What is the difference between a tour operator and a travel agency: concept, definition, difference, functions and characteristics of the amount of work performed

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The words "travel agency", "travel agency", "tour operator" seem similar to some people. In fact, these are different concepts. To understand them and not get confused anymore, we suggest today to study how a tour operator differs from a travel agency and a travel agency. This knowledge will be especially useful for those planning a trip in the future.

Tour operator and travel agency - what's the difference? First, let's take a closer look at both concepts.

The concept of "tour operator"

This is a company that forms a package of travel services for customers. What does the tour package include?

• Booking plane tickets (bus, train).
• Various transfers from or to the airport (train station).
• Hotel accommodation.
• Excursions and guide availability.
• Visa support.
• Medical insurance and more.

Simply put, the tour operatororganizes your vacation, offering you to spend it as best as possible, selecting various travel options.

List of leading tour operators

The following companies are considered the leading tour operators in Russia:

• TUI (Tui).
• Coral Travel.
• TEZ Tour ("Tez Tour").
• Anex Tour ("Anex Tour").
• Sunmar ("Sanmar").
• Intourist ("Intourist").
• Pegas Touristik ("Pegas Touristik").
• "Biblio Globe" and others.

Some customers are satisfied with the work of these companies, others are not. But it's still worth trying to contact the tour organizer.

Powers of the tour operator

The duties of a tour operator are as follows:

• Choose hotels.
• Books hotels.
• Finds tour guides.
• Orders charter flights.
• Buying a few seats on planes.
• Arranges transfers and accommodation.
• Serves tourists at their destination.
• Negotiates with insurance companies.
• Forms the price.

The operator needs to prepare at least 3 components of the tourist product: flight, insurance, accommodation. Everything else can fall on the shoulders of the partner company.

A travel agency is…

This is a company whose main goal is to sell a tourist product, that is, to provide a client with it. Agents offer toursthose wishing to take a break and for each of their consent, firms receive 13-15% of the profit from the operator.

Travel agencies cooperate with tour operators, know their prices, which means they can help you choose and implement the least expensive vacation. They do not create anything new, they only sell what has already been created by tour operators, adding their commission to their amount.

Agency Activities

Let's explore what a travel agent's job is:

• Realization of ready-made tours.
• Establishes a connection between the traveler and the operator.
• Promotion of tour operator products.
• As an add. travel agent services can arrange a transfer or excursion for you.

Agree, the set of responsibilities is very different from what operators should do.

Joint activities of travel agents and tour operators

To illustrate how tour operators and agencies cooperate, here is an example:

The company produces chips of a certain brand. Should a company open its stores without ignoring any city in the country? Agree, it would be too expensive. It's better to just export your product to stores. That is, to sell chips through an intermediary who adds his interest for sales services to the initial cost

The same in our case. As you can see, such an alliance of agents with tour operators is very beneficial. To sell vouchers, it is not necessary to open several office points in each city. Here, inplus both sides: one receives money for their creative work, and the second - for the correct presentation and sale of the result of this work.

Another advantage of the interaction of a travel agency with tour operators is a wide range of products. Even the largest operator in the country may not have tours to exotic destinations. It is the agents who are engaged in the "delivery" of interesting offers, because they cooperate with several different partners at once.

The difference between a travel agency and a tour operator

We already know what these two terms mean. Let's now find out how the tour operator differs from the travel agency? The purpose of the activity. Tour operators organize vacations by creating a commercial tourist offer, and travel agents sell you the opportunity to fly anywhere in the world.

Implementation

How can a travel agency sell a tour operator's product in practice? There are three ways:

1. Classic. The tour operator is developing his tour. The agency sells it on behalf of its partner.
2. The agency sells the tour to the client on its own behalf, but does not hide and indicates who took part in the creation of the offer.
3. The agency is also able to sell its own tour, while acting in two roles - as an agency and as an operator.

So don't be alarmed if you come across one of the three ways to implement a travel offer. There is no one right way to sell.

Moreover, it is the thirdway.

Tour operator agreement with travel agency

Did you know that both parties enter into an agreement between themselves?

In accordance with the law, the tour operator and travel agent conclude an agreement on the promotion and sale of the finished product. The agent acts on his own behalf or on behalf of the operator.

The most common form of agreement is an agency agreement. In some cases, they also conclude an agency agreement.

This means that both parties are responsible to each other. And the conditions specified in the contract must be fulfilled.

Travel agency

So, we found out the difference between a tour operator and a travel agency. Now it's time to learn another concept.

Actually, a travel agency is the same travel agency. There is no difference between these two concepts.

What is the difference between a travel agency and an operator? The same difference between a tour operator and a travel agency. Therefore, we can say that these words are interchangeable. Use any word you like.

Note: there are only two definitions in the tourism business: travel agency and tour operator.

Who is the best partner to work with?

What is the advantage of direct interaction with the tour operator, and not with the agency? Surely every person has heard in his life such a phrase as "burning ticket". And you can only buy them from operators.

After all, it was they who bought the seats on the plane, booked charter flights, etc. And in the event thatno one will be interested in their offer, they would like to receive at least half, a third or a quarter of the money spent. It is for this reason that operators reduce prices by half or three times (from the original). This is an insanely profitable offer for people who are ready to go to Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia or Europe even tomorrow.

However, travel agencies are considered more accessible than tour operators. Therefore, potential tourists often fail to fly away on a "last minute" trip.

What can you demand from an agency?

A tourist as a consumer has rights. What can he demand?

• Compensation (both material and moral damage).
• Reply from the travel agency for the quality and composition of its services.

The amount that the travel agency must pay as a pen alty cannot exceed the original cost of the tour.

What can not be demanded from an agency?

Just as you have your rights as a consumer, the travel agency has its own responsibilities in which it provides you with a vacation. Sometimes clients demand the supernatural from a travel agency, thinking that it is the agents who should assist in anything.

Let's consider how you can not communicate with representatives of the travel agency and what you do not need to demand:

• If you are denied a visa, the agents have nothing to do with it. You cannot demand agents to solve your problem, as this is done by other people, namely the diplomatic missions of foreign states. Tip: To avoid problems withvisa, it is recommended to insure your trip against non-issuance of a visa. In this case, the company will assume all losses and compensate you for this amount.
• A travel agency is just an intermediary between the operator and the client. Agents cannot be held responsible for the actions of the carrier, whatever they may be. Let's say the flight is delayed. Some go to write complaints about the travel agency, thinking that the departure of the aircraft depends on the agents. But everything related to air transportation lies on the shoulders of airport employees. Last but not least, the airlines. If something happened to your suitcase in the luggage compartment during the flight, you should not write an angry message to the travel agency staff. It's not their fault, it's not their job. It would be appropriate to hold airport employees accountable.
• Travel agents may be at fault if they didn't tell you about a significant feature of the flight (such as lack of luggage space). After all, you will have to pay extra for it, which is unlikely to please.

Consider these recommendations, then your vacation will be as comfortable as possible!