Chapter 6

This and That

Lesson Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Analyze the impact of the internet on the travel industry
2. Explain the procedures and documents associated with border crossing
3. Interpret and apply the basic principles of currencies and exchange rates
4. Address customer health and safety concern
5. Prepare for the changes in travel to come

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 TRAVEL AND THE INTERNET
In just over a decade, the internet has swept through our lives, dramatically changing the way
we research, learn, purchase, and sell. And it has had an especially profound effect on the travel
industry.

Web sites
Some are great for consumers, others are more valuable for travel professionals, and many are
useful to both.

Principal types of sites:

1. Information only site – these provide you
the details on places, products, and data
almost with links to other relevant sites.
The most obvious are those sponsored by
DMO’s governments, and travel industry
professional organizations. You will
encounter all sorts of unexpected, highly
useful web-based sources of travel-related
information and even sites that individuals
have created as a hobby.
2. Opinion sites can easily into subjectivity on
the web, with experts or self-proclaimed
experts giving their views on everything
about destinations and products. A
variation of the opinion site is chat rooms,
where you can seek or exchange opinions with others.
3. Supplier booking sites – it recognizes that Net provides a cost-efficient, easily updated
way to distribute their products.
4. Travel agency sites – travel agencies had to embrace web-based technology. Many
traditional agencies even small ones now have websites. In some cases, these sites

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 provide information only and recommend that you contact the agency by phone, e-mail,
or a visit to their office.
Example: Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz. These are the brick-and-click versions that
allow bookings both online and through travel agents, either over the telephone or in a
traditional walk-in office.
5. Auction sites – these companies permit consumers to bid on travel. The site then tells
you if your bid has been accepted and with which supplier

TELLING TERMS

 Booking engine – a function that enables you to make Web-based reservations in real
time.
 Browser – software that permits you to access and retrieve documents on the web
 FAQs – a list of frequently asked questions that customers are likely to want answers to.
 Homepage – a page you see on a web site. It usually gives basic information and has
topics you can click on deeper information and for booking.
 Hyperlink – a graphic or series of words that if you click on it, it takes you to another
site.
 Internet – a global system of computer networks that enables you to access and
communicate with another computer connected to it.
 Search engine – an online program that looks for sites containing words, word
combinations, subjects, and other information that match what you have indicated you
want to know more about.
 Uniform Resource locator (URL) – the address of a website Ex. http://www.apple.com
 World Wide Web – a system within the internet organizes information both text and
visuals, into pages that can easily be retrieved and displayed. The public tends to use

Strengths of Web-Based Technology

Reasons why buying travel on the internet:

1. It gives to a vast storehouse of knowledge – you find out almost anything on the net,
with plenty about travel-related issues.

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 2. It’s convenient- you can search and buy from your home or office 24/7.
3. There no sales pressure – you rarely feel that someone is manipulating you into buying.
4. It’s interactive -the give and takes between the consumer and the site are quick, flexible,
and accurate.
5. It’s visual – our society has become increasingly visual.
6. It can be entertaining – websites lend themselves to creative, flashy, and fun buying
environments.
7. It communicates regularly – if you agree to be put on a suppliers’-mail list you will
receive a special announcement.
8. It can customize – it can create a profile that will permit information about yourself if
you voluntarily agree to the terms.

Weaknesses of Web-Based Technology

1. It can solve complex trips very well – defy technological solutions. The consumer is
adept at manipulating web-based.
2. It’s potentially time-consuming – and an inefficient designed booking engine may take
longer than the phone call to a supplier reservationist or travel agent.
3. Privacy and security are still an issue -many people continue to feel uncomfortable with
giving personal information “faceless” impersonal systems.
4. Information is often dated – many suppliers fail to keep their sites current
5. It deals poorly with after-purchase problems – if something goes wrong it is difficult to
find information on how to get a live person for help.
6. It transacts, superbly, but counsels poorly- computer programmers are hard at work,
trying to create a virtual travel agent.

CROSSING BORDERS

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When traveling internationally, people must cross borders. Sometimes that process is easy.,
sometimes hard. And for it all work, the travelers must have the proper documents with them.

Documents
Several documents are critical to border crossings. We won’t go into detail here about all the
rules, regulations, fees, and time requirements associated with each because these can change
and are readily accessible through government websites.

a. A passport – is a document that a

nation’s government issues to one of its
citizens to establish that person’s identity
and nationality.

b. Visa – is a stamp, imprint, or piece of

paper inserted into a traveler’s passport
placed there by a foreign government,
which indicates that the passport owner
may never and pass through the country
that issued it.

Kinds of visas:

a. Student visa

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b. Business differs from country to country and they can be costly, in few cases they
are
c. Tourists obtained it at the airport upon arrival, but usually, visitors must mail in their
passport or take it to the local embassy or consulate.

c. Tourist card - is a form that is used instead of or in

addition to a passport for entry into certain
countries. Filled out just in advance of arrival, the
tourist card must be carried by travelers during
their trip and surrendered upon leaving.

d. International Driver Permit – a version of

your own driver’s license translated into
multiple languages. Although it’s not required
for driving in a foreign country, it has become
valuable if you must deal with a non-English
speaking traffic enforcer.

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 IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS

IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS Are integral to any trip where crossing borders is involved. But
international travelers often confuse immigration and customs.

