Contents Introduction chapter 1

 1.3 Key 
trends 
and 
issues 
in 
travel 
services 
worldwide
Throughout this thesis a range of trends have been identified that exemplify 
some of the forces and influences associated with globalization. This section revisits 
some of those trends and explores some additional ones.
 
Take a Closer Look: Trends Reports 
In the tourism and hospitality industry, and in global business, many minds 
work to decipher industry trends in order to keep informed and make smart decisions. 
One example is the Global Competitiveness Report 2019, a product of the World 
Economic Forum. Focused strictly on tourism and hospitality, the UNWTO produces 
a World Tourism Barometer that is updated regularly, available on a subscription 
basis. First, let’s take a closer look at the difference between trends and fads. While 
trends and fads may look the same initially, fads will almost always have a definite 
start and end; they are finite. Examples include tornado tourism (storm chasing tours) 
and terminal tourism (where people visit airport terminals without flying out from 
them), which appear destined to disappear as quickly as they appeared. 
In contrast, trends influence things for long periods of time, potentially shifting 
the focus or direction of industry and society in a completely different direction. For 
example, the growing awareness of tourism impacts seems to be a long-term trend, 
leading to greater focus on developing sustainable experiences, products, and services 
for the mindful traveller. With hindsight, we can identify the trends versus the fads. 
Predicting the future, however, is not as easy. A tour operator is the organization 
which puts the different elements of a holiday together. And the travel agent is the 
organization who sells it to the consumer. 
Whilst this differentiation is pretty easy to comprehend, it is easy to understand 
why people get tour operators and travel agents confused. This is largely because 
many organizations will operate under the same company. For example, TUI has a 
tour operator and a travel agent (and an airline too). As a result, many people do not 

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realize that in actual fact, there are two separate organizations doing two separate 
jobs. 
What does a tour operator do? 
Parked boat Photo by Asad Photo Maldives on Pexels.comUltimately, a tour 
operator is responsible for putting the different elements of a holiday together into a 
commoditized package. To do this, there are a number of different roles and 
responsibilities that tour operator staff will have. This includes: Data analysis- which 
destinations will sell best, how many holidays should they sell etc Assessing 
suitability of accommodation, transfer and transport options 
Liaising with stakeholders e.g. coach operators, airlines, hoteliers and resort 
representatives 
Negotiating contracts 
Confirming reservations with airlines/hotels 
Managing and responding to customer feedback 
Undertaking market research 
Production of marketing material 
Providing pricing information 
Handling bookings, invoicing and issuing of tickets 
Working with travel consultants from different travel agencies to put holiday 
packages together 
Products and services sold by tour operators 
Tour operators have a number of products and services that they sell, 
depending on their specific business model, business intentions and target market. A 

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tour 
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operator will typically package together two of more elements to form a 
packaged product, which is then sold at an inclusive price. 
Examples include: 

Package holidays 

Accommodation 

Transfers 

Excursions 

Information on destinations 

Representative service in resorts 
Types of tour operator; 
Tour operators come in all shapes and sizes. Some are large, multinational 
organizations and other are small, independent business. 
Different types of tour operators develop products for different types of 
tourism. This can include the mass market, niche tourism market, special interest 
tourism, the luxury market, tailor-made products and dynamic packages. 
There are four different types of tour operators, which I will explain below. 

Inbound Tour Operators 

Outbound Tour Operators 

Domestic Tour Operators 

Ground Operators 
The tour operator. types of tour operators.

Inbound tour operators 
An inbound tour operator is one who facilitates inbound tourism. 
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Catlin, J., Jones, R. and Jones, T. (2011) Revisiting Duffus and Dearden’s wildlife tourism framework. Biological 
Conservation. 144(5) p. 1537-1544. 

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The aim of an inbound tour operator is to bring tourists in to a particular 
country or countries. 
Inbound tour operators will often collaborate with local travel agencies and 
transport operators to facilitate travel arrangements for their customers. 
Inbound tour operator example: A group of German tourists conduct a tour of 
China, encompassing a visit to Shanghai, Hangzhou and the Yellow Mountains. The 
tour operator who organizes their travel is Chinese-based company China Highlights. 
This company is based locally in China and they offer local, Chinese tours. 

