How to Choose Your Best Travel Agency

How to Choose Your Best Travel Agency


How to choose the best travel agency – Choosing a travel agency, which is best and very important if you want to visit a place you’ve never visited before. There are a few things you should consider to choosing a good travel agent. The first is to find a qualified travel agency.


Tips for choosing a good travel agency


There are different considerations for determining qualified travel agents, one of which is by seeing the company’s track record. You should choose a travel agency that has been providing services for many years. The longer an agent is established, the more relevant it will be. A good travel agency should’ve experience in domestic and foreign travel. In addition, they also usually have better management and departure procedures. Choosing a good travel agency is not too difficult if you use a reputable company that’s trusted by many clients. Good travel agents usually have several branches in several places. This shows that the company has grown substantially. Another thing you should consider is to find out the types of services provided, whether full-service or limited service. You should look for a travel agent that is willing to explain everything about your travel plan from A to Z.


Good Travel Agency tips


Also, please find out whether the travel agent provides full-time or part-time services. You’d probably need a travel agent that’s the standby for 24 hours straight. Its sincerity in providing services should be a major consideration. Another tip for choosing a good travel agency is by knowing its speciality. That’s highly unlikely for an agent capable of mastering all services at once. Every travel agency usually is superior in certain areas, such as overseas trips. Overseas travel requires a good plan. For that, you should entrust your trip to the best travel agency.
Even if the travel agency that you’re going to use is local, you should first ask whether it already knows about the destination you are going to go to. You can also ask about the modes of transport available there, the cost of lodging, food prices, attraction entrance fees, etc. The more often a travel agency escorts clients into a tourist destination, the better their knowledge of the tourist attraction.


FUNCTIONS OF TRAVEL AGENCY
The functions performed by a travel agency depend upon the scope of activities size and location. The following are the major functions performed by the travel agency-


1. Provision of Travel Information


The primary role of a travel agency is to provide transportation. The ability to provide information has become a critical component of the travel agency industry. It distinguishes a travel agency from the competition. The information is made available to tourists in a convenient area where they may ask questions and get clarifications regarding their planned trip. This is a highly specialised position, and the individual working behind the counter should be an expert with extensive knowledge of numerous travel options.
Additionally, a good travel agent can provide you with information on local laws, customs, climates, travel documentation, visa services and travel advisories relevant to your destination. Through attending trade shows and workshops, as well as travelling to different locales, travel agents are constantly increasing and refreshing their knowledge.


This is the first and foremost function of a travel agency.  The provision of information has become a vital aspect of the travel agency business. It makes the difference between a travel agency and others.   The information is provided to the tourists at a convenient location where the intended tourist may ask certain questions and seek clarifications about his proposed travel. This is a very specialised job and the person behind the counter should be a specialist having excellent knowledge of various travel alternate plans. He should be in a position to give up-to-date and accurate information regarding various services and general information about travel, etc. The presentation to the potential customer must be forceful, and exciting variations must continually be devised to help sell wares. A good travel agent is something of a personal counsellor who knows all the details about the travel and also the needs and interests of the intended traveller. Communication plays a key role in the dissemination of any type of information. This is equally true in the case of the dissemination of travel information. The person behind the travel counter should be able to communicate with the customer in his language. The knowledge of foreign languages is an essential prerequisite for personnel working in a travel agency. Travel agents are required to have a broad knowledge of the world, especially popular travel destinations. When you are planning a leisure vacation, a travel agent can suggest locations that fit your travel wants and needs. For business travellers, travel agents can offer knowledge about locations for meetings and conferences and suggest must-do activities for leisure time. Additionally, a good travel agent can inform you about local laws, customs, climate, travel documentation and travel advisories that concern your destination. Travel agents constantly increase and refresh their knowledge through attending trade shows and workshops and taking trips to familiarize themselves with different locales. 


2. Identification of profile of target market


First of all, the travel agency has to select a particular market segment it wants to cater to because possibly one cannot serve all kinds of clients effectively. Once a particular market segment or more than one segment is/is selected, he has to prepare their profile i.e. what age, sex, income, education, and social groups they belong to because ultimately there, preference for destination, transport and accommodation and purchasing power depends upon these factors. Moreover, a travel agency has to maintain records about clients’ travel preferences: It’s helpful to use a database to track information about clients’ preferences (including transportation seating and hotel smoking vs. non-smoking preferences), as well as frequent flier number(s), hotel amenities needs, and other factors you can refer back to so you can provide a customized travel experience every time. On the other hand, a successful travel agency must research travel destinations- Regardless of whether you’ve visited a particular destination or not, you’ll need to keep up with the changes (both good and bad), attractions and innovations in the most popular tourist areas, as well as explore the new ones your clients mention. Of course, the internet has made the process of researching a breeze.


