r/IGCSE Resources

Notes for Cambridge IGCSE™

Travel and Tourism (0471)

by ItsArtemis

1st edition, for examination until 2024

Version 1
Table of Contents

Page no.

Unit 1: The travel and tourism industry 2

Unit 2: Features of worldwide destinations 10

Unit 3: Customer care and working procedures 17

Unit 4: Travel and tourism products and services 23

Unit 5: Marketing and promotion 29

Unit 6: The marketing and promotion of visitor services 42


UNIT 1
STRUCTURE OF THE TRAVEL AND
TOURISM INDUSTRY -
● Tourism: tourism is the temporary
short term movement of people to
destinations outside places where
they normally live and work, and
their activities during their stay at
these destinations.
● International Tourist: refers to any
person travelling to a country other
than the one in which he/she has
his/her usual residence, but outside
his/her usual environment, for less
than 12 consecutive months and
whose main purpose of trip is other
than the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the place
visited.
● Overnight Tourist: a visitor who stays
at least one night in a collective or
private accommodation in the
country visited.
● Nationality of a Visitor: is that of the
government issuing his/her passport
or other identification document,
even if he/she normally resides in
another country.
● Tourist Accommodation: refers to
any facility that regularly or
occasionally provides overnight
accommodation for tourists.
● Occupancy Rate: refers to the
proportion of the rooms or bed-places
in a collective tourism establishment
that is occupied over some period of
time, such as night, month, or year.
● Duration of Stay: refers to the time
spent during a visit measured from
the standpoint of the receiving
country or place.
● Tourism Receipts: are defined as
expenditures of international inbound
visitors including their payments to
national carriers for international
transport.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● They also include any other
prepayments or payments afterwards
made for goods and services received
in the destination country.
TYPES OF TOURISTS -
● International Tourist;
people from overseas.
● Leisure Tourist;
people who visit somewhere for
pleasure rather than business-related
reasons. They make use of their free
time and using their own economic
resources, such as;
● Day trippers: a person who goes on a
journey or excursion, especially for
pleasure, that is completed in one
day.
● Overnight visitors: if his/her trip
includes an overnight stay.
● Short break: a non-business trip of
one to three. nights duration, away
from the home environment.
● Holiday takers: a person who is on
holiday away from where they usually
live.
● Business Tourist; is travel undertaken
for work or business purposes, as
opposed to other types of travel, such
as for leisure purposes or regularly
commuting between one's home and
workplace, such as;
● Business meetings: a meeting at
which matters of business are
discussed, and making decisions or
discussing company objectives and
operations.
● Sales trips: a trip (usually to another
country) where you visit various
potential clients in order to promote
your product and start doing business
with them.
● Conferences: a formal meeting of
people with a shared interest,
typically one that takes place over
several days.
NOTE: conferences are different from
meetings by both the duration of the event
and the number of people attending!
2
 MICE (BUSINESS): they normally live and work, and
their activities
● Meetings: during their stay at these destinations
● Retail Travel Agents: specialise in
are defined as events designed to
selling holidays, ancillary products,
bring people together for the purpose
and to provide information;
of exchanging information, either
> insurance
from within one company or
> car hire
organisation or from a broader
> foreign currency
spectrum of people;
● Travel Agencies: perform a key role
● Incentives:
as intermediaries that provide
are the second category of this
information on destinations and tour
market segment and include travel to
packages, and enable potential
a foreign country or domestically as
clients to access this information and
part of a motivational incentive
confirm their arrangements through
scheme to increase or reward the
bookings
employee effort;
● Miniples: travel agents that have
● Conferences:
several branches. These are usually
multi-day events that have at least a
mid-sized companies. They are often
100 delegates attending the event for
regional.
the purpose of exchanging
● Multiples: has a chain of branches -
information
they are typically large organisations
note: (such a conference is termed to
with a strong high street presence.
be an international conference if 40%
Multiple travel agents did have a
of the delegates originate from
monopoly of the market for many
outside the host country);
years
● Exhibitions: ● Business Travel Agents: provide
involve the bringing together of services for business travellers. They
people for the purpose of viewing provide speed and flexibility in
products and services. making travel arrangements with
scheduled airlines etc;
THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY > scheduled airlines;
> accommodation bookings.
● Travel and Tourism industry: it is the
whole mix of business and agencies KEY ASPECTS OF THE DISTRIBUTION
that work together to serve the needs PROCESS:
of people who travel;
- such as airlines
● The Principles: acting as primary
- advertising agencies
suppliers in the tourism distribution
- holiday companies, etc.
chain include transport,
accommodation, attraction, local
● Travel Agents: act as agents for a
tours, etc
variety of principles, they are the
● Tour Operators: can be seen as
suppliers of the travel and tourism's
product builders i.e., they produce a
industry;
new product by combining or
> airlines
packaging the basic products or
> rail companies
components offered by primary
> hotels
suppliers
> tour operators
● Travel Agents:
● Principles: tourism is the temporary
can be viewed as information
short term movement of people to
brokers, providing the consumer with
destinations outside places where