Outbound tour operators 
An outbound tour operator is one who facilitates outbound tourism. 
The aim of an outbound tour operator is to send tourists out of a particular 
country or countries. 
Outbound tour operators will often collaborate with foreign travel agencies and 
transport operators to facilitate travel arrangements for their customers. 
Outbound tour operator example: A family of four from Liverpool, UK wants 
to book an all-inclusive summer sun holiday in Alicante. They book through TUI, the 
largest tour operator in Britain, who specializes in outbound travel. They are based in 
the UK, but they work with foreign partners to facilitate holidays overseas. 

Domestic tour operators 
A domestic tour operator is one who facilitates domestic tourism. The aim of a 
domestic tour operator is to organize travel within a particular country or countries. 
Domestic tour operators will often collaborate with domestic travel agencies and 
transport operators to facilitate travel arrangements for their customers. Domestic 
tour operators will often also serve the inbound tourism market. Domestic tour 
operator example: A group of twenty-something boys from Chicago want to travel to 
Florida for the spring break holiday. They want to do a tour of the local attractions in 

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the area and have some time to relax on the beach. They organize their travel through 
the tour company, Trek America. Staff at this company is experts in domestic travel 
within the USA. 

Ground tour operators 
A ground tour operator is an organization who dopes the ground work as grass 
roots level. 
Many tour operators do not have connections in all places around the world, 
therefore they build a network of connections to help them run their business. 
Essentially, some of the work is passed on to a third party, known as a ground 
operator. This work may include negotiating local contracts, liaising with local 
suppliers and providing market data, amongst other things. 
Ground tour operator example: A backpacker wants to ‘give something back’ 
and book a volunteer tourism holiday in Kerala. She wanted to use a known and 
trusted tour operator to book her trip so she booked it with Intrepid Travel. Intrepid 
Travel create and sell adventure holidays all over the world, and it is impossible for 
them to have contacts and every staff in every corner of the globe. Therefore, they 
work with local ground operators, who do the work on the ground. In this instance, 
the ground organization is Iris Travel– a tour operator based in Kerala, India. 
The Association of Independent Tour Operators 
The Association of Independent Tour Operators, abbreviated as AITO, is a 
travel industry trade group (like ABTA or ATOL) based in Britain. They launched in 
1976. 
The AITO represents around 120 independent tour operators across 200 
countries.These tour operators provide access to a huge range of activities including 
city breaks, safaris, luxury holidays and much more. The AITO is based in Tw 
Ickenham, south-west London. 

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The AITO does a variety of things. Most importantly, you can be reassured 
that your holiday is well-protected thanks to the Association of Independent Tour 
Operators. They assess every member financially as well as by their own business 
practice code before granting membership; this means that you are guaranteed clear 
and accurate descriptions of holidays as well as tour standards that are consistently 
monitored. 
The tour operator: To conclude 
Tour operators are an important part of the tourism industry, and with AITO, 
you have added security when booking your travels through a tour operator. 
Hopefully after reading this article you are now confident with what a tour operator 
is, how these organizations work and the different types of tour operators operating 
the market.avel agent is, as well as the different types of tour operators. 
Any travel agency that desires to expand its scope of services will undoubtedly 
branch out to tour packaging and the operation of tours –whether outbound, inbound, 
domestic or local tours. 
In the Philippines, Tour Operators are travel agents who expand their product 
range by setting up a tours department. This department is tasked to assemble the 
various travel components into a tour package, and sell the resulting package as one 
product. It develops and assembles well-made tour packages that are offered to the 
travelers through other travel agencies. In order to make these packages attractive to 
the travelers, a tour operator’s product development sections, is constantly on the 
look-out for new destinations, attractions and activities. It also conducts research on 
the travel trends of the market, and often consults the travel agents for relevant in-
puts. As an assembler of services, a tour operator acts as a middleman. It contact 
transportation services, such as airlines, bus/car operators’, shipping lines; hour for 
lodging and meals; restaurants and night clubs for entertainment; and guides
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Doxey, G, V, (1975). A causation theory of visitor-resident irritants; Methodology and research inferences. 

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“The tour operator is the “nut” that keeps all the “bolts” (suppliers) together.” A Tour 
Operator contacts the separate travel components of transportation, accommodations 
and their other services, and combines these into a single tour package. 
A tour operator has three (3) main functions: 
1. Plans and develops tour packages that meet the needs of the various markets. 
2. Assembles the various travel components as an integral part or component of 
a single tour package. 
3. Delivers the tour package by operating worry-free and secured programs 
and/or itineraries that are cheaper than when each service is purchased individually.