Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Understand how retail travel organisations
seek to gain competitive advantage
SECTION 3
Retail travel is an extremely competitive part of the
travel and tourism sector. Running a travel agency is
all about maximising profi ts, by offering a wide range
of travel products and services, while at the same time
providing excellent standards of customer service.
Independent businesses and large, multiple chains
are always looking at ways of gaining compet it iv e
advantage, i.e. using a variety of techniques to p er s u ad e
customers to buy their products over and a bo v e those
of their competitors.
offered by a travel agent can often make the difference
between a cu st o mer choosing one company over
another. W e s a w in the unit on customer service that
'going th e extra mile' for a customer can pay dividends
for a travel agent. There is little doubt that a well-trained
workforce is any travel agency's greatest asset. Training
in selling and customer service skills are particularly
important in helping to secure competitive advantage.
Training can play a vital part in gaining an advantage
over the competition by:
It stands to reason that if the main aim of a travel agency
is to maximise its profi ts, it w i ll n e ed to compete with
other retailers for business - s i tting back and waiting
for customers to come t hrough the door is not an
option! This could be c ompetition with similar types
of local travel agen ci es or alternative types of travel
retailers, for ex a mple the e-agents that we discussed
earlier in this u nit, such as Expedia and lastminute.com.
Ultimately, a travel agency will seek to gain competitive
advantage to:
Increasing sales and profi tability;
Improving customer service;
Reducing absenteeism and staff turnover;
Increasing staff fl exibility;
Triggering innovation and new ideas;
Reducing business costs.
A survey carried out for ABTA showed a direct link
between training and profi tability in travel agencies, as
shown in Figure 9.3. Those agents that spent over £500
per employee on training were rewarded with higher
than average turnover and profi ts per employee.
I ncrease its income and profi ts from sales;
Generate revenue to re-invest in the business;
Attract more customers;
Increase its market share;
Activity 9.8
Provide a return for any shareholders it may have.
Gaining competitive advantage makes sense for
everybody who has an interest in a travel agency
business, whether they are owners, managers, staff
or shareholders. The following sections of this unit
investigate the techniques travel agencies use to try to
gain a competitive advantage, starting with the level of
service and staff training they provide.
Investigate the training opportunities that are on
offer in your local area for people wanting to work (or
already working) in retail travel. This should include
courses offered by colleges and those on offer from
private training providers, e.g. Apprenticeships.
Present your fi ndings as an information leafl et that
could be used by young people interested in a career
in the retail travel industry.
Level of service and staf training
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P3.
In a sector where there are so many ways of buying
holidays and travel products, the standard of service
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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