Tour operator

A tour operator is a company that own services and those of third parties (service providers ) to marketable tourist services (package holidays ) combines and provides for the marketing, these vacation packages are offered in its own name, on its own account and at their own risk. In contrast to the travel agent, the tour operator offers trips on their own behalf.

  • 2.1 Germany
  • 2.2 Switzerland
  • 2.3 Austria
  • 3.1 Horizontal Integration
  • 3.2 Vertical Integration
  • 3.3 Significant international and German tourism companies

Definition

Main article: travel contract; travel Law

A tour operator is a natural or legal person that provides two or more major travel services for a flat fee and promises to provide the trip in his own name. This does not affect the ability of the tour operator to meet the travel contract in the traveler promised obligations to subcontractors ( service providers ) to use.

Main travel services can be:

  • Carriage of passengers (flight, train, boat, bus);
  • Accommodation of travelers ( hotel, apartment )
  • Services of a tour guide, etc.

In general, transportation, Accommodation and Food Services are not provided by the tour operator itself, but by other companies, which has turned as service providers of tour operators.

Demarcation tour operator - travel agent - travel agent - Virtual tour operators

  • A tour operator provides the promised in the contract package of travel services itself or uses to fulfill its obligations towards the passenger agents (service providers ).
  • A travel agent provides travel contracts between tour operators and travelers. He advises clients and forwards the reservation properly to the tour operator on.
  • A travel agency is a company in the travel industry, which acts as a travel agent in tourism between tour operator and passenger to. It can also self- organize trips and consequently act as tour operators. Travel agency is an umbrella term in the tourism industry.
  • A virtual tour operator buys as opposed to a traditional tour operators, the components of a travel package (flight, hotel beds, transfers, etc.) are not fixed, and in advance, but instead, this according to the wishes of customers online at a travel package together, shall exercise all the virtual tour in the event of overbooking or flight cancellations. A virtual tour dispensed printed catalogs and offers its products internet based on web portals. In order to create a larger virtual tour and especially price - flexible product portfolio for the customer.

Classification of tour operators

In addition to a wide range of tourism products offering generalist also a whole range of specialist tour operators ( niche operators) has established itself in the industry. For example, some companies have specialized as on studies, voice, youth or expeditions. Some vendors put their focus on air, others on coach tours. Also, there are Nischenabieter for specific countries and continents.

Tour operators in the German speaking countries

Germany

The exact number of tour operators in Germany is not known. They are estimated at several thousand companies. Among them are global corporations as well as niche operators.

Niche operators certainly have opportunities in the market. For recordable they offer products that are too expensive for corporations with their "mass production". Many niche operators who specialize in specific target areas and / or groups.

A niche is the bus travel organizer. Throughout Germany there are about 5000-6000 bus companies, of which about 1,000 occur as bus operators. The bus industry experienced in the years 2000 to 2007 up and down This was probably influenced by the offers of low-cost airlines, the spread of the Internet and wandelndem consumer behavior (eg, seniors now have more than one car earlier). 2007-2010 was an EU law, according to which a 24-hour break had to take a bus driver for tours at the latest after the sixth day of use, which he was not allowed to spend as ride- on the bus. That brought especially for roundtrips enormous logistical problems, where every night is staying in a different hotel. A replacement driver had to be flown; the actual driver had to join up your own bus afterwards, when the EU regulation should be implemented correctly by train or plane. This round trips were heavily loaded in terms of cost over six days. An initiative that was introduced in October 2007 at the European Parliament, called for the return of this system for the past: Only after 12 days of use a day of rest must be inserted. In June 2010, a new EU regulation entered into force, the old 12 -day rule applies after which, provided it is in the journey to a trip abroad.

Switzerland

The Swiss tour operator landscape is much smaller. Few of the Swiss tour operator products are sold abroad.

Austria

The Austrian tour operators are between 2000 and 2007 greatly shrunk in relation to " in possession of Austrian companies ". Almost all the leading tour operators are directly and indirectly owned by German companies.

Tourism companies

From the previous individual firms, larger travel groups have emerged that act now worldwide. With vertical and horizontal structures of the classical boundaries of the tourism service providers are canceled more and more.

Horizontal Integration

Horizontal integration is characterized by the extension of the existing product portfolio to include related products for customers tend to be the same shaft. For example, tour operators cooperate with other tour operators and so extend their program.

Vertical Integration

Traditionally, the tourist product of external services was compiled, ie hotels, airlines etc. are not included to the tour operator. With vertical integration, the organizers try to bundle larger parts of the value chain of the product journey in a possession and to achieve cost benefits through synergies. Hotels / hotel chains, airlines, distributors and incoming agencies are integrated with the organizer in a group.

Showed the vertical integration in the tourist boom times to the year 2001 as advantageous, presented this concept in the time of crisis since September 11, 2001, a burden and proved to be a stumbling block for flexible reactions and Verschlankungen. Due to the vertical integration of enterprises summarize ( the value chain ) in a group of upstream and downstream products. The company is independent of service providers and their conditions. In times of crisis, however, the company can not be separated from the stored value chain itself. The costs must continue to be taken, which remained their risk of involvement of other service providers.

Significant international and German tourism companies

  • TUI AG
  • Thomas Cook Group
  • DER Touristik (formerly REWE Touristik )
  • FTI Group
  • Allroute
  • Kuoni
Package tour Coach (bus) Vacation rental
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