Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
UNIT 2
The Business of Travel and
Tourism
INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT
We saw in th
e
previous unit that the travel and tourism sector is made up of a many inter-related industries,
such as travel
a
g
e
nts, airlines, hotels, tour operators and visitor attractions. They vary from very large, global
enterprises to v
e
ry small, local businesses all working together to supply travel products and services as
effi ciently as poss
i
ble to a wide variety of customers. Anybody joining a travel and tourism organisation, or
thinking of setting
up
their own, needs to understand its key features and how the organisation tries to gain
an advantage over it
s
competitors in order to become profi table.
In this unit you will explo
r
e the different types of organisations operating in the travel and tourism business
environment, as well as e
x
amining their organisational and fi nancial characteristics. You will also investigate
how organisations try to gain
an advantage over their competitors by, for example, introducing new products
and investing in staff trainin
g
. The unit also gives you the opportunity of producing a business case for a
travel and tourism enterprise, within fi nancial constraints.
WHAT YOU WILL STUDY
When you have completed this unit you should:
1.
Know the different types of organisati
o
ns operating in the travel and tourism business environment;
2.
Know the characteristics of different types
o
f travel and tourism organisations;
3.
Understand how travel and tourism organis
at
ions gain competitive advantage to achieve business aims;
4.
Be able to produce a business case for a travel
a
nd tourism enterprise within fi nancial constraints.
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 check 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 91. Don't forget to v
i
sit
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
