Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Products and services
extra facilities or a particular aspect for the payment of
a supplement, e.g. a room with a sea view or a ground
fl oor room. Many families look for accommodation that
offers a children's club and baby sitting services.
Most people associate travel agencies with selling
one particular product - package holidays. A closer
inspection of the work of a typical retail agency,
however, shows that it actually offers a very wide range
of products and services to leisure and business clients,
including fl ights, hotel bookings, coach holidays, UK
holidays, cruises, car hire, rail travel, ferry bookings,
travel insurance, theatre and event tickets, foreign
currency, visa and passport services.
Self-catering can be in a wide range of accommodation,
such as studios, villas, apartments, cottages, tents,
caravans/mobile homes or boats. Self-catering
accommodation usually comes complete with cooking
facilities and utensils, although many people often
choose to eat out and avoid household chores while on
holiday. Some self-catering accommodation includes a
maid service, either included in the price or on payment
of a supplement.
Package holidays
At its simplest, a package holiday is an arrangement that
includes transport to a destination, accommodation,
transfer arrangements and the services of a
representative for an all-inclusive price. Tour operators
assemble these different components into a saleable
product that meets the needs and expectations of the
customer. They are sold though travel agents and via less
traditional distribution channels, such as the internet,
TV and call centres. There are literally thousands of UK-
based tour operators offering package holidays, from
large travel groups such as TUI/Thomson and Thomas
Cook to small companies specialising in a particular
destination or activity. The range and variety of tour
operators' brochures is vast, covering summer sun,
winter sun, winter sports, city breaks, themed tours,
holiday centres, camping, cruises, etc.
Venice is a popular package holiday destination
All package holidays differ in their make-up, but we
can identify three distinct components:
Transport
The transport element of a package holiday can be
travel by air, coach, rail, ship or self-drive car. Whichever
type of transport is used, tour operators are offered
preferential, discounted rates, known as inclusive
tour (IT) rates. Depending on the volume of business
generated by the tour operator, a ferry company, for
example, can offer IT rates that may be discounted by
as much as 50 per cent of their standard tariff.
1.
Accommodation;
2.
Transport;
3.
Other travel services, e.g. car hire, transfers and the
services of a representative.
Accommodation
The accommodation component of a package holiday
package can be either serviced or self-catering. Serviced
accommodation is usually in a hotel that can offer a
range of meal arrangements, such as full-board, half-
board, all-inclusive, room-only, self-catering or bed and
breakfast. Customers can usually request a room with
The vast majority of all package holidays sold in the
UK use air travel to transport clients to their chosen
destinations. These are known as 'air inclusive tours'
(AITs) and use either chartered or scheduled fl ights.
Package holidays that use seats on charter aircraft are
known as inclusive tours by charter (ITC), while those