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 3

 relevant information and booking
facilities
● CRS/GDS Systems:
Computerised Reservation Systems -
Global Distribution Systems Cover
airline offerings as well as other
tourism relevant products such as
packaged holidays and other means of
transportation; they provide the main
links to tour operator systems and to
travel agents.
● Online Reservation Services: allow
customers to by-pass traditional
intermediaries and deal directly with
the primary suppliers to obtain
information and make reservations
● Tour Operators: a tour operator
combines tour and travel components
to create a package holiday.
● They usually plan a transfer from the
airport to a hotel etc;
● Packaging is the process of combining
a number of inter-related tourism
products and services that, together,
offer a comprehensive experience for
travellers.
Tour Operators Do The Following:
➔ identify and then meet consumers'
needs, requests, and expectations;
➔ assemble tourism products from
different providers according to
customer requirements;
➔ provide a co-ordinated and seamless
travel experience;
➔ reduce prices by negotiating and
pre-purchasing tourism products in
bulk;
➔ issue and deliver travel
documentation, i.e., ticketing,
vouchers, etc;
➔ assess and monitor the quality of
facilities and products;
➔ reduce the perceived risks for
consumers;
➔ provide appropriate information by
using leaflets, maps, brochures,
videos, CDs, etc;
➔ undertake pre and post experience
marketing research;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
➔ promotion of particular products or
packages, in cooperation with
suppliers;
➔ complaint handling for both
customers and industry partners.
ROLES OF SUBSECTORS -
● Accommodation Providers: provide
accommodation for tourists who are
on holiday, and is an essential part of
a tour operator's package;
● Accommodation ranges from luxury 5
star hotels which provide facilities
and services such as:
> gyms
> swimming pools
> 24hr room service
● Licensed Accommodation: a café,
hotel, restaurant and self-catering
establishment licensed under the
Licences (Accommodation, Catering
and Entertainment Establishments)
Regulations.
● Hotels: is an accommodation
establishment of at least 10 rooms
that correspond to high standards and
offers dining services such as a
restaurant.
● Motels: is an accommodation
establishment of at least 10 rooms
situated near a road that is primarily
meant for car travellers and has a
safe parking site.
● Guesthouse is an accommodation
establishment of at least 5 rooms
which offers dining services.
● Hostels: is a simple accommodation
establishment for holiday, sport or
study visitors that offers dining or
cooking facilities.
● Holiday Village or Camp: is an
establishment providing limited
accommodation services, which has
an enclosed area for tents and/or
caravans, parking sites for motor
vehicles and/or dwelling houses,
(bungalows).
● NOTE: types of accommodation can
mean different things in different
continents:
4
 a published timetable and operate
USA The meaning of an
(AMERICA) ‘inn’ is a hotel or a irrespective of whether there are
motel. enough passengers to make a profit or
not.
UK The meaning of an ● Advantages and Disadvantages of Air
(BRITAIN) ‘inn’ would transport:
describe a pub-style
Advantages Disadvantages
accommodation
offering bed and
Promotes Costly; it is an
breakfast.
comfort and expensive mode
quick services of transport
● Serviced accommodation: means
that members of staff are available Offers good Risky; personal
security; there’s goods can be
on the premises to provide services
less risk of theft lost during
such as cleaning, meals, room or loss transport or
service, these services are included in arrival
the price charged;
● Non-Serviced accommodation: Quick way of Passengers have
means that the sleeping travelling, a limit on the
making it baggage they
accommodation is furnished and
efficient may carry
provided on a rental basis, normally
for a unit comprising of several beds ● Water transport: the process of
such as a cottage, apartment, and moving people, goods, etc. by barge,
caravan; boat, ship, ferry or sailboat over a
● While services for the provision of sea, ocean, lake, canal, river, etc;
meals, bars, and shops may be ● Ferry companies help to link groups
available on site on a separate of islands together or to connect an
commercial basis, as in a holiday island destination to an adjacent
village, they are not included in the larger land mass.
● Advantages and Disadvantages of Water
price charged for the
transport:
accommodation.
● Holiday home: is an accommodation Advantages: Disadvantages:
establishment for holiday-makers,
Cheaper Is a more
which is rented out fully and has
time-consuming
cooking facilities transport mode
● Visitor’s apartment: is an
● Coach transport: a bus used for
accommodation establishment with
longer-distance service, in contrast to
food-preparing facilities which is
transit buses that are typically used
rented out
within a single metropolitan region.
● Bed and breakfast: means
● Often used for touring, intercity, and
accommodation services at a private
international bus service, coaches are
farm, house or apartment which
also used for private charter for
includes breakfast
various purposes.

