ENGR7017 Professional Practice and Communication

Risk Management Report on:

Launch a Travel Agency

(ABC Travel Agency)

Group Number – PS2

Submitted by:

Hasib Ul Sakib - 20754349

Aruth Gardiye Punchi Hewage - 20635406
Sandhya Gyawali - 20619480
Bishow Ram Pradhan - 22022967
Shavinu Rithnuka Ransha Amarasinghe - 22028210

April 2022
Executive Summary of the project
During the past couple of years travel agency and other related businesses faced strong
financial impacts due to pandemic and global restrictions on travel. But on the contrary, as
conditions ease and countries around the world loosen up the restrictions, tourism industry is
eyeing a healthy business period.

This report documents project plan to launch ABC Travel Agency as an up-and-coming travel
agency to be located in Parramatta CBD of Australia. According to the research (Discussed
in 1.2), 2023 is the optimal time for an upcoming travel agency as tourist numbers are
forecasted to peak in 2024.

ABC Travel Agency will focus on specific demographics and markets which other competitors
are not specializing or focusing to gain a leverage in the tourism business. ABC Travel
Agency’s focus and this project’s objectives and deliverables are given below.

Specific focus Focus on Objectives Accreditations acquisition,

domestic international Building relations with tourism
Demographics tourist providers,
markets GDS (Global Distribution System)
Median age China, New access,
between 30-40, Zealand, Select suitable business location,
Married couples USA, UK, Set up skilled team,
with children Japan, Optimal marketing of services and
Indonesia, products.
South Korea Deliverables Legally established travel Agency,
Suitable office in selected location,
Range of travel services and
products,
Skilled team members acquisition,
Reach break-even by 3rd Fiscal Year

Total budget of 10 million AUD is allocated for the project. Major percentage of the budget is
spent on hiring a qualified talent team, securing business premises and marketing of services,
Jhhj
with
z 20% of the budget allocated on each. Digital infrastructure, legal and collateral accounts
for 10% each. Other spending includes research (2.5%), accreditations (2.5%) and supplier
relations (5%).

Project plan has 10 major phases as displayed below, with total duration consisting of 126
days. Project is due to start on August 01, 2022, and is expected to complete on January 23,
2023.

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 Project Plan Major Phases

Assessment on Market Business Registration Setup Business Premise

Business Accreditations Liaison with Tourism providers Hiring Talent Team

GDS Acquisition Setup IT infrastructure Marketing of services Opening

Extended details of the project plan and Gannt chart are discussed in detail in Section 2.
Stakeholder analysis carried out according to the power and interest matrix to identify who are
impacted by the project, a communication plan with suitable communication methods is made
available. Extended details of stakeholder analysis are discussed in detail in Section 3.
Assumptions are made taking in the past, present, and future forecasts of the travel industry
which could impact the implementation of the project, and benefits of the project are listed
according with stakeholders’ interests. Risk management plan for this project is discussed in
detail in Section 4. Identified risks are arranged in the Risk Metric table and Risk Ranking or
Priority table is created to better manage the risks.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary of the project ......................................................................................... 1

Table of Figures .................................................................................................................... 5
1. Project Definition ............................................................................................................ 6
1.1. Business Overview ................................................................................................. 6
1.2. Background and Research...................................................................................... 7
1.2.1. International Tourism in Australia ..................................................................... 7
1.2.1.1. Inbound Tourism Demographic .................................................................... 8
1.2.1.2. Outbound Tourism Demographic.................................................................. 9
1.2.2 National Tourism in Australia ........................................................................... 9
1.2.3 Research on Parramatta CBD ........................................................................... 10
1.2.3.1 Demographic of Parramatta CBD and Surrounding Area ................................... 10
1.2.3.2 Research on existing Travel Agencies residing in Parramatta ........................... 11
1.3 Scope ................................................................................................................... 12
1.3.1 Scope Statement ............................................................................................... 12
1.3.2 Justification of the project............................................................................... 12
1.3.3 Objectives of the project ................................................................................ 12
1.3.4 Deliverables in the project .............................................................................. 13
1.3.5 Requirements of the project ........................................................................... 14
1.4 Budget .................................................................................................................. 15
1.5 Project Duration .................................................................................................... 16
1.6 Assumptions ......................................................................................................... 16
1.7 Benefits................................................................................................................. 16
1.8 Constraints ........................................................................................................... 17
1.9 Outcomes ............................................................................................................. 17
2 Project Plan ................................................................................................................. 18
2.1 Work Breakdown Structure ................................................................................... 19
2.2 Gantt chart ............................................................................................................ 20
3 Stakeholder Analysis ................................................................................................... 21
3.1 Overview............................................................................................................... 21
3.1.1 Prioritise stakeholders ....................................................................................... 21
3.1.2 Understanding key stakeholders ....................................................................... 22
3.2 Stakeholder Identification ...................................................................................... 22
3.2.1 Tools and Techniques ....................................................................................... 22
3.3 Communication Plan ............................................................................................. 24
4 Risk Management Plan ................................................................................................ 24
4.1 Risks Identification ................................................................................................ 25
4.2 Risk Metric ............................................................................................................ 27

