Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FOCUS ON INDUSTRY
STAFF TRAINING AT FIRST GREAT WESTERN
TRAINS
First Great Western states that it is committed to
comprehensive staff training and development to
bring out the best in its employees and to deliver
a safe and customer-focused service to all its
customers. Investors in People (IIP) status has been
awarded to the company's commercial department,
covering all on-train and station teams. The company
has established a Training Academy with facilities
in Bristol, Reading, Paddington, Newton Abbot
and Swansea train stations. Much of First Great
Western's training leads to nationally recognised
qualifi cations, including NVQs awarded by City &
Guilds and BTEC awards.
An ef ective advertisement for long-haul travel
sales and gaining an advantage over their competitors.
This is very evident with supermarkets in the UK, but
also occurs in the travel and tourism sector, for example
offering 3 weeks for the price of 2 on package holidays,
discounts on the cost of fl ights, half-price admission to
tourist attractions, cheaper off-peak rail fares, etc. Pricing
policies must be developed so as to maximise income,
but not at the expense of the business losing revenue
in the long term. Unit 5 has more information on pricing
policies used in the travel and tourism sector.
Weblink
Check out this website for more
information on First Great Western.
www.fi rstgreatwestern.co.uk
Targeted advertising and promotion
Sales techniques have changed a great deal over the
last 10 years in travel and tourism. The introduction of
the internet has revolutionised the way that people
research and buy their holidays and other travel
services. E-mail and text messaging are increasingly
used to inform customers about products and persuade
them to buy.
Travel and tourism organisations can gain competitive
advantage by using a variety of advertising and
promotional techniques to stimulate extra business.
The key to effective advertising is targeting the
customers that you want to persuade as precisely as
possible. This involves a great deal of market research
to discover the characteristics of customers and their
needs. Advertising on the internet is an excellent way
of getting sales messages to specifi c customer types,
using services like Google Adwords. Unit 5 has more
information on advertising and promotional techniques
used in the travel and tourism sector.
Locational advantage
An organisation's location can give it a competitive edge
when it comes to generating sales. Travel agencies in
high street locations benefi t from a greater throughput
of potential customers, while those in the suburbs may
not be as busy. A country house hotel in a stunning
location, perhaps in one of the UK National Parks, can
use this to its advantage in its publicity materials. Travel
and tourism facilities located close to major events
can use the event to stimulate demand, e.g. hotels
and other accommodation providers located in East
London will benefi t greatly from increased business at
the time of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Innovative pricing policies and
modern sales techniques
Price is often the most important consideration when
people are choosing travel and tourism products and
services. Organisations use price as a way of stimulating
