VİSİTOR MANAGEMENT, TOUR OPERATOR AND TRAVEL AGENTSIntroduction to Tourism

THE MANAGEMENT OF VISITORS

Visitor management can help to ensure that the expectations of tourists are balanced aganist the demands of the host environment, community and tourist business. Thus, successful visitor management requires a clear understanding of the demands of these groups and the extent to which they are prepared to compromise their positions in order to achive a balanced outcome for all stakeholders.

CARRYING CAPACITY

"Tourism Carrying Capacity" is defined by the World Tourism Organisation as “The maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors' satisfaction”. Whereas Middleton and Hawkins Chamberlain (1997) define it as “the level of human activity an area can accommodate without the area deteriorating, the resident community being adversely affected or the quality of visitors experience declining” what both these definitions pick up on is carrying capacity is the point at which a destination or attraction starts experiencing adverse as a result of the number of visitors.

CARRYING CAPACITY

Physical The number of visitors which the site was designed for or has

the ability to accommodate Economic

The level of tourism business which can be operated before other industries are squeezed out by the competition for resources

Perceptual The level of use which can be withstood before the

psychological experience of visitors is negatively affected Social

The number of visitors which can be tolerated by the host community

Ecological The number of tourists which can use an area before damage is

done to the natural or biological environment

TECHNIQUES TO MANAGE VISITORS (1)

TECHNIQUES TO MANAGE VISITORS (2)

Hard techniques Closure of attraction or areas within an attraction Zoning Permits and licences Vehicle bans Entrance fees

Soft techniques Marketing Directional signage Limited infrastructure development Codes of conduct

TOUR OPERATOR

A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday. The most common example of a tour operator’s product would be a flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price.

TOUR OPERATORS’ POSITION IN THECHAIN OF DISTRIBUTION

ADVANTAGES OF WORKING WITH A TOUR OPERATOR

Help to sell additional quantities of their products to different markets

Responsibility for marketing additional sales in hands of operators

Risk of not selling products shifted to the tour operator

TYPES OF TOUR OPERATOR

Domestic Operator that served the domestic market have formed just a small part of the travel and tourism industry, because it’s relatively simple for tourists to make their own arrangements within their own country.

Incoming tour operators purchase tourism services in their own countries and package them into products that subsequently marketed abroad by partners.

Outbound tour operators send travelers from the country they operate in to another country.

TRAVEL AGENTS

The Commission of the European Union defined travel agents as retailers to leisure and business travellers, selling flights (charter or scheduled), accommodation, car hire, foreign currency, travel insurance and other travel services. They are generally paid a commission by the supplier of the service or in the case of a package holiday by the operator

POSITION OF TRAVEL AGENT IN THE CHAIN OF DISTRIBUTION