Intro to Tourism & Hospitality
Chapter 7
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Copyright
Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality in BC by
Morgan Westcott, Editor, (c) Capilano University is used
under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
This chapter is by Heather Knowles and Morgan
Westcott and is used under a CC-BY 4.0 International
license.
Learning Outcomes
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Describe the key characteristics of the travel services sector
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Define key travel services terminology
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Differentiate between types of reservation systems and
booking channels
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Discuss impacts of online travel agents on the sector
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Identify key travel services in Canada and British Columbia
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Explain the importance of tourism services not covered under
NAICS
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Describe key trends and issues in travel services worldwide
Overview
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Travel Services: assist with
planning and reserving
components of the visitor
experience (Government of
Canada, 2014)
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Travel agencies
OTAs
Tour operators
DMOs
Other
Tourism Services: includes
consultants, accommodations,
etc.
Figure 7.1: HelloBC.com
Travel Agencies
 Intermediary between the
travel industry (supplier) and
the traveller (purchaser)
 Market prepackaged tours
and holidays to potential
travellers
 Broker between traveller
and hotels, car rentals, tour
companies
(Goeldner & Richie, 2003)
Figure 7.2: A travel agency in the UK
Online Travel Agents (OTAs)
 Companies that aggregate accommodations and
transportation options
 Booking.com, Expedia.ca, Hotwire.com, Kayak.com
 In 2012, sales of almost $100 billion (Carey et al, 2012)
and almost triple that in 2013
 Expedia buyout of Travelocity ($280 million) in 2015
meant decreased competition (Alba, 2015)
 Challenge for the industry: commissions eat into profits,
some businesses can’t afford to be inventoried, taxes
aren’t remitted to destinations
Travel Agents
 Direct point of contact for traveller
 Can specialize in certain types of travel (e.g.
outdoor adventures, culinary tours)
 Some at fixed address (bricks-and-mortar), some
offer services online, some do both
 Usually have a specialized diploma or certificate
(go2HR, 2014)
Tour Operators
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Tour operators package all or
most of a trip components and
then sell to the consumer
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Inbound: bring travellers into
the country
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Outbound: send travellers out
of the country
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Receptive Tour Operators
(RTOs): not agents, don’t
operate tours – represent
tourism products to tour
operators (B2B
Figure 7.3: A group tour in Alberta
Other Organizations
 DMOs (with OTAs they provide fewer trip planning
functions and work instead on FAMs and other
travel trade support)
 Travel management companies (e.g. Concur), which
support business travel planning
 Destination Management Companies (DMCs) that
plan and package travel to be used as rewards or
awards (incentive travel)
Travel Services in Canada and BC
 Many agencies are members
of ACTA (Association of
Canadian Travel Agencies)
 In Vancouver alone there are
over 500 travel agencies
 In Canada tour operators use
events like Canada’s West
Marketplace (BC and
Alberta) and Rendezvous
Canada to sell to RTOs
Figure 7.5: Whales spotted from a tour
Travel Services in Canada and BC
 Destination Canada
(formerly the Canadian
Tourism Commission) is our
national DMO
 Destination BC uses the
HelloBC brand to help
consumers trip plan
 BC’s five RDMOs (regions)
support trip planning as do
CDMOs at the community
level
Figure 7.6: Visitors check out the VC
Tourism Services (not under NAICS)
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Sector-specific organizations
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Tourism HR organizations
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Training providers
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Institutions
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Government branches
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Economic development and city
planning offices
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Consultants
Figure 7.7: Student-Industry Rendezvous
Trends and Issues
 Budgets – Destination BC
and others are challenged to
provide innovative services
for less money
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Competing destinations
have more resources
 Technology has
revolutionized this part of
the industry
Figure 7.8: Booking is now possible 24/7
Conclusion
 Financial resources are limited and competition for
tourist dollars is strong
 Just 20 years ago, travel agents were paramount to
the process, now they must innovate
 Rapid pace of change means everyone must stay
abreast and adapt as quickly as possible
References
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-mergingtwo-webs-biggest-travel-sites/
Carey, R., Kang, K., & Zea, M. (2012). The trouble with travel
distribution. Retrieved
from www.mckinsey.com/insights/travel_transportation/the_troub
le_with_travel_distribution
Attributions
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Figure 7.1 HelloBC Homepage by LinkBC is used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
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Figure 7.2 Travels Agent, Huddersfield by Dave Collier is used under a CC-BY-ND 2.0 license.
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Figure 7.3 Up on the glacier by Paul Gorbould is used under a CC BY NC ND 2.0 license.
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Figure 7.4 Whales off Victoria, BC by Brian Estabrooks is used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.
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Figure 7.5 Visitor Information by Heather Harvey is used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.
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Figure 7.6 Floe Lake, Kootenay National Park 037 by Adam Kahtava is used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.
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Figure 7.7Tourism Vancouver’s Rick Antonson addresses the audience at Rendezvous by LinkBC is used
under a CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.
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Figure 7.8 5 Top Rated Tablet PCs by Siddartha Thota is used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.