special tour components

We are continuing to highlight basic concepts from areas of travel. This week, we’re addressing the building blocks of successful tours and FITs.  

For a thorough examination of this topic, we suggest you enroll in  The Travel Institute’s TRIPKIT , the gold standard in education for agents who are new to the industry. 

And don’t miss the exciting free webinar  Insider Insights: Globetrotting with Tour Operators and Escorted Tours , presented  TOMORROW  at 2 pm (EST) by  Kim Specht, CTIE , Travel Industry Educator , and her special guest and industry icon, Paula Hayes, retired Vice President of Sales, Globus Family of Brands.

For travel professionals, selling and/or planning tours will often come into play. Tours require the combined skills and resources of many people. What do you consider when choosing the components of a tour, and how are the pieces put together? The answer depends on the intended market and the destination. Some tours offer a minimum of elements; others are all-inclusive. 

Let’s look at some options:

• Transportation  Most tours include transportation as part of the package. A fly/drive package combines air transportation and a car rental. An air/sea or fly/cruise combines air and ship transportation; a rail tour includes transportation by train; a motor coach tour uses buses to carry tour participants from destination to destination to visit major attractions. Many tours also include transfers to and from airports, hotels, and rail stations.
• Itineraries  Tours tend to use one of three types of itineraries: — A circle itinerary  brings travelers back to their starting point via a different route. Passengers experience varied sights and places throughout, without retracing their steps. This approach suits tours that aim to cover a broad area, such as “Highlights of Central Europe.” — An open-jaw itinerary  begins and ends in different places. For example, a “Highlights of Italy” tour might visit Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, and Rome—without returning to Milan. This type of itinerary works well when returning to the starting point would mean retracing steps or visiting less-desirable locations. — A hub-and-spoke itinerary  is an increasingly popular approach. Travelers set up their base at a particular accommodation in one city for several days and take day trips into the surrounding area, thus avoiding packing, unpacking and moving baggage. They also might spend one night away from the home base. The hub-and-spoke approach allows travelers to explore a region in depth. For example, on a “Highlights of France” tour, travelers might be based in Paris and take day trips to the numerous sights within striking distance of the City of Light, such as Versailles or Giverny.
• Accommodations  Proximity to sightseeing attractions, transfer services, parking for the motor coach, and accessibility for travelers with disabilities may all be important in selecting accommodations for a tour. Hosted and independent packages usually offer participants a choice among several hotels in different price ranges. On escorted tours, participants stay together at a hotel.
• Meals  Tour operators can cut costs substantially by requiring tour participants to pay for their own meals or by adjusting the kind of meals offered. A tour operator that includes five dinners and five lunches is offering more than an operator that includes 10 breakfasts. A tour operator that permits an unlimited choice from the menu (à la carte) is offering more than an operator that arranges a set menu or limited choice. Meals plans are detailed in the  TRIPKIT  and can be as varied as the tour itself. 
• Sightseeing  Tours usually include some attractions that are standard tourist draws, such as Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and Universal Studios Orlando. On an independent or a hosted tour, travelers generally receive sightseeing vouchers and admission tickets ahead of time or pick them up at the first stop on their trip. On an escorted tour, attractions might be added during the tour, depending on the interests of the group.
• Other Components  The fare for some tours includes services—such as baggage handling—or covers tips, service charges, or taxes. Some tours offer additional amenities, such as flight bags, free drinks, or gifts.
• Price  Whatever the components of a tour, travelers are likely to weigh them against its price. A small percentage of tours are quoted per couple (the most obvious are honeymoon packages). But many prices are given  per person,   double occupancy , meaning that each person pays this price when sharing a room with another.  Single occupancy  prices are higher, sometimes much higher; the additional price paid by a person traveling alone is called the  single supplement . A few tours try to find a roommate for a traveler who does not wish to pay the single rate. When the tour operator will not guarantee a roommate, the traveler may have to pay the single supplement, often referred to as a  forced single .

All these moving parts require careful planning. And that emphasizes, once again, the incredible value and worth you bring to the table every time you work with a client!

For more detailed learning on travel products—e.g., Tours and Packages, Air Travel, Ground Travel, Accommodations, and Cruises—be sure to check out The Travel Institute’s  TRIPKIT !

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What Does a Tour Package Include? Essential Components Explained

When planning a trip, it can be challenging to organize all the necessary details, including accommodation, transportation, meals, and activities. This is where a tour package comes in handy, as it includes all these elements in one convenient package. This blog post will explain what a tour package entails, the available types, and how to choose the right one.

Table of Contents

What does a tour package include?

• Accommodation: A tour package typically includes accommodation in a hotel, resort, or other lodging facilities. The type of accommodation provided will depend on the tour package you select.
• Transportation: Transportation is another essential component of a tour package. It can include flights, trains, buses, and even private cars or vans. The mode of transportation provided will depend on the tour package you select.
• Meals: Most tour packages include breakfast only to all-inclusive dining. The number and type of meals provided will depend on the tour package you select.
• Activities: A tour package may include various activities such as sightseeing, cultural experiences, adventure sports, or shopping. The type and number of activities included will depend on your selected tour package.
• Itinerary: A tour package will provide you with a detailed itinerary of your trip, including the date, time, and location of each activity, as well as any free time you may have.

Types of tour packages

• Inclusive tour package: This type of tour package includes accommodation, transportation, meals, and activities, all for a fixed price.
• All-inclusive travel package: This tour package is similar to the inclusive package, but it also includes drinks, tips, and other extras.
• Budget tour package: This package is designed for those who want to travel on a tight budget. It usually includes basic accommodation and transportation but limited activities and meals.
• Customized tour package: This package allows you to choose the specific activities and accommodations you want, giving you more control over your travel experience.
• Luxury tour package: This tour package provides premium accommodation, transportation, meals, and activities for a higher price.

How to choose the right tour package?

Choosing the right tour package can be a daunting task, but here are some tips to help you make the best decision:

• Budget: Determine your budget and look for tour packages that fit within it. Remember that a higher price may mean better quality, but finding a balance between affordability and quality is essential.
• Destination: Consider the destination you want to visit and choose a tour package that offers the best experience in that location. Look for packages that include the attractions you want to see and the activities you want to do.
• Travel Style: Think about your travel style and the type of experience you want. Do you prefer a leisurely vacation or an adventure-packed trip? Make sure to choose a tour package that aligns with your travel style.
• Reviews and recommendations: Read reviews and ask for recommendations from friends or family who have traveled with a tour package before. This can give you insight into the tour package’s quality and other travelers’ experiences.

In conclusion, choosing a tour package can make travel planning more manageable and less stressful. With various tour packages available, selecting the one that aligns with your budget, destination, travel style, and preferences is crucial. When selecting a tour package, read reviews and consider recommendations from other travelers. By following these tips, you can have a stress-free and enjoyable travel experience.

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Tour Package

Package holidays, popularly known as a tour package or simply the word ‘tour’ in the travel and tourism industry refers either to a package tour escorted or not escorted by the tourist guide.

When we say tour package, it means a pre-arrangement, prepaid trip that combines two or more travel components like airfare, airport transfer, accommodation, and other services . Practically, to define the tour package concept is complex one rather understand.

Holloway defines a tour package as “a total tourism product consisting of transportation from the market area to the destination, accommodation at the destination and recreational activities promoted by the tourists.”

According to Gregorg “a tour package is advertised journey including specific features, arranged and promoted with tour literature by a tour operator and paid for in full by the tourists  before starting the tour.”

Technically, a package tour/tour package is a total tourism product as it generally includes transport from the origin place to the destination, accommodation at an en route place or at the destination and other recreational or travel services. These components are purchased by an individual, firm or company called the ‘ tour operator ‘. He combines all the travel components in a package and sells them at all-inclusive prices to the clients.

History of Tour Package

The term ‘tour’ was in vogue as early as 1670. The Britishers traveled to widen their knowledge of the continent, especially to study the culture and social life. This practice was gradually adopted by other lovers of cultural centers.

The result of the process was that many European historic and cultural centers were opened to the British tourist. By the early 1730’s the small fishing resorts around the British coast begin to attract tourists seeking to their diseases by drinking the sea-water or by immersing themselves in it.

The introduction of a rail link between the major centers in 1830, had a profound impact on the pleasure travelers for the first time. Many entrepreneurs began to inspire rail travel by organizing excursions for the public at discounted offers.

However, to ‘the origin of package tour’ the credit goes to Mr. Thomas Cook in 1855 , Cook, extended his business operation to different countries by introducing the first ‘ inclusive tour ‘ to Paris.

Mr. Cook put together all the components of tourism products and sold them as ‘inclusive tour’ to the tourists. His pre-packaged tour inspired other tour organizations in the travel industry to organize similar tours to all parts of the globe.

Most of Cook’s tours were a linear tour i.e., the person went from place to place on a single destination. Basically, Mr. Cook developed the concept of ‘grand tour and escorted tour’, the concept which is still used.

Incidentally, World War II has tremendously developed the package tour concept because of the following reasons:

• Social and Economic Conditions
• Increase in Aircrafts
• Marketing Conditions
• Legal Requirements
• Integration took place.

Today, package tours are a vital segment of the world’s travel and tourism industry. According to WTTC, the package tour sales generate $25 billion annually in the United States, $18 billion in Europe, $19 billion in Britain, and $21 billion in Asia. Today tour sales represented 50 percent of all leisure travel sales and 35 percent of all travel agency revenues.

Types of Tour Packages

A travel agency/tour operator deals with variety of ‘tour packages,’ catering to the diverse needs of tourists such as adventure, beach, architecture, cultural, business, conference, incentive tours, ayurvedic packages, Buddhist, religious, incentive tour, special interest tours, cruise tour group tour, educational tour, heritage, monuments, wildlife lovers, etc. These are broadly classified into five categories :

• Independent Tours
• Escorted Tours

Hosted Tours

• Incentives Travel/Tours

Freedom Tours

Independent tour.

Independent tours are prepared/formulated for those tourists who want to travel independently. The components of such tours are air travel, air transfer, accommodation, travel documents, sightseeing, boat riding, entertainment, and other travel services.

However, in some cases, the tourists are free to purchase every single component separately. Thus, this type of tour provides the tourists considerable freedom to plan the activities according to their own choice.

An independent tour may or may not be an all-inclusive tour. Therefore, tour price varies depending on the type of air travel, air transfer, accommodation and is inclusive of other tour components. The foreign independent travel (FITs) and domestic independent travel (DITs) are examples of an independent tour.

Escorted Tour

When a travel agency includes the services of a well educated and trained tour manager in its package, the tour is called an escorted tour. Basically, escorted tours are meant for those travelers who are planning to visit a foreign country first time.

The escort’s responsibilities and duties are to provide comprehensive information and assistance to the group or individual traveler, at the origin, en route and the destination place. The excursion tours are the example of escorted tours.

A hosted tour means when an agency utilizes the services of another agency at a particular destination. Suppose a group of French tourists is coming to India. When the group arrives in India, they are greeted at the airports by TCI, which assists them in clearing their baggage and transfer them to the hotel.

Their tour-host (TCI) is available to offer device and information about the local attractions and entertainment. Further, when the group arrives at another designation in India, a different travel agency greets them at each tourist spot. Thus, a hosted tour provides the tourists maximum level of pre-arranged and personalized services.

Incentives Travel/Tour

It is a motivational programme or a fully paid holiday which is given to the employees by the enterprises as a reward. Mostly in medium and large-scale companies and usually too distant destinations to spur them in maintaining their track record, to increase output, improve the image and moreover to earn the long period loyalty of the employees.

There are a number of the other packages offered by a tour company such as a custom tour an excursion tour, an adventure, and special interest package tours.

Freedom tours are becoming very popular these days among the working class. These tours are designed as per the choice of tourists. The tourist is free to choose and plan how they want to travel and enjoy their holidays. These types of tours are meant for that kind of people who like to decide how, when, and where to travel.

This tourist may an individual, family, group holidays for families and group travel for business. These tours are promoted and developed by the ORBIT.

Components Of Tour Package

What is to be included in a package tour largely depends and varies from one tour organization to another, or from the one country to another, or from one destination to another and from one market to another market. But there are certain well-defined travel services which always turn a part of a package tour irrespective of the tour operator/travel agency, destination and even the market condition.

If we study and see the package tours offered by Thomas Cook and Sons Ltd., Cox and King Ltd., and other international travel companies, we find that a package tour has two major components. Therefore, a standard package tour has two basic components namely:

• Ground Arrangements

Travel industry experience has shown that the first component, i.e. ‘Travel’ is directly bought by the agency from the principal providers like airlines and transport operators and for ground arrangement, the travel agency management asks the ground operators.

The reason behind buying ground arrangement from a handling agency is that it represents as a ground operator at a particular destination for the numerous tour organizations. Secondly, the price offered by it are much lower than an individual agency obtain. Thirdly, it is very difficult to get credit from the supplier and finally, it ensures professional travel services.

Factor Affecting the Tour Package Formulation

Generally, the business of package tours involves great risk, high breakeven, high-quality product, and competitive prices. Therefore, the tour management requires in-depth tour planning and market survey. However, before a tour is designed the tour manager should take into consideration certain factors which are crucial in the formulation process.

