How to check the reliability of the tour operator? This issue has become especially relevant for Russian travelers in recent years. What is not surprising - reports that another travel agency announced the termination of activities, while its clients are waiting in vain for check-in at the airport or trying to check into a hotel abroad, appear in the media more and more often. At the same time, the “heroes of the report” are not one-day companies at all, but well-established, well-known brands. How to be a Russian tourist? Is there a certain rating of tour operators on reliability that you can focus on?
What is the essence of the problem?
In order to understand that the precedents covered in the media reflecting the bankruptcy of the players in the tourism market are not coincidences, but a systemic problem, we turn to expert statistics presented in a number of sources. In 2014, more than a dozen tour operators declared bankruptcy, and this caused difficulties in organizing leisure for more than 50 thousand tourists.
The organization "Tourist assistance" was forced to evacuate from different countries more than 35 thousand people, apparently left without a place in a hotel or airplane, ordered from a travel agency. Of course, these figures may seem very small against the background of the indicator reflecting the total number of clients that Russian tour operators served in 2013, namely 10 million people. However, in absolute terms they seem quite eloquent.
Reliability - on the move
One of the criteria that can become a guideline in how to check the reliability of the tour operator, experts call the active development of the business. If a company does not stand still, develops, promotes its brand in other cities, then it most likely has significant financial reserves, market analysts say. An indicator is also the appearance in the structure of tour operator services of new services, interesting and unusual excursion programs.
Effectively - means reliable?
Some market analysts offer to meet operators "on clothes." An indicator of the solvency of the company can be, for example, an expensive office in the city center, high-quality repairs in it. Another indirect indicator is a functional and convenient site, the production of which cannot be cheap.
Great selection ahead of time
Another criterion noted by market analysts is the ability to book tours for a long time. This suggests that the company has a good set of ties in the industry - with hotels, airlines, various intermediary structures, offering the client ample opportunity to choose.
The business model, which is characterized by reliable tour operators, involves a significant diversification of relations between the company and partners, experts say. This is useful not only from the point of view of forming an offer for customers, but also in terms of the availability of emergency moves in case some contractors experience difficulties.
Charter to the sea
A number of experts have a negative attitude to the practice when travel agencies send clients to rest through charter flights. The option is much more reliable, analysts say, when the flight is carried out as part of a regular schedule. And therefore, if the client asks how to check the reliability of the tour operator, it will be useful to look at the model of the relationship of the company with the airlines.
Narrow specialization
Some market analysts consider the narrow specialization of travel agencies as an important criterion. Which can be expressed, for example, in working with any one geographical direction, country or theme of tours. Despite the fact that the largest tour operators in Russia have incomparably greater financial opportunities in comparison with average players, the latter, however, can successfully fight with leaders in individual niche segments and even lure customers to themselves. In this case, people will receive the appropriate level of service.
Payment in advance
Among the most frequent problems that exist in the Russian tourism market are the refusal or unexpected lack of operator resources to pay for airline services and hotel reservations. The client of the company, being already literally at the airport, finds out that he cannot check in for the flight due to the fact that the ticket was not paid by the tour operator. A similar situation can arise when checking into a hotel. To avoid such cases, experts advise dealing with tour operators who guarantee advance payment for the services of their respective counterparties.
But even if the company has made promises, experts say, then before you go, you should still call the hotel or airline to make sure that the reservation has been paid. This information is not confidential, and such checks are not prohibited. It is important to make sure not only the fact of paying for the ticket and the place in the room, but also check everything by dates, and also make sure that the place on the plane is confirmed not only for the flight there, but also back.
Abroad will help
According to some experts, the fact that ownership of a share in firms by foreigners can be considered a significant criterion for the reliability of a tour operator. This can speak, in particular, of better conditions for lending - abroad rates are lower, the ratio of banks in some cases is more loyal. The tourist market of Russia is attractive for foreign investors - it is growing, our travelers, moreover, are willing to spend more on trips than many Europeans. And therefore, the share of foreign partners in the share capital of Russian tour operators can be significant.
Is the state alert?
There is evidence that Russian lawmakers are currently preparing quite promising amendments to the Federal Law "On the basics of tourist activity", which may introduce additional standards regarding the work of tour operators. It is expected that the final phase of the review by their authorities will be in November-December 2014. What will be new in the law?
First of all, the threshold for companies to enter the Register of Tour Operators will be raised. Obligatory criteria may include, in particular, the provision of correct financial statements (and accompanied by the results of the audit), as well as the provision of information regarding the personal business reputation of the first persons of the company. Another criterion of a financial nature, which may become mandatory, is the availability of bank guarantees for tour operators working with charter flights.