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 4.3 Risk ranking/ priority table ..................................................................................... 28
5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 32
6 Appendix – A ............................................................................................................... 33
6.1 Gantt Chart (Level 3 outline view) ......................................................................... 33
6.2 Attach meeting journal for at least three weeks ..................................................... 36
7 References .................................................................................................................. 39

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Table of Figures
Figure 1. 1 - Chain of Distribution ...................................................................................................... 6
Figure 1. 2 - Functions of a travel agent ........................................................................................... 7
Figure 1. 3 - Total overseas arrivals and departures between 2012 and 2022 .......................... 8
Figure 1. 4 - Domestic overnight and day trips taken, and forecast ........................................... 10
Figure 2. 1 - WBS of ABC Travel Agency ...................................................................................... 19
Figure 2. 2 - Gantt chart level 1 outline tasks ................................................................................ 20
Figure 2. 3 - Gantt chart level 1 outline timeline ............................................................................ 20
Figure 3. 1 - Stakeholder prioritization matrix ................................................................................ 21

Table 1. 1 - Top Countries with the most average holiday purpose tourists ............................... 8
Table 1. 2 - Short-term resident returns, Australia - top 10 destination countries - 2018-19 ... 9
Table 1. 3 - Competitor Analysis ...................................................................................................... 11
Table 1. 4 - Budget Breakdown for the Travel Agency Implementation .................................... 15
Table 3. 1 - Communication Plan .................................................................................................... 24
Table 4. 1 - Risk category definitions .............................................................................................. 25
Table 4. 2 - Risk categorization with impact .................................................................................. 26
Table 4. 3 - Likelihood score table................................................................................................... 27
Table 4. 4 - Impact score table......................................................................................................... 27
Table 4. 5 - Risk likelihood and impact table ................................................................................. 27
Table 4. 6 - Risk metric ..................................................................................................................... 28
Table 4. 7 - Risk and attributes ........................................................................................................ 30
Table 4. 8 - Risk priority table........................................................................................................... 31

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1. Project Definition

1.1. Business Overview

In tourism, a travel agency plays a vital role as being a location for ease of access to travel
products, services, and information. As a retail travel agency, ABC Travel agency will be
providing services to prospective tourists by acting as an intermediary to service providers of
tourism as displayed in Figure 1. 1.

Figure 1. 1 - Chain of Distribution

These services include, working out an itinerary that is suitable with customers' preferences
by using the offerings available through suppliers of tourism services, such as airlines, cruise
lines, hotels, and tour operators.

A travel agency also gives support on travel formalities, such as insurance, foreign currency,
passports, visas, and issuance of tickets based on itineraries as displayed in Figure 1. 2
(Dileep 2019).

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 Figure 1. 2 - Functions of a travel agent

1.2. Background and Research

1.2.1. International Tourism in Australia

According to a dataset published by Australian Trade and Investment Commission, due to the
COVID19 pandemic, international visitors to the Australia in 2021 fell by 97.4% compared to
2019. Due to the result of fewer tourists, the revenue from the international tourism fell by
94.8% in 2021, which is a loss of $72.8 Billion, when compared to 2019 (TRA 2022c).

However, due to the opening of national border in Australia to international tourists, there’s
certain uptick in recent tourist arrivals to Australia (Figure 1. 3) according to the data published
by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2022a).

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 Figure 1. 3 - Total overseas arrivals and departures between 2012 and 2022

As an upcoming travel agency, the above-mentioned trend gives a positive effect which will
align with the inbound travel business objectives of the agency.

1.2.1.1. Inbound Tourism Demographic

Table 1. 1 displays the top countries with international tourist arrivals to Australia.
The highest purpose of travel was for holiday reasons with an average stay of 24.5 days.
Highest gateway cities included Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Lasseter, Kangaroo Island
and Tropical North Queensland (TRA 2022a, 2022d).