These factors have a profound impact on the tourist’s satisfaction. The main factors are:

• Purpose of Tour
• Choice of Destinations
• Tourist Budget
• Legal Requirement
• Types of Tourist Accommodation
• Tour Period
• Departure and stay information
• Tour price; inflationary condition
• Tour Reference Tools
• Tour Features – political stability
• The relationship between the host and tourist generating nation

Tour Package Design and Selection Process

The quality of a package tour is entirely based on the above factors. Essentially, to design/formulate a travel product, the tour manager has to take the biggest responsibility, intuitiveness, imagination, and innovation coupled with a lot of business activities which range from finding new exotic destinations and planning, organizing or promoting such tour.

The following are the main stages in the tour design and selection process:

1. Initial Research

(i) the destination research.

The decision to develop and formulate a new package is a multi-stage process that involves various positive and negative points/steps. Normally, the idea for a new product comes either from the tour executive within the company due to a review of the questionnaire completed by the previous tour members because of the political, economic and social development in a particular area.

When a tour manager see that a large number of old clients are interested in taking a trip to particular destinations, naturally, those destinations become the nucleus of a new ‘tour concept’.

(ii) Market Research

Since tour package is a complete tourism product, obviously, before formulating/designing this product, market research needs to be analyzed and assessed in a systematic manner. Market  research provides us the answer to the following questions:

• What is the size of the tourism market?
• Who are the existing clients?
• Where do they live?
• Who will be their potential buyers?
• Who are their competitors – their strategy and area of business leisure?
• How many tourist ones want to cater?
• What price will the clients accept?
• What facilities are available and required?
• What are the constraints viz., license, permission, finance, restrictions, taxes, and others?

Once we know the basic components of the package tour, distribution channels, market conditions, constraints in the tourism market, we can develop the marketing strategy. It enables the smooth functioning of the agency and also offers a clear picture of the tour programme. Practically, market research is conducted by the private tour companies/ private tourism enterprises in order to penetrate the market.

2. Itinerary Preparation

By itinerary one means the designing of a programme which one wants to sell and it includes destinations, stopping points, number of days and the travel services that are to be included in the programme. Whether it is a lean season or an offseason, escorted or not escorted, consumer-oriented or readymade tour programme, the itinerary is prepared to identify the origin, destinations, stopping points, accommodations, sightseeing and other travel services on travelers’ trip.

3. Handling Agency or Destination Company

The appointment of handling agency not only ensure excellent travel services to the tourist but also make the operation smooth and profitable. It is a matter of great significance as the success of travel business largely depends upon the clients are actually taken care of during the tour.

It is a positive match between the promised services and tourist’s actual experiences or feelings. Thus, the tour operator should consider the experience of the handling travel agency in the business, the area of operation, reputation, credibility, professional staff, credit facilities and the competitive price in appointing a handling agency.

4. Negotiation

It is another important management decision area in tour designing and planning. Once the decision has been made regarding the destination’s concerning their date, duration and number of clients to be carried during the trip, the tour management starts negotiations with the principals’ suppliers for a normal contract.

Negotiation means talk between the travel companies and the principal suppliers for the terms, conditions, and prices of the components of a tour package. When both parties are satisfied, it leads to a formal or informal contract between them. The tour company negotiates with the following tour vendors/suppliers:

• Accommodation
• Transport Operations- Rail and Road
• Ground Operators
• Cruise Companies
• Car Rental Companies
• The overseas representatives
• Ancillary Service Organizations

5. Coasting and Pricing a Package Tour

The cost of a package tour encompasses the air ticket, the hotel room, car rental, entertainment charges, administrative costs, promotional costs, and other travel services. The confidential tariff helps the travel company in preparing the cost sheet which will enable the concern to determine its price strategy.

Tour pricing is a big factor in the success of the company’s tour programme. The price of a package tour is, whether it is an escorted, independent or hosted the tour, often lower than the combined costs of the same components purchased separately from the principals. However, the purchase price of a travel product is based on three factors: Cost, competition, and demand.

Every tour package sold by a vendor has a quantifiable cost. To produce profit the price paid by the tourists must be greater than the agency’s cost.

6. Tour Brochure

The tour package is an intangible product which has to be purchased by the tourists/clients without inspection and sometimes even without adequate knowledge. In these circumstances, the brochure becomes the principal instrument to perform the major tasks to inform the clients about the products and to pursue them to purchase it.

Designing, printing, and distributions of tour brochures require necessary skills and knowledge about the components of the tour package. Basically, in the era of specialization and intense competition, tour brochure creates awareness and provides the description of the holiday programme.

Thus, tour management should consider various pros and cons while preparing a tour brochure. A brochure should contain the following information:

• Name of the Travel Company
• Means of transport
• Details about destinations
• Accommodation, types, location, meals
• Name of the overseas representative
• Duration of each tour
• Booking, reservation and cancellation conditions
• Details of other services – insurance, currency, entertainmentTravel documents required
• Details of price

7. Development of Reservation System

The next step in tour formulation process is reservation system. The agency management in order to put a package into operation must develop and implement a scientific reservation system. The system depends on whether the reservation is to be handled manually or with a computer working on the distribution method.

Whatever method the agency may adopt, the agency management should always keep in mind the sole objective of the reservation system.

8. Marketing of Tour Package

Once a tour package is ready, travel agency management has to make a careful decision regarding promotion and marketing of the particular package tour. The basic objective of management is to make a tour package widely known to make it more and more attractive.

To achieve these objectives, the management must consider the budget available, promotion mix, potential market, easiest and most effective media, campaigning through the international, regional or the public/private sector etc.

The promotion of a package tour means increasing its sales potential and creating an awareness of the existing and potential markets. The following methods are commonly used to promote package tours:

• Middlemen – Retail Travel Agents, GSA, consolidators
• Familiarization tours
• Building Brand Loyalty
• Encouraging Potential Buyers
• Competitive Market

9. Tour Handling/Actual Tour Operation

After the successful marketing and achieving target sales, the next and final step in the process of tour designing is tour handling. It means an actual operation of tours, which generally includes administrative work and passenger handling like maintaining reservations, handling deposits, sending advice to ground operators, arranging travel representation, analyzing the feedback received from clients/escorts/ground operator and so on.

All this is not an easy task. At every stage, one has to face different types of queries and problems due to lack of coordination and communication.

Significances of Tour Package

Tour package is beneficial to travel companies, travelers, destinations and other organizations which are directly or indirectly involved in the tourism business. The main benefits are:

• Increase the seasonality of a destination cost/price
• Earn foreign currency
• Better quality of products professional services
• Wide-variety of the tour package
• Provide bulk business to organizers

Contact us today!  

802-882-8475, exclusive tour components.

Want to offer your clients unique tour products that they cannot get with any other tour operator? Custom Tours has made this possible! Due to our long-term relationships with local suppliers, we are able to offer you some very special and exclusive tour components.

At Hildene, Ben and Jerry’s , and Rock of Ages , to name just a few, we have other surprises up our sleeve. Hands-on, local farm-to-table experiences are what we do best and we’d love to share them with you and your loyal clients.  

Components of Tourism

Relationship Between Tourism and Environment

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• What is the course of Travel and Tourism

Tourism consists of various components and components of tourism also known as the 4 ‘A’s of tourism. Without these components, tourism cannot be operated. A tour of an individual is influenced by various elements or components. There are 4 ‘A’s of tourism:

1.       Attraction 2.      Accessibility 3.      Accommodation 4.      Amenities Let’s know about each in detail:

1.  Attraction:

Attraction is one of the most important components of tourism. It pulls a person towards a destination or inspires him to make a visit. Nowadays, everyone seeks attraction in everything- the clothes they wear, the food they eat, the place they live in, etc. Attraction helps people to decide which place to visit. According to NYU, 68% of people pay more attention to attractive places to visit. Tourists can be attracted by several attractions like waterfalls, sunrise, historical sites, sports, etc. Attraction works as magnetic power on the pull factor of tourism. There are three major attractions that attract more tourists:

•       Built Attraction: These attractions are those which have been made by a human, like a museum, zoos, cultural and historical sites.
•       Site Attraction: These attractions are created by nature like the Himalayas, rivers, waterfalls, etc.
•       Event Attraction: Organizing a special program or event by a country attracts tourists.

 2. Accessibility:

Accessibility is another important component of tourism. Accessibility means the way by which a tourist can easily reach the desired destination. A destination should not only be attractive but accessible also. Some modes of transportation to reach a destination are very necessary. Cheaper modes of transportation receive a maximum number of tourists. Transportation plays a vital role, if a tourist destination is located at a place where no transport can reach then that destination become of little value. The following provision should be there for accessibility:

•      Accessibility of Road Transport
•      Accessibility of Rail Transport
•      Accessibility of Air Transport
•      Accessibility of Marine Transport

More tourists will visit a place if more transport modes are available.

 3.  Accommodation

Accommodation is another important factor that influences the tourist to choose a destination. Every tourist wants a good accommodation where he can spend the night peacefully and be served good food. The destination should be easily accessible along with good accommodations so that tourists can relax and have a good time. Accommodation must include hotels, guesthouses, apartments, restaurants, and Bar for refreshment. Accommodation should be designed in such a way that tourists can afford it according to their paying capacity. Accommodation should be well designed with all facilities. Accommodation is very important because no one will visit a place although it has an attraction, and accessibility but unavailability of Accommodation

4. Amenities:

 amenities are a very important component of tourism as its not easy to win the heart of travelers with the absence of required amenities. the absence of amenities may distract tourists. amenities are elements that help the tourist to get satisfaction and pleasure from the destination. these are extra services and facilities that are provided by travel agencies, airlines, hotels, etc. amenities include all necessary facilities and services to make a tourist feel comfortable in travel for example rest, food, entertainment, sport, etc. types of amenities:.

•      Natural: Beaches, Climbing, Fishing, Trekking etc.
•      Man-Made: Cinema, Fair and Festival, Internet, Music, Drama etc.

       Conclusion:

Apart from these four ‘a’s of tourism, there is also another important ‘a’ of tourism which refers to affordability. the travel expenses like accommodation charges, transport fees, and entrance fees should be at affordable prices. the above-mentioned ‘a’ should be balanced equally to pull more visitors to any destination and there should be some interesting things to explore for different age groups of tourists. thus, these 4 ‘a’s are very important to generate more tourism flow and acts as a backbone of tourism destination in any country..

Gaurav Gera

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Components of tourism: Structure of the tourism industry

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

The travel and tourism industry is argued by many as being the largest industry in the world. It is, therefore, no surprise that the structure of the tourism industry is quite complex, involving many components of tourism.

With many different types of tourism and types of businesses operating within the tourism industry, from private companies to charities and NGOs, the structure of the tourism industry is made up of many different segments and components.

In this article I will provide you with an overview of the structure of the tourism industry, outlining the types of organisations and stakeholders in tourism that are involved.

Structure of the tourism industry

Components of tourism, international organisations, national tourist boards, regional tourist boards, tourist information centres, travel by air, travel by road, travel by train, travel by water, hotels chains, hostels and budget accommodation, holiday parks and campsites, accommodation innovations, world travel market, football world cup, glastonbury, holi festival, day of the dead, natural attractions, built attractions, tour operators, travel agents, ancillary services, components of tourism | structure of the tourism industry, structure of the tourism industry | components of tourism: further reading.

The importance of tourism is demonstrated when you can see how big the industry is!

The structure of the industry is made up of several components of tourism and involves many different stakeholders. These components are all interrelated in one way of another. The components of tourism make up the entire tourism system.

There are several integral components of tourism. Without these components, the tourism industry would struggle to function. I have explained what this means below, but before you read on, take a look at this short video that I made (and if you like what you see, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel)!

This was demonstrated, for example, during the Coronavirus pandemic, which halted air travel around the world. Travel services are a vital component of tourism and without these services being operational, the tourism industry struggled to survive!

There are six major components of tourism, each with their own sub-components. These are: tourist boards, travel services, accommodation services, conferences and events, attractions and tourism services.

Below, I will explain what each of the components offer to the tourism industry and provide some relevant examples.

Components of tourism: Tourist boards

A tourist board is an essential component of tourism and an integral part of the structure of the tourism industry.

A tourism board is responsible for the promotion of tourism in a particular area. This could be a city, a region, a country or a group of countries.

A tourism board is usually Government funded and is usually a public travel and tourism organisation (although this is not always the case).

A tourism board is also often referred to as a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO).

Most tourist boards focus on promoting tourism in a particular area, city or country. There are, however, some organisations which aim to promote tourism across more than one country.

Whilst these organisation often have many functions other than tourism, they will also play a role in the promotion of tourism in particular parts of the world. This could include the European Union , the ASEAN network or organisations such as the United Nations.

A national tourist board is a national organisation whose aim is to promote tourism across the country.

There are usually several management bodies that are involved with a national tourist board. They are essential stakeholders who determine many aspects of tourism in the country, such as budgets, taxation and regulations.

Said management bodies include the parliament, the tourist board, an auditing committee and the Prime Minister, President or Head of State.

The national tourist board is funded from tourist taxes, membership fees, Government funding and other sources.

Examples of national tourist boards (often most commonly referred to by their ‘campaign title’ as opposed to the Government title) include Visit Britain , Incredible India and Amazing Thailand .

