A travel agency acts as an intermediary between customers and suppliers of travel services like airlines and hotels. They sell travel products and services on behalf of suppliers and make a profit from the difference between the discounted price they receive and the advertised price customers pay. Travel agencies have departments for marketing, reservations, documentation, and more. Tour operators design and sell packaged travel products directly to customers or through travel agencies.

2. • A travel agency is a private retailer or public
service that provides tourism related services
to the public on behalf of suppliers such as
airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels,
railways, and package tours.

3. • Travel agencies have a separate
department devoted to making travel
arrangements for business travelers
and some travel agencies specialize in
commercial and business travel only.

4. • There are also travel agencies that
serve as general sales agents for
foreign travel companies, allowing
them to have offices in countries
other than where their
headquarters are located.

5. • A travel agent is a middleman between the
service providers and the passenger.

6. • Thomas Cook
of Melbourne,
England
founded the
travel agency
that in 2007
became
Thomas Cook
Group.

8. • As the name implies, a
travel agency's main
function is to act as an
agent, that is to say,
selling travel products
and services on behalf of
a supplier.

9. • Unlike other retail businesses, they do not
keep a stock in hand.
• A package holiday or a ticket is not purchased
from a supplier unless a customer requests
that purchase.

10. • The holiday or ticket is supplied to them at a
discount. The profit is therefore the
difference between the advertised price
which the customer pays and the discounted
price at which it is supplied to the agent. This
is known as the commission

11. • Most travel agencies operate on a commission-
basis, meaning that the compensation from the
airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways,
sightseeing tours, tour operators etc., is expected
in the form of a commission from their bookings.

12. 1. Provision of Travel
Information
2. Preparation of Itineraries
3. Liaison with provider of
services
4. Planning and Costing Tours
5. Ticketing
6. Provision of Foreign
Currency
7. Insurance

13. • A tour operator formulates a tour package by
combining different travel services required by a
tourist and sells directly or indirectly to the
passenger.
• E.g.: Air ticket,
accommodation,sightseeing,meals,guide and
escort, airport transfers.

14. • Tour operator designs, develops, markets
and operates packaged travel and tourism
products and tours. Tour operators sell
through Travel agents and/or directly to
consumers.

15. • Tour operator is one who buys the individual
elements in the travel product on his own
account and combines them in such a way that
he is selling a package travel, the tour, to his
clients.

17. • Marketing & Sales
• Finance & Accounting
• International Counter
• Domestic Travel
• Documentation
• Planning & Costing
• Reservation Section

18. MARKETING
AND SALES
ADVERTISIN
G
RESEARCH
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
PUBLICITY
PROMOTION
ACTIVITIES
MARKETING
OF
DESTINATIONS
FINANACE
AND
ACCOUNTING
INTERNATION
AL COUNTER
OUT BOUND
TOURISM
DEPARTMENTS IN A TRAVEL AGENCY

19. DOMESTIC
TRAVEL
IN –BOUND
TOURISM
DOCUMENTATI
ON
PASSPORT
VISAS
HEALTH
DOCUMENTS
PLANNING
AND COSTING
FOREIGN
EXCHANGE
DEALING
DEPARTMENTS IN A TRAVEL AGENCY

20. • Tour operators are like wholesalers whereas Travel
agents are like retailers.
Travel Agents sell and administer packages from
various tour operators to their personal clients based
on what they’re looking for and what package suits
each client best.

21. • Tour operator designs, develops, markets and
operates packaged travel and tourism
products and tours. Tour operators sell
through Travel agents and/or directly to
consumers.

22. • A travel agent acts like a waiter when you visit a
restaurant, he will take your order and then
forward the order to the chef. The food that you
get in the end is prepared by the chef. So, the chef
here is your tour operator while your waiter is the
travel agent.
Tour operatorTravel AgentCustomer

23. Air
Sea
Rail
Road
Accommodati
on:
Hotels/Motels
Supplementar
y
Services:
Coach & Car
Hire
TOUR
OPERATOR
TRAVEL AGENT
CUSTOMERS
Selling of Package

24. • Advisory
• Reservation
• Planning
• Computation
• Corresponden
ce
• Records
• Travel
brochure
• Complaint
handling