Week 8- The 4.
Travel intermediaries
Tourism and
Hospitality
-KEYProducts.pptx
PLAYERS IN THE TOURISM
INDUSTRY (Hudson, 2008)
1. Private and non-profit sectors
2. Public sector services
3. Supplier
a) Transportation industry
b) Accommodation sector
c) Food and beverage sector
d) Attractions
e) Events and conferences
4. Travel intermediaries
5. The Tourists
1. Private and Non-Profit Sectors-
This include industry Associations which
have been established to
protect special interest groups, such as
travel agency associations
(Philippine Travel Agency
Association/PTAA and the Philippine Tour
Operators Association/PHILTOA. Others
include financial services
(credit card companies; Academe; Media,
and Insurance Companies
2. Public sector services
cover either national, regional, or
provincial tourism organizations.
They come up with marketing programs
to promote their destinations
to both intermediaries and individual
tourists. The Department of
Tourism and Provincial Offices fall under
this category.
3. Suppliers
1. Transportation industry
2. Accommodation sector
3. Food and beverage sector
4. Attractions
5. Events and conferences
• Travel Intermediaries- help bring the
tourism product to the
customer. These are also known as
channels of distribution. Travel
intermediaries include travel agents, tour
operators, web-based
distributors, etc. They offer travel
packages that make the experience
less complicated to the tourists. These
packages include
transportation, accommodation, food,
city tours, etc.
5. The Tourists
the center of the tourism industry. Being
the main consumers of
tourism products, they choose where
they want to go, what they want
to eat, and what they want to do. Tourist
Satisfaction is the utmost
goal of all other key players in this
industry. For the tourism industry to
grow, more people need to be attracted
to travel.
The Tourism Product Defined (Badilla,
2015)
Product- anything that can be offered to a
market for attention, acquisition, use or
consumption that might satisfy a want or
need.
Components of Tourism Products
(Hsu et al, 2008)
1. Destination Attractions
2. Destination Facilities
3. Accessibility
4. Image
5. Price
PRODUCT TYPES
In most destination facilities, products &
services have different types:
Core Product
Facilitating Product
Supporting Product
Augmented Product
Other Product Considerations
-Accessibility- refers to how available the
product is to the consumer, in terms of
location, hours of operation, and ease of
availing the products and services.
-Atmosphere- is the over-all fell of the
place (appreciated using 5 senses)
-Customer interaction with Service
System
-Customer interaction with other
Customers
-Co-production of the Product/Service
(presence of self-service kiosks)

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

Week 9- Pricing in
Example CASE: Azalea Baguio Tourism and
Tradisyon Restaurant used to be the Hospitality
exclusive dining restaurant of Azalea
Hotels Baguio. From its spacious and
log-cabin inspired theme, guests would
really feel the cozy ambiance of Baguio
sceneries while getting a nice cool
weather.

DESTINATION LIFE CYCLE (DLC)

•Proposed by Richard Butler in 1980.
• Provides a framework for the marketing
and management of destinations as it
develops over time (Hsu et al, 2007)
Destination Life Cycle (Butler, 1980)
Key Concepts Relevant to Pricing General Pricing Approaches
(Badilla, 2015)
1. COST-BASED PRICING – aims to
 Sale Total amount a company gets cover costs and make a profit.
based on quantity sold multiplied with When using this approach, fixed
selling price and variable costs are computed,
 Revenue Sales minus expenses and a mark up is added
 Fixed Costs incurred due to the
operation of the business, do not
fluctuate with volume of
sales.
 Profit Margin Level of income that is
desired by the company
 Variable Costs Costs that vary based on
volume or quantity
 Break-even point The point where total
cost is equal to total revenue. The
company incurs loss if cost 2. BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS AND TARGET
exceeds revenue and generates income PROFIT PRICING – Price is determined
when revenue exceeds cost using break-even price and projecting a
target profit.
Key Factors Affecting Price (Badilla 2015)
1. Costs
2. Organizational and Marketing
Objectives
3. Other Marketing Mix Variables
4. Buyer Perceptions of Value and Price
5. Competition
6. Government Regulations and Taxes
7. Nature of the Market and Demand
8. Pricing Different Markets
9. Price Elasticity of Demand
10. Other Environmental Factors

