The Travel Agent
As the growth in travel and tourism industry, this essay is aim to draw up a typical management structure within a travel agency, an explanation of how trends in employment affect the personnel requirements of travel agents. Also, identify the qualifications and training that travel agents require of their employees. Finally, describe the skills and qualities needed by Mary to work as a travel agent.
First of all, the management structures within travel agencies. Normally the progression in travel agencies is as follows, trainee travel agent, travel agent, senior travel agent or customer service agent, manager, area manager than the owner or proprietor. But more than half of all ABTA travel agencies in the UK are small, family-run businesses just employing two or three members of staff under the management of the owner or proprietor. For example, they may just have a junior travel clerk, senior travel clerk and the owner in the agency. However, the large travel agencies chins have a more complex organizational structure, such as the "big 4"(Thomson, Airtours, Thomas Cook and First Choice), they have few hundreds of branches within the UK, so, they might have administrator, supervisor, manager of department, area manager, etc to look after their business.(Christine, 2006)
However, as the development in technology, more and more people buy their holiday or flight at the internet. It makes a trend that staffing levels in agencies have not increased, even though business volumes have risen. In addition, over the past year, the labour market picture has remained strong, for the above reasons, the standard of personel requirements of travel agents is become higher. Moreover, as the different season affect the travel agency, such as January, summer, Christmas time, travel agencies are normally become more busy, so they trends to employ more past-time, fixed-team contract and freelance working. ...
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However, as the development in technology, more and more people buy their holiday or flight at the internet. It makes a trend that staffing levels in agencies have not increased, even though business volumes have risen. In addition, over the past year, the labour market picture has remained strong, for the above reasons, the standard of personel requirements of travel agents is become higher. Moreover, as the different season affect the travel agency, such as January, summer, Christmas time, travel agencies are normally become more busy, so they trends to employ more past-time, fixed-team contract and freelance working. (IFD lecture notes, 2008)
Furthermore, the qualification and training that travel agents require of their employees are management skills, communication skills, customer services, sales skills and personnel skills. The management skills are including the management of its physical human and financial resources. The manager will be responsible for overall control of the business, so the sales and marketing skills, leadership and motivational skills, team-building and problem solving skills are also required. Also, in the travel agency, employees have to contact with a wide range of customers, so communication skills are required, whichever communicate by telephone, fax, e-mail, or face to face communicate. In addition, employees need to sell products and services, so product knowledge, information retrieval, calculations skills are importance. As in the travel agency is to sell holiday and other products and services profitable, employees needs the ability to cements customer relationships, build customer loyalty, meeting planned increases in sales volume, etc. However, travel agencies have an "on-the-job" training which can help their employees to develop those skills. Moreover, travel agencies also require some qualifications, such as Certificate in travel, GCSEs, BTES Diplomas, degrees qualifications. (IFD lecture notes, 2008)
Finally, Mary is in the final year of her school, and decided on a career within the travel agency business. She got the communication and customer services skills at her last job. She deal with her customer by telephone and face to face. Also, she took responsible for stock taking and some administration work, also the receipt of payments. As her manager states she is a very mature young lady who takes her responsibilities very seriously, so its can be seem that she is a honest, reliable person. However, Mary still needs some professional qulities if she want to work in the travel agency business, such as some qualifications, sales skills and product knowledge. But those skills can be train and develop by the "on-the-job" training.
In concussion, the management structure is different from the large and small travel agencies, but the key functions are the same. Secondly, the advances in technology affect the personnel requirements of travel agents. Thirdly, personnel skills, management skills, communication skills, customer services and sales skills are required by the employers. Finally, Mary should go on the "on-the-job" training to build up the knowledge of travel and tourism industry.
References
Christine, K., Andy, K. & Malcolm, J.(2006)BTEC Frist Travel and Tourism 2nd edition Heinemann Educational Publishers, Oxford[i.p. 256-257]
IFD lecture notes (2008) Worldwide Tourism. Semester 2, week 2.
UCE
IFD (worldwide tourism)
Tsz Ling Tsang
