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Tourism

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Key terms and concepts

Term	Definition
Accreditation	The official approval for a travel agent or tour wholesaler to issue documentation for a particular principal.
Agent’s commission	The money paid to a travel agent for selling a product or service. It is calculated as either a percentage of the total sale, eg. 10%, or a $ amount.
American breakfast	An American breakfast consists of bacon and/or sausages with eggs and sometime fried tomatoes, mushrooms etc. It is often classified as a hot breakfast.
Availability	When a traveller wants to make a booking for a tourism product you will need to check the dates that it is available. This is called checking availability.
BBR Bank Buying Rate	The rate at which a bank or money exchange shop will buy foreign currency.
BSR Bank Selling Rate	The rate at which a bank or money exchange shop will sell foreign currency.
Booking conditions	Same as Conditions of sale. These are the conditions of the holiday booking, eg. payment conditions, cancellation fees, liability exclusions etc.
Booking file	Same as a client file. This is the file where a client’s personal details and travel arrangement information is stored. It can be kept on computer or in a manual file in a filing cabinet.
Booking form	A form that a traveller is sometimes asked to complete prior to travel. They are supplied by the tour operator/wholesaler/travel agent and form part of the contract of sale. The traveller is usually asked to provide some personal details/requests and to sign the form.
Brochures	Brochures contain information on a tourism destination or a particular product. There are thousands of different travel brochures available. Brochures are an excellent source of tourism information.
Cancellation procedures	The procedures that must be followed in the event of a cancellation.
Client file	See Booking file.
Climate	The weather conditions of a region.
Conditions of sale	See Booking conditions.
Continental breakfast	A continental breakfast consists of coffee and juice with cereal and/or toast, muffins, doughnuts or pastries. It is often classified as a cold breakfast.
Contract rates	Rates that have been negotiated between a supplier and a tour wholesaler/travel agent.
Culture	Traditions, values and beliefs held by peoples of different nationalities.
Destination	Also referred to as the TDR (Tourism Destination Region) A destination is a place travellers visit.
Educational trip	Also commonly called familiarisation trips. Educational trip is an industry term for trips given to industry personnel to educate them about a destination. Educational trips are useful because they provide a personal experience.
Exclusions	Products or services not included in a packaged holiday.
Familiarisation trip	See Educational trip.
FIT –Fully independent traveller	A traveller who is not part of a group tour. They may however pre-book accommodation, transport and sightseeing as part of their own itinerary.
Flier	Fliers are used to advertise a destination or tourism product. They are a single page and often used to promote special deals for travellers.
Foreign currency	The currency of another country other than the country you are in.
Geographic feature	Natural features of a destination, eg mountains, beaches, rivers etc.
Gross price	The selling price to the traveller. Commissions or mark ups have already been added into the gross price.
Government tourism authorities	Government organisations that look after tourism for a country, state or territory. They promote their tourism destination areas through marketing campaigns and provide information about travelling within the destination. These organisations are an excellent source of destination information.
Host community	The people (community) of the destination that is being visited.
Inclusions	Products or services included in a packaged holiday.
Local currency	The currency of the country a traveller is travelling to.
Local customs	Rules, regulations, traditions, values and beliefs that are particular to a destination or country.
Local economy	The financial resources of a local community.
Local facilities	The facilities available to visitors in a destination, eg accommodation options, banking facilities, transport and sightseeing options.
Major tourist area	A destination or area within a destination that is popular with tourists. Darling Harbour and the Rocks areas are examples of major tourist areas in Sydney.
Mark up	The dollar or percentage amount wholesalers or travel agents add to a net price to make a profit
Net price	The amount the travel agent pays to the wholesaler, tour operator, hotel or car hire firm after they have deducted their commission.
Net/net price	The amount the tour wholesaler or tour operator pays to its suppliers after they have deducted their mark up.
Optional tours	Extra cost, ‘non compulsory’ tours that a traveller can choose to select whilst on a group tour.
Override commission	Bonus commission paid for additional sales.
Passport	An international travel identification document issued by a passport office to identify the traveller’s country of citizenship. Passports are required for international travel.
Per person	The cost for each person.
Per room	The cost for each room. This rate is often divided by the total number of people sharing a room to obtain the per person cost.
Principal	The owner of a product or service.
Product manual	A manual detailing information about a particular tourism product such as a hotel, airline or cruise ship.
Rack rates	The full undiscounted cost that a principal charges for its products or services.
Rates	The cost of products or services.
Rate of exchange	The rate at which the bank or money exchange shop converts foreign currency, eg BBR and BSR.
Reservation data	Personal information about a client and their travel arrangements.
Sales kit	A kit of information on a destination or tourism product. A sales kit may include maps, brochures, CD’s etc
Seasonal availability	Tourism products which are only available at certain times of the year are subject to seasonal availability. There are often low and high demand seasons as well.
Seasonal factors	Changes of season, eg spring, summer, autumn, winter can have an impact on a traveller’s holiday. Travellers will require information about seasonal factors before they travel. Seasonal factors will also often affect the cost of travel as well.
Single supplement	An extra amount paid for sole/single use of a room.
Tourist destination Region (TDR)	A destination for tourists to visit.
Tourist Generating Region (TGR)	The city/place/country where the tourists visiting the TDR’s originate from.
Tour operator	A company that packages and operates tours itself, eg AAT Kings.
Tour wholesaler	A company that produces brochures with a variety of different travel products/services in it. They can sell through travel agents or directly to the traveller.
Transit Region (TR)	A destination that often serves as a transit point on longer journeys, eg Singapore is a popular TR for travel between Australia and Europe.
Transfers	Transport from one point to another. The most common is to/from airport to hotels.
Traveller’s cheques	A safe way to carry large amount of money when travelling overseas. Traveller’s cheques can be issued in a variety of foreign currencies.
Triple reduction	A per person discount given if three people occupy a room instead of the usual two.
Twin share	When two people share a room they are often quoted a twin share cost that is charged per person.
Validity	The time that a rate, quote or brochure is valid for.
Visa for travel	An official stamp or leaflet allowing a traveller to enter a country where a visa is required for entry.

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