Price and Its Relationship to Marketing

Objectives

Tourism establishments come up with a

marketing mix strategy for:
1. Survival
2. Current Profit Maximization
3. Market Share Leadership
4. Brand Equity Growth
5. Product-Quality Leadership
BREAKEVEN PRICING
BE Price = (Total Fixed Costs/Production
Unit) + Variable Cost per unit
Given:
Total Fixed Costs= Php 300,000
Production Unit= 20,000 pcs
Variable Cost per unit= Php 150
BE= (300,000/20,000) + 150
BE= Php 165
Two methods of calculating Target Profit
Pricing: Contribution Margin Method
and Equation Method.
CM= SP-VC
Given:
Selling Price=500 (Percentage from Sales
Price 100%)
Variable Costs =300 (Percentage from
Sales Price 60%)
Contribution Margin per unit= 200
(Percentage from SP 40%)
Example:
Given: Fixed Costs= 100,000
Compute for Breakeven in Units:
Formula: Breakeven in Units = Fixed
Costs / CM per unit
100,000/200
=500 units needed to be sold @500pesos
to meet breakeven
Note: Always round up if the answer
contains decimal.
BE in Sales Peso = FC / CM%
= 100,000 / 0.40
=250,000
OR MULTIPLY THE BREAKEVEN UNITS
NEEDED TO SELLING PRICE
To Get the Margin of Safety:
Margin of Safety = (Expected Sales or
Current Sales Level – Breakeven Point
Sales) / Expected Sales or Current Sales
Level
Margin of Safety = (Php 300,000 – Php
250,000) / Php 300,000
Margin of Safety = Php 50,000 / Php
300,000
Margin of Safety = 16.66%
*Expected Sales or Current Sales is given
from the current Period
To get Target Profit in Units:
Target Profit = (Fixed Costs + Target Profit)
/ CM per Unit
= (Php100,000 Fixed Costs +Php 200,000
Target Profit) / 500units
= 300,000 / 500 units
= 600 units (to be sold to get target profit)
Target Profit in Peso:
Target Profit Units x Selling Price
=Php300,000
3. BUYER-BASED PRICING (VALUE-
BASED) – Price is based on the perception
of the customer on the value of the
product.
4. COMPETITION-BASED PRICING –
Companies base their price against the
price pegged by their main competitors.
PRICING STRATEGY
a. Prestige Pricing
b. Market Skimming Pricing
c. Market Penetration Pricing
d. Product Bundling Pricing
e. Volume Discounts
f. Discounts Based on Time of Purchase
g. Discriminatory Pricing
h. Psychological Pricing
i. Promotional Pricing
A. PRESTIGE PRICING
Used when the product or service is
positioned to be luxurious and elegant.
B. MARKET SKIMMING PRICING
Companies employ this strategy when the
market is price insensitive. a pricing
approach in which the producer sets a
high introductory price to attract buyers
with a strong desire for the product and
the resources to buy it, and then
gradually reduces the price to attract the
next and subsequent layers of the market.
C. MARKET PENETRATION PRICING
This is used by some start-up companies
wherein they are setting a low initial
selling price to penetrate the market
quickly and to attract many buyers for a
large market share.
D. PRODUCT BUNDLING PRICING
A strategy used to attract buyers to
purchase because of the reduced rate of
the bundle compared to the total costs of
the items if purchased individually.
•Family Fun
Inclusions: Room Accommodation
Buffet Breakfast for 2 persons
Free stay for Kids & Tweeners
10 am Early Check-in
Free Use of Drivers’ Quarters
Free room upgrade to the next premium
room category (Subject to availability,
applicable during weekdays)
•Group Getaway
Inclusions: Serviced Apartment
Accommodation
Buffet Breakfast for 4 persons
Free Extra Person
Free Extra Bed
3 pm Late Check-out
Complimentary 6 bottles of Local Beer
•Romantic Retreat
Inclusions: Deluxe Room Accommodation
Buffet Breakfast for 2 persons
Free Upgrade to One-Bedroom Serviced
Apartment
10am Early Check-in
