The words "travel agency", "travel agency", "tour operator" to some people seem similar. In fact, these are different concepts. To understand them and not get confused anymore, we suggest today to study how the tour operator differs from a travel agency and travel agency. This knowledge is especially useful for those planning a trip in the future.
Tour operator and travel agency - what is the difference? To begin with, let's consider both concepts in more detail.
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 (station).
- Accommodation at the hotel.
- Excursions and the presence of a guide.
- Visa support.
- Health insurance and more.
Simply put, the tour operator organizes your vacation, offering to spend it as best as possible, choosing various travel options.
The list of tour operators
The following companies are considered leading tour operators in Russia:
- TUI (Tui).
- Coral Travel ("Coral Travel").
- TEZ Tour ("Tez Tour").
- Anex Tour ("Anex Tour").
- Sunmar ("Sanmar").
- Intourist ("Intourist").
- Pegas Touristik ("Pegas Touristik").
- "Biblio Globus" and others.
Some customers are satisfied with the work of these companies, while others are not. But it’s still worth trying to contact the organizer of the tour.
Tour Operator Powers
Below are the responsibilities of the tour operator:
- Chooses a hotel.
- Book hotels.
- Find guides for excursions.
- Book charter flights.
- Redeems several seats on airplanes.
- Organizes transfers and accommodation.
- Serves tourists at their destination.
- Carries out negotiations with insurance companies.
- Forms a price.
The operator needs to prepare at least 3 components of the tour product: flight, insurance, accommodation. Everything else can fall on the shoulders of a partner company.
A travel agency is ...
This is a company whose main goal is to realize a tourism product, that is, to provide it with a client. Agents offer vouchers for those who want to relax and for each of their consent, the firms receive 13-15% of the profit from the operator.
Travel agencies cooperate with tour operators, know their prices, which means that they can very well help you choose and realize the least expensive vacation. They do not create anything new, they only sell what has already been created by tour operators, adding to their sum their commission.
Agency Activities
Let's learn what the work of a travel agent is:
- Implementation of finished tours.
- Establishes a connection between the traveler and the operator.
- Promotion of products of tour operators.
- As an add. travel agents can arrange a transfer or excursion for you.
Agree, the set of responsibilities is very different from what the operators should do.
Joint activity of travel agents and tour operators
To clearly explain how tour operators and agencies work together, we give an example:
- The company produces chips of a certain brand. Should companies open their store outlets 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, which adds to the initial cost its interest for marketing services.
The same thing is 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. Both sides are in plus here: one receives money for its creative work, and the second - for the correct presentation and sale of the result of this work.
Another advantage of the interaction of travel agencies with tour operators is a wide range. Even the largest operator in the country may not have tours in exotic destinations. It is the agents who are engaged in the "supply" of interesting offers, because they cooperate with several different partners at once.
Difference between travel agency and tour operator
We already know what these two concepts mean. Now let's find out how the tour operator differs from a travel agency? The purpose of the activity. Tour operators organize vacations, 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:
- Classical. The tour operator is developing its own tour. The agency sells it on behalf of its partner.
- The agency implements the tour to the client on its own behalf, but does not hide and indicates who participated in the creation of the proposal.
- The agency is also able to sell its own tour, while acting in two roles - as an agency and as an operator.
Therefore, do not be alarmed if you meet one of the three ways to implement a tourist offer. There is no one true way to sell.
Moreover, now it is more often possible to meet precisely the third method.
Tour operator agreement with travel agency
Did you know that both parties enter into an agreement with each other?
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 its own behalf or on behalf of the operator.
The most common form of agreement is an agency agreement. In some cases, a contract of commission is also concluded.
This means that both parties are accountable to each other. And the conditions specified in the contract are required to fulfill.
Travel agency
So, we found out how the tour operator differs from the travel agency. Now it's time to learn another concept.
In fact, a travel agency is the same travel agency. There is no difference between the two.
And what is the difference between a travel agency and an operator? In the same way that a tour operator differs from a travel agency. Therefore, we can say that these words are interchangeable. Use any word you like.
Note: in the tourism business, there are only two definitions: a travel agency and a tour operator.
Who is better to collaborate with?
What is the plus of direct interaction with a tour operator, and not with an agency? Surely every person in his life heard such a phrase as a "burning ticket." And you can buy them only from operators.
After all, it was they who bought seats on the plane, booked charter flights, etc. And if their offer did not interest anyone, they would like to get at least half, a third, or a quarter of the money spent. For this reason, operators reduce prices by half or three times (from the original). This is an incredibly advantageous offer for people who are ready at least tomorrow to break into Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia or Europe.
However, travel agencies are considered more affordable than tour operators. Therefore, potential tourists often do not manage to fly on a "last minute package".
What can be required from an agency?
A tourist as a consumer has rights. What can he demand?
- Compensation (both material and moral harm).
- The response from the travel agency for the quality and composition of its services.
The amount that the travel agency must pay as a penalty cannot exceed the initial cost of the tour.
What can not be expected from an agency?
Just as you have your consumer rights, a travel agency has its own responsibilities, within which it provides you with relaxation. Sometimes clients require a supernatural from a travel agency, thinking that it is the agents who should provide assistance in something.
Consider how you can not communicate with representatives of travel agencies and what does not need to be required:
- If you were refused a visa, the agents have nothing to do with it. You cannot demand agents to solve your problem, as other people are involved in this, namely diplomatic missions of foreign states. Tip: to avoid problems with the visa, it is recommended to insure your trip against visa issues. In this case, the company will incur all losses and compensate this amount to you.
- Travel agency is only an intermediary between the operator and the client. Agents cannot be held responsible for carrier actions, whatever they may be. Let's say the flight was 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 travel lies on the shoulders of airport employees. In an extreme case - airlines. If something happened to your suitcase in the luggage compartment during the flight, you should not write angry messages to travel agency staff. They are not to blame for this, this is not their job. It would be appropriate to hold accountable employees of the airport.
- Travel agents may be to blame if they did not show you any significant feature of the flight (for example, lack of space for luggage). After all, you will have to pay extra for this, which is unlikely to be pleasant.
Follow these recommendations, then your vacation will be as comfortable as possible!