Countries with the most average number of Average number of tourists between
international tourists with a holiday 2010 - 2020
purpose
China 439,719
New Zealand 393,203
United States 238,044
Japan 233,576
United Kingdom 221,950
Indonesia 148,717
South Korea 127,529
Table 1. 1 - Top Countries with the most average holiday purpose tourists

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Based on the research results, the inbound travel offerings for the agency will primarily be
based on the countries mentioned in Table 1. 1 and will focus on offering inbound travel
destinations to the locations specified above.

1.2.1.2. Outbound Tourism Demographic

Table 1. 2 displays the top destination countries for Australians. The main reasons for
travelling were for holiday purposes. NSW residents made up 34% all short-term travellers,
with a median duration of stay being 15 days (ABS 2022b).

Number of returning
Destination 2017-18 to 2018-19 2008-09 to 2018-19
residents between
Country
2018-19 % change % change
New Zealand 1,444,000 1.9 51.2
Indonesia 1,311,000 8.3 197.8
USA 1,079,000 -0.4 108.0
UK 668,000 3.7 43.7
China 611,000 6.8 138.7
Thailand 565,000 -2.7 48.5
Japan 484,000 10.4 226.8
India 416,000 8.6 206.3
Singapore 405,000 -0.6 85.5
Fiji 345,000 1.5 51.2
Table 1. 2 - Short-term resident returns, Australia - top 10 destination countries - 2018-19

As per the above statistics, the offers for the outbound travels of Australians will focus mainly
based on holiday purpose travellers to countries listed on Table 2.

1.2.2 National Tourism in Australia

Domestic visitor travel is forecasted to return to pre-pandemic level numbers in 2022-2023

and then surpass the previously held peak in 2023-2024 as displayed in Figure 1. 4.
Top destinations for day trips were Sydney, North Coast, South Coast, Central Coast, Hunter,
Blue Mountains, and Capital Country. Top destinations for overnight stays were Sydney,
Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Hobart (TRA 2022b).

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 Figure 1. 4 - Domestic overnight and day trips taken, and forecast

The offers for local tourism destinations will be prioritized according to the above-mentioned
purpose of visit, length of stay and destinations statistical data.

1.2.3 Research on Parramatta CBD

1.2.3.1 Demographic of Parramatta CBD and Surrounding Area

According to the census data of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2016), the following were
noticed,
• The median age of people in Parramatta CBD was 33
• 54.6% of the Parramatta population were married
• 61.5% of the Parramatta population worked full-time
• Highest percentage (30.0%) of family groups in Parramatta CBD were families with
children
• The average number of people per household was 2.47

This as an opportunity to give priority in offering travel locations suitable for the highest
percentage of demographic, which is 30-40 years married couples with children.

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1.2.3.2 Research on existing Travel Agencies residing in Parramatta

The following table (Table 1. 3) displays a summary of information about the competitive travel
agencies in the Parramatta area.

Agency Name Agency Service Range Tour Locations Travel

Type Partners
Bright Star Travel Retail Inbound Australia Airlines
Outbound New Zealand Cruise Lines
South Pacific Hotels
Asia Insurance
Europe
USA
World Travel Online Inbound Australia Airlines
Getaways Outbound New Zealand Cruise Lines
Europe Hotels
Asia Insurance
USA Car Services
Middle East
Flight Centre Wholesale Inbound Australia Airlines
Outbound New Zealand Cruise Lines
South Pacific Hotels
Asia Insurance
Europe Train Lines
USA and Canada Car Services
Central & South
America
Africa
Middle East
Goldmark Travel Retail Inbound Australia Airlines
Outbound New Zealand Cruise Lines
Asia Hotels
Europe Insurance
USA
Table 1. 3 - Competitor Analysis

There is a lack of specialization for a particular demographic in the above-mentioned

competitor analysis as they offer more general packages suitable for the general demographic.
As ABC Travel Agency specializes in offering tourism services to families with children as our
outbound travel demographic, and focuses mainly on countries mentioned in section 1.2.1.1
for the inbound travel demographic, a certain leverage can be gained in the travel agency
business.

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1.3 Scope

1.3.1 Scope Statement

ABC Travel agency will be launched by the end of January 2023 in an office based in
Parramatta CBD of Australia. The agency will focus on both inbound and outbound tourists.
The services will include connecting tourists to the offers of tour operators by being an
intermediary and giving tailor-made packages with the help of Global Distribution System
(GDS). For inbound travel, the main area of focus will be tourists from countries such as United
States, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and China. For
outbound travel, the focus area will be local tourists of median age between 30-40 years
married couples with children. For the tasks involved in implementation, research, hiring and
marketing, a budget of $10,000,000.00 is proposed.

