Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Know the business travel environment
SECTION 1
Icebreaker
This unit focuses on the business travel environment, looking at how travel
a
gencies provide services to business
travellers. Working by yourself, or in small groups under the direction of your tutor, see how you get on with the
following tasks to help you make a start on this unit:
•
Make a list of all the 'products' that business travel agents sell;
•
Think of some differences between a leisure travel
agent and a business travel agent;
•
Make a list of some of the global issues t
h
at
a
re currently affecting business travel agents;
•
Think of some specifi c needs that b
u
si
n
ess travellers have when compared to people travelling on holiday;
•
Write down how you think the role of the business travel agent will change in the future;
•
What changes in technology
have affected business travel agencies in recent years?
•
Make a list of all th
e
di
f
ferent components of the travel and tourism sector that business travel agencies work
with.
When you've fi nished, show your answers to your tutor and compare your answers with what other groups in your
class have written.
T
y
pes of business travel
Typically, incentive travel comprises a luxury holiday
or short break offered to an employee as a reward for
meeting a specifi c work target or goal. It also refers
to the industry that supplies, develops, markets and
operates incentive travel programmes. Companies
implement incentive travel programmes to drive
sales, increase profi ts, improve service, enhance staff
morale, retain staff or provide high-profi le recognition.
Being a recipient of an incentive travel award conveys
status and prestige on the winner. More and more
businesses now recognise the value of incentives and
design performance plans for employees, with specifi c
objectives and measures of success related to incentive
travel rewards.
Travel for business purposes can take many forms
- from travelling by train to a business meeting in a
nearby town to attending a global conference on
climate change in Brazil. The following sections of
this unit investigate the many types of business travel,
starting with incentive travel.
Incentive travel
'Incentive travel' is defi ned by the Society of Incentive
and Travel Executives (SITE) as:
'A global management tool that uses exceptional travel
experience to motivate and/or recognise participants
for increased levels of performance in support of
organisational goals'.
Weblink
Check out this website for more
information on the Society of Incentive
and Travel Executives (SITE).
www.siteglobal.com
