BSC TTM Sem-3 Travel Agency Management and Tour Operations u-5

Institute of Distance and Online Learning ENHANCE YOUR QUALIFICATION, ADVANCE YOUR CAREER.

Bsc.TTM avel Agency Management and Tour perations Course Code: BTT 111 Semester: Third SLM UNITS : (write units covered in E- lesson from normal syllabus) Unit:

TRAVEL AGENCY MANAGEMENT AND TOUR OPERATIONS OBJECTIVES INTRODUCTION Student will be able to :  In this unit we are going to learn about the Understand the need & importance of travel need & importance of travel information information Understand the concept and role of TIM in Tourism  Under this unit you will also understand th & travel Industry concept and role of TIM in Tourism & trav Analyze the need & types of counselling of tourist Industry  This Unit will also make us to understand the need & types of counselling of tourist INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE AND ONLINE LE

TOPICS TO BE COVERED > Role of Information in Tourism > Sources of Information > Travel Information Manual (TIM) Need & types of counselling of tourist Tourism/Visitor / Tourist Information Counsellors

• Information is an important element of any system or industry to exist and prosper . • The important information covers image of destinations, products, competitor’s offering, prices, quality and services, promotional and selling activities, channel and experience of tour operators. • Regarding travel behaviour and motivation, the information one related to motivation for travel, location accommodation, mode of transport, frequency of visits, services at hotels, actual relations to prices, destination and products.

Some of the priority areas can be listed as: • Planning • Managing • Promotion • Future Orientation • Image Projection

SOURCES OF INFORMATION • Newspapers, Magazines and Advertisements • Specialised Publications • Non-Print Media • Internet as a source of information

Travel Information Manual

Travel Information Manual (TIM) • The TIM booklet, which is issued on a monthly basis, offers a complete package for airline offices, travel agents, multinationals, tour operators and government agencies to help travellers save time and avoid fines and delays. • Published by IATA, TIM is a practical and handy manual containing up-to- date entry regulations for air travelers. • Airlines and Travel Agents use TIM to provide advice on border requirements to passengers at the time of booking, and airlines use it at the time of boarding to ensure passengers have sufficient travel documents for their destination and any transit points.

TIM lists information on subjects such as: •Passports: exemptions, validity, admission and transit restrictions and rules for minors, crew and the military. •Visas: exemptions, issue, re-entry permits, transit without visa, merchant seamen requirements. •Health Information: required vaccinations, malaria and yellow fever risk areas, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, World Health Organization recommendations, and useful information regarding passengers health care. •Airport Tax: amount, place of payment and possible exemptions for departure tax. •Customs and Currency: Import and Export regulations, pets, wild flora and fauna. •Duty-free allowances, baggage clearance.

Timatic (Travel Information Manual Automatic) • Timatic (Travel Information Manual Automatic) is a database containing documentation requirements for passengers traveling internationally via air, e.g. passport and visa requirements.

Timatic was first established in 1963 and is managed by the Montreal-based International Air Transport Association (IATA). It is available in a number of forms including: 1. Timatic – available via the SITA network 2. TIM – hard-copy book 3. TimaticWeb – web-based 4. Timatic XML 5. IATA Travel Centre, Consumer web portal

Timaticweb.com • Timaticweb.com provides access to a wealth of reliable and up-to-date travel information - on line - to anyone needing details of immigration requirements of any country in the world.

• A practical and straightforward application guides the user through any of the four main menus. • Along the lines of online TIMATIC (available through PCs connected to the SITA network), Timaticweb.com contains the unique Specific Database for accessing customised visa and health requirements for any country based on the passenger's nationality, passport type, embarkation, transit and/or destination points. • Such elements as alien residency, government duty passports, and merchant seamen documents can also be taken into account

Counselling of the tourist

Concepts for innovative IT-supported counselling services for travel and tourism (e.g., Novak & Schwabe 2008), enable intermediaries to reconfigure their business models to successfully compete against pure Internet-based competitors. The counselling related problem areas of the (1) principle-agent conflict, (2) the stickiness of information needs, and (3) the burden of choice motivate the overall situation reformulation to a joint problem-solving process in preference to a pure sales process.