ROLE OF TRANSPORT PROVIDERS:

● Transport provider: provides

transport for tourists to different
locations;
● Airport transport: these carriers
operate scheduled flights that run to

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 5

 ● Advantages and Disadvantages of Coach
Transport: delayed due to
weather
Advantages: Disadvantages: conditions

Cheaper Overcrowded It is a more It is an

flexible and expensive and
Offers beautiful Dirty and comfortable costly travel
scenery unclean way of travel mode

More storage Slow travel Offers a Baggage

space for luxurious travel restrictions may
passengers’ experience apply
luggages

● Rail transport: transport providers

● Coach Transport can be categorised
as followed:
> Private hire services;
> Tour and excursion operations;
> Transfer services.
● Car transport: a flexible and
independent way to travel.
which travel within a country, or to
other countries in close range.
Services are scheduled, inexpensive,
and more convenient.
● Advantages and Disadvantages of Rail
Transport:

Advantages: Disadvantages:
● Advantages and Disadvantages of Car
Transport:
Services are Lack of
Advantages: Disadvantages: scheduled flexibility

More flexibility Can be a long Inexpensive Travel might

and freedom of travel journey take longer than
choice and exhausting expected

More privacy Can be costly Convenient way Might be dirty

of travel and unclean
Promotes Risk of theft
comfort Showcases May be
beautiful overcrowded
scenery and
● Tourists can hire cars independently landscape
through international car transport
chains;
● Catering outlets: catering facilities
● Travel agents could also be hired to
provide suitable conditions for
make a reservation for the tourists.
tourism and for satisfying tourists'
● Charter flights: mainly used by the
basic needs in any specific
package holiday industry and tour
destination or resort;
operators who make a contract with
● Catering outlets are important for
an airline for a specific route for the
they bring tourists to catering
peak holiday season;
facilities that contain historical
● Charter airlines operate on routes, or
value, etc.
to airports, where there is no
● Tourist attractions: a place of
scheduled service.
interest that tourists visit, typically
● Advantages and Disadvantages of Charter
for its inherent or an exhibited
flights: natural or cultural value, historical
significance, natural or built beauty,
Advantages: Disadvantages:
offering leisure and amusement.
Offers privacy Flights can be

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 6

 ● Natural attraction: are named other material relating to the local
features which appeal to tourists region.
because of the nature of the ● TICs give information on a location
landform or the beauty of the with information on the area's
landscape in which the attraction is attractions, lodgings, maps, and
set, such as; other items relevant to tourism.
> lakes ● Tourist boards: the mission of
> caves National Tourism Organizations (NTOs)
> waterfalls is to increase the value of inbound
> gorges, tourism to a particular country.
> caves, etc. ● Tourist boards provide information
about the area, including
● Built attraction: these are places transportation, popular attractions,
which have been built specifically to and where to stay.
attract tourists such as; ● NTO’s do the following:
> theme parks; ● The government will identify a series
> amusement parks; of objectives and the NTO will
> aquariums, etc. facilitate a strategy for their
● Entertainment venues: these are implementation
main motivators for tourist trips and ● the NTO will exert control and
are at the core of a destination's influence from above while the local
tourism product, any place or and regional tourist board will be in
building where entertainment is the front line of delivering services to
presented, such as; the given destination's visitors.
> port stadiums;
> museums; ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND
> and theatres, etc. SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS ON
● Ancillary tourist services: the chain
TRAVEL AND TOURISM:
of distribution provides many
opportunities for intermediaries to
offer additional travel products and ● Economic Impacts:
services to their customers. Positive Negative
● Travel agencies generate income from Impacts: Impacts:
Bureau de change or traveller's
cheque operations; Increasing job Leakage; Import
● Travel insurance is offered by both availability leakage; Export
Leakage
tour operators and travel agencies.
This is a way for these operators to Creates income Infrastructure
earn income from the commission cost
paid by the service providers they are
representing. Tourist Economic
● Tour guiding: usually refers to the expenditure; dependency on
which tourism
activity of accompanying a group of
generates
visitors around a particular site, income to the
town, or part of a region, giving host economy
information on the history and
geography of the area, pointing out Improved tax -
items of interest, and being revenue
responsible for the group.
● Tourist Information Centres (TICs): ● Leakage: occurs when revenue
carry a wide range of promotional generated by tourism is lost to
leaflets, brochures, guide books, and outside economies.

