Organization of travel agency work. The basic principles of successful travel agency work. We open a travel agency

Travel firm - a tourist enterprise of an agent and operator profile, which has its own specifics of organizing activities, which, like in any other company, depends on the goals and objectives of its activities. The goals and objectives of a travel company are to create attractive tourism products that meet the needs of tourists, maintain supply at the level of demand, and maintain the competitiveness of the product.

Based on this, the entire cycle of operation tourist enterprise can be roughly divided into four important areas (Fig. 6.5):

1) marketing research market, including the study of consumer demand;
2) development tourist product, consisting of planning tourist programs and their approbation;
3) financial calculations, consisting of pricing, accounting and reporting policies, taxation, etc .;
4) development of a travel company, including the introduction of new products, directions, diversification and integration.

All these areas are aimed at fulfilling the main functions of a tourist enterprise - high-quality tourist service, gaining a permanent clientele and thereby ensuring a stable financial and competitive position in the market. tourist services, as well as reproduction and development. This work is carried out constantly and is a continuous cycle of the tourism enterprise. And since the main product of the travel company is

Figure: 6.5

tour, then we can say that the work of a tourist enterprise is a continuous cycle of production and promising activities to create a quality tourist product - a tour.

Tourism product development

The order of work of a travel agency for the preparation of tours can be represented in the form of a diagram in Fig. 6.6.

The creation of a tourism product begins with a study of demand. However, this is not enough, as the tourism product is highly dependent on local reception possibilities or on the possibilities of organizing services. Climate, material base, infrastructure, tourist attractions - all this affects the content and composition of the tourist product. Having evaluated your own capabilities, you should once again analyze the demand, projecting it onto the options for your capabilities - to carry out its specification.

Then you can start laying routes, developing a service schedule. For the service schedule, a package of tours and a set additional services... At the same time, there is a contractual campaign with service providers. Ready-made tour packages are calculated, and their retail and wholesale prices are determined, price lists are drawn up for certain types services.

But the work does not end there either. After the service, the travel agency employees analyze all its advantages

Figure: 6.6

and disadvantages, draw conclusions and make appropriate changes to the product. These marketing activities are carried out along with ongoing demand research.

Financial calculations

Any work should bring not only joy, but also profit. Unprofitable production facilities are burned out and closed. In this regard, the tourist company must take care of its profitability.

And where and how does the travel company (tour operator) get their income? Revenues are based on the sum of the prices of tours and services sold. However, the cost of the service provided by the service providers must be reimbursed, that is, the money paid by the tourist for the service does not remain with the travel agency, but goes (paid) to the service providers. Therefore, in addition to the cost of services, profit is also included in the price (the usual profit margin for a tourist product of a tour operator is 15-20% of the cost of the tour), i.e.:

And these 15-20 % the cost of the tour should cover all the costs and expenses of the tourist company and leave some more net profit for the further development and diversification of the company.

What costs should the income cover? You need to pay:

* cost of services included in the service for our tours;
* taxes (VAT for travel agents, income tax, payroll tax and many others);
* lease of office space;
* depreciation of equipment, furniture and inventory;
* wages employees, bonuses, bonuses, etc .;
* deposits or interest on deposits (banks or insurance companies for a license, IATA or airlines for an agency agreement, etc.);
* formation of funds - social development, reconstruction and reorganization, investment, etc.

The firm must have some kind of net profit from production for further development and possible diversification of the enterprise.

Among travel agencies around the world, including in Russia, there is serious competition for the sale of tours. Moreover, price plays an important role in this competition.

In fact, if you are offered similar tours in different agencies, but at different prices, then you will choose the one that is cheaper. This is how the price instrument works on the market in questions competitive struggle... It turns out a kind of brand-tingo-financial fork - you want to increase the price, but the market situation does not. Therefore, many travel companies are looking for other ways to increase the profitability of their business.

