Tourism Operations

Tourism industry Operations & Tourism product, History of travel agency business, Travel trade intermediaries, definition of a Travel Agency and a Tour Operator, Types of Travel agencies and Tour Operators, Role of Ground operators. Difference between wholesale travel agent & tour operator.
Integration –Meaning, Horizontal and Vertical integration advantages & disadvantages, Linkages in the Travel Agency Business., Importance, Role and contribution of Travel companies in the growth and development of Tourism.

Forms of Travel agency business- Proprietorship, Partnership and Corporate firm. Organization Structure- Meaning, importance, key elements Organization Structure of a Travel/ Tour company. Functions of a Travel agency / a tour company.

Procedure for the approval and recognition of a travel agency and tour operation business from Govt of India and IATA.

Organization and associations-Introduction, need and significance of travel trade associations. UNWTO, IATA, IATO.

Hotel/Hospitality Industry Operations – An introduction, Meaning, nature & Purpose. Classification of Hotels on the basis of Physical characteristics, Tariff pattern, Size, Price level, Facilities and Geographic location. Star categorization of Hotels. Types of Rooms or accommodation and Rates, Reservation procedure in Hotels.
Organizational structure of a Hotel, Core areas of Standard Hotel– Front office, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Human Resource, Sales & Marketing. Engineering and Maintenance, Accounts and Credits Department, Security Department, Purchase Department Information Technology (IT) / Systems etc. Important hotel chains in India, FHRAI and its principal objectives, Case study on ITDC group.

Aviation Industry Operations - An introduction, History of Aviation and role of aviation industry in Tourism. The new policies adopted by state- Open sky policy, Frequent flier programme. Performance of Full service providers and low cost carriers. Schedule & charter flights.
Airline geography – TC Areas & Sub areas, Global indicators, Airline Ticketing- An introduction to Airline ticketing, the five Air freedoms, Airline Geography, Airport codes, Airline Code, Air Fare, E-ticketing – meaning & concepts, e-ticketing portal used in present.

Railways & Cruise Industry Operations – History of Railways in India, Role of Railways in development of Tourism in India, steps taken by Railways to promote tourism in India. Various tourism based trains run by IRCTC. Case Study on Palace on wheels
Cruises industry- Introduction, History, Role & Importance. Name of the renowned cruise companies.

Itinerary/Package tour planning and implementation Meaning, Types and importance of an Itinerary, process of itinerary preparation.
Introduction to tour Packaging, Types of Package tours and stages for Package Tour formulation, Significance of Package tours.
Tour Costing and Pricing- Introduction, Components of tour cost, costing a tour package with the help of a Cost sheet.
Case study on a reputed travel agency- (Kuoni)