1.3.2 Justification of the project

Due to the research presented in section 1.2.1, the positive change in international tourist
arrival can be advantageous as a new and upcoming travel agency.
According to the research presented in section 1.2.2, domestic travel is prospected to grow in
the year 2023 and surpass the previous held peak in the year 2024. For the outbound travel
business aspect, this research indicates 2023 as a peak time to enter the travel agency market
as a new arrival.
Lastly, according to the research highlighted in section 1.2.3.2, being a specialized travel
agency focusing on leisure travel to families with children is advantageous due to the
competitor agency around Parramatta CBD not specializing in a target demographic.

1.3.3 Objectives of the project

• Establishing presence within the Australian Business organizations.

▪ Register the business and obtain ABN
▪ Get accredited by International Air Transport Association (IATA) to issue tickets
▪ Get accredited by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to issue cruise
tickets
▪ Get accredited by Travel Accreditation Scheme of Australian Federation of
Travel Agents (No longer need to hold a license to operate as a travel agency)
▪ Abide with Australian Consumer Law (ACL)
• Establishing relationships with tourism service providers

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 ▪ Airlines, Cruise lines, Local and International tour operators, taxi services,
insurance companies
• Negotiating Commission rates from service providers
• Establishing access to GDS Application Programming Interfaces (API) from providers
▪ By aligning with a Host Travel Agency: Travel Agency Services, Travel
Managers
▪ GDS Access is provided through the host agency
▪ IATA, CLIA Accreditation of host agency can be used for our agency
▪ Through GDS providers such as TravelPort, Amadeus and SABRE directly
• Conducting business in a well populated area with the target demographic
▪ Area – Parramatta CBD
▪ Demographic - 30-40 years families with children
• Researching and offering suitable travel options to match the local and international
tourist demographic
▪ For international tourists, offers related to Australia
▪ For local tourists, offers related to international locations as well as local
locations
• Setting up a team with skilled team members
▪ Sales, Accounting, Legal Personnel and Management Personnel
▪ IATA/UFTAA qualified members for accreditation purposes
▪ Multi Language Proficiency
▪ Proper training regarding travel information, attractions, immigration
procedures and laws related to tourism
• Optimum marketing of the products and services
▪ Brochures, Posters
▪ Online Presence (Own website, Google, Facebook, SEO)
▪ Local Promotions in television, radio, newspapers, and magazines
▪ International promotions in target demographic countries

1.3.4 Deliverables in the project

• A legally established travel agency ready to operate

• Well suitable office with easy access to the target demographic in Parramatta City
• Promising range of travel products and services which cater to both international and
domestic tourists

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 • Successful marketing campaigns which gathered both local and international
prospective client attention
• A skilled group of team members specialized in tourism industry ready to service the
clientele
• Optimal rate of commissions due to successful promotions of products offered by
service providers
• High customer satisfaction due to good customer service
• Reach break-even by the 3rd fiscal year

1.3.5 Requirements of the project

Suppliers:
• Find and make associations with local tourism service providers specializing in areas
of Sydney, North Coast, South Coast, Central Coast, Hunter, Blue Mountains, and
Capital Country.
• Find and make associations with international tourism service providers specializing in
countries such as New Zealand, Indonesia, United States, United Kingdom, China,
Thailand, and Japan.
• Gather latest data including locations, rates conditions related to offered products and
services.
• Agree upon the commission rate for different suppliers (Airlines, Cruise lines,
Accommodation services, Taxi services)
• Make payment for the services rendered by suppliers according to agreements
• Give feedback to suppliers based on customer response to their offers

Customers:
• Provide up-to-date information regarding travel guidelines, visa and legal information
and destinations attractions
• Suggest travel offerings based on the preference of the customers
• Provide documents for the bookings, related to chosen mode of travel and
accommodation, to the customers
• Finalize all the relevant charges billed upon the services rendered to the customer
• Issue miscellaneous charges order (MCO) vouchers for customers to make payment
to excess baggage, car rentals, surface transportation, etc.
• Issue prepaid ticket advice (PTA) for customers who begin travel from a different
location compared to where the payment was made from

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 • Issue an open ticket if the customer wishes to secure a reservation at a later date.

Internal Stakeholders:
• Find and agree on a lease for an office space to carry out business in a suitable location
within Parramatta CBD
• Develop a pricing model based on the services and products of the service providers,
and agreed on commission rates
• Hire a suitable, educated, and experienced team to carry out sales, accounting, legal,
administration, customer service, supplier relations and management aspects of the
agency
• Hire marketing firms and carry out sales promotions for online and offline presence
• Refresh knowledge of team members regarding the latest information on the product
line
• Give sufficient training on how to handle digital reservation systems provided by GDS
providers to the sales team members

1.4 Budget

A total budget of AU$10,000.000.00 is allocated to implement the ABC Travel Agency. The
following table (Table 1. 4) displays a breakdown of the budget associated with each phase of
the agency implementation.