A regional tourist board is a tourist board that focusses on a particular region of a country. They are often a sub-division of a country’s national tourist board.

Regional tourism boards are often funded and operated in the same way as national tourist boards.

Examples of successful regional tourism boards include: Visit Cornwall in the UK, Kerala Tourism in India, Visite Montreal in Canada and Cape Town Tourism in South Africa.

A tourist information centre is the place where tourists can go for advice and help with regards to all matters related to tourism in the area.

In the tourist information centre (TIC) you will find staff who are knowledgeable about the local area. There will often be a range of printed and digital information for you, including leaflets, maps, coupons and guidebooks. Sometimes there will be virtual tourism facilities.

Tourist information centres have been an important component of tourism throughout the history of travel and tourism , however, they are coming under increasing pressure as a result of information that is available online. This has resulted in fewer people visiting TICs in person.

Most major tourist areas will have a tourist information centre. These are usually centrally located.

Tourist information centres are funded by the local Government.

Other posts that you might be interested in: – What is tourism? A definition of tourism – The history of tourism – Stakeholders in tourism – Dark tourism explained – What is ABTA and how does it work? – The economic impacts of tourism

Components of tourism:Transport services

The relationship between transport and tourism is strong.

According to the most commonly accepted definitions of tourism, a person must travel away from their home environment for at least one night in order to be a tourist (although I would argue that this definition needs updating given that it doesn’t account for novel forms of tourism such as a staycation or virtual tourism ).

Based on this fact, therefore, transport is an integral component of tourism. Without transport, people cannot reach their intended destination.

There are a range of different transport types. The most common and popular methods of transport that make up the structure of the tourism industry, however, are: air, road, train and water .

Travel by air has grown exponentially in the past few decades. With the introduction of low cost airlines and deregulation, the competitive market has been a tourist’s paradise.

New routes opening up has introduced tourists to areas that they may never have been able to reach before and low prices have resulted in more of us taking more trips abroad using air travel as our means of transportation.

Travel by air is an essential component of tourism and this was demonstrated during the Coronavirus epidemic. During this time most air traffic was halted, which had a devastating impact of the tourism industry world-wide.

Travel by road is also a core component of tourism, particularly for domestic tourism .

Travel by road is more popular in some countries than others. This largely depends on accessibility options (i.e. what is accessible by road), distances required and road conditions.

In destinations where travel by road is popular, there are often many car hire or rental companies.

Travel by train is very popular in destinations that have good rail networks in infrastructure.

In some parts of the world, such as China and Japan, there are world-class high-speed railways that can be more efficient than flying.

In other parts of the world, the rail journey is part of the tourism experience. A good example of this is the Siberian Railway.

In Europe you can buy an affordable interrail pass , which allows you to travel throughout Europe using the rail system.

Travel by water is also an important component of tourism.

The structure of the tourism industry includes cruises, ferries and leisure boats, among other types of travel by water.

Travel by water can vary considerably in price and can include anything from a round the world cruise to a short long tail ride in Thailand .

Components of tourism: Accommodation services

Accommodation services make up an important part of the structure of the tourism industry.

Whilst accommodation services were traditionally focussed mainly around the hotel industry, nowadays accommodation options for tourists are much more varied. This adds an additional layer of complexity to the structure of the tourism industry.

There are many hotel chains that operate throughout the tourism industry and that are a key component of tourism.

Multinational corporations have expanded throughout the tourism industry with key players being hotel chains such as Marriott, Radisson, Hilton, Travel Lodge and Holiday Inn.

However, hotel chains such as these have come under increased scrutiny as a result of the economic leakage in tourism that they cause.

Hostels and budget accommodation options are popular with budget travellers and backpackers.

There are a range of hostels found throughout the world. These are particularly popular in destinations where accommodation is expensive, such as London, New York and Singapore.

The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) and Hostelling International are popular hostel providers that are found across the UK and overseas.

Billy Butlin changed the face of the British holiday market with the introduction of his seaside holiday parks back in 1936.

Since this time, other similar chains have expanded throughout the UK and the rest of the world.

Camping is also an important component of tourism. There are camp sites situated throughout the world ranging from safari camps to glamping (glamorous camping).

Homestays have become an increasingly prominent component of tourism.

Whilst bed and breakfast accommodation has been around for a very long time, nowadays there are many more options that are grounded on the concept of a homestay.

The sharing economy has seen the growth and introduction of many types of accommodations into the travel and tourism sector that did not exist before.

The most popular of these is Airbnb, where people rent out a room or an entire property to tourists. You can read more about how Airbnb works here .

In recent years consumers have been demanding new and unusual experiences more than ever. In response to this, we have seen many accommodation innovations emerge throughout the world.

From staying in an ice hotel in Finland, to sleeping in a hammock in Borneo to a night in a haunted castle in Wales, there are many different types of accommodation options that can make your holiday a little bit more exciting!

Components of tourism: Conferences and events

Conferences and events make up a significant part of the structure of the tourism industry.

Conferences, which often come under business tourism , come in all shapes and sizes around the world.

From a small academic gathering to a large-scale summit involving national leaders from around the world, conferences are an important component of tourism.

Likewise, the event sector is also a significant part of the tourism industry.

There are millions of events that take place around the world each year that vary in size and function. Many of these form an integral part of the tourism industry.

Examples of major conferences and events around the world

There are many major conferences and events that take place around the world every year. Here are a few of my favourites:

The World Travel Market (WTM) is held in London each November. This is a large event that is held at the Excel venue.

WTM provides travel industry experts with the opportunity to showcase their work, learn more about the industry and to network.

ITB is the world’s leading international travel trade show. It is held in Berlin each year.

Similar to the WTM, this large-scale event enables industry professionals to network and undertake continuous professional development.

The vast majority of people are familiar with the Football World Cup.

The Football World Cup is held every four years in a different location.

The Football World Cup attracts millions of tourists from all over the world. The event also acts as a stimuli for tourism as the nation will often use the opportunity of hosting the event as a chance to market tourism in the area to those who are tuning in from their TVs from around the world.

Sports tourism , which includes events such as the Football World Cup, contributes significantly to the overall tourism industry.

Glastonbury is a popular British music festival. It takes place each summer in Somerset.

Glastonbury is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts. In addition to music, the festival hosts dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and other arts to entertain visitors.

Glastonbury attracts many domestic tourists as well as international tourists.

San Fermin is a festival that is held in Pamplona, Spain each July.

San Fermin, also known as the ‘Running of the Bulls’ is a historically-rooted festival that lasts five days. It involves dancing, eating and drinking, games and the famous bull races and fights.

San Fermin has been subject to a lot of controversy in recent years, with many people protesting that it is a cruel form of animal tourism .

Holi Festival is known as the ‘festival of spring’, the ‘festival of colours’ or the ‘festival of love’.

Holi Festival is celebrated in India each year during the month of March.

Holi Festival is famous for the way in which coloured paints are used and often thrown onto people’s faces and clothes.

This is a Hindu festival that signifies the victory of good over evil.

The Day of the Dead festival, locally referred to as ‘Dia de los Muertos’, is a festival that is celebrated in November each year in Mexico.

This day is a celebration of the deceased, whereby it is believed that the alive and the dead are reunited. On this day many people will create offerings for the deceased.

Many people choose to dress up as skeletons and in halloween-type outfits and they celebrate with food, drink and music.

Components of tourism: Attractions

An essential component of the tourism industry are the tourist attractions.

There are a multitude of different tourist attractions around the world.

Some are built, some are natural. Some are paid, some are free. Some are famous, others are not. Some are large and some are small.

Natural attractions are just as it says on the tin – natural. In other words, they are attractions that have not been made by man.

Natural attractions are found all over the world and vary in size and scope. There is even a definitive list of the seven natural wonders of the world .

I have visited many natural attractions around the world, here is a list of some of my favourites:

• Drakansburg Mountains, South Africa
• Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
• Mount Toubkal, Morocco
• Sahara Desert, Morocco
• Red Sea, Egypt
• Dead Sea, Israel
• Sierra Nevada, Spain
• Chicken Island, Thailand
• Niagara Falls, USA
• Rocky Mountains, Canada
• Pammukale Thermal Pools, Turkey
• Iceland (the island is filled with wonderful natural attractions!)
• Amazon Rainforest , Ecuador
• Cenotes, Mexico
• Iguazu Falls, Brazil
• The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
• Waterways of Kerela, India
• Mount Hallasan, South Korea

Built attractions also make up an important part of the structure of the tourism industry.

There are many built attractions throughout the world. Some attractions are built for the purpose of tourism, such as theme parks or museums. Other attractions are built for other purposes but then become tourist attractions, such as the Empire State Building or the Sydney Opera House.

I have visited many built attractions throughout the world. Here are some of my favourites:

• Robin Island, South Africa
• The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
• La Sagrada Familia, Spain
• The Eiffel Tower, France
• The United States Capitol Building, USA
• Statue of Liberty, New York
• Petronas Towers, Malaysia
• Marina Sands Bay Hotel, Singapore
• Angkor Wat, Cambodia
• Taj Mahal, India
• Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia
• Houses of Parliament, UK
• Sheikh Zayed Mosque, UAE

Components of tourism: Tourism services

Tourism services are an essential component of tourism. Without many tourism services, the tourism industry would fail to adequately function.

Below I will explain the three major tourism services that make up the structure of the tourism industry.

A tour operator is the individual or organisation who puts together a trip.

Typically, a tour operator would package together essential elements including accommodation, transport and transfer. They would then sell this package to the tourists.

However, tour operators are becoming fewer in recent years. Consumers are now far more Internet savvy and are more capable of researching the individual elements of their holiday and booking this independently. This is known as dynamic packaging .

Traditionally, a travel agent would sell the product that the tour operator has produced i.e. the package holiday.

While travel agents have and continue to sell individual holiday components, they have historically been most commonly used by tourists who wish to book a package holiday.

In today’s society, there is far less scope for travel agents than there used to be. A few years ago it would be easy to finish school and to get a job in a travel agent selling holidays. Now, however, people are more likely to set up their own travel agent business online or to be employed by an online retailer.

Many high street stores have now closed as there is little demand these days for holidays to be booked in this way. Instead, many people are selling holidays and travel services via their blogs or websites.

The travel agent does still exist, but he has changed the way he looks.

Ancillary services are another core component of tourism.

Ancillary basically means ‘extra’ or ‘additional’. An ancillary service in the context of tourism, therefore, is any product or service that is additional to the core elements of accommodation, transport and transfer.

Here are some examples of ancillary products:

• Attraction tickets
• Meal tickets
• Extra luggage
• Currency exchange
• Airport parking

As you can see, the tourism industry is large and complex, but understanding the different components of tourism isn’t too difficult.

All of the components of tourism are interconnected in one way or another and many rely on one another to be successful.

Want to learn more about the structure of tourism? I have listed some recommended texts below.

• An Introduction to Tourism : a comprehensive and authoritative introduction to all facets of tourism including: the history of tourism; factors influencing the tourism industry; tourism in developing countries; sustainable tourism; forecasting future trends.
• The Business of Tourism Management : an introduction to key aspects of tourism, and to the practice of managing a tourism business.
• Tourism Management: An Introduction : gives its reader a strong understanding of the dimensions of tourism, the industries of which it is comprised, the issues that affect its success, and the management of its impact on destination economies, environments and communities.

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Elliott Report

Home » Ultimate Consumer Guides » The ultimate guide to booking a tour

The ultimate guide to booking a tour

By Christopher Elliott

Published September 12, 2022

Updated January 21, 2024

What is a tour?

• An independent tour , which usually consists of transportation, lodging, and sometimes meals and activities, and which you can assemble on your own to fit your itinerary;
• An organized tour follows an itinerary set by a tour company and is led by an experienced guide. It typically includes transportation, lodging, activities and some meals. Both of these options have advantages and disadvantages.

When to choose an independent tour

• You value flexibility and don’t want to be limited to a seven- or ten-day “experience.”
• You like to explore new places and would prefer to determine where you eat and what you do on vacation.
• You like to keep tabs on how much each component of your vacation costs and who is directly responsible for it.

When to choose an organized tour

• You would like to have everything planned for you, from where you stay to what you see and how you get there. An escorted tour includes at least some meals. (A few new tours also have more “flex” time built into them, so they aren’t as rigid as a traditional escorted package.)
• You don’t like exploring a place alone and enjoy meeting like-minded travelers.
• You’re concerned about dealing with another country’s language and customs.

What’s so great about a tour?

It’s affordable, you pay upfront, you get better access, where can i book a tour, the economics of a tour explained, what’s a dynamic package, what are the risks of buying a package, refunds of individual components, loyalty points, an airfare warning for tour packages, do i need insurance for my tour, is there a “good housekeeping” seal for tour operators.

• Requiring each member company to set aside $1 million of its own funds specifically to protect consumers’ deposits and payments.
• Being committed to truth, accuracy, and clarity in advertising.
• Adherence to a code of ethics, which includes a pledge to encourage and maintain the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and service.

What’s a tour participation agreement?