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 7

 ● Import leakage: occurs when tourists
Upgraded Commodificatio
demand standards of equipment, infrastructure, n
food, and other products that the health, and
host country cannot supply. transport
● Much of the income from tourism
expenditures leaves the country again Recreational Globalisation
to pay for these imports. facilities,
restaurants, etc
● Tourism Expenditures: the total
consumption expenditure made by a - Loss of
visitor or on behalf of a visitor for authenticity
and during his/her trip and stay at and staged
destination. authenticity

- Crime
● Export leakage: occurs when
overseas investors who finance the
resorts and hotels take their profits ● Demonstration effect: the process
back to their country of origin. of local people adapting or changing
● Environmental Impacts: their own behaviour to emulate
tourists.
Positive Negative
Impacts: Impacts: ● The demonstration effect can thus
lead to the erosion of traditional
Environmental Natural habitat culture and values as the local
protection, loss, which population adopts visitor behaviour.
conservation, results in loss of ● Commodification: tourism can turn
and restoration biodiversity local cultures into commodities
of biological
wherein religious rituals, traditional
diversity
ethnic rites and festivals are reduced
Awareness of Increased to conform to tourist needs and
environment pollution, such expectations
as air, noise, and ● Globalisation: the growing
land pollution interdependence of the world's
economies, cultures, and populations,
Ensures higher Pressure on
water quality water resources, brought about by cross-border trade
in goods and services, technology,
- Increase in litter and flows of investment, people, and
and waste information.
● Tourism Carrying Capacity: the ● Loss of authenticity: the authenticity
maximum number of people that may being projected on objects or
visit a tourist destination at the same phenomena through the tourists
time, without causing destruction of themselves or travel organisations on
the physical, economic, socio-cultural the basis of expectations,
environment and an unacceptable preferences, fantasies, beliefs, etc.
decrease in the quality of visitors' ● Staged authenticity: the adaptation
satisfaction. of cultural activities or performing
● Socio-cultural impacts: shows for tourists as if they were
happening in real life.
Positive Negative ● Crime: the percentage of crime
Impacts: Impacts: increases when a large number of
Creation of Demonstration tourists are present with valuable
community effect objects on their person.
facilities and ● Adaption to tourism demands: the
services changes made to traditional crafts

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 8

 and souvenirs to meet the desires of
tourists.
● Changing Attitudes: the attitude
toward tourism/tourists from local
residents are starting to become
more hostile due to the large
numbers of tourists entering the host
country.
● Culture Clash: a situation in which
the diverging attitudes, morals,
opinions, or customs of two dissimilar
cultures or subcultures are revealed.
● Sex Tourism: refers to the practice of
travelling to foreign countries, often
on a different continent, with the
intention of engaging in sexual
activity or relationships in exchange
for money.
● This practice predominantly operates
in countries where sex work is legal
but there are countries where laws
prohibit sex work
ROLE OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
IN FORMING TOURISM POLICY AND
PROMOTION:
Economic:
● Employment creation, both direct
and indirect;
● Increase in foreign currency earnings;
● Increase in tourism;
● Increases money locally, adds to the
multiplier effect;
● Increase of income for commercial
operators;
● Economic development and
regeneration of infrastructure.
Political:
● Enhancing the image of an area is
important for LEDCs or for countries
that have a bad reputation;
● Creating a regional or national
identity to boost morale.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
Socio-cultural:
● Promoting understanding between
cultures of tourists and those of the
local population;
● Improving 'quality of life' for locals;
● Providing community facilities;
● Revival of traditional activities,
festivals, and ceremonie to celebrate
culture and develop a sense of pride
in one's own national/regional
identity.
Environmental:
● Regeneration and conservation of the
built and natural environment;
● Stimulating environmental
improvements of benefit to the local
people and tourists.
● National Government Policy: a broad
course of action or statements of
guidance adopted by the Government
at the national level in pursuit of
national objectives;
● A 5 or 10 years national plan that
includes specific goals & establish
particular operational procedures and
development strategies;
● The published policy will provide
guidance by addressing the issues
that are central to any effort made to
develop and sustain a tourism
industry;
● The policies will generally be found in
formal statements, such as laws and
official documents;
● Tourism policy is considered to be an
area within a nation's overall
economic policy. The government will
give emphasis to aspects such as;
(a) the role of tourism in the
economy;
(b) control of tourism development
(c) administration of tourism;
(d) government support for tourism;
(e) tourism's impacts;
● National governments can exercise a
specific influence over the
9
 development of the country's tourism
industry.;
● In terms of planning, this involves the
designation of regions or areas to be
targeted for tourism development.
● Government regulation: a law that
controls the way that a business can
operate, or all of these laws
considered together.
● These laws include:
> consumer protection laws and rules
> fire safety laws in hotels
> health and food safety regulations
> competency standards for bus and
boat operators
> environmental protection
regulations
> international aviation and and air
travel regulation
> NTOs are ministerial bodies that
pursue national tourism policies and
goals - they may act primarily as
marketing entities as well.
● Traditional marketing activities
carried out by these NTOs are:
● Marketing and promotion of the
nation and tourism destinations;
● Encouraging private sector support
and cooperation in promotional
activities;
● Representing the country in trade
shows and expositions;
● Promoting and producing special
events
● Promoting and contracting for market
research analysis;
● Maintaining overseas tourism
information offices.
UNIT 2
● Destination: a unique place where a
visitor spends at least one night and
exhibits tourism products such as
attractions, support services, and
tourism resources complete with
defined management, physical and
administrative boundaries, and a well
known image.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Tourist destination features:
> A character of their own;
> Accessible location for the mass
market;
> Information services, such as tourist
information centres;
> Accommodation and catering
facilities;
> A range of visitor attractions,
including theme parks, museum,
gardens and/or children’s activities
area;
> Shopping facilities for the visitor;
> Enough parking spaces for day
visitors.
● Product life cycle: is the succession
of strategies by business management
as a product goes through its
life-cycle.
● The conditions in which a product is
sold changes over time and must be
managed as it moves through its
succession of stages.
MAJOR CITIES AND THEIR
IMPORTANCE AS TRANSPORT AND
DESTINATION HUBS:
● Northern hemisphere: The northern
hemisphere contains more land.
● Southern hemisphere: The southern
hemisphere contains more water.
● Latitude: Indicates the distance away
from the Equator, in both the
northern and southern hemisphere;
● The position of any location on the
earth’s surface can be described in
terms of its latitude, measured in
degrees, north or south of the
Equator.
● Longitude: Indicates a location’s
position east or west of Greenwich.
The positions relative to Greenwich
are indicated by lines of longitude,
measured in degrees, from 0 to 180
East and from 0 to 180 West.
● NOTE: for an urban area to be
classed as a major city, it simply
requires for there to be a large
population size!
10

