Learn about the travel industry, transport, destinations and more.

Different people travel for different reasons and, dependent upon the reason for travel, the facilities required will also be varied. Through an understanding of the diversity that can occur within the travel product, you become better equipped to select, develop and provide a more diverse variety of services to accommodate the traveller.

CONTENTS

There are ten lessons in this module as follows:

1. Travel Industry Overview/Introduction : Holiday travel, Business travel, Resources, Components of travel (Accommodation, Transport, Food, Luggage/what to take, Health, Money, etc)
2. Destinations : Local, State, Interstate, International; health before departure.
3. Money, Insurance & Legalities : Credit cards, traveller's cheques, exchange rates, International driving, quarantine laws, Islamic law, political concerns, tariffs, duty free, departure taxes etc.  
4. Transport - Airline reservations : International Air Transport Assn, Aircraft types, Flight information, transfers, time zones, passports, visas, baggage, travelling with animals, making a reservation, etc.
5. Transport - Car Rental : Types of hire cars, reading manuals, different road rules, making reservations, cost structures, etc
6. Transport -Other, boat (ferries, cruising), bus, rail etc
7. Accommodation : Camping, Caravans, Tents, B & B's & Guesthouses, Hotels, Youth Hostels, Resorts, etc
8. Package Tours
9. Travel Agency Systems : Ethics, Tourist organisations, Client records and accounts procedures, etc.
10. Special Project -planning a trip 

LESSON AIMS 

• Describe the nature and scope of the tourism industry.
• Recommend tourism destinations relevant to client needs.
• Advise a client on planning for unforeseen circumstances on a trip, such as financial,  legal and insurance issues.
• Explain the operation of airlines, including booking procedures.
• Explain the operation of car rental services, including booking procedures.
• Explain the operation of other transport services, including shipping, bus and rail.
• Explain the operation of accommodation options to a client
• Advise a client on package tour options, to satisfy their specified requirements.
• Determine appropriate operational systems for management of a tourism service.
• Consolidate available information and resources to plan a trip.

Duration:   100 hours

Scope of Tourism

The tourism industry provides goods and services that are primarily for consumption by tourists, for example: transport services, accommodation, travel agencies, package tours, reservation systems, and tourist attractions such as theme parks, guided tours, and retail outlets.

Tourism is a diverse industry that often encompasses the skills and resources of other industries. Industries that may start out as primary or secondary producers can very easily become (at least in part) a tourist facility. For example:

• Farms might offer bed and breakfast facilities to supplement their income
• Local Government may develop parks to service locals; but also as a tourist attraction
• Factories conduct factory tours
• Shops that originally catered to local trade add new products to their shelves to cater for tourists
• Local craftspeople can cooperate to attract tourists to their workshops, galleries etc.

Whilst some businesses only cater for tourists (e.g. cruise ships and guided tours) others, such as restaurants and car rental firms, might be predominantly a tourism product in one locality but attract a different clientele (e.g. local and business people) in another locality.

The tourism industry provides a wide range of services: some essential, others optional. Accommodation, transport, food and toilet facilities are essential services. Sightseeing might not be essential, but without appropriate points of interest, the tourism value of a destination is certainly diminished.

This is not as easy as it first appears. A client might know what he or she wants to see, but will usually have limited time, money, and energy.

 

Also, different individuals within a group of clients might have quite different preferences, and it can be very difficult to accommodate all of them. Special interest tourism can narrow the range of options and make decision-making easier, but it can also present a whole different range of options (such as different routes for a cycling group, different sites associated with different artists, or a wide range of cities and city-based activities for an urban tourism group). There is no easy way to work through the options or different preferences in order to come to an agreement, but that is what you will often have to do.

One way to plan the itinerary is to identify major destinations which should be those that best meet the clients or group’s needs. What these are will depend very much on the preferred destinations and the overall aims. For an environmental tourism group, these key destinations may be places such as the Amazon, Antarctica, or the Great Barrier Reef off the North-Eastern Australian coast, or events such as whale migrations off the English coast, or environmental projects. 

Within those broad parameters, you can begin to identify possible attractions and destinations and to consider the factors that will limit your options. For instance, if a group wants to experience the Amazonian rain forest, the river, and to also study indigenous flora and fauna, they will need to decide whether they want to experience any parts in greater depth, and how much time will be required for them to do so. If an elderly group wants to experience the Amazon, they will also need to consider what kinds of physical activities they can manage and what kinds of accommodation they require. If they want the security of nearby medical services, or full-service accommodation, they may be restricted to areas where those are available and therefore they might need to allow for daily jaunts or trips from their home base for their environmental interests. This will mean that they can do fewer activities or have less observation time than another group that is happy with rough, basic accommodation in the treetops where their observations of the environment can be ongoing.

The main factors limiting the choice of destination are time, money, and perhaps, physical stamina. Each of these should be factored into the planning of the itinerary.