TOPIC 4: TOURS

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
By the end of this topic the trainee should be able to;
a. Define terms used in tour operation
b. State various types of tours
c. Describe development of the package tour
d. Outline advantages of package tours
e. State the ethics of tour guiding
f. Explain the concepts used in tours

DEFINING TERMS USED IN TOUR OPERATION

Itinerary
It is a road map in an organized journey to a particular tourist destination. It is a lay out of the
different activities to be undertaken during an organized journey.
History of Itineraries:
The word comes from a Greek word “itenerarium” meaning road map. During the Roman Empire,
the road map used to show directions to travelers.

Destination
The place visited by tourist/excursionists. This is a place visited by tourists / excursionists. It
should be a place away from the point of origin. It should be such that it is desirable to the visitors.

Trip
This is a travel or journey to a particular destination or place.

Excursion
This is travel to a particular destination where visitors the stay for less than twenty-four hours.

Tourism Distribution Channel - This is a system of intermediaries, or middlemen, that facilitates

the sale and delivery of tourism services from suppliers to consumers. (Buhalis and Laws, 2001

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Group Leader - A person responsible for the selection and purchase of travel/tour arrangements
for an affinity group (i.e. convention, association, bank club, church, school, scout, senior citizen
or recreation center.)

Group Rates - A price offered to a Group Leader or affinity group based on volume purchase of
attraction tickets, meals or lodging.

Ad Hoc Tour - A packaged travel product provided by an operator as a one-time occurrence, e.g.
a tour to the mecca.

Attraction - A natural or man-made facility, location or activity which offers items of specific
interest that provides entertainment, education, enlightenment and experiences that encourages
visitation, attracts tourists and promotes tourism. An attraction can be a natural or scenic wonder,
a man-made theme park, a cultural or historic exhibition or a wildlife/ecological park open to the
public.

Catalogue Tour - Also referred to as a Scheduled Tour. A packaged travel product provided by
an operator and sold to the public, either directly or through travel agents. Individuals participating
in such a tour do not know each other or share a common bond prior to travel.

Custom Tour - Also referred to as Preformed Tour or Group Tour. A packaged travel product
provided by an operator and sold to an organized group whose members share a common bond,
interest or organizational affiliation, such as a church, school, club, etc. A preformed group is also
referred to as an affinity group.

Complimentary - The giving of a meal, room or admission at no charge. This is a

common practice for tour escorts, travel writers and their drivers.

Package tours (package travel, package holidays): This comprises a number of tourism products
which are purchased by the visitor as a single entity. Such packages usually comprise transport
and accommodation, but may also include meals, coach tours, car hire, admission tickets to

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theaters or attractions or any other product of interest to a tourist. There is one single charge for
the whole package, which is usually cheaper than the aggregated cost of the items if purchased
separately.

Principles: a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief
or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning.
Ethics: Moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
 Moral rules, ways of behaving, or a set of values that show proper behaviour in the
workplace
Ethical behaviour:  Always acting within rules of correct moral behaviour or following
acceptable professional ways of doing things.

TYPES OF TOURS
A tour is a pre-arranged journey or travel to a particular destination for leisure, recreation and other
tourism activities. This is planned and arranged by intermediaries such as tour operators and travel
agents. There are different types of tours which include the following : 1)Group or mass tours
2)independent tours 3)dependent tours 4)escorted tours 5)hosted or guided tours 6)special interest
tours.

1) Group tours
This is a type of a tour which involves a minimum of fifteen pax travelling together to a particular
destination. Travelling in groups makes the tourist qualify to higher discounts because of much
business they are bringing to the industry as well as shared cost especially on transport. This type
of tours is most appropriate for family groups, schools and special interest groups. They purchase
inclusive tour packages.
Group tours has various advantages such as:
 The package is relatively cheap due to higher discounts and shared cost especially on
transport
 There's more security as people travel together ie no worries on the places they will be
visiting
 It allows interaction among groups members as they travel and visit various places.

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2) Independent tours
This involves individuals or families who make their own travel arrangements with less or no
assistance from intermediaries. These are mostly referred to as free individuals travellers(FIT),
backpackers/drifters. They are more experienced travelers who might be familiar with the
destinations.

3) Business Tour
This is a package that is organized to cater for business traveler. These packages include a wide
range of activities such as venues for business meetings/conferences, accommodation,
transportation, secretarial services, conference equipment, local sightseeing and other facilities.

More recently, incentive tours, and special interest tours have appeared in the shape of incentive
travel at the tour operation market. The incentive tours, one of the largest and growing segment,
offered by a business organization to its employees and their spouses as reward for some special
endeavour or as a spur to achievement.