Immigration- is the process by which a government official controls the movement of people
across its borders. It verifies a person’s citizenship through a passport, visa, or another
document. Most countries try to move travelers through this process quickly, reserving more
extended inspections for people coming to their country to work, study, or reside for an
extended period.

Customs- is the procedure by which government agents inspect luggage and other goods
entering a country to check for forbidden items or restricted ones. If the traveler is returning
home, customs assess whether duties or taxes are due on items purchased on the trip.
Customs regulations are complex and change frequently.

Duty – is a fee imposed on items purchased

abroad. Generally, a US resident may bring back
up to $800 worth of items duty-free. In some
cases, that personal exemption is higher or lower
and certain items (art) may be duty-free and
therefore won’t count toward the personal
exemption.

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 COST, CURRENCIES, AND EXCHANGE RATES
Currency- country prints its own money.
Example: Euro – European countries, Dollar – the United States, Yen – for Japan, Peso – Mexico,
etc.
The units of currency are usually further subdivided into smaller units such as the US cent.

Why is this important to know the COST?

Because anyone traveling to a foreign place will encounter prices in local currency and must
interpret what that translates to.

Example: cost 20,000 yen to take a taxi from Narita airport to downtown Tokyo is that
expensive? Yes, very expensive it’s about US$180

Guidelines that can also help you in determining the cost-of-living statistics:
1. Big, sophisticated cities are generally more expensive to visit than smaller or less visited
ones.
2. Rural or suburban areas tend to be less expensive than urban ones. This applies even to
the environs of major cities.
3. Cities with many business travelers cost more than those that attract mostly leisure
travelers.
4. Third-world countries have lower overall costs, comparatively, than others do. In
nations such as Turkey, Indonesia. And in Honduras, almost everything is a bargain for
visitors, at least those from industrialized countries.
5. It depends on the currency exchange rate.

Exchange rates between two countries (what one nation's currency is worth in another nation's
currency) are extremely critical to travelers.

To convert foreign currency into US dollars: take the number of foreign currency units

Example: 60 reals divide by the number of foreign currency units per US dollar.
Answer: 3 reals =one dollars; 60 reals =20US dollar.

Exchanging money- and paying for things with it

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How do you deal with money when visiting foreign countries?
Four Options:
1. You can pay with cash in US dollars. Because US dollars is so respected worldwide that
people in many countries are willing to take them for payment.
2. You can pay with cash in foreign currency. Use ATM to withdraw foreign cash when you
arrive. This is efficient and usually offers the best exchange rate.
3. You can pay with your credit card. This has become the preferred way for travelers to
buy things abroad.
4. You can pay with a travel check. A TC- is a check line form of currency that must be
countersigned by the user.

Additional Info:
 Many countries’ currencies have the same name like Canada, Singapore, New Zealand,
Australia all call their currencies “dollars”. However, each country’s dollar has its value.
 If you prebook travel in US dollars usually that price will not change no matter what
happens with the local currency. However, things that were not purely tourist-related
did change in value.
 To emphasize, the exchange rate that a bank, hotel, exchange bureau, or ATM applies
when you convert money will be different from what appears “officially” and those
differences will always favor the vendor, not the traveler.
 It better to have enough money during your trip than to have much than we need and
convert them into US dollar, British dollar, Euro you will probably lose money per
transaction.

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 HEALTH CONCERNS
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we felt perfectly healthy throughout a vacation?
That doesn’t always happen, though. Long flights and crossing multiple time zones make us
tired. Weird microbes may lurk in common tap water.

Ways to minimize the risk:

 Vaccinations - are required or recommended to visit certain foreign nations.

 Jet lag – occurs when your internal body clock is confused by crossing multiple time
zones.
 Motion sickness – can be the result of air, car, or especially sea travel. Ask your doctor
about the Transderm Scop patch this will help the people who have motion sickness.
 Food and Drink – in foreign countries can lead to mild to serious illness. It is not always a
product of unsanitary conditions, either: each place’s ecosystem may contain microbes
that are harmless to locals.

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A any given time, some country is suffering a revolution, some war is raging, and some cause
may lead to terrorism and this has always affected travel.

As a result, any misfortune associated with travel seems especially disturbing in our times,
probably because our technologically advanced, presumably civilized society leaves little room
for disruption, fanaticism, or disaster. Moreover, the media is attracted to tragedy, bringing it
right into our homes. But disasters do occur sometimes intentionally.

To travel today requires a little more caution, a little more alertness.

Precautionary measures:
 You should know little about or that has received negative press.
 You should be careful of petty theft.
 Go with brands you know.

Transportation Security

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Global terrorism has forever changed the
way we go from place to place. You should
always be ready for multiple identity
checks (keep your ID with you all the
time). Be prepared for complicated
luggage and personal screening
procedures at airports and to a lesser
extent at railroad and bus stations. Those
extra hassles translate into a more secure
environment for us all.

Example: Keep prescription drugs in their

original containers when traveling.
Otherwise, customs officials could confiscate them.

The Future
Probabilities soon of Travel:
 More and more people will travel
 New destinations will emerge
 Special interest travel will increase
 Health-oriented travel will be very popular
 Technology will enhance travel in ways we can’t
imagine

The travel industry always has a few surprises in store, the types that defy forecasting. One sure
bet, though: no matter what happens people will always have a passion for travel; desire, hard
work, and a little bit of luck as a travel professional in an industry that always manages to
reward and delight those who commit their lives.

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