GLOBAL POSITIONS AND TIME ZONES:
● Greenwich Mean Time (GMT):
China uses a single time zone, which
is eight hours ahead of Coordinated
Universal Time, (UTC), this is based
on the time zone running through
Greenwich at 0 degrees longitude;
● This can be referred to as Greenwich
Mean Time, GMT).
● Daylight Savings Time: GMT is during
the winter months in the UK, this is
followed by British Summer Time,
when clocks are set forward 1 hour,
until October when time is set back
to GMT.
● International Date Line (IDL): Is an
imaginary line on the surface of the
Earth opposite the Prime Meridian or
Greenwich Meridian, where the date
changes as one travels east or west
across it - along 180 degrees
longitude, it mostly corresponds to
the time zone boundary separating
-12 and +12 hours GMT
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GLOBAL
POSITION AND PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT -
*Climatic conditions vary with latitude:
● Equatorial latitudes;
Between 5 degrees North and South
of the Equator.
● Tropical latitudes;
Anywhere between 23.5 degrees
North and South of the Equator.
● Subtropical latitudes;
Between 23.5 and approximately 30
degrees North and South Of the
Equator.
● Temperature latitudes;
Between approximately 30 and 50
degrees North and South of the
Equator.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Arctic latitudes;
Around 66.5 degrees North and South
of the Equator.
● Polar latitudes;
Anywhere between the Poles and 66.5
degrees North and South.
*Major climatic environments:
● Equatorial (Brazil Amazon);
Hot, wet, and humid all year round.
● Tropical (African Savannah);
No cold season but summer rains.
● Tropical Monsoon (India);
No cold season but heavy summer
rains.
● Tropical Desert (North African
Sahara);
No cold season and negligible rain.
● Warm Temperate (Mediterranean);
Hot dry summer, cool wet winter.
● Cool Temperate (USA/Canada
border);
Cold winter, hot summer, even
rainfall.
● Arctic (Scandinavia);
Harsh cold winter with snow, and cool
summer with rain.
● Polar (Greenland);
Snow and ice prevail for most of the
year.
Each major climatic zone may present
natural hazards;
- Tropical Storms
Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons
- Monsoon Rains
- Monsoon Winds
- Drought conditions in dry summers
and subsequent danger of bushfires
THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON
TOURISM -
● High season tourism: The period
when climatic conditions are at their
best will be the high season for
tourism.
11
 ● Some sources contain climatic
information and will list;
> Average hours of sunshine;
> Destinations height above sea level;
This is because temperatures tend to
decrease with increasing altitude!
CLIMATE THREATS TO TOURISM:
● Seaside tourism;
Beach erosion, higher sea levels,
greater damage from sea surges and
storms, and reduced water supply;
● Mountain Regions;
Winter sports will diminish, the
season will shorten and opportunities
for young people to learn the sports
will lessen, and demand pressures on
high altitude resorts will increase,
(which can cause environmental
damage).
CLIMATIC AREAS IDENTIFIED, USING
REFERENCE SOURCES:
● There are many reference sources
that contain information about the
climate of a destination, the
brochure being a good source of basic
information, in which it would
include the following:
● A map which gives the location of the
destination relative to the point of
entry, together with resort
attractions;
● A table of figures indicating what the
weather conditions will be like;
● Photographs showing aspects of the
natural and built environment that
people are likely to be interested in;
● A description of the facilities to be
found in selected types if destination
accommodation;
● Brief details of local places of
interest and attractions;
● Most countries publish marketing
brochures and leaflets which provide
detailed information such as climate,
social conditions, and currency
regulations.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
NATURE OF DESTINATIONS:
● Nature of Destinations: all
destinations have a carrying capacity
and they can be altered through
overuse, this is also known as a
destination being perishable.
● Perishable: this means that the
product is time-limited and altered
through use.
Preventative methods to preserve a
destination:
● Constructing hard wearing,
user-friendly paths;
● Ensuring effective water drainage;
● Carrying out regular maintenance
tasks such as; clearing water gullies,
removing gravel and repairing minor
damages;
● Reducing grazer pressures;
● Resting routes; such as changing the
line of path when early stages of
erosion is present;
● Fertilising and reseeding;
● Fencing ; helps vegetation recover;