1 complimentary in-room massage for 2
persons
E. VOLUME DISCOUNTS
These are rates given to frequent or high-
volume users to attract them to purchase
the products. Some companies have a
demand for a product in large quantities
through a single purchase or for a
continuous period of time throughout the
year.
F. DISCOUNTS BASED ON TIME OF
PURCHASE
This strategy addresses seasonality aspect
of the tourism product. Price is reduced
to those who will avail products/services
ahead or out of season.
G. DISCRIMINATORY PRICING
Defined as the segmentation of the market
and pricing differences based on price
elasticity characteristics of the segments.
H. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRICING
Aspects like prestige, reference prices, round
figures, and ignoring end figures are used in
pricing. This strategy plays on the psychology
of the consumers.
I. PROMOTIONAL PRICING
Offers discounts and short-term incentives
especially during introductory stage of the
product or during special activities such as
anniversaries or festivals.
Revenue Management
-It is used by tourism establishments to
maximize revenues by matching demand and
supply.
-Another similar term is Yield management.
-It is a form of discriminatory pricing wherein
some of the market segments pay higher or
lower prices than other tourists for the same
tourism products and services to ensure
optimal yield from the available inventory.
Shoemaker et al (2007)
Revenue Management is beneficial to the
hotel and airline industry because:
1. Product is perishable; thus, it is better to
sell the room/seat at a low price than have it
empty.
2. Capacity is fixed daily. In no way can rooms
or seats be increased at a specific day to meet
demand.
3. Demand fluctuates and is uncertain
depending on days of the week and seasons
of the year.
4. Different market segments have different
lead times for purchase.
5. Flexibility in pricing hotel rooms and airline
seats since the market accepts rates may vary
depending on purchase lead time and
seasonality.
Yield Management
It is a form of discriminatory pricing wherein
some of the market segments pay higher or
lower prices than other tourists for the same
products and services in order to ensure
optimal yield from the available inventory.
Ex:
Hotel de Fatima has 500 rooms and an average
rack rate of Php 3,000.
On January 25, it had an occupancy of 70%
and an average room rate of Php 2,500
Yield Management (cont)
Revenue Potential is Php 1,500,000 (500
rooms x Php 3,000)
Rooms Occupied is 350 rooms (500 rooms x
0.7)
Revenue Realized is Php 875,000 (350 rooms x
Php 2,500)
Yield is computed by dividing revenue realized
over projected income. In this case, yield is
58.33% (Php875,000/Php1,500,000).
Hotel de Fatima can realize the same yield or a
higher yield if it sells fewer rooms at a higher
rate or more rooms at a lower rate.
If Hotel Fatima sold rooms at a higher rate, it
will also reach a 58.33% yield when sold at
the following rates:
Same yield if less rooms and higher room rate
Same yield if more rooms at lower room rate
REMEMBER GOALS OF HOSPITALITY
-PRICE CAN BE USED AS A MARKET RECOVERY • Tangibilize the service element so the
STRATEGY THROUGH PRICE COMBINED WITH reader mentally
EFFECTIVE PROMOTIONS. grasp what is offered
-PRICE CHANGES, INCREASE OR DECREASE, • Promise a benefit that can be delivered
SHOULD BE HE HANDLED WELL TO ADDRESS and/or provide
CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS AND BUYER solutions to problems
ACCEPTANCE • Differentiate the property from that of the
competition
• Have positive effects on employees who
must execute the
promises
• Capitalize on word of mouth