Don’t hold us to our brochure prices, mind the fees, beware of “single” supplements, passport problems not our problem, we can cancel, but you can’t, this isn’t the only contract, other gotchas, when should you not book a package, here are the most common tour problems, i don’t like my tour guide or fellow travelers, i have a special need, the food, accommodations, or tours are not what i expected, canceled tour don’t expect a full refund, how to resolve a tour dispute, beware of tour operator math, avoid “laundry list” complaints, take it to the top, will viator see the light.

Christopher Elliott

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Chapter 7. Travel Services

Heather Knowles and Morgan Westcott

Learning Objectives

• Describe the key characteristics of the travel services sector
• Define key travel services terminology
• Differentiate between types of reservation systems and booking channels
• Discuss the impacts of online travel agents on consumers and the sector
• Identify key travel services and organizations in Canada and British Columbia
• Explain the importance of additional tourism services not covered under NAICS
• Describe key trends and issues in travel services worldwide

The travel services sector is made up of a complex web of relationships between a variety of suppliers, tourism products, destination marketing organizations, tour operators, and travel agents, among many others. Under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), travel services comprises businesses and functions that assist with planning and reserving components of the visitor experience (Government of Canada, 2014).

Before we move on, let’s explore the term travel services a little more. As detailed in Chapter 1, Canada, the United States, and Mexico all use NAICS guidelines, which define the tourism industry as consisting of transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, and travel services.

For many years, however, the tourism industry was classified into eight sectors: accommodations, adventure and recreation, attractions, events and conferences, food and beverage, tourism services, transportation, and travel trade (Yukon Department of Tourism and Culture, 2013). As you can see, most of these — from accommodations to food and beverage — remain virtually the same under NAICS and have been covered thus far in this textbook.

Tourism services support industry development and the delivery of guest experiences, and some of these are missing from the NAICS classification. To ensure you have a complete picture of the tourism industry in BC, this chapter will cover both the NAICS travel services activities and some additional tourism services.

First, we’ll review the components of travel services as identified under NAICS, exploring the function of each area and ways they interact:

• Travel agencies
• Online travel agencies (OTAs)
• Tour operators
• Destination marketing organizations (DMOs)
• Other organizations

Following these definitions and descriptions, we’ll take a look at some other support functions that fall under tourism services. These include sector organizations, tourism and hospitality human resources organizations, training providers, educational institutions, government branches and ministries, economic development and city planning offices, and consultants.

Finally, we’ll look at issues and trends in travel services, both at home, and abroad.

Components of Travel Services

While the application of travel services functions are structured somewhat differently around the world, there are a few core types of travel services in every destination. Essentially, travel services are those processes used by guests to book components of their trip. Let’s explore these services in more detail.

Travel Agencies

A travel agency is a business that operates as the intermediary between the travel industry (supplier) and the traveller (purchaser). Part of the role of the travel agency is to market prepackaged travel tours and holidays to potential travellers. The agency can further function as a broker between the traveller and hotels, car rentals, and tour companies (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2003). Travel agencies can be small and privately owned or part of a larger entity.

A travel agent is the direct point of contact for a traveller who is researching and intending to purchase packages and experiences through an agency. Travel agents can specialize in certain types of travel including specific destinations; outdoor adventures; and backpacking, rail, cruise, cycling, or culinary tours, to name a few. These specializations can help travellers when they require advice about their trips. Some travel agents operate at a fixed address and others offer services both online and at a bricks-and-mortar location. Travellers are then able to have face-to-face conversations with their agents and also reach them by phone or by email. Travel agents usually have a specialized diploma or certificate in travel agent/travel services (go2HR, 2014).

Today, travellers have the option of researching and booking everything they need online without the help of a travel agent. As technology and the internet are increasingly being used to market destinations, people can now choose to book tours with a particular agency or agent, or they can be fully independent travellers (FITs) , creating their own itineraries.

Online Travel Agents (OTAs)

Increasing numbers of FITs are turning to online travel agents (OTAs) , companies that aggregate accommodations and transportation options and allow users to choose one or many components of their trip based on price or other incentives. Examples of OTAs include Booking.com, Expedia.ca, Hotwire.com, and Kayak.com. OTAs are gaining popularity with the travelling public; in 2012, they reported online sales of almost $100 billion (Carey, Kang, & Zea, 2012) and almost triple that figure, upward of $278 billion, in 2013 ( The Economist , 2014).

In early 2015 Expedia purchased Travelocity for $280 million, merging two of the world’s largest travel websites. Expedia became the owner of Hotels.com, Hotwire, Egencia, and Travelocity brands, facing its major competition from Priceline (Alba, 2015).

Although OTAs can provide lower-cost travel options to travellers and the freedom to plan and reserve when they choose, they have posed challenges for the tourism industry and travel services infrastructure. As evidenced by the merger of Expedia and Travelocity, the majority of popular OTA sites are owned by just a few companies, causing some concern over lack of competition between brands. Additionally, many OTAs charge accommodation providers and operators a commission to be listed in their inventory system. Commission-based services, as applied by Kayak, Expedia, Hotwire, Hotels.com, and others, can have an impact on smaller operators who cannot afford to pay commissions for multiple online inventories (Carey, Kang & Zea, 2012). Being excluded from listings can decrease the marketing reach of the product to potential travellers, which is a challenge when many service providers in the tourism industry are small or medium-sized businesses with budgets to match.

Finally, governments are stepping in as they see OTAs as a barrier to collecting full tax revenues on accommodations and transportations sold in their jurisdictions. OTAs frequently charge taxes on the retail price of the component; however, they purchase these products at a discount, remitting only the portion collected on the lesser amount to the government. In other words, the OTA pockets the difference between taxes collected and taxes remitted (Associated Press, 2014).

Some believe this practice shortchanges the destination that is ultimately responsible for delivering the tourism experience. These communities rely on tax revenue to pay for infrastructure related to the visitor experience. Recent lawsuits, including one by the state of Montana against a group of OTAs, have highlighted this challenge. To date, the courts have sided with OTAs, sending the message that these companies are not responsible for collecting tax on behalf of government (Associated Press, 2014).

While the industry and communities struggle to keep up with the changing dynamics of travel sales, travellers are adapting to this new world order. One of these adaptations is the ever-increasing use of mobile devices for travel booking. The Expedia Future of Travel Report found that 49% of travellers from the millennial generation (which includes those born between 1980 and 1999) use mobile devices to book travel (Expedia Inc., 2014), and these numbers are expected to continue to increase. Travel agencies are reacting by developing personalized features for digital travellers and mobile user platforms (ETC Digital, 2014). With the number of smartphones users expected to reach 1.75 billion in 2014 (CWT Travel Management Institute, 2014) these agencies must adapt as demand dictates.

A key feature of travel agencies’ mobile services (and to a growing extent transportation carriers) includes the ability to have up-to-date itinerary changes and information sent directly to their phone (Amadeus, 2014). By using mobile platforms that can develop customized, up-to-date travel itineraries for clients, agencies and operators are able to provide a personal touch, ideally increasing customer satisfaction rates.

Take a Closer Look: Expedia – The Future of Travel Report

Expedia is the largest online travel agency in the world. Formed in 1996, Expedia Inc. now oversees a variety of online travel booking companies. Together they provide travellers with the option to book flights, hotels, tours, and transportation through mobile or desktop online functions. For more on Expedia’s thoughts on the future of travel, read its report at Expedia’s report on the Future of Travel : http://expediablog.co.uk/The-Future-of-Travel/

Despite the growth and demand for OTAs, travel agencies are still in demand by leisure travellers (Hotel Marketing, 2013). The same is true for business travellers, especially in markets such as China and Latin America. Business clients in these emerging markets place a premium on “high-touch” services, such as paper tickets delivered by hand, and in-person reservations services (BTN Group, 2014).

Tour Operators

A tour operator packages all or most of the components of an offered trip and then sells them to the traveller. These packages can also be sold through retail outlets or travel agencies (CATO, 2014; Goeldner & Ritchie, 2003). Tour operators work closely with hotels, transportation providers, and attractions in order to purchase large volumes of each component and package these at a better rate than the traveller could if purchasing individually. Tour operators generally sell to the leisure market.

Inbound, Outbound, and Receptive Tour Operators

Tour operators may be inbound, outbound, or receptive:

• Inbound tour operators  bring travellers into a country as a group or through individual tour packages (e.g., a package from China to visit Canada).
• Outbound tour operators work within a country to take travellers to other countries (e.g., a package from Canada to the United Kingdom).
• Receptive tour operators (RTOs) are not travel agents, and they do not operate the tours. They represent the various products of tourism suppliers to tour operators in other markets in a business-to-business (B2B) relationship. Receptive tour operators are key to selling packages to overseas markets (Destination BC, 2014) and creating awareness around possible product.

Destination Marketing Organizations

Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) include national tourism boards, state/provincial tourism offices, and community convention and visitor bureaus around the world. DMOs promote “the long-term development and marketing of a destination, focusing on convention sales, tourism marketing and service” (DMAI, 2014).

Spotlight On: Destination Marketing Association International

Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) is the global trade association for official DMOs. It is made up of over 600 official DMOs in 15 countries around the world. DMAI provides its members with information, resources, research, networking opportunities, professional development, and certification programs. For more information, visit the Destination Marketing Association International website : www.destinationmarketing.org

With the proliferation of other planning and booking channels, including OTAs, today’s DMOs are shifting away from travel services functions and placing a higher priority on destination management components.

Working Together

One way tour operators, DMOs, and travel agents work together is by participating in familiarization tours (FAMs for short). These are usually hosted by the local DMO and include visits to different tour operators within a region. FAM attendees can be media, travel agents, RTO representatives, and tour operator representatives. FAMs are frequently low to no cost for the guests as the purpose is to orient them to the tour product or experience so they can promote or sell it to potential guests.

Other Organizations

The majority of examples in this chapter so far have pertained to leisure travellers. There are, however, specialty organizations that deal specifically with business trips.

Spotlight On: Global Business Travel Association  Canada

Internationally, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) represents over 7,000 business travel agents and corporate travel and meeting managers who collectively manage over $340 billion in business travel and meetings each year (GBTA, 2014). The Canadian chapter, headquartered in Ontario, holds annual events and shares resources on its website. For more information, visit the Global Business Travel Association : www.gbta.org/Canada/

Business Travel Planning and Reservations

Unlike leisure trips, which are generally planned and booked by end consumers using their choice of tools, business travel often involves a travel management company, or its online tools. Travel managers negotiate with suppliers and ensure that all the trip components are cost effective and comply with the policies of the organization.

Many business travel planners rely on global distribution systems (GDS) to price and plan components. GDS combine information from a group of suppliers, such as airlines. In the past, this has created a chain of information from the supplier to GDS to the travel management company. Today, however, there is a push from airlines (through the International Air Transport Association’s Resolution 787) to dissolve the GDS model and forge direct relationships with buyers (BTN Group, 2014).

Destination Management Companies

According to the Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME), a destination management company (DMC)  specializes in designing and implementing corporate programs, including “events, activities, tours, transportation and program logistics” (ADME, 2014). The packages produced by DMCs are extraordinary experiences rather than general business trips. These are typically used as employee incentives, corporate retreats, product launches, and loyalty programs. DMCs are the one point of contact for the client corporation, arranging for airfare, airport transfers, ground transportation, meals, special activities, and special touches such as branded signage, gifts, and decor (ADME, 2014). The end user is simply given (or awarded) the package and then liaises with the DMC to ensure particular arrangements meet his or her needs and schedule.

As you can see, travel services range from online to personal, and from leisure to business applications. Now that you have a general sense of the components of travel services, let’s look at some examples in Canada and BC.

Travel Services in Canada and BC

In British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada, many agencies are members of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) . ACTA is an industry-led, membership-based organization that aims to ensure customers have professional and meaningful counselling. Membership is optional, but it does offer the benefit of ensuring customers receive the required services and that the travel agencies have a membership board for reference and industry resources (ACTA, 2014).

Spotlight On: Travel CUTS Travel Agency

Travel CUTS is 100% Canadian owned and operated. As a student, you may have seen its locations on or around campus. With a primary audience of postsecondary students, professors, and alumni, Travel CUTS specializes in backpack-style travel to a variety of destinations. It is a full-service travel agency that can help find flights for travel, book tours with a variety of companies including GAdventures or Intrepid Travel, assist in booking hostels or hotels, and even help with the SWAP overseas VISA program. For more information, visit Travel CUTS : www.travelcuts.com

Although travel agencies may be located in a specific community, the agencies and their representatives may operate internationally, within Canada, within BC, or across regions. In Vancouver alone there are over 500 travel agencies available to the searching traveller (Travel Agents in BC, 2014). Examples of some of the more recognized larger travel agencies and agents operating in BC include the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA), Marlin Travel, and Flight Centre.

Many different types of tour operators work across BC and Canada. Tour operators can specialize in any sector or a combination of sectors. A company may focus on ski experiences, as is the case with Destination Snow, or perhaps wine tours in the Okanagan, which is the specialty of Distinctly Kelowna Tours. These operators specialize in one area but there are others that work with many different service providers.