Development of a travel company

Just like any production, a travel agency (company) must necessarily develop in the market. Stopping the dynamics of development threatens stagnation, since the market itself is very dynamic, constantly changing and developing. A stalled firm may simply fall behind. And that means losing. The main activities of the travel company in terms of further development are as follows:

First of all,should be constantly carried out marketing research of demand trends for the future.The development of new forms of service always gives pioneers the opportunity to set initially higher prices, thereby skimming the "market cream".

Secondly,should be carried out diversification of tourism activities,allowing to diversify the scope of capital application, while remaining within the framework of tourism business. In addition, if business difficulties arise in one direction, other directions will financially support production. Diversification of production in tourism can have two types of integration: horizontal and vertical.

Horizontal integration - opening of new routes, directions, development of new types of tourism and services (first level); the opening of branches, subsidiaries engaged in similar activities, the purchase of competitors' enterprises, the formation of large associations, corporations (second level).

Vertical integration -- opening of new activities. For example, a tour operator creates its own agency, opens its garage for transfers, then builds hotels, restaurants, opens its own airline.

In world practice, vertical integration is common, but it is possible only when a certain level of capital and turnover is reached. For example, French travel company Nouvelle Frontier owns its own airline Corser, many tour operators have their own agent network, fleet of vehicles, etc.

Introduction

1. Basic principles of successful work of a travel agency

2. The main steps of technology implementation

2.1. Computer selection

2.2. Choosing an office program

2.3. Internet access

2.4. The site of the company

2.5. Search system

3. Booking systems. GDS - Global Distribution Systems

Literature

Introduction

Tourism (fr. Tourisme; tоur - walk, trip) arose in that period of development of society, when a person's need to obtain information about new places, to travel as a means of obtaining this information was an objective law of the development of human society. Traveling brings pleasure and relaxation to a person.

At a certain stage in the development of the economy, when the need for travel increased sharply, manufacturers of these services appeared. This led to the formation of a special type of product - tourism, which can be bought and sold at consumer market.

The producers of services intended to serve tourists (traveling people) have merged into the tourism industry. Tourism is not a commodity of the first vital necessity, therefore, it becomes an essential human need only at a certain level of his income and at a certain level of society's wealth.

Tourism in our time in many countries of the world is rapidly developing, plays an increasingly prominent role in the world economy. According to experts, the level international tourism on arrivals in 1999–2010 could be more than 1 trillion tourists, and the profitability of this service sector will steadily increase. Already today, tourism accounts for about 6% of the world gross national product, 7% of world investments, every 16th workplace, 11% of global consumer spending.

Since tourism is a cross-sectoral sphere of the economy, covering not only accommodation facilities, but also transport, communications, food, entertainment and much more, this sphere affects any continent, state or city. The importance of tourism to the economy different countries is primarily associated with the benefits that it brings provided successful development... First of all, this is the growth of jobs in hotels and other accommodation facilities, in restaurants and other enterprises in the food industry, in transport and in related service industries. Another important advantage is the multiplier effect of tourism, that is, its impact on the development of related sectors of the economy. The third advantage is the growth of tax revenues to the budgets of all levels. In addition, tourism provides economic impact to the local economy, stimulating the export of local products.

In Russia, however, for a number of reasons, the sphere of tourist activity in comparison with many other countries has not yet received proper development. Together with all CIS countries, Russia accounts for only 2% of the world tourist flow. Today, the number of foreign guests coming to Russia for business, tourism and private purposes is about 8 million, which is far from meeting its tourism potential.

Among the main reasons holding back development inbound tourism- the image of Russia as a country unfavorable for tourism, created by some foreign and domestic mass media; imperfection of the current procedure for issuing Russian visas to citizens of foreign states that are safe in terms of migration; undeveloped tourist infrastructure; discrepancy between the price and quality of hotel accommodation, etc.

At the same time, the number of Russian citizens who want to make a tourist trip, especially in foreign countries... So, in recent years, the average number of Russian tourists traveling to countries of near and far abroad has been about 13 million people, and this figure is constantly growing. This indicates that tourist activity, having gone through a period of chaotic development, is going through a stage of qualitative development.