3. Preparation of tour Itineraries:


A tourist itinerary is a composition of a series of operations that are a result of the study of the market. In fact, a tourist journey is characterised by an itinerary using various means of transport to link one locality with another. The preparation of different types of itineraries is another important function of a travel agency. A travel agency gives advice to interested travellers on the type of programmes which they may choose for their holiday or business travel. The study and the realisation of the itineraries call for a perfect organisation (technical and administrative) as also knowledge of the desires of the public for a holiday and the propensity to receive tourists by the receiving localities.


4. Airline Ticketing


An airline ticket is a document, issued by an airline or a travel agency, to tructure is commission received from airlines. Selling tickets to clients using different modes of transport like air, rail and sea is yet another important function of a travel agency. In the present scenario, due to drastic changes in interconfirm that an individual has purchased a seat on a flight on an aircraft. This document is then used to obtain a boarding pass, at the airport.  Many small scale travel agencies are satisfying with selling airlines tickets. The major revenue snational airlines as well as in the local air schedules and additions of new flights from time to time makes the job of the travel agent more challenging. An up-to-date knowledge about various schedules of air companies, Steamship companies and railways is very essential for the success of a travel agency. Computerised reservation system (CRS) has in the recent years rather revolutionised the reservation system both for air and rail seats and also a room in a hotel. Many large travel agencies are using this system. This system comprises a computer network that can be used by the travel agent to reserve an air or rail accommodation as also accommodation in a hotel. Through a wide network confirmation of reservations are available in a matter of seconds.


5.  Documentation and foreign exchange procedures


If the package includes crossing frontiers, the tour operator like a travel agent expedites the process of documentation—passport, visa, permits etc. and also arrangements for foreign exchange from concerned authorities. Apart from this some tour operators get all their clients insured for the period of their package.
Passport – Valid for at least 6 months from your travel date.
Air Ticket – Confirmed return air ticket. A one-way air ticket will be accepted only for students or working professionals (Student Visa or Work Visa holders), as well as dependents of the working professionals.
Visa – Valid visa for the country you are visiting. You will also require a Transit Visa if you are transiting for more than 12 hours. Please check Transit Visa rules for the country of transit.


6.  Reservation and Booking 


One of the most important duties of a travel agent is booking accommodations, car rentals, flights, cruises, trains, buses and tours. They have access to direct inventory for many accommodations and travel arrangements, giving you options that you may have missed by searching for yourself online. A travel agent may also be responsible for rebooking or making alternative travel arrangements due to unforeseen circumstances. In the event of bad weather, for example, a call to your travel agent may be more helpful, or at least less stressful, than standing in line at a ticket counter waiting to be rebooked.


7. Travel Insurance


  Travel insurance is intended to cover medical expenses, trip cancellation, trip interruption, lost luggage, flight accident and other losses incurred while travelling, either internationally or domestically. This will extend coverage for the cancellation of a trip for specific unforeseen, covered reasons. Commonly, travel insurance plans will cover reasons such as: The unexpected illness or injury of you and/or a travelling companion that deems you unfit to travel, by order of a licensed physician. Trip cancellation insurance covers you for the period of time before you travel. It reimburses you for any prepaid, non-refundable expenses — such as airline tickets or hotel rooms — that you cannot use because you had to cancel your trip. Trip cancellation insurance generally kicks in if the cancellation is due to an unforeseen accident, illness, or other specified event that affects you, a close family member, or your travelling companion. On the other hand Trip interruption insurance covers you during your trip. If an injury, illness, or other event prevents you from continuing a trip you’ve started, trip interruption coverage will reimburse you for expenses you incur because of it. Some policies also reimburse you for any unused prepaid expenses. Thus, Insurance, both for personal accident risks and to baggage, is yet another important activity of travel agency. Some of the larger travel agents maintain sizeable shipping and forwarding departments, aimed at assisting the traveller to transport personal effects and baggage to any part of the world with a minimum of inconvenience. There are numerous insurance policies focusing on travel insurance such as tour interruption policy, baggage lost policy and so forth.


Talent Tourism


Finding the finest international travel insurance policy is difficult. The ideal travel insurance policy for you is one that covers your trip and accommodations while also offering financial protection in the event of unforeseen events such as accidents, illness, flight delays, or cancellations. As a result, you should thoroughly consider your travel insurance needs before making a decision. If you're travelling with your family or on your own, our travel insurance packages provide effective coverage at a reasonable price. Protect your family vacation, business trip, or short weekend escape against life's unexpected twists and turns. Our travel insurance protects you against accidents, illnesses, injuries, and diseases, as well as trip cancellation, curtailment, baggage loss or damage, and delays.