● Directing people onto a preferred
route using physical barriers such as
walls, plants etc;
● Rerouting people away from areas
prone to erosion, which can be
difficult - due to the path being
designated as Right of Way;
● Educating mountain users through
leaflets, talks and notices;
● Managing visitor numbers by limiting
car parking or re-channelling visitor
publicity to areas less likely to suffer
damage.
ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF TOURISM
BY GIVING A RATING TO THESE FACTORS
BELOW:
● Environmental and Ecological quality;
● Social/Cultural integrity;
● Condition of built heritage,
archaeological, historic, and current
structures;
● Aesthetic appeal, both natural and
man made;
12
 ● The nature of tourism development:
to what degree is it of appropriate
character? Does it benefit local
people in a way that encourages
protection of the locale? How well
are tourists informed about the locale
and their proper role in it?;
● The future outlook for the destination
in terms of sustainability, taking into
account all prevailing stewardship
practices and policies.
● These ratings are given by using the;
● Destination Outlook Scale: this is a
rating given to a destination based on
a number of characteristics such as
aesthetic appeal (how nice does it
look), social/cultural integrity (how
close is it to how it should be) and
other markers;
● Destination Outlook Scale Diagram:
RATING: CHARACTERISTIC
FEATURES:
1 to 2 catastrophic; all
criteria are negative,
and the outlook is bad.
3 to 4 trouble; the
destination is in serious
trouble
5 to 6 moderate trouble; all
criteria is of
medium-negative or a
mix of negatives and
positives.
7 to 8 minor difficulties; the
destination has small
problems to deal with
9 authentic; unspoiled,
and likely to remain so
TOURIST DESTINATIONS AS AMALGAMS:
10 enhanced; the
destination is in prime
condition
Specialised reasons for international
travel;
● Pilgrimages or other religious
journeys;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Sporting trips;
● Educational trips;
● Medical treatment trips.
● Multiple Use: when a destination
offers tourist facilities to the local
population, making the facilities of
multiple use
● General influences on destination
awareness:
> Past family holidays;
> Friends, family, and colleagues;
> TV and films;
> Mass media;
> Brochures;
> Advertisements and promotions;
> School/college and work related
trips.
● Factors limiting destination choice:
> Amount of disposable income;
> Employment status;
> Size of household and number of
children;
> Number of trips taken last year;
> Amount of free time;
> Age and health status;
> Cost of transport in terms of time
and money;
> Personal preferences;
> Needs and wants.
● Cultural Appraisal: whereby an
individual’s final choice of destination
is strongly influenced by the values
and attitudes that they are exposed
to.
● Note: many tourists pay attention to
the press and mass media regarding a
certain destination, and this can
result in destinations falling in and
out of fashion.
● Tourism is an amalgam of visitors’
consumption of goods and services
which include transportation,
accommodation, food and beverage,
recreation and entertainment, travel
and tour operators and local products
such as souvenirs.
13
 ● The tourist product will be a
combination of a series of discrete
elements which include the following;
● The local nature resources of the
region:
Such as its climate, landscape, flora
and fauna;
● The general infrastructure:
Such as roads, energy, water supply,
telecommunications, post offices,
banks, etc;
● The social and cultural
infrastructure:
Such as local traditions, manners and
customs, historical and archaeological
sites, language, religion, cultural
shows;
● The tourist infrastructure:
Such as local transport, skiing sites,
casinos, sport sites, etc;
● Tourist related facilities:
Such as major tourist goods and
services such as accommodation,
food, and beverages, etc.
IMPLICATIONS OF VIEWING
DESTINATIONS AS AMALGAMS;
● Tourist Destination: a physical space
in which visitors spend at least one
night and is made up of tourism
products such as support services and
attractions, and tourism resources
with physical and administrative
boundaries that define its
management, images/perceptions of
market competitiveness.
● Different tourist destinations are well
defined geographical regions,
understood by visitors as unique
entities with a core of six main
provisions;
- Attractions
- Accessibility
- Available packages
- Activities
- Ancillary services
● NOTE: The more a destination is able
to meet the needs of tourists, the
more it is perceived to be attractive
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
and the more the destination is likely