4) Dependent tours
This consist of tailor-made tours or custom designed tours, hosted or guided tours.

(a) tailor-made - A tour package where the tourist has control over all elements of a tour. They
advise the tour operator on preferred components to be included in the package such as
accommodation, transportation, sightseeing activities.

(b) Hosted/guided tours - This is where tourists travel independently with assistance at the tour
destination by the representatives of the company. The inbound tour operators assist the travellers
to plan their tour activities and other arrangements. The host serves as the information specialist
facilitating the needs and wants of the tourists. Most of these tourists are received at the airport by
the company's representatives for briefing and transfer to their respective hotels. The inbound tour
operator is in charge for organising daily excursions and sightseeing activities. The company is in
charge of the tourists throughout their stay at the destination.

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(C) Escorted tours - A type of tour where the tourists are accompanied by the tour leader or escort.
In most cases, he may accompany the tourists from their home country, stay with them at the
destination until they go back to their home country. In some cases, step_on_tour guides may guide
the tourists in a specific tourist attraction site eg in a museum, art galleries, monument, theme
parks. Escorted tours are less flexible since they have a fixed itinerary

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PACKAGE TOUR

- In 1841 Thomas cook working as a secretary of the south midland temperance association
organized a successful excursion for his members at a fare of one-pound return ticket. 570
passengers took part and this encouraged him to organize more and opened the first travel
agency. In 1879 he organized the first package tour to Europe and the USA.
- By late 1940s and early 1950s package tours to warm, sunny places in the Mediterranean such
as the Spain coastline and Italy began. Use of air craft after the second world war, longer paid
holidays, more disposable income and family wanting to holiday together after years of
separation all contribute to the increase in package tour.
- Some resorts became expensive while others became affordable
- Tour operators could charter aircrafts/use coaches touring and buy hotel beds in bulk bringing
down the cost due to discounts on bulk purchase hence charging affordable prices.
- Tourists could be transported to mediterranean destination faster and cheaper.
- Package tours by air became very popular.
- Other Independent Operators were adopting their style of operation which brought about
establishments of products for the mass holiday market.
- Spanish coastline and the Balearic Island were the first to benefit from the influx of mass
tourism from Britain, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. i.e. Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway and Sweden
- By 1960 Spain received around 6m tourists every year and this grew to 30 m by 1975.
- Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean Coastal regions also benefited from the “rush to the
sun”.
- In Britain however, post war difficulties in the economy forced the government to impose tight
controls on foreign exchange and travel bans. This limited travel abroad

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- By 1970 many of those limitations were relaxed air transport was liberated and there were long
paid holidays enabling people to travel.
- Many people opted for package holidays because they were cheaper than independent travels.
- A further improvement in tour transport occurred around the same time when Boeing 747
capable of carrying over 400 passengers appeared in service.
- The innovation coincided with a steady increase in demand by N. American visitors to Europe
for basic tours to Britain and the continent.
- This gave rise to the concept of “Milk run” (A popular route that would embrace the top
attractions in one or more countries in a limited time scale for the first-time visitors).

Movement to the sun (Sun Seeking)

- By 1960s a great no. of people adopted a N – South movement ie moving from the cooler
Northern climates (N> America and N. Europe) to the warm Southern part of the Nothern.
Hemispher with sunshine and warmth of the temperature to tropical lands.
- Most of these Southern countries were less developed ad so offered low-cost tourism
opportunities.
- Package tours became popular to places that offered warmer climates eg Mediterranean region,
Mexico and Caribbean (eg Haiti, Jamaica, cuba) as well as Florida and Hawaii
- In Europe, British and Germans Independent Operators s developed bulk inclusive tours to the
Mediterranean. Region and N. Africa. As operators were able to charter Jumbo jets transport
costs fell attracting mass market for long haul travel.
- By the end of the 20th century the experts packaging their tours had extended to many other
types of destinations e.g. Tours to cultural and heritage sites, city breaks to major cities like
London, Brussels, Berlin etc.

ADVANTAGES OF PACKAGE TOURS

To The Client Clients
1. Time efficient _most of the planning is done by the company of which are professions.
2. Increased security for travellers. This happens especially in case of escorted and guided
tours.
3. Cost savings

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 4. Social interaction among the travellers especially when travelling in groups.
5. More convenient to travellers since everything is arranged by the tour company.
6. There's focused target market. It takes care of needs and wants of niche market. Eg skiing,
mountain climbing, rock climbers, white water rafting, sky diving, fly boarding.

To The Tour To The Operator

1. Contribute to more profit ie revenue base increases
2. Contributes to repeat business ie regular customers.
3. Brings good customer relationship with the business.
4. Contribute to customer/client value.

