Day in the life of a retail travel agent/Activities/Travel Agency Handbook
Objective
Unit Standard 23763 - V1, Level 3, Credit 2 - Describe and process retail payments in a tourism workplace PC1.1
Unit Standard 23766 - V1, Level 3, Credit 5 - Demonstrate knowledge of the tourism industry PC3.3,4.1,4.2,4.3,4.4
Unit Standard 23768 - V1, Level 3, Credit 5 - Describe the legal rights and responsibilites of employees and employers in a tourism workplace PC2.1,2.2,2.3
Unit Standard 23769 - V1, Level 3, Credit 3 - Demonstrate knowledge of the sales function within a tourism workplace PC1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,1.6
Unit Standard 25508 - V1, Level 3, Credit 3 - Demonstrate knowledge of world travel geography PC2.1,2.2,2.4,3.1,3.2,3.3
Activity
To produce a travel agency employee handbook with relevant information for a new staff member. Please deposit your completed word processed handbook in the course drop box by Thursday 14 May.
Task
In your role as a senior travel consultant at Dunedin Corporate Travel, you have been requested to complete an employee manual which would be advantageous for new employees at your agency.
There are particular aspects which need to be included as follows:
Provisions of employment legislation in relation to the Employment Legislation Act 2000 (US23768)
1. Please include at least six (6) rights which are relevant to your travel agency operation. (PC2.1)
2. Advice for the employee on where they can go for assistance, in the first instance, if they have an employment grievance.(PC2.2)
3. Details of the disputes/personal grievance resolution process.(PC2.2)
4. Methods (six) by which a contract of employment may be ended in accordance with relevant legislative provisions.(PC2.3)
Customer’s quality expectations (US23766)
1. Write a definition to explain ”quality” as it relates to the tourism industry and in terms of the “one industry concept”.(PC4.1, 4.2)
2. Write a paragraph describing the relationship between customer expectations, product/service delivery, product/service quality, customer satisfaction, exceeding customer expectations and contribution to the tourism experience.(PC3.3,4.3)
3. Several quality assurance programmes operate in New Zealand to assist clients differentiate between different products and services and also to assist tourism operators to gain a certification of quality for their business. (PC4.4) Describe the following programmes: a) Qualmark b) ISO9001
Selling (US23769)
1. Describe how important the skills for and knowledge of the selling function is to your travel agency's success as a business. You must include at least two benefits.(PC1.1,1.2)
2. You must explain how each of the following personal characteristics will impact on your travel agency’s image, success and sales.(PC1.3)
- Attitude
- Communication skills
- Customer service skills (at least four skills explained e.g. efficient service)
- Motivation
- Personality
- Product knowledge
- Technical skills
3. Explain the difference between up selling and suggestion selling and how they impact on your travel agent’s success.(PC1.4)
4. Describe a benefit for each of the following features: (PC1.5)
- Cruise boat has swimming pool
- Hotel has 24 hour room service
- Rental car has GPS system
5. Complete the following table to describe the features and benefits of each product and an example of an appropriate add-on product they could sell to your clients.(PC1.5,1.6)
| ............Product - e.g. hotel........... | .....Feature - e.g. fully equipped gym...... | ......Benefit - e.g. you can keep fit................. | ............Add-on - e.g. insurance cover........... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trafalgar Tour | |||
| P. & O. Cruise | |||
| Qantas Flight |
Forms of payment(US23763)
Describe the forms of payment which they may encounter as a travel agent (PC1.1)
- cash
- eftpos
- credit card
- travel agent vouchers
- UATP card
- company invoice
Knowledge of time(US25508)
The new consultant must be able to calculate travel between time zones and explain the significance of the International Date Line to clients. Please include the following information in the handbook.
1. Complete the clock face to show 12 hour equivalents to the 24 hour clock to use as a template. (in resources)(PC2.1)
2. Explain to a client why when he departs on Air New Zealand from Auckland at 1600 on Monday; he will arrive in Los Angeles at 0900 on the same Monday. Must relate to the International Date Line and direction of travel.(PC2.2)
3. Your client cannot understand why he departs Rarotonga on Air New Zealand at 0815 on Saturday and does not arrive in Auckland until Sunday at 1050 when the journey time is only 4 hours 35 minutes. Your explanation must relate to the International Date Line and direction of travel.(PC2.2)
4. To provide examples of how to estimate the transportation time for air travel, please complete the following scenarios showing your calculations.(PC2.4)
| Departure | Arrive | Flight | ......Duration Flight...... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland: Tue 03 May: 7.15am | Nadi: Tue 03 May: 10.20am | NZ052 | |
| Auckland: Fri 10 Jun: 11.30am | Rarotonga (Cook Islands): Thu 09 Jun: 5.15pm | NZ746 | |
| Dunedin: Mon 24 Jun: 4.30pm | Brisbane: Mon 24 Jun: 5.25pm | DJ065 | |
| Wellington: Fri 05 Nov: 6.40am | Sydney: Fri 05 Nov: 8.20am | NZ145 | |
| Auckland: Wed 05 Apr: 9.30pm | Los Angeles: Wed 05 Apr: 2.30pm | UA9550 | |
| Christchurch: Thu 10 Aug: 10.50am | Singapore: Thu 10 Aug: 5.45pm | SQ298 | |
| Auckland: Tue 20 Aug: 11.15pm | Hong Kong: Wed 21 Aug: 6.45am | NZ081 | |
| Auckland: Sat 15 Sep: 8.30am | Tokyo: Sat 15 Sep: 4.50pm | NZ099 |
Climate (US25508)
Knowledge of the world’s seasons and climate is necessary for travel agents to be able to advise clients professionally as one of the most important factors affecting where people decide to travel is climate.
1. Complete the following charts:(PC3.1, 3.2, 3.3)
| ....................Hemisphere............... | ....................Month.................... | ....................Season................... |
|---|---|---|
| Northern | January | |
| February | Summer | |
| Northern | April | |
| Southern | May | |
| June | Winter | |
| August | Summer | |
| Northern | October | |
| Southern | November |
| .............. Season .................... | .......... Time of Year ............ | .......... Area of the world ....... | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical rain belt
Dry season Southern hemisphere |
|||
| Tropical rain belt
Wet season Northern Hemisphere |
|||
| Tropical rain belt
Wet season Southern hemisphere |
|||
| Tropical rain belt
Dry season Northern hemisphere |
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| Hurricane
Northern hemisphere |
|||
| Hurricane
Southern hemisphere |
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| Tornado
Northern hemisphere |
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| Tornado
Southern hemisphere |
