COURSE UNIT TITLE

: TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOUR OPERATORS

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
ELECTIVE

Offered By

Tourism Management

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

DOCTOR MANOLYA AKSATAN KAPLANSEREN

Offered to

Tourism Management

Course Objective

The aim of this course is to provide students detailed information about intermediaries in tourism and operations of travel agencies and tour operators.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Have the necessary background knowledge in planning and elaboration of tours/packages, structure of routing/itineraries, conception of the support, travel trade etc. to be able to comprehend operations of travel agencies and tour operators.gencies and tour operators
2   Recognize the tourism distribution mechanism, the classification of the travel agencies, tour operations, their functions on a yearly term, types of local tour operators, purchasing and marketing of those operators, services documents of the travel firm, the legal framework of travel business (in Turkey and in the world) to be able to discuss the power of intermediaries in tourism sector.
3   Explain the impact of ICTs on tourism intermediaries in order to discuss challenges faced by travel intermediaries and opportunities provided by technological developments.
4   Identify operations of airline companies, cruising companies, and car rental companies to be able to explain the intermediation mechanism in tourism sector.
5   Evaluate the role of intermediaries in tourism marketing to be able to discuss the importance of intermediaries for marketing of lodging enterprises and the relationship between lodging enterprises and intermediaries.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction to the Tourism Distribution Channels
2 Tourism Distribution: An Overview
3 Tourism Distribution Structures
4 Transformation in Tourism Distribution
5 Travel Agencies and Tour Operators
6 Types of Tours
7 Travel Agencies Tour Operators and Tourism Sectors
8 Daily Operations in Travel Agencies and Tour Operators
9 Market Research Finance Skills Media
10 Trends in Tourism Distribution System
11 Presentations
12 Presentations

Recomended or Required Reading

1. Manual of Travel Agency Practice, Gwenda Syratt and Jane Archer, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003.
2. Tourism Distribution Channels, Dimitrios Buhalis and Eric Laws, Continuum, 2001.
3. Travel Agency Practice, Pauline Horner, Pearson, 2004.
4. Start Your Own Specialty Travel and Tour Business, Rob Adams and Terry Adams, Entrepreneur Media Inc., 2003.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. Lecture
2. Case Analysis
3. Assignments
4. Group Project
5. Presentations

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MT Midterm
2 TP TermProject
3 ASS Assignment
4 CSA CaseAnalysis
5 BNS BNS MT * 0.40 + TP * 0.30 + ASS * 0.15 + CSA * 0.15


*** Resit Exam is Not Administered in Institutions Where Resit is not Applicable.

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

1. The student will be able to classify the travel agencies and tour operators.
2. The student will be able to discuss the impact of ICT on tourism intermediaries and the future of tourism intermediaries.
3. The student will be able to assess the interrelations among actors of tourism distribution system.
4. The student will able to identify operations of travel agencies and tour operators.
5. The student will be able to explain the tourism distribution mechanism.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Attending at least 70 percent of lectures is mandatory.
2. Plagiarism of any type will result in disciplinary action.
3. Participation to the course and discussions during the classes is required.
4. Late arrivals to the class should be avoided.
5. All electronic devices should be kept close during the lectures.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

To be announced.

Office Hours

To be announced.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 12 3 36
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 12 2 24
Preparation for midterm exam 1 10 10
Preparing assignments 5 1 5
Project Preparation 1 20 20
Preparing presentations 1 5 5
Field study 2 5 10
Midterm 1 2 2
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 112

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13PO.14PO.15PO.16PO.17PO.18PO.19
LO.15
LO.25
LO.35
LO.45
LO.54