TYPES OF ADVERTISING EXECUTION

• Slice of Life
• Lifestyle
• Fantasy
• Mood or Image
• Musical
Week 10- Tourism • Personality
• Technical expertise
Promotion • Scientific evidence
Promotion • Testimonials evidence
 Has been defeined as the coordination of all
seller-initiated efforts to set up DIRECT MARKETING
channels of information and persuasion to sell NATURE
goods and services or promote an • Nonpublic
idea (Belch 2008) • Immediate
PROMOTION MIX • Customized
 It is a company’s total marketing • Interactive
communications program ADVANTAGES
and it consists of a specific blend of: • Precision targeting
➢Advertising • Personalized messages
➢Direct Marketing • Privacy
➢Personal selling • Faster sales
➢Sales promotion • Variety of packaging options
➢Public relations • Less competition from other media content
ADVERTISING • Immediate results
OBJECTIVES • Measurability
• To inform PERSONAL SELLING
• To persuade NATURE
• To remind • Personal interaction
NATURE • Relationship building
• Reach many buyers • Most expensive promo tool
• Repeat message many times
• Impersonal
• Expensive
TASK OF A SALESPERSON
• Prospecting
• Targeting
• Communicating
• Selling
• Servicing
• Information Gathering
• Allocating

SALES PROCESS PUBLIC RELATIONS

NATURE
• Very Believable
• Dramatize a company or product
• Underutilized
OBJECTIVE
• Building Product awareness
• Creating interest
• Providing information
SALES PROMOTION • Stimulating demand
OBJECTIVES • Reinforcing the brand
• Increased short-term sales MAJOR ACTIVITIES
• Help build long term market share • Press Relations
• Entice consumers to try a new product • Product Publicity
• Lure consumers away from competitors • Corporate Communications
• Hold and reward loyal customers • Lobbying
• Building stronger customer relations • Counseling
• Obtaining new accounts CONTRIBUTION OF PR TO MARKETING
FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN SETTING UP A SALES • Assist in the launch of new product
PROMOTIONAL PLAN • Assist in repositioning a mature product
• Objectives of the campaign • Build up interest in a product category
• Type of market to be tapped • Influence specific target groups
• Competition • Defend products that have encountered public
• Cost and effectiveness of each tool problems
NATURE
• Wide assortment of Tools
• Rewards quick response
• Efforts short-lived
TARGET
• Consumer
• Trade intermediaries
• Sales force
COMMON SALES PROMOTION TOOLS MAJOR TOOLS IN MARKETING PR
• Samples ublications
• Coupons Events
• Packages News
• Premiums Speeches
• Patronage rewards Public service activities
• Point of purchase Identity media
• Contests and games
 Week 11-
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNELS IN
THE
DISTRIBUTION TOURISM
CHANNEL
 A set of independent organizations involved in
the process ofINDUSTRY
making a product or service
available to the consumer or business user.

 It moves goods from producers to consumers, it

overcomes the major time, place and possession
gaps that separate goods and services from those
who would use them.

TOURISM DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

 It is an operating structure, system, or linkage
of various combinations of organizations through
which a producer of travel products describes,
sells, or confirms travel arrangements to the
buyer.
DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL AND ITS FUNCTIONS
SELECTING CHANNEL MEMBERS
-Knowing the needs of your customer
-Attracting channel members
-Studying economic feasibility
-Maintaining control

FRANCHISING
 Is a method of doing business by which a
CHANNEL LEVELS franchisee is granted
the right to engage in offering, selling or
distributing goods and
services under a marketing format which is
designed by the
franchisor (Kotler 2008)
 Granting the right to engage in offering,
selling, or distributing
goods or services under a marketing format
which is designed
by the franchisor
 WHAT IS A COMMENTARY?
• The Tour Commentary is a narrative used by
a tour guide to describe a site and provide
information about various aspects of a country
to tourists while on tour.
• A tour guide is a person who leads groups of
people around a town, museum, or other
tourist venue.
• The tour guide provides a commentary on
the features and history of the location, the
tours can be from as little
as 10-15 minutes to extended periods over
many days.

