CMS4 Hawaii Travel

Role of a travel agency is to perform as an intermediary between the producers and consumers of tourism services. Suppliers in tourism industry such as airlines, tourist transport operators, tour operators, hotels etc work with travel agency for distribution of their services. Tourists also avail the services of travel agency for buying the services of the major suppliers. This does not mean that the travel agencies follow the strategies of the principal suppliers for marketing purposes. They have to chalk out their own strategy for promoting themselves.

Travel agencies make effort to add value to the products/services of the major suppliers. They go for their own market research to set the target market. They have to decide on discounts or service charges and finalise their product mix as well as sales and promotional strategies.

Understanding the Market
A travel agency has to take decision which market segment to target. The prospective market needs to be properly segmented. This segmentation could be done on the basis of the motive of travel or their budget. Timing of the travel decisions or services required by the customers could also be the base of segmentation. A customer could require services like tour packages, travel consultancy, ticket booking, handle travel documents (visa, passports etc), airport transfers, hotel bookings etc.

Product Design
Travel agency business is more or less confined to sole proprietorship or partnership firms. Majority of businesses are of small level. A travel agency has to decide on the target market, determine on customer requirements and generate ideas to develop the product. One also has to do the business analysis considering costs, estimate future sales, and profit potential.

A travel agency could have product oriented or market oriented approach in the business. It could emphasise on products and services of tourism supply, disregarding customer needs. However, in a multi-player market, this approach will not work. A market oriented approach would always be better for an agency. It must look at the customer needs and accordingly design its products. Market survey has to be conducted to understand the customer needs and get information about the practices of other agencies. Only when a manager knows about market needs, he can take a decision on the product design of the company. For example, services provided to walk-in customers could be different than those offered to repeat customers.

Travel insurance is an added expense tacked on to the end of your vacation tab, and most people waive the fee without learning the details of what the travel insurance covers. The most common coverage is for medical emergencies, lost luggage and a full or partial reimbursement for any cancellation fees. However, before you add a travel insurance policy, evaluate your unique situation as to how much coverage is prudent, or if you need any at all. So is buying travel insurance worth it? The answer depends on where you are going and what you have planned for your itinerary.

When traveling overseas, its a good idea to purchase some kind of coverage. Travelers who will participate in an escorted tour will be given the option to buy the minimum travel insurance coverage, usually just a few hundred dollars due at the time the balance of the tour is paid. This type of coverage is checked out by the tour operator and one of the safest coverage plans you can buy. Nothing fancy and no frills, just solid coverage for loss of life or limb, stolen baggage and excursion cancellations scheduled for your tour. In addition, the tour group policy will usually cover an emergency flight back home after obtaining medical treatment.

If you are traveling domestically or overseas and planning to stay with a friend or relative, you probably do not need to invest in travel insurance. The insurance plan is offered from tour companies, not only for the traveler’s benefit, but peace of mind for themselves should any snafu arise. However, if your next vacation includes a ski trip or other intense sport where there’s a possibility of taking a tumble, you want to be sure you have basic medical coverage, especially outside of the United States. It makes good sense to buy some kind of coverage for medical emergencies, no matter how proficient you are in sports.

Some travel insurance companies specialize in coverage for high risk sports and activities, and such companies often carry the best rates. If your itinerary includes mountain climbing, white water rafting, etc you may opt for full coverage to cover the cost of evacuation, as well as any medical treatment received. Some industry giants, such as worldtravelcenter.com, allow their clients to pick and choose exactly what they wish to be covered for, thus keeping the policy bill to a bare minimum.

A common misnomer is that when you travel to countries using socialized medicine, that you will be treated for free. No. The citizens of that country must show a national I.D. card for treatment and foreigners will be billed a hefty fee. The savvy and seasoned traveler knows the risk of injury and will plan ahead with a premium policy to cover all the bases.

When choosing your travel insurance plan, be sure to get one that offers good protection for your luggage. If anything is going to go awry, it will most likely be lost or stolen bags. However, beware that there are hundreds of travel insurance policies on the market, each containing fine print that must be understood. So to make it easy, you may wish to let your travel agent assign you a policy from a vendor that they know and trust. In addition, some of the major credit card companies offer travel insurance, and if you are using their card, you have a head start already with your coverage.

Air Travel passengers enjoy various options in terms of services provided by airlines. Starting from the ticket booking process, a customer can choose from a range of prices, comforts, entertainment and the quality of the services at different levels of a journey. As obvious, the best services are the most expensive ones.

A set of services airlines provide is called air travel class. Travel classes in aviation industry vary from carrier to carrier. It also changes according to the area a flight operates in. Flight operators are free to choose what class of the service they prefer to offer and there are no rules set for this. Travel operators also re-brand the service classes of the flights they offer. Airline Travel classes are broadly categorized as:

Economy Class: Also called the tourist class and most reasonable in terms of price.

Business Class: This is the relatively expensive and almost luxurious.

First Class: Best services with highest price. Sometimes, more than three times expensive than economy class.

Airlines do classify their services as may be best for them. For example: Business class and First class services are merged in many international flights. Similarly, low-cost carriers dissolve all classes into one economy class and discount economy class. In this case passengers are provided with the same facilities and comforts with slight variation in terms of services.

All That May be included in a Class:

First Class Travel is premium service package that includes luxurious amenities. The cabin is mostly located in the front area of the aircraft with restricted entry. Economy class travelers are not allowed to enter this cabin. The limited number of seats are available in this category. The seats are spacious and comfortable. It offers entertainment options, games, special meals and better privacy during the flight.

While it may cost much more that the normal flight ticket, post-flight limousine services and special check-in facility are special features that make is valuable.

Business Class travel is almost equally comfortable with few exceptions. Some commercial airlines provide business class as the highest level of service. They do not have a special first class. It is located in the middle of the aircraft and rear of first class. Better seats, special meals and drinks are included along with entertainment services.

Another class some airlines offer is Premium Economy Class. It falls between economy class and business class services. It differs from economy class in terms of the better seats and some services like meals and media options. The cost of the premium class is almost similar to economy class but the services are better. So this is a good value for money option for a little more money.

Economy Class is the least expensive of all. Here seats are simpler and limited. Short span travels may not include meals and other services may be paid. This class is located in the rear of an aircraft. Entertainment options are limited and can also be paid sometimes. The Cost is significantly less than other travel class prices.

…And Flight Travel Class also change according to international and domestic flights. Domestic flights’ offer Economy and Domestic First Class depending upon the flight operator. In this case also the cost of the flight and the services offered are the factors that cause variation.