Phase Category Budget Allocated (AUD) Percentage of Budget %

Research and Consultancy $250,000.00 2.5
Registration and accreditations $250,000.00 2.5
Talent team (Hiring and
$2,000,000.00 20
remuneration)
Supplier relations and GDS
$500,000.00 5
accusation
Digital infrastructure (Developing
website and connecting with GDS $1,000,000.00 10
API)
Business Premise (Location,
Lease, Taxes, Public utility, $2,000,000.00 20
Amenities)
Legal and Insurance $1,000,000.00 10
Marketing $2,000,000.00 20
Collateral $1,000,000.00 10
Total $10,000,000.00 100
Table 1. 4 - Budget Breakdown for the Travel Agency Implementation

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1.5 Project Duration

The project is planned to begin on 01st August 2022, and the expected finish date is set as
23rd January 2022. As the project consists of 10 main phases, sufficient time is allocated to
complete and launch the ABC Travel Agency.

1.6 Assumptions

In order to complete the project successfully, it is necessary in assuming different events which
could affect the completion of the project. The following lists the circumstances that is
assumed to occur during the launch of the project:

• The agency will acquire all the required resources as provisioned to us by tourism
service providers.
• The booking activities rise prior to and during the festive season and vacation period.
• The required guidance for the business will be provided by the management and
executives during conferences and meetings.
• The agency will be getting proper support from the state and government level during
the period of natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, etc. and during pandemic
situations such as COVID-19.

1.7 Benefits

Exploring and offering suitable travel options to match the local and international tourists is
the key benefit that a travel agency offers. Choosing a travel agency to find the proper holiday
destination is productive for a prospective tourist, because it saves time, and helps to locate
the suitable destinations for spending their vacation with the knowledge of qualified talent
personnel. Also, for people who need to book inns, hotels, and personal spaces, it is less
tedious in finding the matching preference, because the organization creates a platform for
customers for these categories as well.

Selecting a destination to spend valuable refreshment time, far away from the hectic work
schedule is a topmost precedence of a tourist which entails concerning factors such as peace
of mind and added costs. To get all this done individually is a tedious task, however, with a
travel agency and its expert team, it can be a pleasant experience.

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1.8 Constraints

Launching a Travel enterprise is constrained by several factors. Time and Resource are the
major constraints in this case. To achieve the desired success, this venture should be released
on time, when it is expected that bookings by the customers are to be at peak level. Resources
are another important constraint as this business requires expertise to handle the customers
and offer many factual information to them. In addition to this, cost is also a constraint which
plays a vital role in launching this business. Travel agency is basically restricted to the
minimum cost possible. The available manpower can be the subsequent constraint together
with number of agents to cope with the clients. The immediate action during the occurrence of
natural and health disasters can become a big issue. So, a proper support from government
level in such period can be a basic virtue in the travel business.

1.9 Outcomes

The anticipated final result is that the project may be finished on time and within the budget
estimated. The enterprise could recruit expert and skilled manpower who might be able to
fulfill the customer’s need. Another outcome is the expectation that the venture would get a
wide variety of tour operator connections and the clients could be able to have variety of
choices, so they stay loyal to our agency. Also, promising range of travel products and services
focusing both domestic as well as international travellers could be the strength of our
organization.

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2 Project Plan

Project Plan for ABC Travel Agency consists of mainly 10 phases, the 1st phase will assess
the current market of tourism business as an up-and-coming travel agency to learn and
strategize the best plan of action to enter the market. The 2nd phase will focus on registering
the business with the Australian Business Register and setting up the agency financially. The
3rd phase will focus on setting up the business premise to carry out the physical area of the
business. The 4th phase includes hiring a talented and qualified team to carry out the day-to-
day tasks of the travel agency. The 5th phase will include building relationships with tourism
service providers to build the services which the agency will offer. The 6th phase will focus on
acquiring accreditations required to operate as a travel agency. The 7th phase includes GDS
acquisitions which enables the agency to provide tailor made tour packages. The 8th phase
includes setting up the IT infrastructure, which includes computer terminals with proper
networking and building agency website and connecting the GDS API access to it. The 9th
phase will focus on optimal marketing of the agency services, which will be done by a
marketing consulting firm. The 10th and final phase will include opening the business to the
public, which includes an opening ceremony and a lottery for a free travel package.