Basic information about a place to include the

following
1. Short profile of the place
2. Historical background
3. Origin of the name (historical or
legendary)
4. Basic facts
 Capital
 land area and population
 location and distance from the city
center
 people and culture
 local dishes
TORG 211-Chapter  local products
 natural attractions
3_Commentary_We  man-made attractions
 historical landmarks
ek7 that you have to
Have you been in a situation  cultural sites/attractions
speak before an audience  customs and traditions
• Those who are thinking of joining the Tour  rituals and tribal wears
guiding profession are often driven  arts and crafts
by the reality that this is one way of “traveling  famous personalities
for free and getting paid”. SKILLS REQUIRED FOR COMMENTARY MAKING
• Tour guiding is public speaking, it requires Leadership Skills
the guts to face people and talk Communication Skills
about something of importance. Listening Skills
• Speaking in front of a group of professionals, Research Skills
with all the facts at hand, the speaker/tour Delivery Skills
guide should do it interestingly and
entertaining to get the
needed rapport from the listeners/guests.
Have you been in a situation that you have to
speak before an audience Have you been in a
situation that you have to speak before an
audience?
A. Leadership Skills Communication Components
 Tour guides are not only managers, they are Verbal (7%)
also leaders. They  Contents of the message
manage the conduct of the tour from start to  Choice of words
finish, take the  Vocabulary
initiative to an interactive way of guiding.  Slang, collo0quial, jargon
 As Manager, tour guide’s call to decide Vocal (38%)
quickly in cases where  AccentTone
the need arises.  Volume
 Leadership process takes place as the leader-  Speed
tour guide not only  Pitch
talks, but communicates and sends the message Non- verbal (55%)
to the audience  Facial expression
-tourists the way it has to be delivered and  Body language
understood.  Eye contact
 Being a leader for a tour guide also means  Gestures
having a good sense of authority in giving  Posture
information which should be a product of  Body movements
research.
 Fiedler (A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness) Language Proficiency
have cited that there are two main functions of  Avoid using highfalutin words, use simple,
a leader namely; the accomplishment of a task easy to
or understand words
attainment of a goal and the strength of the  Try to get rid of regional accent
group being led  Use synonyms to explain, to describe
something
B. COMMUNICATION SKILLS  Use non-verbal communication in a difficult
Communication is a skill which needs thing or
practice. Situation
Its hard work and requires concentration
and focus. Creating a Personal Platform Image
It is a skill that can be developed and 1. Voice – rate of speech
become an investment. a. Volume is critical.
b. Speak audibly – loud than soft voice is more
appropriate for tour guiding.
Effective communication will only take place if c. Be sure you are speaking to be heard by all, not just a
it undergoes a process: few.
1. Communication starts with an idea in the d. Keep your pacing or rate of speech quick than slow.
sender’s mind e. Pitch and tones are as important as the above
2. Sender translates the idea into words and this mentioned guidelines for effective
becomes the message speech.
3. The receiver then translates the message f. Vocal ticks as “um” and “ahh” are distractions and
becomes mannerisms that you have avoid by:
back into an idea  Consciously focus attention on the vocal tick. Hear
4. When the receiver’s idea is the same as the yourself saying them. And as
sender’s idea, there is an soon as you do , they will begin to go away.
effective communication and the process has  Ask a friend, colleague to signal each time they hear
been completed. you say it.
 2. Eye Contact - “The eyes are the windows of
the soul”
 If you want to LOOK and SOUND sincere,
MAINTAIN eye contact with the person you are
speaking to.
 Looking a person in the eye means you are
listening to what he is saying and it’s a
message of recognition.
 Talk to them by looking at their eyes as you
begin to speak. They will respond with a smile, a
nod, or signals of recognition.
 Good eye contact is very important way of
communication.
 Not maintaining eye contact means “you are a
non-person”, not important person.
 A penetrated glance means you are OVERLY
interested in that person. It may bring
embarrassment and uncomfortable feeling.
3. Body Language
 Be conscious of your body language, not overly
so, but just enough to
become more mindful of its effect.
 Watch for cues from others, focus on how they
move and react with your
speech, and also how you react to their body
language and gestures.
 Cultivate “power moves” – good posture-back
straight, head up. Firm
handshake, relaxed-look – hands on hips or in
pockets, but not slouchy
4. Your Audience
 Speech offers the benefit that writing doesn’t,
that is the ability to get immediate, visible
feedback. In speaking, there is more flexibility.
 You can present a story, and change the course
based on the reaction or feedback by the guests
during the actual conduct of the tour.
 As tour guide, you draw your energy also from
your audience/guests.
 Most of the guests are in an “excited, happy
interested and energetic mode”.
 They have planned the vacation or tour, saved
money for that, and prepared for a welcoming
tour guide, with the smiles
C. Listening Skills
 Listening is key to all effective communication,
without the ability to listen effectively messages
are easily misunderstood – communication
breaks down and the sender of the message can
easily become frustrated or Irritated
Some Tips for Effective Listening
1. Use Attentive Body Language
2. Learn how to use your “thinking time”
effectively by paying attention and focusing on
what you seeand hear
3. Become an observer
4. Listen with an open mind
