Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Be able to select, cost and provide
information for leisure holidays to meet
the needs of customers
SECTION 4
This section of the unit will help you develop the
skills needed to select and cost appropriate package
holidays and tailor-made requirements to meet the
needs of a variety of customers.
Resources
Travel agents need to be able to ac
c
ess and process
a great deal of information when a
d
vising on package
holidays and developing ta
i
lor
-
made itineraries for
clients, particularly when mul
t
i-sector itineraries are
involved, i.e. when a tr
i
p involves more than one
outward and one retur
n
journey. An essential skill for a
travel agent is to know where to source a wide variety
of information quickly and reliably, e.g. fl ight times and
costs, details of hotel accommodation, car hire charges
and surface transport arrangements.
M
u
ch
of the information needed is sourced from
c
omputer systems (CRS), increasingly using internet-
b
a
sed technology. Depending on the size of the
agency, staff may have access to sophisticated global
distribution systems (GDS) such as Galileo, Sabre
and Worldspan. As well as having details of available
fl ights, these systems hold a great deal of information
on other travel products and services, such as hotel
accommodation, car hire and rail services. Many
other internet-based travel companies, for example
lastminute.com, ebookers, Expedia and Travelocity,
have websites with sophisticated search facilities
covering a wide range of travel products and services.
In addition, airlines, rail companies, car hire fi rms, coach
companies, hotels, etc. have their own websites that
can be used by leisure and business travel agents.
Brochures provide essential information on package holidays
Brochures and guide books, such as those published
by Lonely Planet, Fodor's and Rough Guides, provide
useful material when planning tailor-made itineraries.
Manuals are aimed at people working in travel and
tourism (the 'travel trade') rather than the general public.
They provide very detailed information on, for example,
destinations, airlines, hotels and rail companies. The
World Travel Guide
from Columbus Press has country-
by-country information, including transport to and
within areas, passport, visa and health requirements
(available online at www.worldtravelguide.net). OAG
(formerly Overseas Airways Guides) publishes a range
of guides for air and rail services, including the
OAG Rail
Weblink
Check out these websites for more
information on Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan.
www.travelport.com;
www.sabretravelnetwork.com