The following subsections (2.1, 2.2) display the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) (Figure 2.
1) and the Gantt Chart of the ABC Travel Agency project plan.

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2.1 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Figure 2. 1 - WBS of ABC Travel Agency

2.2 Gantt chart

The following figures (Figure 2. 2, Figure 2. 3) displays the Level 01 Outline view of the Gantt
Chart.
Please refer to the Appendix – A for the expanded Level 03 Outline view of the Gantt Chart.

Figure 2. 2 - Gantt chart level 1 outline tasks

Figure 2. 3 - Gantt chart level 1 outline timeline

3 Stakeholder Analysis

3.1 Overview

According to the PMBOK Guide “A stakeholder is an individual, group, or organization who

may affect, be affected by or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome
of a project.” (Project Management 2017)

ABC travel agency has large number of stakeholders. Each stakeholder is an important
aspect to the operation of the travel agency. In the stakeholder analysis, different types of
stakeholders are presented according to their prioritization and their key values.

Figure 3. 1 - Stakeholder prioritization matrix

3.1.1 Prioritise stakeholders

Each sponsor of the ABC travel company plays a vivid role. Since traveling is connecting every
dot on the globe there are variety of investors working together not limiting to the Australian
community. Moreover, identification and arranging the investors according to their importance
should be done precisely, which could drive the ABC travel agency to a greater success.
Above stakeholder analysis make the analysis simpler yet informative.

According to the matrix (Figure 3. 1), the investors can be derived into four major slices. Each
stakeholder in a slice cannot be replaced by any substitute. The matrix not even deliver a clear
view about the stakeholders, but also greater focus is achieved. By perusing these
environments, it pernitrates how powerful the stakeholders are according to their rank in the
matrix. Therefore, post analysis will provide an opportunity to improve inducements towards
their investors, thus forcing the competitors at a drawback (Mendelow 1981).
3.1.2 Understanding key stakeholders

In order to identify and understand each stakeholder standing, it is transparent to justify the
stakeholders according to the above matrix.
Manage Closely – High power with high interest stakeholders are the main focused investors.
These include foreign tourists who are interested in flying to Australia, local tourists who are
interested in flying within the country, tour operators who facilitate operating the tours, social
media audience, owners, hotels, transport companies.
Keep satisfied – High power yet medium interest stakeholder can be categorised into keep
satisfied unit. For instance, the employees who are working for the organization, rental
authorities, council, insurance companies and the government.
Keep informed – By providing adequate amount of information about the project to ensure that
no major issues are ascending. NGO’s (Social and Environment), policy makers, community
groups, weather experts and medical sector experts.
Monitor – These types of stakeholders should monitor continuously, but not with excessive
communication. That include future recruits, universities/ schools, the press.

3.2 Stakeholder Identification

Stakeholder identification is a process of identifying project’s investors and what their impacts
towards the project objectives. Usually, the stakeholder identification is done prior to the
stakeholder analysis. Depending on the project phases and what project’s life cycle is, the
investors could vary.
In order to identify the highest and the most interested stakeholder it is important to maintain
a stakeholder register. Stakeholder register can be defined as “The stakeholder register
includes information about identified stakeholders, including contracted team members,
selected sellers, contracting officers, and other stakeholders who are involved in
procurements.” (Project Management 2017)

3.2.1 Tools and Techniques

There are several tools and techniques to follow in order to identify stake holders. Firstly, it is
best to go through expert judgements. In the ABC travel agency, owners and gathered
professional’s support will be influenced to identify priority stakeholders.
Data gathering and classification can be used to identify the stakeholders. There are two types
of data gathering methods extracted,

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 - Questionnaires and surveys
- Brainstorming

Once the data is gathered, process of the data or data analysis can be done, where the
stakeholder analysis and document analysis take place. Afterwards, ABC travel agency can
visually represent stakeholders. Using stakeholder mapping and other illustration
representations.
Finally, the findings can be publicised via a meeting. This can be done in either online or offline
depending on the choice of the owners.