to be chosen;
● Destination competitiveness is
associated with the ability to deliver
an experience that is more satisfying
than that being offered by other
destinations;
● Tourism development should result in
the ability of a destination to provide
social, physical, and economic
benefits to the destination population
as well as a satisfying experience to
the tourist;
● The reward in meeting such a
challenge will be sustainable tourism
in the form of economic
development, which will do the
following;
● Improve the quality of life of the host
community;
● Provide a high-quality experience for
the visitor;
● In the long term, maintain the quality
of the environment on which both the
local people and the visiting tourists
depend.
FEATURES THAT ATTRACT TOURISTS TO
A DESTINATION -
● The weather and climate of the area;
● Scenery and landscape;
● Vegetation and wildlife;
● Historical and cultural attractions;
● Modern built attractions;
● indoor/outdoor activities;
● Accommodation options;
● Events and festivals;
● Food/drink and entertainment
facilities;
● Accessibility and gateways in the
area;
THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE
POPULARITY OF A DESTINATION -
➢ Cost of accommodation;
➢ Cost of transport;
➢ Costs at destination;
➢ Tour operator promotion activity;
14
 ➢ Destination promotional activity;
➢ Over-commercialization;
➢ Crime and social problems;
➢ Political instability and civil unrest;
➢ Terrorism;
➢ Positive or negative media coverage;
➢ Positive and negative tourism
management;
➢ Growth in independent travel;
➢ Growth in short breaks;
➢ Exclusivity;
➢ Increased accessibility;
➢ Water hazard;
➢ Air hazard;
➢ Noise hazard;
➢ Natural disasters.
REASONS WHY TOURISTS MIGHT BE
ATTRACTED TO A LOCATION;
● BACKPACKERS;
- 18-24 years old
- No children
- Often take a gap year
- Consider themselves travellers not
tourists
- Well-educated
- Cost conscious
● DINKY;
- Dual Income No Kids Yet
- Between 25 - 35 years of age
- No children, making them relatively
affluent
● EMPTY NESTERS;
- Parents whose children have left the
family home
- Between 45 - 55 years of age
- Well educated
- High disposable income
● GREY MARKET/BOOMERS;
- Baby boom generation in the 1950s
- Retired
- Disposable income from pension and
savings
● YOUTH MARKET;
- 18 - 25 years of age
- Less well-educated
- Lower disposable income
- Prefer nightlife, such as parties etc
- NOTE: Each of the mentioned
categories is likely to require
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
different tourism products and
services.
● Cultural Tourism: a type of tourism
activity in which the visitor's essential
motivation is to learn, discover,
experience and consume the tangible
and intangible cultural
attractions/products in a tourism
destination.
● Cultural destinations consist of
these:
- Performing arts, music and dance,
festivals;
- Historic sites and monuments;
- Museums and galleries;
- Natural heritage sites;
- Art and craft displays;
- Religious events;
- More general features such as local
customs and cuisine.
● Host venues consist of these:
- Purpose built conference centres;
- Hotel facilities;
- Sports venues;
- Civic buildings;
- Stately homes;
- University and academic institution
facilities.
INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL FEATURES ON
THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS
FOR TOURISM:
● Coastal Tourism: a process involving
tour- ists and the people and places
they visit, particularly the coastal
environment and its natural and
cultural resources.
● Mountain Tourism: a type of tourism
activity which takes place in a
defined and limited geographical
space such as hills or mountains with
distinctive characteristics and
attributes that are inherent to a
specific landscape, topography,
climate, biodiversity (flora and fauna)
and local community.
● Attraction of Mountain destinations:
● The climate and clean air;
● Varied topography;
● Scenic beauty;
● Local traditions;
15
 ● ‘Simple’ lifestyles;
● The opportunities to practise sports
that require steep slopes or winter
snow.
● Mountain activities include:
● Hiking;
● Skiing;
● Snowboarding;
● Climbing;
● Bird-watching;
● Well-being and health.
● Benefits of mountain tourism:
● Improved living standards;
● Creates a market for products made
by local crafts workers and produced
from land.
● Island Tourism: a special form of
tourism that often requires specific
consideration as there are distinctive
characteristics of islands such as
fragile environments and historical
and socio-cultural aspects that can
result in unique challenges to
developing a successful tourism
destination.
● Waterfall Tourism: include attractive
activities such as bungee