5. Do not jump to conclusions
6. Let the speaker recognize that you are
listening
 OBSERVING - Looking at the other person
communicating and hearing the words he’s
saying.
 FOCUSING - Nodding, blinking, leaning
forward , showing interest in what the other
person is saying .
 RESPONDING - Using some verbal
contributions such as “Hmm”... “Ahhum”.. “I see
“.
 PARAPHRASING - Repeating what he has said
in your own words to make sure that you
understood
what he said
D. Research Skills
 Tour commentaries are planned, structured
and studied information, carefully gathered
through research and used as tool to be able to
effectively inform the guests.
 Commentaries or spiels should be a product of
research. Information should be updated and
relevant.
 Reading books, articles, newspapers,
autobiographies, journals are good source of
information. We used to have our own “data
bank”, a compilation of gathered information
carefully hand written, and kept for years
Now, it’s all read and stored from a gadget
with the use of internet.
Aside from reading materials, research can
be done through interviews, attending
speeches, conventions, fora, talking to the
experts are all an important source of
learning.
Education and ability to being a well-
informed tour guide, of course are value-
added characteristics of an effective tour
guide.
E. Delivery Skills
 In Tour guiding, delivery of information
gathered and researched is the most
challenging part of the “show”.
 It is not the idea of being so fluent in
English, or any other foreign language, but
the way you deliver the commentary to the
listening tourists is the “name of the game”
here. It is indeed not “what you say, but how
you say it” that would matter most.
Nervousness
 The Book of Lists mentioned that in the
category of phobias, the fear of public
speaking is number one in the United States.
 In other words, tour guides are not alone in
being nervous, each time they face their
tourists and do their spiels.
 You can’t just avoid the feeling of
nervousness or fear, they just come. Your
“core” brain perceives that it’s not safe out
there.
Guidelines on how to counter, prevent
nervousness:
a) Know your stuff (what to say)- being prepared
by studying your destination, tour assignment.
b) Know the place - familiarization of the place
will always be an advantage for a tour guide .
c) Visualize success - visualize yourself doing the
spiel, delivering your commentary already.
d) Breathe - start with a deep breathe, inhale and
exhale. Clear your mind, body and soul by proper
breathing.
How to make
Commentary_Week8
The effectiveness of a commentary requires
audience analysis and visitor expectation.
Required
the name of the tour guide, driver, or
coordinator should be part of the introduction
and greeting
Informational
includes all the basic information given
including the history, facts and figures
whether on a running tour
Requested
through interactive guiding, guests ask
questions and the tour guide is duty-bound to
answer these requested information for
clarification.
Optional
part of the commentary, to be more
entertaining includes good jokes, interesting
stories, trivias, legends
Factors to consider in Guests Analysis:
 Nationality and country of origin
 Age and gender
 Socio-econimic status and educational
attainment
 Special interest
 Occupation and profession
 Reason for the visit and tour
 How long is their visit?
 Have they been here before?
 How much do they already know?
 Where else have they been?
 Where else are they going?
Some Tips for Effective Commentary
Accuracy- information should be brief, concise
and simple, easy to understand
Structure- facts presented should have a
form, the beginning, the middle,
and the ending. encompasses several or all
areas of concern about a certain topic
discussed. carefully research, studied and
selected information based on the type of
tourists. Some Tips for Effective Commentary
Varied- encompasses several or all areas of
concern about a certain topic discussed.
Objectivity- in all presentation the objective
should be clear, not being subjective
Steps in Delivering a Commentary
 SMILE, GREET , INTRODUCE yourself and the
driver
 Brief the guests about the tour for the day
 Review the inclusions and exclusions of the
tour
 Give the location and distance, traveling to
the destination
 Tell them what to expect from the tour
 Announce comfort stops
 Give necessary precautions
 Don’t forget to point the important
landmarks along the way
Tips for an Effective Commentary
 Begin with a smile, greeting and
introduction
 Deliver information in a manner that would
interest the guests
 Add sense of humor in your commentary
 Remember that people join a tour to be
entertained with facts
and stories about the place, and appreciate
the things they
actually see
 Face the group, not a few
 Speak clearly and slowly ( especially for a
larger group)
 Voice should be audible
 Practice eye contact
 Prepare yourself for questions to be
asked.
 Take control of your breathing and try to
emphasize important words
 Use synonyms in explaining ( when
necessary)
 When mentioning a name, repeat it or
spell it
 Maintain silence, if the need arises
 Listen carefully to questions and other
concerns.
 Never argue with the guests.
 Always end your tour by thanking the
guests for joining the tour, and visiting the
country.
1. GREET with a smile and welcome the
guests
2. INTRODUCE yourself and the driver
3. BRIEFING on the following:
• Philippines overview
• Location and distance
• Climate – weater patterns
• Currency – bills, notes and coins
• Time difference – Philippine time VS GMT
and local time
• Electricity – voltage in the hotel
• What to wear
• Modes of transportation
• Restaurants local cuisine and specialty
restaurants
• Shopping centers – what to buy, where to
buy
• Offices and banks – time and day of
operation
• Tipping culture
• Briefing on the next day’s
activity/tour/movement
• Meeting time and place for next day’s
tour

