Sally-Jo Edlin                                     Btec National Diploma in Travel and Tourism                               Renee

Unit 1: Investigating Travel and Tourism

Assignment 3

Task 1 (P4)

In this task I have to describe 4 recent developments in the travel and tourism industry. The four that I am going to choose are:

  • Transport Development
  • Technological Development
  • Product Development
  • Legislation

Transport Development

 Also the transport systems have got better. There are now bigger better planes and also faster trains. The airbus has now built a giant airplane the Airbus A380. This plane can hold up to 850 people and it is also more environmentally friendly. This would affect the travel market as there will be fewer flights as more people can fit into that one airplane. Also another big development that has recently happened is the channel tunnel. This has had a rail extension which takes high speed trains into St Pancras. This train also has links to the centre of Brussels which then opens up a wider range of other European cities for the UK traveller. This would affect the industry as again more people would take the direct train which may cost a bit cheaper then a flight, this would then be good for the environment. So this would mean less people getting on planes.

Technological Development

The internet has got very popular over the last few years. A lot of people have started using the internet to book their holidays as it is quick and they don’t have to move out of the house.

When it comes to competing Boeing corporation is back on top. As they have already started competing against the airbus A380. They have decided to do this as Airbus was taking all their sale revenue. And took them over on the leader board to become the world’s largest commercial air carrier. The 787 features lighter-weight construction. Its materials (by weight) are: 50% , 20% , 15% , 10% , 5% other. Composite materials are significantly lighter and stronger than traditional aircraft materials, making the 787 a very light aircraft for its capabilities. The 787 will be 80% composite by volume. Each 787 contains approximately 35 tonnes of , made with 23 tonnes of carbon fiber. Composites are used on fuselage, wings, tail, doors, and interior. Aluminum is used on wing and tail leading edges, titanium used mainly on engines with steel used in various places.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_787)

The Internet

The internet offers the customers direct booking with operators and principles of their choice. The internet has had a massive affect on the travel agencies has more and more people prefer to book their holiday themselves through the call centres, internet and also the TV. The reason for some people not to book through the travel agent is that they think it is uncool and these people prefer to book through the internet, this information was found from a survey in 2004. Another report showed that 63% in 2004 used the internet to find the information on the holiday and 40% used the internet to book their holidays.

For travel agents to gain back their customers this is what they can to help get the custom:

  • They can offer a tailor made service
  • They go for the niche market
  • They can offer the security on the holiday
  • They also can charge a service fee if the customer wishes to book as a dynamic package.
  • Travel agents can also offer additional products such as insurance.

There are a few communication methods these can include:

  • Email
  • Mobile Phones
  • Video Conferencing

Reservation Systems

Now travel agents have three different types of reservation systems there are:

  • Viewdata
  • CRS
  • GDS

 Viewdata – this system is an interactive screen in which the travel agents has access to the tour operators systems, but there is only one system for each tour operator so this mean messing about finding different systems on the one screen.

CRS- this stands for Computer Reservation system. This system holds each tour operator, airline, cruise line, which is made accessible for travel agents by a Viewdata system but all in one instead of separate systems.

GDS- this stands for Global Distribution Systems. This system is more sophisticated, this might combine several different CRS from the different suppliers and this system also offers other travel services.

An example of a GDS is Amadeus. This is the biggest processor of travel bookings in the world and is also the leading GDS system. They offer:

  • Flights
  • Hotels
  • Car Hire
  • Airport guides and links
  • A Currency Converter
  • Destination Guides
  • Driving Directions
  • Maps
  • Weather updates
  • World Dialling codes
  • World Clock
  • Transfer services
  • Event tickets and tours

Amadeus was founded in 1987 and their main head quarters are based in Madrid. Some of the airlines that they work with are:

  • BMI
  • BA
  • Lufthansa
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Brussels Airlines

The car hire the work with are: 

  • Enterprise
  • Alamo
  • National
  • Europe car
  • Hertz

And some of the hotels they work with are:

  • Holiday inn
  • Hampton Hotels
  • Metropolitan

Nearly every customer uses their technology in a different way.

The advantages of a GDS system are:

  • Real time availability
  • 24 hour access to the system
  • Multi operator reaches

Other GDS Systems are: 

  • Galileo
  • Sabre
  • Worldspan
  • EasySell

Some of the GDS systems include an integrated back office system examples of these are TravelPower and TravelCat.

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EasySell

EasySell is used by TUI and Thomas Cook, this is another GDS system. This system dramatically reduces searching and booking times for holidays.

TravelPower and TravelCat

This system allows reconciliation of banking as transactions are entered on to the system. The system then tells you what the taking should be at the end of the day.

Comtec

Comtec produces TravelCat and also gives travel agents their own website. Also this allows customers to interact and manage their own bookings. Comtec also allows customers to pay online and check their booking details.

The Advantages of Comtec ...

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