It is no secret that when a client of a travel agency, purchasing a tour, receives well-prepared documents and complete information about the tour, he feels more comfortable and trusts the chosen agency more. Also, the travel agency, having spent a lot of money on attracting this client to himself, keeping full information about him, can later use it to re-attract an old client to himself. It is known that the costs in this case are four times lower than the initial ones!

An important component of the success of any company must not be overlooked - financial management and planning. The stability of the development of the travel agency and the absence of financial shocks are cherished dream many companies. How can this be achieved? Systematic management of work with customers, suppliers and inner work company gives the desired result.

How can you achieve systematization of company management? The answer is quite simple - through the introduction of modern technology automated control.

Modern technologies in our time, you can buy ready-made and implement, that is, customize for yourself. The cost of implementation depends on the complexity of the system. For starters, you can implement a simple and inexpensive automated accounting system. For example, a system for the prompt input of information about customer requests (orders), statements of all required documents (booking sheet, contract, TOUR-1 or spa voucher, invoice, parishioner :), prompt receipt of sales reports. Further, you can complicate the system by adding online booking of seats, accounting for settlements with suppliers, and communication with the accounting department.

It is possible to immediately deliver a unified accounting system, both operational and financial, and in two sections - management and accounting. With the use of flexible separation of access rights and information visibility, managers have access to only their part of the system, and accountants - a part of them. Naturally, company executives see all the information and can observe the work of managers from their computer. Since the operational input of information is carried out in unified system, then you can see who works and how: the number of orders entered, confirmed, paid by the client, paid to the supplier, closed, income for each order. Through the reports of the system, the manager sees the performance of each manager and department. Details can be set for each tourist and each component of the tour. For any client, you can see the history of his calls and payments.

In a unified system, managers can immediately see whether their application has been paid or not, the amount of payment. The accounting department immediately receives the initial information and does not waste time on re-entering the same data. All information is divided according to access rules, and the manager will not see unnecessary information. Accordingly, there is no need to separate the databases, which inevitably leads to input errors, inoperative work and the resulting problems.

After the main tasks of the systematic management of the travel agency have been solved - management of work with customers, with suppliers and the internal activities of the company, you can begin to expand the system.

Ultimately, all the necessary information is printed in a beautiful form. Clients will be provided with the entire set of necessary documents, suppliers - relevant reports, and for the state - all reports of the established form will be printed.

Even the latest technology in the company, after its implementation, it must constantly improve so as not to become obsolete. Therefore, the control system must be flexible and customizable so that it can be improved from the inside. The 1C: Enterprise system, on which typical solution "1C-Rarus: Travel Agency" is an open and flexible system. Using a powerful built-in programming language and the ability to communicate with any external systems can build automated system management of any complexity.

PC "SAMO-TourAgent" - agency automation

Automation of the work of travel agencies usually boils down to the operational accounting of tours ordered by tourists, payments made with clients and partners, printing of all necessary documents.

To automate a separate travel agency, you must use software, based on the use of a database that accumulates all operational data in a single repository. This is necessary to receive reports on the work of the agency at any given time. In addition to the database, it is also necessary to have a program with a convenient user interface, an acceptable speed of work, and configuring system parameters related to the company's activities. These parameters primarily include text and appearance printed documents generated on the basis of working data, as well as the ability to manage access rights to various system data.

With the automation of network agencies, the situation is somewhat more complicated. From a legal point of view, network agencies can be of various types: one firm with several sales offices, a network of individual agencies under a common logo (franchisees): The management of network agencies periodically needs operational reporting on the activities of the entire network. Such reporting can be provided only if all data is stored in a single repository.