Definition, Types
and its
Components-
What is Itinerary
 An itinerary is a2_ Week9
planned route or journey
that includes the program or movements of
the guests as they embark on a tour.
 It also includes the specified time,
schedule of activities, places of interests to
be
visited, and all other requirements and
requests agreed upon by the guests and the
tour operator.
 It is normally a prepaid arrangement, and
the tour guide, being the link between the
guests and the tour operator who designs
the itinerary; it is an important task of the
tour guide to be able to review it prior to the
day of the tour.
What is Itinerary
Type of tour
What exactly is the type of tour you are
conducting today? Is it a day tour, half-day
tour? Just a running tour, or some walk
about tours are included? Tours normally
are customized, otherwise it is a regularly
run tours, which are well specified and
simple, normally availed by group tours. The
number of participating tour guests and
their composition is also consider.
Type of tour
Knowledge of the Destination
o This is the most basic and yet very
important for a tour guide to possess prior
to any tour to be conducted.
o Knowledge of the destination not only
covers the facts, famous face and places in
the area, but the current and updated
information is taken into consideration.
o The old buildings may not be there
anymore, the names of the streets have
been changed by now, the location of the
city hall, library, hospital, and other
government buildings may not be in the
same location as ten years ago.
o Technology now is a great aid to
research. Gone are the days when we, tour
guides have to go personally to the
National Library, National Museum to do
research with the use of pen and paper.
Knowledge of the Destination
What is a Tour Package
A package tour or package holiday
comprises transport and accommodation
advertised and sold together by a vendor
known as a tour operator. Other services
may be provided such a rental car,
activities or outings during the holiday. It is
a combination of two or more components
of a tour.
Inclusions of the Tour Package
 Modern technology has a great impact on
how a tour is packaged. Due to globalization,
modernization of techniques as to how
marketing a destination is done, virtual tours
are already very prominent these days.
 A simple tour package is a combination of
two or more components. It can be a
combination of transportation (airfare) and
accommodation (hotel) and no meals. Or it
can be all meals (Full board), transportation,
and accommodation only, minus the airfare.
 A tour guide must be aware of the inclusions
(included) and exclusions (not included) of a
tour. Now that a lot of tours are indeed
customized, and very much “varied”
compared to ten years ago or more,
understanding the package in detail is an
advantage, to be more worry-free both for the
tour guide and for the guests.
There is no excuse for a tour guide not to
know something about flights of the guests.
Reservation and reconfirmation of flights
are part of the service that we are expected
to know. Here, the skills of learning the
phonetic alphabet is required that includes
knowing the codes of the airline, airport, city
and currency of the different countries of
the world.
Understanding Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT) is also an exciting learning
experience knowing the different time zones
of the earth. The difference between GMT
and the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
What is the local time versus the GMT?
Before, we have to know the exact address
and location of the airline offices, their day
and time of operation, in case we have to
drop by for our guests’ concern about
tickets.
Selling Other Destinations
Tour guides are very good sales and marketing
persons. Effectively they can describe and give
complete information about the place, having
been there many times.
Tour guides are expected to give a balanced
information, present both the weaknesses and
strengths of the destination, the people, culture
of the place, provide an update as to the
negative and
positive aspects of that destinations, warn them
of the things they should not do there, in short
give the guests, the real situation in
the area.
ENTERTAINMENT
 Now days, guests are presented with
many kinds of entertainment. With the
modern technology, the guests are
entertained with not only few, as before,
types of spending their time in the place
visited.
 With the advent of big entertainment
“cities”, or “inclusive resorts”,
entertainment became very interesting
now, not only for a bachelor, couple,
honeymooners, but also there are several
entertainment hubs that caters to families.
 We now have Resorts world, Solaire, and
City of Dreams to name a few. These are
designed to give entertainment to family
members, a real “one-stop” shop for
recreation, sports, musicals and concerts,
wellness, gaming, gastronomy and even
adventure.
• This means ALL OTHER CONCERNS that
may arise from the tour should be part of
the tour guide’s scope of work.
• Tour guide does many other things
including being care giver, first aid giver, an
errand person, a porter and many
exciting but challenging roles.
• The unexpected questions and other
concerns like, why in the Philippines there
are different sounds of the jeepney’s horn
(busina), what is the urinal for?
• Being in the field of tourism will allow
you to understand and have a better grasp
of how entertaining, challenging and
rewarding this work of a tour guide is.
 Definition and Tour Planning
When planning the itinerary of the tour
Inclusions of the package, the following information will
assist in developing a package that is
Tour Package and customer-focused.
Costing-2_
Tour operations Week10
is defined as the
Client profile – the more information about
preparation and implementation of all
the travelers, especially as regards their
activities within an itinerary, within a given
travel motivators, the better and more
time frame, within the estimated costs, in
suitable the tour package will be.
order to meet the expectation of the paying
Destination requested or proposed – the
client. Customer satisfaction or meeting the
