MiniGuide

Hi everybody!!

After analysing several travel guides and webpages full of touristic information, we decided to create our own mini guide to point out the top attractions most popular with tourists at our chosen destinations. We even asked people about it so we could have a better idea of the perfect plan for a five-day visit.

And this is our finished project. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have. Thanks for reading!!!

Mind Maps

Hi!!

Today we wanted to show you the mind maps we have done in class. We had to represent as many ideas as possible associated with the different cities we had to work with (London, Paris, Rome or Berlin). It helped us realise just how much we already knew about these cities and to learn a bit more.

Planning a journey

Hi everyone!!

Thanks to our advertising campaigns, some clients started to show up at the agencies and we had to organize our first trips. Some of us were in charge of the destinations in Galicia, some had to work with destinations in Spain and others worked with international destinations such as London, Paris, Rome or Berlin.

As our client had decided to travel alone, we had to search for trips for one adult whose availability was from the 1st to the 15th of June, so he could choose any five days within those dates. Therefore, we had to look for the cheapest, fastest and most comfortable means of transport (bus, train or plane) and afterwards, we had to book four nights at a good hotel near the city centre. We had to do all of this in accordance with a budget that our client had previously established.

When the arrangements were ready, we prepared a presentation to show our what decisitions we had come to and as we wanted to impress our client, we used Prezi, a presentation software used to display information in a very stylish way.

Advertising

Hi everyone!!

For the last few weeks, our class has been working on a project with the teachers of Arts&Crafts and Interdisciplinary Project, Fernando and Iria, that asked us to design an advertisign campaign for out travel agencies.

Before we could do it, we had to research a bit about advertising, so we created a digital collage with advertisements about trips and travel agencies.

Furthermore, we also created a poster for the class.

With all that we had learnt, we started creating our own TV commercials and our leaflets. It was a bit difficult at first, but the final results were espectacular. In the images below, you can see a few of our advertisements.

The final stage of the project was to show our work to the rest of the class.

LOGOS

Hi everyone!!

We are starting our own travel agencies.

The first step was to decide the name of our agency and create a logo that represents our work philosophy. The results were spectacular, but we couldn't have done them without Fernando's help, thank you teacher!!

Then we prepared a presentation to show everybody our work, and the teacher recorded us with a camera while we were talking. We were very nervous but it was a good experience, and in the end, everybody did great!

CONCEPT MAP

Hi everybody!!

In the last few days we have been doing concept maps about everything we have learnt about travel agencies to summarise the activities that we have done on this topic.

It was fun, we enjoyed it a lot!!

Here are our concept maps:

THE VISIT

This was a very intense day!

Our teacher invited two travel agents to come to the school for a talk. During their time with us, they told us everything about their job. It was really interesting, we want to thank them because we were able to really learn more about what they do and how travel agencies work.

This is a summary of what we learnt:

A travel agency is a business that offers trips for tourists; museums, hotels, restaurants… etc.

Types of travel agencies:

• Wholesalers (Tour operators): Agencies that sell their products only through other travel agencies.
• Retail travel agencies: Agencies that sell travel services directly to the public, and act on their behalf to book and purchase holiday packages, travel, accommodation, tours and so on.
• Wholesale/Retail agencies: Agencies that function as both, a wholesaler and a retailer.

Another classification would be:

• Outgoing: Agencies whose customers want to go out of their own country.
• Incoming: Agencies whose customers (non-resident visitors) come to our country, so they organize ther visits and activities.
• Outgoing/Incoming: Agencies that take care of both.

• Specialized agencies: Agencies that focus on specific types of trips (English courses, sport events...)

A third classification would be:

• Online agencies: Agencies that operate through an online booking service, without a physical office.

• Implant agencies: Agency’s division located directly at a buyer’s premises.

Functions of travel agencies:

1. Travel Information: A retail travel agency provides necessary travel information for the general public.
2. Preparation of Itineraries: A tourist journey involves preparation of different types of itineraries. There are different means of transport with their respective advantages and disadvantages. A travel agent advises the potential tourist to choose the most convenient itinerary.
3. Coordination with Service Providers: A travel agent should maintain constant contact with the providers of various services like transport companies, hotel managers and providers of road transport like vehicles to and from the airport, to the hotel, for sightseeing purposes...
4. Ticketing: Selling tickets to tourists for different means of transport.
5. Provision of Foreign Currencies: The travel agent will arrange for the purchase of foreign exchange on behalf of his intending travellers.
6. Insurance: Personal insurance in case of accidents or luggage loss.

The documents that the travel agency usually work with are:

• Train tickets (Different discounts, golden card...)
• Plane tickets (Boarding pass...)
• Cruise tickets
• Hotel reservations (Full board, half board...)
• Insurance documents
• Car rentals
• Paperwork (such as invoices, contracts...)

Finally, we would like to show you only a few of the many questions we asked them:

Q. How do you feel when you sell a trip?

A. We feel very pleased because is a nice experience for the customers.

Q. What would happen if someone gets sick during the trip?

A. If they had paid for travel insurance, it covers doctor and hospital bills while they are away.

Q. What qualifications are required to become a travel agent?

A. In order to run an agency you should study a degree in tourism.

Q. What happens if a flight is cancelled?

A. If your flight, for which you hold a valid reservation, is cancelled, you are entitled to re-routing, personal attention, full refund and compensation.

Q. What percentage of commision do agents usually receive?

A. A very small percentage, depending on the destination.

Q. What is the most popular destination?

A. Cruises are very popular nowadays. Ten years ago, it was very expensive to go on a cruise, but now, it is much cheaper.