Practice in Tourist Offices • In order to the current work practice at tourist offices there are following categories to be : • Environmental Issues • Counselling-related problem areas - Information-Asymmetry Issues - Burden-of-Choice Issues - Sticky-Information-Needs Issues

Design Requirements for Collaborative Destination Counselling Problem Statement (PS) in Destination Counselling Design Requirements (DR) for Improved Destination Counselling information asymmetry PS1. Potential of distrust describes the occurrence of the principle-agent DR1. Provide shared information access and DR2. shared interaction conflict in destination counselling stimulate involvement and foster empowerment of the guest in continuous counselling with traceable actions PS2. Staccato counselling issue describes the uncomfortable waiting times for the guest and his/her reduced involvement burden of choice PS3. Time pressure describes the nature of destination counselling DR3. Provide short cuts and fast tracks to common demands sessions which typically are rather short (approx. five minutes on average) PS4. Information integration problem describes the deluge of paperwork DR4. Provide integrated forms of information gathering for comprehens and the amount of Internet resources needed for counselling product impression

sticky information needs PS5. Missing hidden needs elicitation describes the absence of an DR5. Provide inspiring information, visualizations and mind-compatible inspiring counselling form and sufficient material counselling material PS6. Visual expression deficiency depends on inadequate used or DR6. Provide describing media in an emotionally impacting way missing tools / material (is exacerbated by unavailable (multi-) medial presentation material and the problem of improper material) environment PS7. Knowledge development problem describes the result of DR7. Provide maintenance opportunities for content and possibilities introducing new products and service to an environment of a high for quick-learn-paths employee turnove PS8. Problem of differing service capabilities describes a result of a DR8. Provide an easy-to-learn interface and increase content high employee turnover and missing training-on-the-job concepts accessibility to support learning



Tourism/Visitor / Tourist Information Counsellors • Tourism/Visitor Information Counsellors are an important link between the visitor and the service providers. • They work at visitor information centres, government offices or at association offices, and provide answers to questions about the area, history, attractions and weather. • Much of their time is spent talking to guests.

Responsibilities: • Answer questions and provide information specific to region or site • Distribute promotional materials • Promote tourism products • Encourage new and return visits • Gather information and develop new resources • Perform administrative tasks • May also stock and sell merchandise and handle cash transactions

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:  Excellent communication skills are required  Good customer service skills  Knowledge of attractions, events and the local area is also required  Research skills are an asset  Previous experience in sales and cash handling is an asset  Inventory and administrative skills  Time management skills are an asset • Knowledge of a second language is an asset

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS Q1 : Which types of information a tourist want to know about a destination? a) Market b) Climate c) Attractions d) All of these Q2: Timatic stand for :- a) Travel Information Manual Automatic b) Tourism Information Manual Automatic c) Travel Information Management Association d) Tourism Information Management Association Q3 : Travel Information Manual (TIM) is published by _______ a) IATA b) ICAO c) PATA d) ASTA Q4 : Which one is not a counselling-related problem areas? b) Burden-of-Choice Issues a) Information-Asymmetry Issues d) Sticky-Information-Needs Issues c) Political Issue

SUMMARY  Timatic (Travel Information Manual Automatic) is a database containing documenta requirements for passengers traveling internationally via air, e.g. passport and requirements.  The counselling-related problem areas of the 1) principle-agent conflict, 2) the stickiness of information needs, and 3) the burden of choice Tourism/Visitor Information Counsellors are an important link between the visitor and service providers.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION Which types of information can you find in TIM? s: TIM lists information such as: assports: exemptions, validity, admission and transit restrictions and rules for minors, crew and itary. sas: exemptions, issue, re-entry permits, transit without visa, merchant seamen requirements. ealth Information: required vaccinations, malaria and yellow fever risk areas, HIV/AIDS and oth eases, World Health Organization recommendations, and useful information regarding passeng alth care. rport Tax: amount, place of payment and possible exemptions for departure tax. ustoms and Currency: Import and Export regulations, pets, wild flora and fauna. uty-free allowances, baggage clearance. “For Further details please refer to the SLM”

Reference • Travel Agency and Tour Operation, Concepts and Principles – J.M.S. Negi. • Travel Agency Management - Mohinder Chand. • Professional Travel Agency Management – Chunk, James, Dexter &Boberg • The Business of Travel Agency Operations and Management– D.L. Foster E sources - • https://www.iata.org/en/publications/timatic/tim/ • https://travelinformationmanual.wordpress.com/

For queries Email: mae.query@cuidol.