show greater depth in analysis, evaluation and justifi cation in their assignments. An assignment for this
unit, which covers all the grading criteria, can be found on page 324. Don't forget to v
i
si
t
www.tandtonline.
co.uk
for all the latest industry news, developments, statistics and links to websites in t
h
is unit to help you
with your assignments.
ON
Line
t
and
t
