How Does a Travel Agency Organize a Trip?

There are various activities that a travel agency has to perform in order to ensure that an intending traveler undertakes his proposed journey and enjoys a holiday of his choice.

Due to changing airfares and schedules, numerous available vacation packages and a vast amount of travel information, travel planning takes time and is sometimes annoying. To find out the many travel options, tourists and business people often turn to travel agents, who review their needs and help them make the best possible travel arrangements. Also, many major cruise lines, hotels, resorts, and specialty travel groups use travel agents to endorse travel packages to millions of people every year.

There are various steps involved from the time a traveler visits a travel agent to buy a ticket until he returns back home after visiting the place of his choice. Organized travel by a travel agency can be of 2 kinds, i.e.

1. Single client
2. Group client

In order to proceed with the journey, the following main elements (in both types of travel) need to be considered.

· Study of the journey.
· Estimate of expenditure.
· Execution of the journey.
· Presentation of accounts.

Individual or ordinary trips:

The following steps are involved in organizing individual or ordinary trips –

1. Clients turn to travel agents to organize a travel package for him.
2. Scope of journey includes up to what extend tourist need that travel package covering all most all-popular locations.
3. Depend on above plan estimate maximum cost and send for the clients approval.
4. Check out for available transport, accommodation etc.
5. Deposit normally 25 % of total expenditure.
6. Operation department makes proper arrangements to find out proper location and book dates for hotels.
7. Prepare tourist itinerary and execute the journey with proper plan.
8. Voucher delivery after completion of tour, which includes confirmed ticket.

Group or Organized trips:

The following steps are covered in organizing group or organized trips –

1. Find out estimated number of participants for trip.
2. Type of locality to visit (hill station, beaches, historical etc).
3. Group travel can also be arranged for certain events e.g. World cup, Olympic, Cultural trade fairs, Meetings etc.
4. Operation department find out hotels to book with in covering area, its better to book during low season.
5. For sports or some major events etc, the travel agents needs to take extra care and arrange security personals to guard the clients or any other miss happening.

In general, travel agents give suggestion on travel spots and arrange services for transportation, hotel accommodations, budget car rentals, tours, and recreation. They also may give advice on restaurants, weather conditions and tourist attractions. For international travel, agents also give information on customs regulations, currency exchange rates, required documents and papers like passports, visas, and certificates of vaccination. The role and the activities of the travel agents in any country depend on the extent of the economic development of that country.