The technical side of network agency automation must in a sense be intertwined with the look of the network. If a separate agency is easy enough to automate by connecting it to the server of a single database of the central office through the Internet, then it is impossible to do this with a franchisee. Communication problems with the database server will immediately paralyze the individual agency. In the case of a franchisee, this is a disruption to the work of one company due to the problems of another company. The solution is possible only by using a local working database in a separate office, which eliminates the dependence of the agency's work on the work of the data transmission channel, with copying all the entered data to the central office (the data transmission channel is used quite rarely compared to a permanent connection - once an hour, once a day, the frequency is chosen by the parent company). But there are also disadvantages behind the advantages. The central office server stores a single database collected from individual agencies. The central office can only passively monitor the work of the agency. It is technically very difficult to implement active behavior of the central office in relation to the subsidiary.

Alexey Zhumataev

We open tourist agency

Hello! Today I will write another topic for those who want business plan will open your own travel agency... First of all, we decide the issue of money, whether we will, or find an investor, or perhaps you have your own savings.

The tourist business is going through a difficult time, travel agencies are closing one after another, and not only small ones, but also quite strong and stable on their feet.

Therefore, let's look at the business plan I have prepared, it will help to avoid many pitfalls. It should be noted right away that it is better to start a travel business before the beginning of the season (that is, summer) at this time the maximum demand for this service.

Travel agency business plan

Let's look at where to start a travel business:

Registration of a travel agency

Of course, it's worth starting with official registration. this business... The form of ownership that is best suited for this activity is.

During registration, you will need to choose an appropriate name for your travel agency.

Name of travel agency

There are quite a few options for the activities of a travel agency, for example:

EuropeTour, Tourist, Rest, Around the World, etc. If you do not have enough imagination, then you can simply google the Internet and find the name of a travel agency that you like, let it be plagiarism, but with a probability of 95% the names are not patented, so there should be no problems.

Types of travel agency activities

In addition to the name, you will need the activities that you will be engaged in:

63.30 - Activities of travel agencies.

This group includes all activities that are associated with tourism business, so it is enough to indicate the group itself and you can use all the subgroups that it includes:

63.30.1 - Organization of complex tourist services;

63.30.2 - Provision of excursion tickets, provision of accommodation, provision of vehicles;

Each of us, when planning our vacation, is faced with the need to choose - an independent trip or through a travel agency. If everything is clear with independent travel, then it is worth understanding how travel agencies work. It is important not to be mistaken when choosing a service provider.

How a travel agency works

Let's take a look at the work of such a company through the eyes of the average consumer. When contacting a travel agency, the client tells about his preferences - where he wants to go, what he likes, when he plans his vacation and what budget he has. The manager, in turn, asks suggestive questionsto understand the customer's preferences as best as possible. When the communication with questions is over, the specialist offers the client several options - destinations, countries, hotels, which the client studies and makes the final choice based on the manager's recommendations.

When the choice is made, an agreement is concluded between the client and the travel agency for the sale of the tourist product, payment is made. A few days before departure, the client receives a package of documents necessary for the trip, which includes vouchers, tickets and insurance, and on the appointed day goes on a trip on the purchased voucher.

It would seem that everything is simple, and the question of how travel agencies work can be considered closed. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg, since the bulk of the work is not visible to the client. Before contacting a company, you should find out how travel agencies work from the inside.

Training

To start a travel agency, you must create entity, most of all, a society with limited liability, or register as individual entrepreneur... At the same time, it is necessary to choose a taxation system, the simplified taxation system “income minus expenses” is most suitable, which is what most companies and operators choose. It is quite difficult to find travel agencies working with VAT and common system taxation.

When the first steps have been passed, the company needs to conclude agreements with tour operators, the nuances of working with which we will consider later. Then the agency must rent the premises in which its office will be located, equip it with furniture and appliances, and hire qualified specialists. Of course, if the director of the company is himself a specialist in this area, then the future employee may be without experience in tourism.