Spotlight On: Canadian Association of Tour Operators

The Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) is a membership-based organization that serves as the voice of the tour operator segment and engages in professional development and networking in the sector. For more information, visit the Canadian Association of Tour Operators : www.cato.ca

Tour operators can vary in size, niche market, and operation capacity (time of year). An example of a niche BC tour operator is Prince of Whales Whale Watching in Victoria. Prince of Whales offers specialty whale-watching tours year-round in a variety of boat sizes, working with the local DMO and other local booking agents to sell tours as part of packages or as a stand-alone service to travellers. It also works to sell its product directly to the potential traveller through its website, reservation number, and in-person sales agents (Prince of Whales, 2014).

Examples of large RTOs representing Canada internationally include Jonview or CanTours. Operators of all kinds frequently work closely with a number of destination marketing organizations, as evidenced during Canada’s West Marketplace, which is a trade marketplace hosted by Destination BC and Travel Alberta. Each year the location of the marketplace alternates between Alberta and BC (past locations have included Kelowna and Canmore). This event provides an opportunity for Alberta and BC sellers (tour operators, local accommodation, activities, and DMOs) to sell their products to international RTOs who in turn work with international tour operators and travel agents to repackage the travel products. In a span of 10-minute sessions, sellers market and promote their products in hopes of having an RTO pick up the package for future years.

On a national scale, Rendez-vous Canada is a tourism marketplace presented by the Canadian Tourism Commission that brings together more than 1,500 tourism professionals from around the world for a series of 12- minute sessions where they can learn more about Canadian tours and related services (Canadian Tourism Commission, 2015).

Let’s now look a little closer at the role of BC destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in providing travel services.

At the national level, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is responsible for strategic marketing of the country. It works with industry and government while providing resources for small and medium-sized businesses in the form of toolkits. In BC, there a variety of travel service providers available to help with the planning process including Destination BC/HelloBC, regional destination marketing organizations (RDMOs), and local DMOs.

Destination BC/HelloBC

HelloBC is the official travel service platform of Destination BC, British Columbia’s provincial DMO. HelloBC.com offers access to festival activities, accommodation, transportation options, and trip ideas. This website is complemented by a social media presence through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (HelloBC, 2014a). Although the online resources are highly detailed, visitors also have the option of ordering a paper copy of the BC Travel Guide .

To assist with trip planning, HelloBC features a booking agent system, offering discounts and special deals created in partnership with operators. Although the site can process these value-added components, it does not handle accommodation bookings, instead directing the interested party to the reservation system of a chosen provider.

In addition to operating HelloBC, Destination BC also oversees a network of 136 Visitor Centres that can be identified by the blue and yellow logo. These are a source of itinerary information for the FIT and a purchase point for travellers wishing to book trip components (HelloBC, 2014b).

Regional Destination Marketing Organizations

BC is divided into five regional destination marketing organizations, or RDMOs : Vancouver Island, Thompson Okanagan, Northern British Columbia, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast and the Kootenay Rockies (HelloBC, 2014c). Along with Destination BC, these RDMOs work to market their particular region.

Housed within the HelloBC online platform, each RDMO has an online presence and travel guide specific to the region as well as a regional social media presence. These guides are important as they allow regional operators to participate in the guide and consumer website in order to encourage visitation to the area and build their tourism operations.

Take a Closer Look: BC’s Regional DMOs

For more information on each RMDO, visit the following consumer and industry sites:

Vancouver Island Consumer: Vancouver Island : www.hellobc.com/vancouver-island.aspx Industry: Vancouver Island : www.tourismvi.ca

Thompson Okanagan Consumer: Okanagan : www.hellobc.com/thompson-okanagan.aspx Industry: Okanagan : www.totabc.org/corporateSite/

Northern British Columbia Consumer: Northern BC : www.hellobc.com/northern-british-columbia.aspx Industry: Northern BC : www.travelnbc.com/

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Consumer: Cariboo Chilcotin Coast : www.hellobc.com/cariboo-chilcotin-coast.aspx Industry: Cariboo Chilcotin Coast : www.landwithoutlimits.com/

Kootenay Rockies Consumer: Kootenay Rockies : www.hellobc.com/kootenay-rockies.aspx Industry: Kootenay Rockies : www.krtourism.ca/

Community Destination Marketing Organizations

Community destination marketing organizations (CDMOs) are responsible for marketing a specific destination or area, such as Whistler or Kimberley. Travel services typically offered include hotel search engines, specific destination packages and offers, discounts, events and festival listings, and other information of interest to potential visitors. In the absence of a CDMO, sometimes these services are provided by the local chamber of commerce or economic development office.

Spotlight On: Tourism Tofino 

Tourism Tofino is the local DMO for the Tofino area, located on the west side of Vancouver Island. Tofino is a destination region that attracts travellers to Pacific Rim National Park, surfing opportunities, storm watching, and the Pacific Ocean. As part of its marketing tactics, Tourism Tofino offers visitors key planning tools on the landing site. To encourage shoulder season visitation, storm-watching deals are highlighted, which also allows visitors to inquire directly with the accommodation provider and/or tour operator. For more information, visit Tourism Tofino : www.tourismtofino.com

Complementing BC’s Visitor Centre network mentioned earlier, local visitor centres are managed by individual communities. Visitor centres may be housed in gateway buildings at strategic locations, in historic or cultural buildings, or at an office located in town. They are designed to provide general information to travellers and may include other services such as booking hotels, free Wi-Fi, and help from a visitor information counsellor (SGSEP, 2012).

Other Systems and Organizations

A number of customized and targeted reservation systems are used by BC DMOs and other organizations. One example is the BC campground reservation online booking systems. BC Parks, Parks Canada, and private campground operators all use different proprietary reservation systems. Both BC Parks and Parks Canada reservation systems open on a specific date in the spring for bookings later in the year. These systems let visitors review what a site looks like through photos or video and pick which site they would like to book in the campground. Many campgrounds also offer a first-come-first-served system, as well as overflow sites, to accommodate visitors who may not have reserved a site.

In the business market, there are several companies in BC and Canada that facilitate planning and booking. Concur is an example of a travel management company widely used in British Columbia and Canada by organizations including CIBC, Kellogg’s, and Pentax. It provides services including trip planning software for use by employees, expense and invoicing software for use by managers, and a mobile application that ensures clients can take the technology on the go. Its services have contributed to client savings, such as reducing the travel expenses for one client by almost one-fifth in their first year of use in Ontario (Concur, 2014).

BC is home to several DMCs including Cantrav, Pacific Destination Services, and Rare Indigo (Tourism Vancouver, 2014). All offer event services as well as turnkey operations (where all logistics are handled by the DMC and invoiced to the corporation).

So far we’ve looked at travel services as defined by NAICS. Next let’s have a closer look at additional services generally considered to be part of the tourism economy.

Tourism Services

Many organizations can have a hand in tourism development. These include:

• Sector-specific associations
• Tourism and hospitality human resources organizations
• Training providers
• Educational institutions
• Government branches and ministries in land use, planning, development, environmental, transportation, and other related fields
• Economic development and city planning offices

Consultants

The rest of this section describes Canadian and BC-based examples of these.

Sector-Specific Associations

Numerous not-for-profit and arm’s-length organizations drive the growth of specific segments of our industry. Examples of these associations can be found throughout this textbook in the Spotlight On features, and include groups like:

• BC Hotel Association
• Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC
• Restaurants Canada

These can serve as regulatory bodies, advocacy agencies, certification providers, and information sources.

Tourism and Hospitality Human Resource Support

The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) is a national sector council responsible for best practice research, training, and other professional development support on behalf of the 174,000 tourism businesses and the 1.75 million people employed in tourism-related occupations across the country. In BC, an organization called go2HR serves to educate employers on attracting, training, and retaining employees, as well as hosts a tourism job board to match prospective employees with job options in tourism around the province.

Training Providers

Throughout this textbook, you’ll see examples of not-for-profit industry associations that provide training and certification for industry professionals. For example, the Association of Canadian Travel Agents offers a full-time and distance program to train for the occupation of certified travel counsellor. Closer to home, an organization called WorldHost, a division of Destination BC, offers world-class customer service training.

You’ll learn more about training providers and tourism human resources development in Chapter 9: Customer Service.

Educational Institutions

British Columbia is also home to a number of high-quality public and private colleges and universities that offer tourism-related educational options. Training options at these colleges and universities include certificates, diplomas, degrees and masters-level programs in adventure tourism, outdoor recreation, hospitality management, and tourism management. Whether students are learning how to manage a restaurant at Camosun College, gaining mountain adventure skills at College of the Rockies, or exploring the world of outdoor recreation and tourism management at the University of Northern BC, tomorrow’s workforce is being prepared by skilled instructors with solid industry experience.

Spotlight On: LinkBC

LinkBC is a membership-based organization that receives funding from Destination BC to support students and instructors at postsecondary institutions in connecting with the tourism industry. It hosts an annual Student Case Competition, a networking event called Student-Industry Rendezvous, and provides students with information about education options at its study tourism in BC website. For more information, visit the LinkBC website : http://linkbc.ca or Study Tourism in BC : www.studytourisminbc.ca

Government Departments

At the time this chapter was written, there were at least eight distinct provincial government ministries that had influence on tourism and hospitality development in British Columbia. These are:

• Community, Sport and Cultural Development
• Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training
• Advanced Education
• Transportation and Infrastructure
• Environment
• Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
• International Trade
• Small Business and Economic Development

Ministry names and responsibilities may change over time, but the functions performed by provincial ministries are critical to tourism operators and communities, as are the functions of similar departments at the federal level.

At the community level, tourism functions are often performed by planning officers, economic development officers, and chambers of commerce.

A final, hidden layer to the travel services sector is that of independent consultants and consulting firms. These people and companies offer services to the industry in a business-to-business format, and they vary from individuals to small-scale firms to international companies. In BC, tourism-based consulting firms include:

• IntraVISTAS: specializing in aviation and transportation logistics advising
• Chemistry Consulting: specializing in human relations and labour market development
• Tartan: a public-relations and reputation management firm

For many people trained in specific industry fields, consulting offers the opportunity to give back to the industry while maintaining workload flexibility.

Trends and Issues

Now that we have an understanding of the travel and tourism services providers in BC, let’s review some of the current trends and issues in the sector.

In the travel services sector, providers such as OTAs and business travel managers must constantly be aware of price sensitivity. Many tourism services organizations are not-for-profit entities that rely on membership dues, donations, grants, and government funding to survive. As the economic climate becomes strained and budgets are tightened, all groups are increasingly forced to demonstrate return on investment to stakeholders. As some of the benefits of travel services are difficult to define, groups must innovate or face extinction.

The challenge of budget constraints came to life in late 2014 when Destination BC announced it was shutting down its Visitor Centres at Vancouver International Airport and reviewing five other gateway locations including Peace Arch and Golden. While the airport locations welcomed over 180,000 visitors per year, analysis performed by Destination BC showed guests were asking non-tourism questions, and the centres’ value was questioned. Closing the centres at the airport, it was determined, would save $500,000 per year — but some in the industry were left wondering why they weren’t consulted prior to the announcement (Smyth, 2014).

As discussed earlier, online travel agencies have revolutionized the sector in a short span of time. Online travel bookings and marketing accounts for roughly one-third of all global e-commerce, and according to many these continue to rattle the sector.

Take a Closer Look: The Trouble with Travel Distribution

This report, by McKinsey & Company, addresses the widespread impact of technological innovations on the travel services sector. To view the report online, visit The Trouble with Travel Distribution : www.mckinsey.com/insights/travel_transportation/the_trouble_with_travel_distribution

That said, OTAs and other technology providers can benefit operators and the travel services sector as a whole. Keeping in mind that travel services pertain to the planning and reserving of trip components, recent beneficial technologic improvements include the following (Orfutt, 2013):

• Real-time and automated inventory management, ensuring operators and travellers alike are working with accurate information when planning and booking
• A pollution and weather detection chip that would help tour operators, transportation providers, and visitors anticipate, and plan for changes in conditions
• Personalized information presented to visitors to help them narrow their choices in the trip planning process, ensuring users are not overwhelmed with information, and making the most of limited screen size on mobile devices and tablets
• Social technologies and on-the-go information sharing, allowing users to plan at the last minute as they travel
• Virtual assistant holograms and tablets carrying information that can replace humans during the travel experience (for instance, at airport arrivals and visitor centres)

These innovations will likely increase as more advances are made. They also have significant implications for the marketing of travel products and experiences, which is explored more in Chapter 8.

In a time when financial resources are limited and competition for tourist dollars is strong, the travel services sector is being forced to innovate at a startling rate. With the emergence of OTAs and the rapid pace of change, it’s likely the travel services landscape will be radically different by the time you read this.

Just 20 years ago, the travel agent was paramount for booking both leisure and business travel, while today’s traveller can book a trip using a phone in a matter of minutes. This is one sector with challenging and exciting times ahead.

To this point we have learned about the five sectors of tourism: transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, and travel services. With this foundation in place, let’s delve deeper into the industry by learning more about how these sectors are promoted to customers in Chapter 8 on services marketing.

• Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA): a trade organization established in 1977 to ensure high standards of customer service, engage in advocacy for the trade, conduct research, and facilitate travel agent training
• Canada’s West Marketplace: a partnership between Destination BC and Travel Alberta, showcasing BC travel products in a business-to-business sales environment
• Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO):  a membership-based organization that serves as the voice of the tour operator segment and engages in professional development and networking in the sector
• Community destination marketing organization (CDMO): a DMO that represents a city or town
• Destination management company (DMC): a company that creates and executes corporate travel and event packages designed for employee rewards or special retreats
• Destination marketing organizations (DMOs):  also known as destination management organizations; includes national tourism boards, state/provincial tourism offices, and community convention and visitor bureaus
• Familiarization tours (FAMs):  tours provided to overseas travel agents, travel agencies, RTOs, and others to provide information about a certain product at no or minimal cost to participants — the short form is pronounced like the start of the word family (not as each individual letter)
• Fully independent traveller (FIT): a traveller who makes his or her own arrangements for accommodations, transportation, and tour components; is independent of a group
• HelloBC:  online travel services platform of Destination BC providing information to the visitor and potential visitor for trip planning purposes
• Inbound tour operator:  an operator who packages products together to bring visitors from external markets to a destination
• Online travel agent (OTA):  a service that allows the traveller to research, plan, and purchase travel without the assistance of a person, using the internet on sites such as Expedia.ca or Hotels.com
• Outbound tour operator:  an operator who packages and sells travel products to people within a destination who want to travel abroad
• Receptive tour operator (RTO):  someone who represents the products of tourism suppliers to tour operators in other markets in a business-to-business (B2B) relationship
• Regional destination marketing organization (RDMO): in BC, one of the five DMOs that represent a specific tourism region
• Tour operator:  an operator who packages suppliers together (hotel + activity) or specializes in one type of activity or product
• Tourism services: other services that work to support the development of tourism and the delivery of guest experiences
• Travel agency:  a business that provides a physical location for travel planning requirements
• Travel agent:  an individual who helps the potential traveller with trip planning and booking services, often specializing in specific types of travel
• Travel services: under NAICS, businesses and functions that assist with the planning and reserving components of the visitor experience
• Visitor centre:  a building within a community usually placed at the gateway to an area, providing information regarding the region, travel planning tools, and other services including washrooms and Wi-Fi
• Explain, either in words or with a diagram, the relationship between an RTO, tour operator, and travel agent.
• What type of services does HelloBC provide to the traveller? List regional services from your area that are currently offered.
• Who operates the provincial network of Visitor Centres? Where are these centres located?
• List the RDMOs operating within BC. How do each of these work to provide information to the traveller?
• List two positives and two negatives of OTAs within the travel services industry.
• With an increase growth in mobile technology, how are travel services adapting to suit the needs and/or demands of the traveller?
• Choose an association that is representative of the sector you might like to work in (e.g., accommodations, food and beverage, travel services). Explore the association’s website and note three key issues it has identified and how it is responding to them.
• Choose a local tourism or hospitality business and find out which associations it belongs to. List the associations and their membership benefits to answer the question, Why belong to this group?

Case Study: Online Travel Agents Sue Skiplagger.com

Hidden city tickets work when the cost to travel from point A to point B to point C is less expensive than a trip from point A to point B. Passengers book the entire flight but get off at the stopover. This practice is generally forbidden by airlines because of safety concerns and challenges to logistics as it renders passenger counts inaccurate, causing potential delays and fuel miscalculations. If discovered, it can result in a passenger having his or her ticket voided.

The lawsuit against Skiplagged founder Aktarer Zaman stated that the site “intentionally and maliciously … [promoted] prohibited forms of travel” (Harris and Sasso, 2014, ¶ 4). Orbitz (an OTA) and United Airlines claimed that Zaman’s website unfairly competed with their business, while making it appear these companies were partners and endorsing the activity by linking to their websites.

Based on this case summary, answer the following questions:

• What are the dangers and inconveniences of having passengers deplane partway through a voyage? In addition to those listed here, come up with two more.
• Could this lawsuit and the ensuing publicity result in unintended negative consequences for United and Orbitz? What might these be?
• On the other hand, could the suit have unintended positive results for Skiplagged.com? Try to name at least three.
• Should Zaman be held responsible for facilitating this type of travel already in practice? Or should passengers bear the responsibility? Why or why not?
• Imagine your flight is delayed because a passenger count is inaccurate and fuel must be recalculated. What action would you take, if any?
• Look up the case to see what updates are available ( United Airlines Inc. v. Zaman , 14-cv-9214, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago). Was the outcome what you predicted? Why or why not?

ACTA. (2014). About us . Retrieved from www.acta.ca/about-us

ADME. (2014). What is a DMC? Retrieved from www.adme.org/dmc/what-is-a-dmc.asp

Alba, Davey. (2015, January 23). Expedia buys Travelocity, merging two of the web’s biggest travel sites. WIRED . Retrieved from www.wired.com/2015/01/expedia-buys-travelocity-merging-two-webs-biggest-travel-sites/

Amadeus. (2014). Trending with NextGen travelers [PDF] . Retrieved from https://extranets.us.amadeus.com/whitepaper/nextgen/next_gen_travel_trends.pdf

Associated Press. (2014, March 17). Helena judge rejects state’s lawsuit against online travel companies. The Missoulian. Retrieved from http://missoulian.com/business/local/helena-judge-rejects-state-s-lawsuit-against-online-travel-companies/article_61b115d2-adfe-11e3-9b8d-0019bb2963f4.html

BTN Group. (2014). Global travel trends 2014. Business Travel News. [PDF] Retrieved from www.businesstravelnews.com/uploadedFiles/White_Papers/BTN_110113_Radius_1206_FINAL.pdf

Canadian Tourism Commission. (2015). Rendez-vous Canada 2015 – Welcome . Retrieved from http://rendezvouscanada.travel/

Carey, R., Kang, K., & Zea, M. (2012). The trouble with travel distribution . Retrieved from  www.mckinsey.com/insights/travel_transportation/the_trouble_with_travel_distribution

CATO. (2014). About the travel industry . Retrieved from www.cato.ca/industry.php

Concur. (2014). Concur case studies – Concur Canada . Retrieved from www.concur.ca/casestudy

CWT Travel Management Institute. (2014). Who’s equipped for mobile services .  www.cwtinsights.com/demand/whos-equipped-for-mobile-services.shtml

DMAI. (2014). The value of DMOs . Retrieved from www.destinationmarketing.org/value-dmos

Economist, The . (2014, June 21). Sun, sea and surfing. Retrieved from www.economist.com/news/business/21604598-market-booking-travel-online-rapidly-consolidating-sun-sea-and-surfing

ETC Digital. (2014). Mobile smartphones – North America . Retrieved from http://etc-digital.org/digital-trends/mobile-devices/mobile-smartphones/regional-overview/north-america/

Expedia, Inc. (2014). The future of travel report . [PDF] Retrieved from http://expediablog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Future-of-Travel-Report1.pdf

GBTA. (2014). About GBTA Canada . Retrieved from www.gbta.org/Canada/about/Pages/Default.aspx

Goeldner, C. & Ritchie, B. (2003). Tourism: principles, practices, philosophies, 9th edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Government of Canada. (2014). NAICS 2007 – 5615 travel arrangement and reservation services . Retrieved from http://stds.statcan.gc.ca/naics-scian/2007/cs-rc-eng.asp?criteria=5615

go2HR. (2014). Training and education . Retrieved from www.go2hr.ca/training/training-directory?keys=travel+agent&location=&sector=All&region=All

Harris, A. & Sasso, M. (2014). United, Orbitz sue travel site over ‘hidden city’ tickets. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-18/united-orbitz-sue-travel-site-over-hidden-city-ticketing-1-

HelloBC. (2014a). About us. Retrieved from www.hellobc.com/british-columbia.aspx

HelloBC. (2014b). Visitor information network . Retrieved from www.hellobc.com/british-columbia/about-bc/visitor-centres.aspx

HelloBC. (2014c). Regions. Retrieved from www.hellobc.com/british-columbia.aspx

Hotel Marketing. (2013). Travel agency demand . Retrieved from http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/travel_agencies_versus_the_internet_global_booking_trends/

Offutt, B. (2013). PhoCusWright’s travel innovations & technology trends: 2013 and beyond. [PDF] Retrieved from www.wtmlondon.com/files/pcwi_traveltechtrends2013_worldtravel.pdf

Prince of Whales. (2014).  About us . Retrieved from http://princeofwhales.com

SGSEP. (2012). Trends in visitor information centres. [PDF] Urbecon, 1.   Retrieved from www.sgsep.com.au/assets/Urbecon-Vol-1-2012-web.pdf

Smyth, M. (2014, November 20). Why is the BC government shutting down popular tourist info without consulting industry? The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from www.theprovince.com/life/Smyth+government+shutting+down+popular+tourist+info+centres+without+consulting+industry/10396500/story.html#__federated=1

Tourism Vancouver. (2014). Destination management companies . Retrieved from  www.tourismvancouver.com/meetings/service-your-meeting/suppliers/destination-management-companies/

Travel Agents in BC. (2014). Travel agents . Retrieved from www.yellowpages.ca/search/si/1/Travel+Agencies/Vancouver+BC

Yukon Department of Tourism and Culture. (2013). Tourism sectors.  Retrieved from www.tc.gov.yk.ca/isu_sectors.html

Attributions

Figure 7.1 HelloBC Homepage  by LinkBC is used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Figure 7.2   Travels Agent, Huddersfield by Dave Collier  is used under a CC-BY-ND 2.0  license.

Figure 7.3   my AT&T PC 6300 circa 1996  by Blake Patterson  is used under a  CC-BY 2.0 license.

Figure 7.4   Up on the glacier by  Paul Gorbould is used under a CC BY NC ND 2.0 license.

Figure 7.5   Whales off Victoria, BC  by Brian Estabrooks is used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.

Figure 7.6  Visitor Information  by Heather Harvey is used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0  license.

Figure 7.7   Floe Lake, Kootenay National Park 037  by Adam Kahtava  is used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.

Figure 7.8   Tourism Vancouver’s Rick Antonson addresses the audience at Rendezvous  by  LinkBC  is used under a CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.

Figure 7.9   5 Top Rated Tablet PCs  by Siddartha Thota  is used under a  CC-BY 2.0 license.

Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality in BC Copyright © 2015 by Heather Knowles and Morgan Westcott is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Experience an International Tour of a Lifetime!

Our mission is to provide a premier sports and travel experience that exceeds team's expectations and provides players and coaches with memories that will last a lifetime., our international sports destinations:.

The Netherlands

Trinidad & Tobago

Premier International Tours will be your personal partner for your international voleyball, rugby, lacrosse, baseball and field hockey tour and will arrange all your tour components including air, hotels, meals, ground transportation, games vs. suitable opponents, excursions and services of a tour guide. 

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With a variety of tour destinations, Premier International Tours provides teams from all over North America the opportunity to discover the world of international sports and people and cultures across the globe. One of the special aspects that set us apart from other tour companies is our flexibility to allow you to design your own sports tour that fits perfectly with your teams needs. You can select the place you want to go and the level you want to compete at and we will make all of the arrangements necessary to meet your needs.

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TOUR COMPONENTS

Factory Tour: Paul Components

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In the world of high end touring bikes, and in the hallowed halls of NAHBS, Paul Components have long been a popular staple. The company produces a wide variety of high end components that are renowned for their showroom good looks and ability to withstand daily abuse.

Each and every one of the beautiful products they produce are manufactured in a small factory in Northern California. Head past the break to see how it’s done…

Our tour of the Paul facilities began in a small warehouse opposite of the cluster of main buildings. As the door swung open, bright sunlight streamed in to reveal a tight cluster of machines. Paul’s collection of mills and lathes and toys would put a grin on even the dourest of online engineers. Click on the image above for a “panoramic” view.

Here, surrounded by small mountains of metal shavings and myriad of dials, Paul frequently works late into the night hand crafting prototypes.

From the prototype room to production, everything is cut from aluminum stock which is stored just outside the factory door.

The stock for small materials such as brake adjusters is ordered precut to facilitate manufacturing.

Moving from the outdoor storage into the main warehouse, dozens of unusual bikes hung from the rafters, but the lonely full suspension BMX bike (pictured left) was the only one that truly captured my  heart attention.

The first step to turning raw materials into sleek components is cutting the aluminum to down to size.

Once the blocks are cut, they are placed inside a CNC mill.

After they’re pulled from the machine, samples from each batch are checked for tolerances.

The before, middle, and after stages yield startling results.

Once the product approaches it’s “finished” state, it’s ready for the next step.

The products are then transferred to the much-louder-than-a-death-metal-concert “tumbling room” where small parts are placed in a walnut shell bath and buffed to a shiny finish.

Larger components go through a tumbler filled with ceramic cones.

Once the components emerge with a freshly polished facade, the tolerances are measured once more before getting ready to be shipped.

At this point, some components still require manual assembly. The back region of the factory houses a small assembly area packed with components. It’s here where each item is double checked for quality, assembled, and packaged.

In the video above, we get a quick walk through of what it takes to assemble the new Paul MTB Disc Hubs.

Each of the components is packaged in a box hand-stamped with love and then shipped to your local bike shop. Each of the custom stamps is actually produced by a local vendor.