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3.3 Communication Plan

Category (Internal or
Name of the stakeholder Communication type
External)
Owners Call, Email, Meetings
Email, Meeting, Software
Managers
notifications
Call, Email, Texts, Check-in-
Tourists
Internal stakeholders calls/ Check-in-emails
Email, Meetings, Software
Employees
notifications
Call, Email, Meetings,
Tour operators
Software notifications
Policy makers Email
City council Email, Meetings
Government authorities Email, Meetings
Accreditation Organizations
Email
(IATA)
Email, Seminars/ Webinars,
Universities/ Schools
promotional video/ posts
Future recruiters Email, Webinar/ Seminars
NGO’s Email
Email, promotional video/
Utilities and infrastructure
posts
External stakeholders
Weather experts Email, Alert calls
Medical sector experts Email, Calls
Email, broachers,
Suppliers
promotional video/ posts
Banks and Insurance
Email, broachers
companies
Email, promotional video/
Hotels
posts
Email, promotional video/
Transport companies
posts
Souvenir suppliers Email
Table 3. 1 - Communication Plan

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4 Risk Management Plan
Risk Management plan is the overall framework to identify risks, quantifying risks with
metrics and developing a risk ranking table with mitigation processes. Risk ranking tables
are also known as risk registers.

4.1 Risks Identification

Risk identification is a process to find risks and document details of any risk with possible
impact on any project. This is recommended to approach risk identification with a group of
people. They have diverse perspective of thoughts and reduces the possibility of any risk being
overlooked (WSU 2019).

Defining a Risk category helps the agency to identify and pinpoint where the risk is coming
from and helps it to manage the risks.

Risk category definitions are given below in Table 4. 1.

Risk Category
Definition
Name
Financial Financial loss, less income, market instability,
loan/debt, problems with insurance, poor funding
policy etc.
Legal Legal issues with contracts, agreements, government
policy and laws
Organization Planning, processes, management, ethics
Reputation Reputation damage from news, legal litigations,
customer reviews
Security Anything related to security of the office and IT
(Information Technology) systems
Table 4. 1 - Risk category definitions

Identified risks for the agency is categorized and listed below in Table 4. 2 with details of
impact to the agency. A unique ‘Risk ID’ is assigned to each identified risk which is constant
throughout the report to make it easy to track.

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 Risk Risk
Risk Description Details of Impact to agency
ID Category
1 Financial Lack of Fund Lack of fund can cause havoc on the
agency. Business will fall apart with cut-
down number of employee and may
impact all other categorical risks like
Organization, Reputation risk etc.
2 Organization Tourists’ change of Travel is a changing business. If the
behavior agency cannot decide and implement
internal policy and strategy properly, it
might not cope with new business
demands from the tourists/customers.
3 Financial Pandemic Covid-19 was a good indicator of huge
risks to businesses in a pandemic
situation. Pandemic is a huge risk for all
the processes for running a business
smoothly.
4 Legal Legislation changes Legislation in the operating country can
change and pose a threat to the
business model of the agency.
5 Security Fire Fire is a legit risk to any business.
There might be huge risks of loss of
property and loss of lives in times of
fire.
6 Reputation Customer reviews Customer review is a good indicator of
reputation of a business. There is a risk
of reputation if customer reviews are
negative.
7 Reputation Lack of quality staffs If staffs cannot provide a good service
to customers, there is a risk of
reputational damage for the business.
Table 4. 2 - Risk categorization with impact

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4.2 Risk Metric

Any risk is quantified directly proportional to the likelihood of the risk being taken place and
the impact it will have to any project. Likelihood is used interchangeably with probability.
Impact is also used in place of consequences.

Likelihood units are defined as follows (Table 4. 3).

Likelihood Score Definition

Highly Likely Will probably happen in near future
Possible May happen in conceivable future
Rare Possibility of happening is very remote
Table 4. 3 - Likelihood score table

Impact or consequences are defined as follows (Table 4. 4).

Impact Score Description

Major Event that can have significant consequences on business
Moderate Consequences can be mitigated with proper management
Minor Minor loss, might be absorbed with little impact on
business
Table 4. 4 - Impact score table

Likelihood and Impact ratings are described below (Table 4. 5) for the identified risks.
Risk Risk Description Likelihood Impact Existing Controls if Any
ID Rating Rating
1 Lack of Fund Rare Major Continuously monitor
financial situation
2 Tourists’ change of Possible Moderate Continuous research into
behavior market
3 Pandemic Possible Major Disaster recovery plan
4 Legislation changes Possible Moderate None
5 Fire Rare Major Installation of preplanned fire
exit and fire extinguisher
6 Customer reviews Possible Minor Employee training
7 Lack of quality staffs Rare Moderate Hiring Manager Training
Table 4. 5 - Risk likelihood and impact table

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4.3 Risk ranking/ priority table

Risk Metric (Likelihood VS Impact) is defined below (Table 4. 6) with colour codes.