How to work in a travel agency without experience? There are two options. The first is to have experience in direct selling and learn the product (destinations, countries, hotels) in short time, with due diligence, this can be done in a few weeks. The second is to have your own experience of traveling abroad, and the richer this experience, the better - your own impressions and emotions will always be better than theoretical knowledge about countries, but in this case it is worth reading about the nuances of travel and familiarizing yourself with the list of popular hotels.

In the end, everything will come with experience, and if the director is really interested in the development of a travel agency, then at least once a year information tours should be organized for employees - for personal acquaintance with hotels in Russia and abroad. Also, for advanced training, you should attend seminars and webinars of tour operators in order to always be aware of the latest tourism news and popular destinations. Full clarity about how a travel agency works, principles and schemes of interaction with tourists and a tour operator will come within a few months.

Getting started, signing a contract

When everything is ready to go, the travel agency opens and looks for its first clients. Let's omit the work marketing department and fast forward to the moment when the client has already arrived at the office. As we figured out above, the travel agent consults with the client, finding out his preferences and choosing the best option for rest. After the client has decided on the choice and the moment of sale occurs, the technical part begins.

The client provides the travel agent with foreign passports for purchasing a tour in another country or general civil passports for rest in home country (passports are returned to the client, only copies of them are sufficient for the travel agent), after which both parties sign an agreement, which specifies the conditions for the travel agency to work with the client, all parameters of the purchased tour and the terms of its payment are spelled out. The agreement is concluded between the travel agent and the client, but the terms should be mentioned: the client is the buyer of the tourist product, but the agreement also contains a list of tourists - those people who take part in the trip and for whose interests the buyer is responsible. The buyer can be one of the tourists or simply purchase a tour for other people.

Reservation

After the conclusion of the contract, the travel agency will book the tour chosen by the client with the tour operator. Here you need to explain what it is, how it differs from a travel agency and how a travel agency works with a tour operator.

A tour operator is a provider of travel services, it concludes contracts with hotels, transfers, airlines, insurance and other companies, forms package tours and sells them through agencies, since, according to the law, they cannot retail themselves. The travel agency is an intermediary between the tour operator and the tourist, the agent only offers the proposals formed by the tour operator to the client, provides all the information necessary for the trip, reservations the tour and transfers the package of documents.

So, concluding an agreement with the client for the sale of a tourist product and accepting payment, the agency begins to book the selected tour in the operator's online system, entering the data of the passports of all tourists. Within a period of time (from a few minutes to three working days), the tour operator provides the agency with a tour confirmation - the hotel is booked, seats on the plane and on the transfer too. The agency passes this information on to the traveler. All that remains is to wait for the travel documents, which are issued a few days before departure.

Payment

In most cases, it is inconvenient for the client to pay for the tour in full, and although the contract approved by the Ministry of Tourism stipulates the payment terms for the tour within three working days, there are installment systems.

Installment travel agencies are not uncommon. The easiest way to pay for a purchase in a non-lump sum is to ask the company for a payment schedule provided by the operator. Each operator has different payment schedules for the tour, but on average they look something like this:

10% of the cost of the tour, the client must pay at the time of the conclusion of the contract with the agency.
Up to 30-50% of the tour cost must be paid within three to five working days after the tour is confirmed.
And up to 100% must be paid two to three weeks before the start of the trip.

Of course, if a client purchases a tour less than two weeks before departure, then, most likely, the agent will ask him to pay for the tour in full on the day of the conclusion of the contract. This also applies to the so-called last-minute or canceled vouchers. There are also some nuances when buying a tour for an early booking promotion - in this case, you must pay in full before the end of the promotion, regardless of how much time is left before the start of the tour.

Installment

The purchase of a tour in installments with the Halva card is very popular. The list of travel agencies working with Halva is quite large, and every tourist can choose something for himself. For example, Tez Tour gives an installment plan for a card for three months, Anex tour from one to four months, Pegas from two to four months or six months at once. You can go on for a long time, current partners and the timing of the installment plan are best specified on the official website of "Halva".