It is assumed that a new system will be introduced, under which the liability of travel agencies is insured. In particular, we are talking about deductions of fixed amounts for each tourist to special funds, the funds from which are supposed to be used in case of problems.
The powers of the authorities
It is likely that the authority of Rostourism will expand in the field of control and oversight functions (including in the direction of initiating audits). If the operator’s activities reveal violations during inspections, he may be excluded from the Register. Outside of which, the travel agency, in accordance with the law, cannot legally work. So, its activity will be considered as a criminal offense in the form of illegal business.
What is this registry?
We said above that tour operators can legally conduct their work only if their brand is present in the official Register. What does it mean?
Activities outside of "accreditation", as we have said, are illegal. The registry operates at the federal level. Tour operators in Moscow, Vladivostok or companies registered in a small provincial town must meet the criteria determined by the state.
The relevant registry is state. It appeared in 2007 as a system of assessing the reliability of travel agencies by relevant departments. The main criterion at the moment is the level of financial support for the activity. If it is sufficient, then the travel agency falls into the Register. Now the list of operators "accredited" by the state includes several thousand companies. In addition to the fact that the Registry performs the function of controlling the admission of organizations to the tourism segment, it serves as a guide for various counterparties to operators - primarily insurance companies.
The registry requires law
Many tourists, meanwhile, are not aware that this Registry is. Although, as experts note, most of the companies that caused inconvenience to customers had adequate accreditation. And therefore, according to market analysts, the Register in its current format is not an indicator. However, it can become one after the adoption of large-scale amendments to legal acts regulating the tourism industry.
Online Facts
How to check the reliability of a tour operator through online analytics? It is possible. Moreover, many Russians prefer to identify bona fide travel agencies using Internet resources. It is quite acceptable, having studied the rating of tour operators in terms of reliability, also study online sources of information.
The first thing you can use is website analytics services. With their help, you can explore the "virtual representation" of any tour operator for citation, the number of visitors and other indicators indicating the promotion of the brand in the online space. True, it should be borne in mind that a significant percentage of traffic on a site can be generated artificially. Therefore, the study of site statistics is only one of the possible tools that is best complemented by others.
Such as, for example, the study of reviews - in travel forums, in the relevant sections of the operators' websites, on portals of booking systems, etc. That is, the opinions of people who had real experience in interacting with certain tour operators, traveling under the appropriate programs and using various services of firms. However, there is one, and quite obvious, nuance - reviews, as well as traffic, can be fake, paid.
An alternative to the opinions of users can be the ratings of "promoted" experts on their blogs. The main plus is that it is unlikely that they will be paid (and if so, then most likely the author will not greatly praise the travel agency with which he actually had a negative experience of interaction). Among the minuses - the opinions of different experts can be very dissimilar, even opposite.
National quality standard
A possible guideline when choosing a tour operator may be information about the regalia received by him, reflecting the success of the company in the industry. These include, for example, the Travel Russian Awards. As part of this event, tour operators are identified, which the expert commission considers to be among the most reliable.
The winners of the rating for 2013 are companies such as Tez Tour, Biblio Globus, Pegas Touristic. That is, mainly market leaders, the largest operators. Unconditional leadership, having received 33% of the vote, was secured by the Tez Tour. This confirms one of the criteria we mentioned - the scale of the company and, as a result, the availability of the necessary resources to fulfill obligations to tourists. In addition, the factor of reputation plays a role. Market leaders want their customers to be sure: they are reliable tour operators.
The prize was jointly established by Travel Russian News magazine and PR2POINT, a company operating in the marketing communications market. The methodology for determining the winners is based on a sociological survey of tourists themselves who used the services of operators. The Russians, therefore, themselves compose a rating of tour operators on reliability. At the same time, it should be noted that initially the respondents are offered a list of 30 pre-selected companies, at least that was in 2013. Perhaps the new reliability rating of tour operators, 2014, which is likely to be compiled by the magazine, will allow different criteria for the formation of lists of companies that claim to be highly appreciated by society. The sample of respondents in 2013 amounted to 1,600 people from 205 settlements representing all federal districts. The question addressed to the respondents was: select three Russian tour operators, which, in your opinion, are the most reliable.
There are, of course, other industry rankings, perhaps less well-known to the average layman. There are also regional "elite lists." Many industry portals are trying to compile a rating of Moscow tour operators by reliability, St. Petersburg, and Far Eastern regions. Criteria can be selected based on the specifics of doing business in certain cities.