Paul’s vision isn’t strictly limited to cycling products. If you take a quick spin from his factory to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, you’ll be greeted with this anodized green cady bearing three of our favorite mustards. Flip the carrier around and you’ll spy the trademark P. It this level of innovation that’s earned him a mug in the Brewery’s VIP cabinet. You can spot Paul’s in the top left hand corner of the image.

Special thanks to Paul Components for the tour. You can check out their recently redesigned website  here .

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Nice article, great paul components. Proving american made not only can be done, but excels in quality.

Great stuff.

Do you remember the Paul’s derailleurs? Yeah. I wish I could forget them, too.

Oh man. Who hold that camera?

oh man… how not to press in bearings!

Jeroen, How would you press the bearings differently?

Jeroen, even though it does look like they center pressed the bearing it if yuo look closely at the tool it really is shoulder pressing teh bearing in.

@Seraph, I beieve that one shop, local here in chico (small northern California town), has a decorative mobile hanging made from Paul derailleur parts. I wish he would make just the front derailleur to go with the melvin chain tensioner so that I could build an all Paul mountain 2 speed.

Dan’s right. The bearing press tool has a slight taper on the face so that it only contacts the outer race of the bearing, and not the rolling elements or inner race. The boss in the center of the tool is just for locating the bearing concentrically.

You can’t measure “tolerances”, but you can take a measurement to see if it falls within the specified tolerance.

Looks like Paul did make a front derailer

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Paul-Components-Front-Derailleur-Billet-CNC-Vintage-Retro-Classic-/221212171238?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item338145dbe6

Yes the Paul derailleurs are legdendary, the multicolor was great.

What’s with the revisionist history? Yeah, their derailleur was indeed legendary – legendary for being complete sh*t. Other than that, the rest of their lineup (I have the Moto brake, Love Levers, and Thumbies) is great.

@Dan; pressing in that freewheel assembly into the hub shell did require pressing in the outer race through the inner race and bearing balls. Next hammering down the axle through the already (properly) pressed bearings in the hubshell made me shuckle too.

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Specialtours is an established leader in the field of escorted tours for museums, cultural and garden associations.

Our reputation rests to a great extent on tours to Europe with exclusive private visits to houses, art collections and gardens, thanks to a network of contacts established over many years. Special visits include privileged out-of-hours access to museums, hosted lunches or dinners at private homes and the opportunity to watch expert restorers at work. We can arrange some exclusive visits for your group, such as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to admire the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel – or the mosaics of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice – without the crowds.

We aim to offer the perfect balance between a study tour and a holiday or vacation. In addition to imaginative and carefully-planned itineraries focusing on art, archaeology, architecture, history and gardens, we can offer walking or painting trips, wine and gastronomy tours and wildlife safaris.

Specialtours is part of The Ultimate Travel Company. Our expertise in art-orientated tours in Europe, the Middle East and the United States is complemented by Ultimate’s experience in destinations such as Africa, India, South America and South-East Asia.

Our clients range from American museums, alumni/ae associations, clubs and garden societies, to a European cultural heritage foundation. We always tailor-make the itinerary to our client’s specific interests in order to offer a unique experience.

Our forthcoming tours include a study of the decorative arts of Portugal, a tour of the great country houses of Ireland, a week in Madrid focusing on the rich royal heritage and an exploration of the inspirational art, architecture and design of Sweden. We will be admiring gardens from the Mediterranean to Normandy and the Loire Valley, from the south of England to the Scottish Highlands. Also forthcoming are tours of the landscape and gardens of exotic Morocco and the private gardens of The Cape, one of the six ‘floral kingdoms’ of the world.

As ever, we are planning a number of tours to Italy – from the gardens of the Italian Lakes and Sicily to the Grand Tour in Florence, plus a return to ‘La Serenissima’ focusing on music. Looking ahead, we are planning cultural tours of Burgundy and the Rhone Valley, Greece, The Netherlands and the Thames Valley. Further afield, we will be exploring the enchanting kingdom of Bhutan and Japan, both for the art, architecture and design and for the unique and influential garden scene.

We return to ‘La Serenissima’, city of Monteverdi, for a joyous week of Baroque music and art, with special performances and private visits.

Appreciate the evolution of Scandinavian art and design and the inspirational light and landscape, visiting historic royal palaces, elegant private homes, museums and contemporary sculpture parks.

Isolated from the outside world for centuries, Bhutan exudes enchantment for the modern traveller, with its majestic scenery and ancient ancestral traditions.

One of our most rewarding horticultural destinations, Normandy offers a range of styles from the classic French formal garden to some original and inspiring modern gardens.

Really an excellent, interesting trip with an amazing array of sights and activities … the personal encounters with actual residents in their homes were outstanding and memorable

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Derek Hough & Hayley Erbert Invited Special Guests to Emotional Tour Performance

o ugh “Dancing with the Stars” judge Derek Hough and his wife Hayley Erbert are back on tour and just performed in a very special location. The “Symphony of Dance” show performed in Virginia on April 24 and the audience contained some truly special guests.

Here’s what you need to know:

Derek Hough & Hayley Erbert Performed for the Doctors & Nurses Who Cared for Her

On April 22, Hough talked with WTOP News about the Virginia performance. The show was the first performance in the area for Hough and Erbert since she experienced a medical emergency during a show in December 2023.

As the couple performed in Oxon Hill, Maryland at the MGM National Harbor in December, Erbert felt disoriented. She was taken to the hospital and doctors determined she needed an emergency craniotomy.

A burst blood vessel caused Erbert to experience a cranial hematoma. The couple remained in the Washington, D.C. area for several weeks, until after Erbert had a second surgery.

“Going back to that area is so special to us,” Hough explained of the Virginia performance. “I really wanted our doctor at the hospital who performed both of Hayley’s surgeries to come see a show,” the “Dancing with the Stars” judge added.

Erbert and Hough wanted “to thank him and all of the nurses and the staff, but also just the city, the people — to come to a show so we could actually give our hearts to them as they did for us.”

The Couple Wanted to Thank & Honor The Medical Staff Who Helped Erbert

After the show, Hough and Erbert posed with Dr. Mai and other special guests for photos.

The “Dancing with the Stars” veteran shared the shots on his Instagram page along with a special note. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the exceptional care and expertise you provided in saving Hayley’s life,” Hough wrote.

Hough continued, “Your dedication and skill have not only given her a second chance but have touched us all deeply.”

He also gave Dr. Mai a “special thanks.” Hough praised the surgeon’s “precision and attentiveness” during Erbert’s surgeries, noting they were “nothing short of remarkable.”

“Sharing our show with you was a small token of our immense gratitude and a way to honor the meaningful work you do every day,” Hough added. “We are forever thankful.”

In addition, Hough shared a short video he recorded after the Virginia show via his Instagram Stories. “What an absolutely beautiful night here in Tysons, Virginia, in this gorgeous theater, just so special.”

He added that it was “So magical having all the doctors and nurses from MedStar Washington, um, was just so amazing. We just couldn’t be more thankful. We did it.” Hough continued, “We came back, we conquered…Let the beautiful story continue.”

Erbert shared the photos taken after the show on her Instagram Stories too. She wrote “Forever grateful” on the one with the group of doctors and nurses who cared for her.

She wrote, “The man who saved my life. My surgeon, Dr. Mai,” to caption the photo showing her with Mai and Hough.

In speaking with WTOP News before the performance, Hough explained why he and Erbert wanted to return to the area to perform again.

“We are so thankful for MedStar Washington Hospital and the city itself, the beauty of it and the people, the people who came up to us in the streets and the coffee shops just wishing their best for us and wishing Hayley her health.”

Hough continued, “It was a crazy experience … Dr. Jeffrey Mai (is a) great man. We’ll never forget this guy. He’s on our cellphone. We call him regularly — always checking in.”

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Legendary Acts The Commodores and The Pointer Sisters Present Limited Run Tour: “An Evening Of Icons” Ft. Special Guests The Spinners And El Debarge

Presales Start Wednesday, April 17th

General onsale friday, april 19th at 10am local at livenation.com.

Two legendary music groups, The Commodores and The Pointer Sisters , today announce their co-headline tour: An Evening of Icons . With a combined legacy that spans across decades with over 100 million albums sold, 20 No. 1 hits, and 10 Top 10 albums, these iconic artists are set to take audiences on a journey through the very best of funk, soul, R&B, and pop with support from special guests The Spinners and El DeBarge on select dates.

Produced by Live Nation and represented by Seth Shomes at Day After Day Productions (DADP), the first tour leg kicks off on July 11th at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, IL making stops in Wantagh, Raleigh, Tuscaloosa, Tampa, and more before wrapping up in Primm, NV on November 30th.

The Commodores, renowned for chart-toppers like “Brick House,” “Easy,” “Nightshift” and “Three Times a Lady,” said, “Motown was the place where our dreams took flight. Sharing the stage with another legend like The Pointer Sisters as Motown celebrates their 65th anniversary is truly special. We’re proud to continue to celebrate the music that brought us all together!”

The Pointer Sisters, the dynamic group known for their chart-topping hits like “I’m So Excited,” “Jump (For My Love),” and “Neutron Dance,” said “65 years of Motown and timeless hits! What a milestone. It’s a joy to be touring with a true Motown treasure, The Commodores. Here’s to the music that continues to move generations!”

“I grew up on the classic songs of The Commodores, The Pointer Sisters, The Spinners, and El DeBarge,” said Shomes, “So to create a tour concept with them as their agent is a bucket list item for me! I couldn’t be prouder to have Day After Day Productions represent their touring careers and it will be a thrill to see so many fans singing along with every word in 2024!”

TICKETS: Tickets will be available starting with presales beginning on Wednesday, April 17th ahead of the general on-sale beginning Friday, April at 19th at 10am local time at LiveNation.com .

TOUR DATES:

Thu July 11       Tinley Park, IL              Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre ^

Thu Jul 25       Wantagh, NY                Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater ^

Fri Jul 26         Oxon Hill, MD              The Theater at MGM National Harbor ^

Fri Sep 20       Raleigh, NC                  Red Hat Amphitheater *

Sat Sep 21        Charlotte, NC               PNC Music Pavilion *

Thu Oct 03     Tuscaloosa, AL             Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater ^

Sat Oct 05       Durant, OK                   Choctaw Casino ^

Thu Nov 14      Tampa, FL                     Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino ^

Fri Nov 15       Hollywood, FL              Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. ^

Sat Nov 30      Primm, NV                    Star Of The Desert Arena ^#

^ special guests The Spinners

* special guest El DeBarge

# non Live Nation show

ABOUT THE COMMODORES:

One of the greatest Motown and R&B / funk artists of all time, The Commodores have

influenced artists both young and old, and in all genres with their classic songs. With a

brand that is bigger than ever, The Commodores continue to blaze trails all over the

world. One of the most successful vocal groups of all time, The Commodores continue

to thrill audiences with their Greatest Hits Tour – Live!

ACCOLADES & ACHIEVEMENTS

• 75 Million Albums Sold Worldwide
• 7 – #1 singles
• 5 – #1 Albums
• 20 – Top 10 Singles
• 15 – Top 10 Albums
• 1985 Grammy Award – “Nightshift”
• 1987 Antwerp Diamond Microphone Award
• 1995 Alabama Music Hall of Fame Inductees
• Vocal Group Hall of Fame Inductees
• The 58th AutoZone Liberty Bowl Outstanding Achievement Award (2016)
• 2018 Casino Entertainment Awards “Musical Artist of the Year”

In 1968 the group was formed while all the members were in college at Tuskegee

Institute. After being discovered by Berry Gordy, the Commodores went on to sell over

60 million records for Motown. With hits like “Machine Gun” and “Sail On”, The

Commodores became proven artists. For five decades, the Commodores have

remained a force in the music industry. The Commodores aren’t just any group. They

have staying power. Just like their hit song “Brick House,” the Commodores have

created a foundation that just won’t budge.

www.thecommodoreslive.com

ABOUT THE POINTER SISTERS:

The Pointer Sisters have enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry. They began their formal vocal training in their father’s church, The Church of God in West Oakland, California. They went on to achieve world-wide fame and have secured a place in pop music history. In 2017, Billboard listed them as one of the Top 5 female groups of all time.

Their 1973 debut album quickly earned them mainstream success and they landed all over radio, television and the Billboard charts. In 1975, the quartet won their first Grammy Award for a country-western tune, “Fairytale”, written by Anita and Bonnie Pointer. As a result, the sisters became the first black female group to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. The “King” himself, Elvis Presley, recorded their song on his last studio album. The group hit the big screen in 1976 in the film Car Wash , starring Richard Pryor. That same year, they recorded their fourth and final album as a quartet.

When the sisters became a trio, consisting of Anita, June and Ruth, they decided to record a rock n’ roll album. The trio’s debut single, Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire”, went to #2 on the pop charts and began a string of chart success. The song “He’s So Shy” became an anthem for the women’s movement and the single “Slow Hand” was a sultry, sexy song with some radio stations at the time refusing to play it. Nevertheless, the song reached #2 on the charts and remains a favorite.