market is matched with the destination
expectations of the client, is the delivery of
Duration – the duration will have to suit
services requested by the buyer (traveler)
the client’s profile.
from the supplier (seller), as arranged by the
Category of accommodations – depends
middlemen (travel agent and tour operator).
on the client’s budget and socio-economic
status.
The Tour Operations Cycle
Meal plan – the number of meals to be
included in the basic package is based on
The tour operations cycle summarizes the
what is convenient at the destination and is
different steps in the preparation and
always aligned with the sightseeing tours
operation of our packages. The eight steps
and activities included in the package.
involved are 1) planning (setting objectives
Sightseeing or activities requested or
to be achieved, customer focused,
suggested – these will depend on the
destination-oriented, financial or corporate
destination characteristics, sites and sights,
by the tour operator), 2) contracting
and activities.
(negotiating and collecting from identified
Mode and class of transportation –
suppliers agreed rates and concessions
dependent on the destination’s
available), 3) costing (putting together the
accessibility by the various modes of
costs of the various activities or services
transportation and client’s budget and
included in the itinerary, depending on the
convenience.
number of projected travelers), 4)
Ancillary services – refer to needs outside
quotations and tariffs (determining the
the usual and extraordinary requirements,
desired profits and preparation of
such as wheelchair or dietary
proposals), 5) reservations (processing the
requirements.
advance requests for space or services with
Guide and/or tour escort services – when
the suppliers), 6) field operations (cover the
requested, the costs of these are always
actual delivery of services and all activities
prorated.
the travelers from the arrival to time of
Number of free-of-charge (FOC) allowed
departure), 7) accounting (collection of
or required – this is subject to the
payments and payment to suppliers), 8)
concession and availability from suppliers
evaluation(assessment of the clients’
and the entitlement based on the number
satisfaction in the package or product).
of participants. The present industry
practice for FOC is for every fifteen (15) full
paying participants; there is one (1) FOC.
The ultimate objective in tour planning is
profit. Adding markup to the actual costs is
called pricing. Profit is therefore dependent
on the defined financial objective of the tour
operator. The price must be reflective and be
seen by the buyers as truly reflective of the
open-market value.
Contracting
Contracting is the process of negotiating
with suppliers for the most favorable rates,
terms and conditions.
The following must be clearly spelled-out in
the agreement for contracted rates: class
and /or type of service or category and/or
type of room; taxes, insurance fees, and
service charge; applicable concessions;
validity of contracted rates; booking and
reservation procedures and conditions;
cutoff period; deposit payments; and, form
of payment/credit line.
Costing
Costing refers to the process of determining
the actual costs of a tour package by
detailing the various components of the
package, and attaching a specific cost
represented by the contracted rate for each,
according to the costing methods.
A tour package is best illustrated in an
itinerary. The costs of the components of a
tour package can either be fixed or variable.
Fixed costs do not change and remain
constant regardless of the number of
participants. Variable costs depend on the
number of projected or proposed
participants.
1. The costs of all tour packages are always
on a per-person basis.
2. Transportation costs by scheduled air,
sea, or land transportation are always
based on a per-person fare and therefore
remain constant regardless of the number.
3. Transfer costs are almost always
prorated. Sightseeing tours by scheduled
transportation service is not advisable.
4. Entrance fees are always fixed.
5. Cost for entertainment activities may be
fixed or variable.
6. Meals and snacks included in the
package are always fixed and always
include the FOC and the tour guide.
7. When hotel accommodations are
included in the package, the rule is that
two persons share a room. Hotel costs are
always fixed.
8. Tour escort cost does not normally
include the per diem or salary paid by the
employer.
Quotations and Proposals
A quotation is a sum total price of the
services requested or proposed. A firm
quotation is the sum total price of the
services, requested, reserved, and
reconfirmed. A proposal is a form of a
quotation indicating the category of
accommodations, meal plan, included
transfers, and tours, number of
complimentary concessions, booking
terms, and payment conditions. It is
normally made up of a cover letter
indicating the inclusions of the tour
package, with an attached technical and/or
descriptive itinerary.
Reservations
Once the client has accepted the proposal
in writing, the processing of required
reservations may commence.
Reservations are advance requests for
available space or services sometime in the
future. A confirmation is a written advice by
a supplier that a reservation has been
accepted and will be honored, thus the term
“confirmed reservation”.

Field Operations
Filed operations cover the actual delivery of
the services, and all activities of the traveler
from the moment of arrival to the time of
departure. Once the procedures of the office
operations are completed, the focus of
attention shifts to the field. How well the
preparations in the office have been done
will definitely reflect the operation on the
field.

Accounting
Accounting involves the collection of
payments due from the clients, preferably
prior to the arrival and the payment due to
all suppliers. This includes the settling of
ticketing, tour vouchers, and booking orders.

Evaluation
Evaluation involves the comparing of the
performance of the organizations with the
actual results: (a) financial results, through
gain or loss, and (b) customer satisfaction by
seeking feedback from the clients.