Organizations in the Distribution Process - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 162

Travel agents are booking more adventure travel, which is a fast-growing segment of the tourism industry.
Outdoor participation activities such as rafting and kayaking are popular. PhotocourtesyofTuolumneCounty
VisitorsBureau.

Discount agencies sell consolidator tickets or other discounted travel services to the public. Some
act as their own consolidators, while others buy from wholesale consolidators. It is now relatively easy
to find a discounter that sells consolidator tickets. Consumer travel publications list consolidators, and
consumers can also buy consolidator tickets from most full-service travel agencies.

THE TOUR WHOLESALER

The (also called tour operator) puts together a tour and all of its components and

sells the tour through his or her own company, through retail outlets, and/or through approved retail
travel agencies. Wholesalers can offer vacation packages to the traveling public at prices lower than an
individual traveler can arrange because wholesalers can buy services such as transportation, hotel
rooms, sightseeing services, airport transfers, and meals in large quantities at discounted prices.
Tour wholesaling became an important segment of the U.S. travel industry after World War II. It
has expanded substantially since the 1960s, largely because air carriers wanted to fill the increasing
numbers of aircraft seats. The tour wholesale business consists primarily of planning, preparing, and
marketing a vacation tour, including making reservations and consolidating transportation and ground
services into a tour assembled for a departure date to a speci c destination. Tours are then sold to the
public through retail outlets such as travel agents and airline ticket of ces.
The number of independent tour operators has grown dramatically over the past decade and now
numbers over 2,000. A large portion of the business, however, is concentrated in the hands of a small
number of large operators.
Independent tour wholesalers provide signi cant revenue to transportation and ground service
suppliers. They also provide the retailer and the public with a wide selection of tours to a large number
of destinations at varying costs, for varying durations, and in various seasons. Furthermore, they supply
advance notice and increased assurance of future passenger volumes to suppliers.
The independent tour wholesaler

tour wholesaler

is business is characterized by relative ease of entry, high velocity
of cash low low return on sales, and the potential for high return on equity because the investment
necessary to start such a business is small.

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