Overall Rank (High/Medium/Low)

Likelihood
Impact
Rare Possible Highly Likely

Major Medium High High

Moderate Low Medium High

Minor Low Low Medium

Table 4. 6 - Risk metric

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Details of risk and their attributes are displayed as follows in Table 4. 7,

Risk Risk Overall Mitigation

Details of Impact Likelihood Impact
ID Description Rank Plan
Lack of fund can cause havoc Set aside a percentage of the funds as
on the agency. Business will fall reserve, take proper and appropriate
apart with cut-down number of business decision.
1 Lack of Fund employee and may impact all Rare Major Medium
other categorical risks like
Organization, Reputation risk
etc.
Travel is a changing business. If Marketing research team constantly
the agency cannot decide and gets updates about current customer
Tourists’ implement internal policy and behavior, reviews, feedback, and
2 change of strategy properly, it might not Possible Moderate Medium complaints to anticipate any change of
behavior cope with new business behavior.
demands from the
tourists/customers.
Covid-19 was a good indicator Agency should build a disaster and
of huge risks to businesses in a disease recovery plan to better deal
3 Pandemic pandemic situation. Pandemic is Possible Major High with pandemic and such.
a huge risk for all the processes
for running a business smoothly.
 Legislation in the operating
Legislation country can change and pose a
4 Possible Moderate Medium
changes threat to the business model of
the agency.
Fire is a legit risk to any Regular fire drill and training to
business. There might be huge employees.
5 Fire Rare Major Medium
risks of loss of property and loss
of lives in times of fire.
Customer review is a good Train customer and client facing team
indicator of reputation of a to better handle people.
Customer
6 business. There is a risk of Possible Minor Low
reviews
reputation if customer reviews
are negative.
If staffs cannot provide a good Train recruiting officers and
Lack of service to customers, there is a management staff to hire quality staffs.
7 Rare Moderate Low
quality staffs risk of reputational damage for
the business.
Table 4. 7 - Risk and attributes

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A narrowed down Priority list with ascending Overall Rank of the evaluated risks is listed in
Table 4. 8.

Risk ID Risk Description Overall Rank

3 Pandemic High

5 Fire Medium

4 Legislation changes Medium

2 Tourists’ change of behavior Medium

1 Lack of Fund Medium

7 Lack of quality staffs Low

6 Customer reviews Low

Table 4. 8 - Risk priority table

5 Conclusion
ABC Travel agency will be based in Parramatta CBD and is expected to open for business
around January 2023. According to the research carried out, the focus for services will be
derived from the highest percentage of tourist demographic and top tourist destinations.
Supplier relationships will be based on the target demographic for the international and local
destinations, and optimal commission rates will be negotiated accordingly. GDS API will be
used to make tailor made travel packages based on the customer itinerary. For the
accreditation purposes, a team with qualified members with IATA and UFTAA will be hired to
handle the agency business. A marketing consultant service will be hired to optimally
promote the services of the agency before opening for business.

Stakeholder analysis was carried out, and communication plan is established for future
involvements with both internal and external stakeholders. Essential risks are identified and
managed for every stage of the project. Risk Metric and Register has been developed to
rank and prioritize the risk that this agency might face. Mitigation plan for all identified risks
have also been included in the risk register.

With the proper precautions in place to handle sudden risks, the recommendation and
proper outcome of the project is that the launch of ABC travel agency will carry out
accordingly to the projected timeline.

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6 Appendix – A

6.1 Gantt Chart (Level 3 outline view)

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6.2 Meeting journals of the team

First meeting
Second meeting

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Third meeting

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7 References
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ABS 2022a, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed
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ABS 2022b, Short-term resident returns to Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed
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Dileep, MR 2019, Tourism, transport and travel management, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group,
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Mendelow, AL 1981, 'Environmental Scanning-The Impact of the Stakeholder Concept'.

Project Management, I 2017, A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide)
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TRA 2022a, Australian Tourism in 2020, Tourism Research Australia, viewed 05/04/2022,
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TRA 2022b, Domestic Tourism Forecasts 2021-22 to 2025-26, Tourism Research Australia, viewed
06/04/2022, <https://www.tra.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/185/TRA-Domestic-tourism-
forecasts_DEC21.pdf.aspx>.

TRA 2022c, International Visitor Survey results December 2021, Tourism Research Australia, viewed
04/04/2022, <https://www.tra.gov.au/data-and-research/reports/international-visitor-survey-
results-december-2021/international-visitor-survey-results-december-2021>.

TRA 2022d, Time series data for international visitors to Australia, Tourism Research Australia,
viewed 05/04/2022, <https://www.tra.gov.au/international/international-tourism-trends>.

WSU 2019, 'Western Sydney University Risk Management Guidelines',

<https://policies.westernsydney.edu.au/download.php?id=841&version=2&associated>.

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