Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
UNIT 10
Business Travel Operations
INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT
Business trav
e
l is an often overlooked component industry in the travel and tourism sector. It is, however, a very
important ind
us
t
r
y, not least because it is a highly valuable, all-year-round operation employing many thousands
of dedicated pro
f
essionals. It includes travel for business meetings, staging conferences and conventions,
trade fairs and ex
h
ibitions, as well as incentive travel. It is an industry that has to respond quickly to change in
order to meet the
nee
ds of its corporate customers. As with retail travel, the business travel industry is going
through a period of c
o
nsiderable change at the moment, infl uenced by the downturn in the global economy
and the impacts of new technologies, such as the internet and global distribution systems (GDS).
In this unit you will explor
e
the environment in which business travel agents operate and examine business
travel operational practices. You will also consider the factors currently affecting the industry and the effects
of these on products, service
s
and operations. The fi nal section of the unit gives you the chance to develop
your practical skills by selectin
g
, costing and providing information for business trips.
WHAT YOU WILL STUDY
When you have completed this unit you should:
1.
Know the business travel environmen
t
;
2.
Know business travel operational practices;
3.
Understand the factors affecting business tr
a
vel;
4.
Be able to select, cost and provide information
f
or business trips.
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 ch
e
ck out the weblinks throughout the unit for extra
information on particular organisations or topic areas and us
e
the activities throughout 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 352. 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