The title of their 1983 album summed up exactly what the trio was about to do: Break Out . Upon its release, critics called the new album “The Pointer Sisters at their sassiest, brassiest, up-tempo best.”  When Ruth took the lead for “Automatic”, her deeper-than-deep vocals practically leapt off the vinyl, and helped the single go all the way to #5. With the advent of 24-hour-a-day music on television, The Pointer Sisters became one of the first black acts to have their videos played in heavy rotation on MTV. “Jump (for my love)” raced to #3 on the pop charts and “I’m So Excited” hit the Top 10! To date, the song has been played over 2.5 million times on radio. “Neutron Dance” featuring gospel-spiked shouts rose to #6 on the charts and was included in the hit film, Beverly Hills Co p. The success of the album earned the sisters two Grammy Awards and two American Music Awards. Break Out was certified triple-platinum, making it the biggest selling album of The Pointer Sisters’ career. Their next album achieved platinum success and produced the hit single “Dare Me” and another American Music Award. Before the decade was over, the sisters starred in their own TV special on NBC.

Over the years, the group has received many awards and accolades, including a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They’ve recorded sixteen albums, plus a cast album to highlight their 46 week tour of the musical Ain’t Misbehavin’ . They were honored to take part in the recording of “We Are The World.”

In recent years, the group has performed with some of the greatest symphony orchestras in the world, including San Francisco, Jacksonville, Atlanta’s Symphony Orchestra and the renowned Boston Pops. Ruth Pointer continues to perform the music of The Pointer Sisters all over the globe with her daughter and granddaughter.

www.thepointersisters.com

ABOUT LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT:

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com .

ABOUT DAY AFTER DAY PRODUCTIONS (DADP):

Longtime agent and industry veteran Seth Shomes relaunched Day After Day Productions (DADP) in 2021. Since its relaunch, DADP has achieved impressive recognition. The company received consecutive “Independent Booking Agency Of The Year (Global)” nominations from Pollstar (2024 & 2023). Additionally, founder Seth Shomes was nominated for Pollstar’s prestigious “Bobby Brooks Agent Of The Year” award in 2024. With an incredible trajectory in a short amount of time, DADP has solidified its reputation as a powerhouse in booking a diverse client roster throughout all facets of the live entertainment industry.

www.dayafterdaymusic.com

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Live Nation Concerts

Monique Sowinski | [email protected]

Day After Day Productions

Erik Stein | [email protected] , Larry Solters | [email protected]

Scoop Marketing

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Till lindemann of rammstein announces 1st u.s. solo tour. get tickets.

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Till Lindemann is leaving Rammstein behind in 2024.

Starting in September, the bombastic frontman will embark on his first solo U.S. tour with special guests Twin Temple and Aesthetic Perfection in support of his 2023 solo album “Zunge.”

Midway through the fall run, the 61-year-old drops into New York’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

While this will be Lindemann’s first solo stateside jaunt, it won’t be the first time he’s performed without Rammstein.

Most recently, he wrapped an international 2023-24 solo tour in Mexico, according to Set List FM . On that run, he regularly performed 19 songs — including two encores — per show.

While we can’t guarantee what he’ll bring to the stage on his forthcoming North American tour, we do know the best way to find out is live.

Can’t wait to see the lively Lindemann?

You’re in luck. Tickets can be snagged for all of his 2024 U.S. and Canada concerts and festival appearances as soon as today.

Although inventory isn’t available on Ticketmaster until Friday, April 26, fans who want to ensure they have tickets ahead of time can purchase on sites like Vivid Seats before tickets are officially on sale.

Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event.

Till Lindemann tour schedule 2024

A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues, and links to buy tickets can be found below.

Till Lindemann festival appearances

This September and October, Lindemann will lend his talents to a pair of heavy multi-day musical extravaganzas.

For a closer look, here are the dates, venues and fellow headliners at both festivals.

Till Lindemann set list

As noted above, Lindemann wrapped his 2023-24 in Mexico on Jan. 4.

Here’s what he performed that night, courtesy of Set List FM .

01.) “Zunge” 02.) “Schweiss” 03.) “Fat” 04.) “Altes Fleisch” 05.) “Allesfresser” 06.) “Golden Shower” 07.) “Tanzlehrerin” 08.) “Ich weiß es nicht” 09.) “Sport frei” 10.) “Blut” 11.) “Praise Abort” 12.) “Platz Eins” 13.) “Fish On” 14.) “Gummi” 15.) “Steh auf” Encore

16.) “Knebel” 17.) “Ich hasse Kinder” 18.) “Skills in Pills” Encore II

19.) “Entre dos tierras” (Héroes del Silencio cover)

Till Lindemann new music

On Nov. 3, 2023, Lindemann dropped his solo album “Zunge.”

Comprised of 11 tracks, the heavy rocker stretches his musical muscles and alternates between intimate quiet and chaotic, epic loud — the sound Rammstein is known for — with ease.

Highlights include the quirky “Sports Frei,” thumping “Altes Fleisch” and the warbly anthem “Du hast kein Herz.”

Personally, we were most taken with the Ennio Morricone-esque “Tanzlehrerin” with its guitar licks, yearning vocals and gifted yet pained backing singer giving her all behind Lindemann.

Don’t sleep on the shockingly fun album closer “Selbst verliebt,” either. It’s an unexpected pop delicacy.

Want to hear for yourself?

You can listen to “Zunge” in its entirety here .

On Christmas 2023, Lindemann followed up the album release with the whirly, tongue-trilling single “Entre dos tierras” en español.

It has our stamp of approval as well; the song is quite a bit of fun.

Till Lindemann special guests

At all shows, Lindemann will be joined by a pair of opening acts.

To make sure you’re acquainted with their sounds, you can find each band’s most-streamed song on Spotify below.

Twin Temple: “Lucifer, My Love”

Aesthetic Perfection: “Spit It Out”

Till Lindemann controversy

Lindemann was accused of sexual assault by a female fan last June over social media. She alleged he drugged her at a pre-show Rammstein VIP party in Lithuania and later approached her fox sex during intermission.

This led to a backlash against Rammstein’s “VIP Experience;” fans believed Lindemann was using the ticket tier to bed fans.

After looking into the case, German prosecutors dropped the case due to a lack of evidence and testimony.

“The rapid termination of investigative proceedings by the Berlin state prosecutor’s office shows that there is insufficient evidence that our client allegedly committed sexual offen(s)es,” Lindemann’s lawyers said.

Rammstein drummer claimed Lindemann “has distanced himself from us in recent years and created his own bubble” and “things seem to have happened that, although legally ok, I personally don’t think are ok.”

Huge metal acts on tour in 2024

If Lindemann’s brief jaunt isn’t coming to a venue near you, we have just the solution.

Here are five metal acts that might be headed to your city these next few months.

•  Rob Zombie with Alice Cooper

•  Limp Bizkit

Make sure to check out Sleep Token , too. You’ll thank us later.

Who else is out and about? Take a look at our list of the 50 biggest concert tours in 2024 to find out.

Why you should trust ‘Post Wanted’ by the New York Post

This article was written by Matt Levy , New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements for your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed Bruce Springsteen and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.

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Cleveland Arts Prize fundraiser to feature special Playhouse Square talk and tour

• Updated: Apr. 25, 2024, 11:45 a.m. |
• Published: Apr. 25, 2024, 10:28 a.m.

Retired Cleveland State University theater studies professor and Playhouse Square's "Broadway Buzz" host Joe Garry will headline a special afternoon put on by Cleveland Arts Prize on June 3. Playhouse Square

• Joey Morona, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Arts Prize is presenting a special afternoon in Playhouse Square on Monday, June 3. The event at the Allen Theatre features a talk with renowned theatre director Joe Garry followed by a curated tour of the theater district’s historic venues.

Tickets, available online now, are $75 with a portion of the proceeds going to the 2024 Cleveland Arts Prize. Established in 1950, the organization honors Northeast Ohio artists of various disciplines every year, awarding recipients with prizes of $10,000 to support their work.

Cleveland Theatre News and Reviews

• ‘Company’ star says Sondheim musical is more relevant than ever as show comes to Playhouse Square
• BorderLight Theatre Festival returning to Playhouse Square with mix of international touring shows and fringe acts
• ‘Kimberly Akimbo,’ ‘& Juliet,’ ‘A Beautiful Noise’ headline Playhouse Square’s 2024-25 KeyBank Broadway Series

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Pitbull announces Party After Dark concert tour: T-Pain, Lil Jon to join as special guests

Dale! Mr. Worldwide is hitting the road once again.

Latin rap star Pitbull is set to deliver a mix of his career-spanning hits on the upcoming Party After Dark Tour. The U.S. trek follows numerous successful solo tours for the "Give Me Everything" rapper, including the triple-headlining Trilogy Tour with Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin .

Produced by Live Nation, the 26-city tour kicks off on Aug. 21 in Bristow, Virginia, making stops across the U.S. before wrapping in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Oct. 5.  Fellow rappers T-Pain and Lil Jon will serve as a special guests on the tour.

The Grammy-winning Pitbull is known for a slew of hit singles , including "Fireball," "Timber" with Kesha , "Hotel Room Service," "Give Me Everything" with Afrojack and Ne-Yo and "Time of Our Lives" with Ne-Yo.

T-Pain, known for singles like "Bartender," "Buy U a Drank" and "Booty Wurk" is popular for his use of auto-tune pitch with electronic-style vocal performances. His most recent album, "On Top of The Covers," was released in 2023.

Lil Jon will join the pair on two tour dates, in Ridgefield, Washington and Chula Vista, California. The rapper and DJ is known for the tracks "Turn Down For What," "Shots," "Get Low" and "Yeah!" with Usher and Ludacris. He was most recently featured on the Pitbull track "Jumpin" in 2023.

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan tour: Singers announce joint Sweat concert tour. Here's how to get tickets.

How to get tickets to Pitbull's Party After Dark Tour

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at LiveNation.com .

There are also a number of presales in the days leading up to the general on-sale. Live Nation , Ticketmaster and Talking Stick Resort are hosting presales from 10 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

A Citi cardmember presale will be held from 10 a.m. Wednesday through 11:59 p.m. Thursday at citientertainment.com . During the same time period, there'll be an artist presale and a VIP packages presale at livenation.com .

There's also a Spotify presale from noon until 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

The Party After Dark Tour will also offer a variety of VIP packages including premium tickets, backstage tour and photo op on-stage, pre-show VIP lounge, specially designed VIP gift item and more. Visit v ipnation.com

Fuerza Regida tour: Tickets and dates for regional Mexican group's Pero No Te Enamores tour

Pitbull's latest music inspired by NASCAR racing team

Pitbull’s recent musical releases include "Trackhouse" and "Trackhouse: Daytona 500 Edition."

The album titles are inspired by the NASCAR Cup Series team Trackhouse Racing, which he has been a co-owner of since 2021. The tracks feature special guests Dolly Parton , Tim McGraw , Nile Rodgers, T-Pain, Omar Courtz and more.

Pitbull Party After Dark Tour dates

• Aug. 21, 2024 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
• Aug. 23, 2024 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
• Aug. 24, 2024 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium
• Aug. 25, 2024 - Queens, NY - Forest Hills Stadium
• Aug. 29, 2024 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
• Aug. 30, 2024 - Tinley Park, IL - Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
• Aug. 31, 2024 - Milwaukee, WI - American Family Insurance Amphitheater
• Sept. 1, 2024 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
• Sept. 4, 2024 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
• Sept. 6, 2024 - Darien Center, NY - Dairen Lake Amphitheater
• Sept. 7, 2024 - Syracuse, NY - Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview
• Sept. 8, 2024 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Broadview Stage at SPAC
• Sept. 12, 2024 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
• Sept. 13, 2024 - Hartford, CT - Xfinity Theatre
• Sept. 14, 2024 - Bangor, ME - Maine Savings Amphitheater
• Sept. 15, 2024 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
• Sept. 18, 2024 - Burgettstown, PA - The Pavilion at Star Lake
• Sept. 19, 2024 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
• Sept. 21, 2024 - Ridgedale, MO - Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
• Sept. 22, 2024 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
• Sept. 25, 2024 - Salt Lake City, UT - Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
• Sept. 27, 2024 - Ridgefield, WA - RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater*
• Sept. 28, 2024 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
• Oct. 3, 2024 - Chula Vista, CA - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre*
• Oct. 4, 2024 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
• Oct. 5, 2024 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater

*with Lil Jon

Contributing: Greta Cross, Springfield News-Leader

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PGA Tour Event Disrupted by Alligator Casually Walking Across Tee Box

• Author: Madison Williams

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is used to having a special four-legged friend show up from time. to time on the course.

The guest, an alligator, halted play at the 17th hole during Thursday's first round. The groups of Bronson Burgoon and Jhonattan Vegas, along with Paul Barjon and Samuel Stevens, had to wait at the tee box for the alligator to cross in front of them before they could tee off. The animal didn't stop them from taking a few practice swings, though.

This isn't the first time an alligator has showed up at the Zurich Classic. The PGA Tour commentators reminded viewers that the tournament was used to a three-legged alligator gracing the course fittingly named "Tripod."

Now on the tee, from New Orleans, Louisiana ... A GATOR 🐊 pic.twitter.com/N8wEJh1pQ1 — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 25, 2024

The alligator walked across the tee box without causing any issues with any golfers or fans. But it definitely took its sweet time to walk across.

Both golfing duos ended up paring the 17th hole despite the distraction.

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