Lake

"50% Discount!"

"Cut out the center man"

"Its cheaper on the web"!

"Free Insurance for a year"!

"Book primary and save"!

"No Booking Fee"!

Are you confused? Are you aware the distinction between a agent, a operator and a consolidator. Have you any idea who is providing the best deals? Is free insurance and 20% discount better than 50% discount? The UK travel industry is a minefield and mine sensors are nowhere to be seen.'Understanding UK Travel Industry' is our attempt to unravel some of the confusion and help you on the way. We don't pretend to be unbiased and we admit which our opinion doesn't always reflect the opinion of others in the business, but we do attempt to be honest and as they are seen by us supply the facts. Hopefully you will get the pages of good use.

VISIT PROVIDERS

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As their packages are holidays.They sold by package either trip Operators put together the many aspects of a normal vacation and sell them direct to the public and/or through travel agents. The expense of a holiday can differ considerably between tour operators (see examples). If they provide through travel agencies, they pay a percentage (usually a percentage of the break value) to the agent.Most folks are knowledgeable about the large tour operators such as Airtours, Thomson and JMC. Such tour operators offer a vast range of places and a vast range of vacations, and reasonable prices are ensured by their buying power. But, always remember that there are a large number of other tour operators out there. Most are small operators, specialising in specific markets or specific locations. and their rates can be very competitive.Tour Operators come in for plenty of criticism from consumer groups and watchdogs. Although, you will find, obviously, very good operators and very bad operators, we genuinely believe that generally speaking, customer support in the travel business leaves a great deal to be desired (at all levels, including operator to agent, agent to the consumer and operator to consumer).

Primary Promote

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Some tour operators is only going to promote their offer holidays direct to the customer, skipping the travel agent. Other will direct to the consumer sell through travel agencies and also and others sell only through travel agents."Is it perhaps not cheaper to buy direct then?", you could ask. The answer is "well, perhaps someday, if... and but..." .. Let us explain...First we must get rid of a misconception which includes evolved from the deplorable series of TV commercials. These ads were designed to discredit travel agencies. One in particular, suggested that travel agents ADDED fee to tour operators' prices and therefore charged your client SIGNIFICANTLY more than the quoted prices. This really is completely wrong and resulted in problems to the ITC (Independent Television Commission), of upheld. The ITC also required the broadcaster to halt further sign of the ad in its current form.The truth is, consumers booking through travel agents don't pay significantly more than the operator's quoted rates. Oftentimes, they actually pay less than the operator's offered price because travel agents frequently give some of the payment back again to the client as a discount. Further details and the ITC's ruling is available here.Right, that's that out of the way in which - back once again to the question and the answer...Generally, there's little benefit buying direct from a tour operator who also offers through travel agencies. The tour operators do not wish to alienate the travel agents and consequently, you can often get similar charges from both travel agents and 'direct.'Tour operators who only sell direct to the public can provide value. They don't pay commission to travel agencies which will permit them to market holidays a little cheaper than if they did. However, bear in mind that:

• the tour operator gets the additional cost of supporting your client that will traditionally be borne by the travel agent (hotel and hotel information, credit and health requirements, changes to reservations and so forth).

• there might well be identical (or very similar holidays) accessible cheaper with other tour operators, but of course, the strong offer owner will not be offering rivals items to the client, unlike a great independent travel agent would. Similarly there may be considerably better breaks accessible with other tour operators.Our advice: - only buy from a 'strong offer' operator if you are absolutely sure just which trip you want and that number other operator does it cheaper.

VACATION PROVIDERS

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Journey Agents are agents for tour operators. Generally, they sell package vacations (and other products/services) with respect to the tour operator and are paid a fee or fee by the tour operator for this. As well as offer holidays,most travel agents will offer you other products and services and services such as:

• Travel Insurance

• Flights

• Car Hire

• Ferry Crossing

• Train Tickets

• Advice and information

Independence

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Lots of the big UK organizations of High Street journey agencies really fit in with companies that also own the UK's major tour operators. We course these as 'non-independent.'Independent travel agents are those that are independent of their suppliers, and often, consequently, have greater freedom to provide a wider range of products and services from a range of tour operators In our view, non-independent travel agents will always have great difficulty in offering a totally impartial service with their clients.

Range of Products/Services

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The range of products/services offered differs from travel agent to travel agent. In particular, the number of tour operators supported by agents varies considerably.Most 'High Street' travel agents can actively promote and provide only certain tour operators' holidays. Their 'loading guidelines' shape which brochures they'll present in their shops and that is generally based on commercial arrangements with tour operators. Generally, the more payment the agent gives, the greater possibility of their brochures being racked. Further, if a travel agent is non-independent, this will significantly influence which tour operators are promoted.These policies reduce the amount of tour operators that are actively promoted by sales people. Holidays from several employees aren't sold at all.At Holiday Bargains, we're frequently asked by our clients, " Well why did Lunn Poly not offer me that one?" (for "Lunn Poly", you can even study other 'High Street' travel agents). The difference is that we don't run a 'racking plan' and we will not restrict our selection of suppliers based on the percentage that they pay. more Coincidently, at the time of writing this record, among our Holiday Bargains instructors has had an enquiry from an employee of a significant 'High Street' travel agent, who was, apparently, struggling to find the holiday she required at the exact same value even as we might get. the holiday was found by us with an inferior operator which can be not the main same party whilst the travel agent).

Selecting a Travel Agent

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(Yes, its obvious what is coming, but we passionately think it..) Our advice is to always book via an separate journey agent.This will not guarantee exemplary service and prices, or will booking with a non-independent representative guarantee poor service and prices. Nevertheless, we believe that you'll become more prone to get:

• truly independent advice and direction

• an agent with the freedom to employ a wide selection of tour operators and other suppliers. china tour specialist