Contents Introduction chapter 1

Figure 1
.Mission of tour operator
Sorce
.by author
Definitions of tour operator 
formal definition of a tour operator with a reputable source, Polyether, who in 1993, 
defined the tour operator as;‘[an organization or person] who has the responsibility of 
putting the tour ingredients together, marketing it, making reservations and handling 

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actual operation .Similarly, Holloway (1992) states that; ‘tour operations undertake a 
distinct function in the tourism industry, they purchase separate elements of tourism 
products/services and combine them into a package tour which they sell directly or 
indirectly to the tourists’. The Organization for Economic and Cultural Development 
define a tour operator as follows; ‘Tour operators are businesses that combine two or 
more travel services (e.g., transport, accommodation, meals, entertainment, 
sightseeing) and sell them through travel agencies or directly to final consumers as a 
single product (called a package tour) for a global price. The components of a 
package tour might be pre-established or can result from an “a la carte” procedure, in 
which the visitor decides the combination of services he/she wishes to acquire. 
‘Importance of tour operators
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. 
Tour operators are an important part of the tourism industry. Tour operators 
make the logistics of organizing a holiday much easier for the consumer. This makes 
people more likely to travel, more often. 
Tour operators have a lot of power. If they choose to sell holidays in a 
particular location, for example, then that location will receive many of the associated 
positive and negative economic impacts of tourism. Tour operators are often 
vertically or horizontally integrated with other organizations, such as travel agents 
and airlines. This allows for easier management and distribution of products. Tour 
operators typically build holidays end masse. This means that economies of scale 
play a key role in driving down prices- the more you produce the cheaper the product 
becomes! This is obviously beneficial to the consumer and helps travel agents to have 
a competitive advantage when selling holidays. 
The difference between a tour operator and a travel agent many people are not 
aware that a travel agent and a tour operator are actually two totally different 
organizations and they are not aware of the difference between a tour operator and a 
travel agent. In fact, it is quite easy to understand this difference ! 
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Butler, R.W. (1999). Sustainable tourism: A state-of-the-art review. Tourism Geographics: An International Journal of 
Space, Place and Environment. 1(1) p. 7-25. 

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