“Oh. So, you’re a travel agent.” That is the response I usually get when I tell a layman that I work in the travel industry. Well, nope, I’m not a travel agent. I don’t give travel advice to travelers. At least not professionally. What I do give is travel advice to Travel Agents (if need be) and thus sell my travel offerings.
Most people associate tourism with travel agencies, airlines, and hotels. Nothing new. But those who work in tourism field know that it takes a lot of different companies to work together and create the wonderful holidays that we offer the end user, our travelers.
It takes some time to explain a layman about the dynamics of our Tourism Industry. I nonetheless love to brief them. Here’s an excerpt.
So, have you ever thought of how many companies it takes to create a package for beach holidays in — let’s say — exotic Oman? Let’s take a look.
To start off with, more holidaymakers than you think book their holidays with a travel agency — online or brick and mortar, doesn’t matter. Then there’s the airline, the hotel, and the bus that will get you from the airport to the hotel and then back again.
Maybe the holiday package also includes a full-day sightseeing tour out into the desert, which usually requires a bus, a driver, a professional tour guide, entry to the various points of interest, and a restaurant to have lunch.
And finally, you might want to get travel insurance. Just in case you or your loved ones get sick and have to cancel. Very often you can get that insurance right along with your holiday booking.
Add it all up, and you’ll notice that almost a dozen different tourism companies are needed to create a very basic holiday package. And by the way, a travel agent works with many of these.
Some holiday packages are a bit simpler, others more complex. And often, traveler’s organize everything themselves — or at least they think they are. But at the end of the day, most holiday packages are created through the close collaboration of a dozen or so tourism companies and many more tourism professionals.
So, the next time you go on a holiday, give it a try: Count the different types of services that go into making your holiday the well-deserved break from the daily grind. You’ll be surprised at how many companies are involved.
One last thing… I haven’t told you yet what I do in tourism. I help these International Travel Companies connect with the Travel Agents in India and offer my sales and marketing consultation thus making it easier for tourism companies and professionals to work together. These International Travel Companies can be Destinations, Attractions, Tour Operators (DMC), Airlines, Cruise companies or any other travel products who want to expand their reach in the Indian Market.