Issuance of documents for travel

After the tour is booked, confirmed and paid for, the client has to wait for the day when the documents that will be necessary for him for the trip will be issued and available for printing. Usually this is reported by the travel agency.

Until that moment, a tourist can contact the company on various issues related to his trip, including asking his manager how the travel agency works in order to know all the subtleties and nuances of his trip.

Departure documents are usually available three to ten days before the start of the tour. It depends on the tour operator - someone writes out documents faster, someone strictly within a certain time. Also, the issuance of documents depends on the flights on which the tourist will fly. If the flights are regular, then usually tickets are issued faster (but such a tour will also cost more, and you will need to pay faster), if the flights are charter, then tickets are issued 3-4 days before departure.

What else does the travel agency do?

This is where the company's obligations under the contract end, the tourist makes a trip, where the tour operator is responsible for the quality of the services provided. He or his representatives provide all previously booked services - flight to the destination country, transfer from the airport to the hotel, accommodation and meals at the hotel, medical insurance and others. However, if a travel agency cares about their clients and wants clients to become regulars, information support occurs before the return of tourists from the trip. The travel agent notifies travelers about changes in the departure time, helps to resolve issues on vacation with insurance, if required, and upon returning asks for people's opinions about the vacation and makes an appointment for the next meeting.

This is the principle of the travel agency. It differs slightly in different firms, but this already depends on the responsibility and initiative of the specialists and the director.

Buy from an operator or agency?

As stated earlier, operators are not allowed to retail the tours they have formed. But on the websites of operators there is a search for vouchers for individuals, you can choose and buy a tour. What's more convenient?

Buying a tour on the operator's website, you submit an application and conclude an offer agreement with the company office - an agency operating under the name (franchise) of the tour operator. However, choosing a tour on the website of only one operator, you limit yourself in choosing, because when choosing a tour in an agency, you are looking for it in the database of several tour operators at once and choose what suits you.

How to choose an agency?

If all travel agencies are similar in many ways, which one to choose? The question is ambiguous, for everyone will have their own answer, depending on personal preferences. Let's consider the main criteria.

First, pay attention to where the travel agency's office is located (on the transport infrastructure and remoteness of the institution from the center) so that it is convenient to get to it. Look at the building that houses the firm's office. If the company is located in the old trading house, on the basement floor or in the market, then these are signs of a bad travel agency - it is not clear what else it can save on. When entering an office, focus on sound, smell and light - all this shows how the company is focused on its customers. In general, inspect the office better - for the state of repair, furnishings, cleanliness, employees.

Second, don't hesitate to ask the travel agent more questions. Depending on how you will be answered, you will be able to form your own opinion about how they will work with you in the future if a difficult situation arises.

Before choosing a travel agency, ask your friends, relatives, colleagues and friends. Perhaps their experience will help you decide and do right choice... Check out reviews on sites, city forums and reference books. And remember: a beautiful travel agency website is not always an indicator of its success and integrity, research independent sources.

If you are interested in any one specific direction, then you should not look for travel agencies working with Turkey or with any other country. Most companies work in all directions at once so as not to miss out on customers. It will not be profitable for them to specialize in only one country or part of the world. Yes, there are tour operators working with one or two countries, but this is rather an exception.

It is worth remembering that the professionalism of the company is evidenced by its versatility and quality service. First-class travel agencies working with Montenegro or Turkey should properly arrange for you a ticket to anywhere in the world.

conclusions

Whether to travel with a travel agency is everyone's personal choice. Someone prefers to plan their vacation on their own, but there are obviously advantages of a vacation with a certain company.

By contacting qualified professionals, you free yourself from finding the cheapest tickets, the right accommodation, a reliable insurance company and a safe transfer. Contacting a travel agency saves you time, and a competent specialist will always find the best option and will answer all questions. You don't have to endlessly search for information on the Internet or on the hotlines of each of the providers of the services you have booked. An undoubted advantage is the possibility of paying for the tour in installments, according to the tour operator's payment schedule or using the "Halva" card.

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