1. Advantages for the travel agent
1.1. Travel agents normally receive 10% commission on all tours they confirm. Clearly the financial incentive means travel agencies find it extremely advantageous to sell tour packages and not solely flights and/ or accommodation.
1.1.1. Savings in time and cost
1.1.2. Wide variety of package tours available
2. Advantages for the consumer:
2.1. Cost saving and budgeting
2.1.1. The price of a trip when organised as a package is generally less as travel agencies bulk buy their package deals and therefore can sell the tours at a lower and more competitive rate.
2.2. Responsibility is on the operator
2.2.1. If something goes wrong, the flight is delayed, causing the traveler to miss a connecting flight, it is not the traveler's responsibility to organize a new ticket. The responsibility lies with the airline or tour operator.
2.3. Convenience and time-saving
2.3.1. The travel agency deals with all the arrangements relating to airlines, hotels, transfers directly through the tour provider.
2.4. Social
2.4.1. The chances of social interaction are higher, allowing the fostering of short or long term friendships.
2.5. Quality of service
2.5.1. tour operators (those who provide the travel agency with the tour package) spend a great deal of time assessing the airlines, hotels, sight-seeing operators etc, which they use to make up the tour package.
3. Disadvantages for the consumer:
3.1. Inflexibility
3.1.1. when a traveler purchases a tour they commit to follow the itinerary, flight schedule and accommodation arrangements. Generally they are unable to change or reschedule their tour and whilst on the tour they cannot change their plans as they wish.
4. Disadvantages for the travel agent:
4.1. Control
4.1.1. The travel agent requires a long investigation for the benefit of himself and the consumer. As a result they must ensure they carefully choose the correct package which provides a high standard of quality, or is the most appropriate for the particular market.
5. Types of Packages
5.1. Tours of special interest
5.1.1. Are included around a particular area of interest that could include arts, food and wine, sports, culture or agriculture. Specialized visits may include an expert or a celebrity
5.2. Adventure tours
5.2.1. Tourists who like extreme sport as: diving, rock or mountain climbing, horse riding, skiing or cycling.
5.3. City/regional tours
5.3.1. They follow fixed itineraries and visit specific places, whether that is historic, religious or cultural, refreshments and meals are often included.
5.4. Group tours
5.4.1. This is the best known group travel style, they also follow a fixed and pre-established itinerary. These require the service of a guide and their maximum is 56 pax, depending on transportation.
5.5. Fully escorted tours
5.5.1. This type of tour is for the tourist who prefers to travel alone, especially for women. Your tour offers a feeling of security or overcomes language and cultural barriers.The escort or guide provides local, historical and cultural, knowledge, experiencesand understanding of the country (place) visited.