ETHICS OF TOUR GUIDING

1. Shall be welcoming and demonstrate an enthusiasm.
2. Shall at all times show willingness to provide optimum support and quality service to all
tourists, and will give tourists an opportunity to enjoy or visit a desired destination.
3. Shall in no way discriminate in rendering service to any tourist on any basis, e.g. colour,
gender, ethnicity, nationality, physical challenge, age, etc.
4. Shall be impartial, unbiased and positive, and represent his/her country objectively.
5. Shall be suitably dressed and presentable at all times.
6. Shall be punctual, reliable, honest, and tactful at all times.
7. Shall be a responsible driver, when driving as a guide.
8. Shall carry out the programme/itinerary of a tour to his/her best abilities and be loyal to the
company/organization that he/she is representing.
9. Shall deal with conflict in a sensitive and responsible manner.
10. Shall report any incident of injury or death to a nearby tourist authority or police station.
11. Shall be knowledgeable and shall assist tourists and not provide them with misleading
information.
12. Shall in the event of not being familiar with, or being unable to provide information
requested by a tourist, consult with the appropriate authorities for assistance.

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 13. Shall at no time be under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic substance while on duty and
shall refrain from administering any medication to a client without proper medical
consultation.
14. Shall never solicit for clients or gratuities.
15. Shall be concerned at all times for the safety of the tourist.
16. Shall wear the appropriate tourist guide badge and will carry his/her registration card.
17. Shall treat all people, cultures and the environment with respect.
18. Does not initiate patronization of souvenir shops and other places that practice "kickback"
payments to the guide and/or drivers, or abuse complimentary meal privileges offered by
food establishments.
19. Respects the research and intellectual property of other guides and does not use illegally or
take as one's own another guide's commentary or individual presentation technique.
20. To follow the rules and regulations at all sites and facilities where he/she takes visitors.

CONCEPTS OF A TOUR
A concept is a plan or an intention. Therefore, tour concept are plans or intentions by a tour
operator or a traveler. For these plans to be achieved, there are several integral parts of the travel
and tourism industry involved. These are summarized by 6 A’s of tourism.

1) Accessibility
Accessibility refers to the transport and transport infrastructure to reach and tour a pre-defined
destination. Tourists look for comfort and hassle-free travel. Apart from comfort and hassle-free
travel, tourist should also look into cost, convenience, time for traveling, and safety as other
important factors which need to be considered before undertaking a journey.

2) Accommodation
Accommodation plays a major role in the development and image of tourism. Every traveler needs
a comfortable and safe place to stay and relax. Tourists look for clean, hygiene, well-maintained
rooms, and well-trained staff with a comfortable bed, clean beddings, and sanitary facilities with
adequate hot and also the cold water supply. Therefore, a wide range of accommodation options
exists at most destinations ranging from tourist lodge to five-star accommodations.

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3) Amenities
Amenities refers to the facilities available at the destination which help in meeting the needs and
also the wants of tourist. Tourist amenities include food and beverage facilities, local transport, a
good communication network, automatic teller machine (ATMs) drinking water, medical
facilities, etc. Therefore, all these amenities are important facilities and must be available at the
destination.

4) Attractions
One of the principal reasons for undertaking travel to a particular destination is the attraction.
Attractions can be classified into four categories.
Natural Attractions: These include: pristine (original state) beach, waterfalls, scenic views,
climate, snow, mountain, geographical landscape, etc.
Man-Made Attraction: Man-made attractions are an attraction created by humans. The attractions
can be theme parks, Disney World, Ocean Park, or any attractions which are made by man to pull
the tourist to the destination.
Cultural Attraction: These can be described in the form of fairs, festivals, celebrations, museums,
and theatre which depict the history and culture of a country or community.
Social Attraction: This is a place where one can meet and interact with the locals at the destination
as well as meet friends and relatives. e.g stadiums, religious centres, pubs etc.

5) Activities
Attractions are often reinforced by a range of activities. a destination should contains activities
which a place or attraction grasps such as nature walks, boating, mountain climbing, rock climbing,
viewing, photography etc.

6) Ancillary Services
These are facilities and secondary services that support the primary amenities in tourism sector.
These are important for the success of the tourism business. These services are the ‘Extras’ that
form the part of tourists experience and make them all more comfortable and enjoyable. These
services are the things that are needed to make any trip complete. Examples include: foreign

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exchange, car hire, luggage transportation, theatre and event tickets, tour guiding, travel insurance,
banks, shopping malls etc.

SUMMARY
Tours are as old as mankind. With advent of organized tours and improved means of transportation,
touring around the world has equally improved. This lesson has therefore delt with the following
details relating to tour:
 Definition of terms
 Types of tours
 Development of tour package
 Ethics of tours
 concepts tours

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