jumping,water rafting ,swimming and
so much more;
● These activities mostly attract the
young and adventurous crowd
however, popular waterfall
destinations do provide hotels and
smooth cruises over the waterfalls for
those who prefer to relax.
● Cave Tourism: Many destinations
around the world have underground
cave systems that have been
developed into different types of
tourist attractions;
● Cave activities include:
● Sightseeing;
● Walking tours;
● Black-water rafting;
● Climbing.
KEY ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE
ADDRESSED FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
OF ADVENTURE TOURISM;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Improved accessibility: the
development of many adventure
activity sites are currently
constrained due to limited access to
suitable water, countryside, and
coastal sites;
● Adventure activities need to be
managed effectively to ensure that
they do not cause conflict or other
negative impacts;
● There is a need to educate adventure
tourists about safety;
● Many adventure activities require
further and improved facilities to
enable and support participation;
● Adventure sports can cause damage
and disruption, so events need to be
staged in locations that have the
capacity to accommodate them;
● The adventure tourism industry has
many small scale independent
operators so booking and information
services need to be made more
user-friendly to encourage growth;
● There is a need for more discrete
coverage of adventure activities in
destination marketing.
● Volcano Tourism: The exploration
and study of active volcanic and
geothermal landforms;
● Volcano tourism also includes visits to
dormant and extinct volcanic regions
where remnants of activity attract
visitors interested in geological
heritage.
● Geoparls: a unique natural area with
special geological significance and
natural and cultural landscapes, and
serves the three objectives of
conservation, education, and
sustained development.
● Sustainability: sustainable tourism
development guidelines and
management practices are applicable
to all forms of tourism in all types of
destinations, including mass tourism
and the various niche tourism
segments. Sustainability principles
refer to the environmental,
16
 economic, and socio-cultural aspects
of tourism development and suitable
balance must be established between
these three dimensions to guarantee
its long term sustainability.
● Therefore, sustainable tourism
should:
● Make optimal use of environmental
resources that constitute a key
element in tourism development,
maintaining essential ecological
processes and helping to conserve the
natural heritage and biodiversity;
● Respect the socio-cultural
authenticity of the host communities,
conserve their built and living
cultural heritage and traditional
values, and contribute to
intercultural understanding and
tolerance;
● Ensure viable, long term economic
operations, providing socio-economic
benefits to all stakeholders that are
fairly distributed, including stable
employment and income earning
opportunities, and social services to
host communities contributing to
poverty alleviation.
● Role of sustainable destination
managers:
● Welcome, involve, and satisfy
visitors;
● Achieve a profitable, prosperous and
high-quality industry;
● Involve and benefit all host
communities;
● Provide and enhance the local
environment.
UNIT 3
CUSTOMER CARE AND WORKING
PROCEDURES -
● Customer Care: the provision of
service to customers before, during,
and after a purchase;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● This makes it an important part of
the value chain of clients. Each
industry requires different levels of
customer service, but in the end, the
idea of a well-performed service is
that of increasing revenues.
● Reliability: The ability to perform the
promised service dependably and
accurately.
● Responsiveness: the willingness to
help customers and provide prompt
service;
● Assurance: the knowledge and
courtesy of employees and their
ability to convey trust and confidence
in dealing with a request;
● Empathy: the caring, individualised
attention provided to the customer.
CUSTOMER SERVICES INCLUDE:
● Providing information;
● Giving advice;
● Receiving and passing on messages;
● Keeping records;
● Providing assistance;
● Dealing with problems;
● Dealing with dissatisfied customers;
● Offering extra services.
● Moment of Truth: represents
occasions where a customer's
interaction is so impactful that it
alters their perception of the brand.
DEAL WITH CUSTOMERS AND
COLLEAGUES;
● Customer Service Standards: a
company's rules or guidelines that
inform and shape the customer's
relationship with the business at
every step throughout the customer
experience;
● Operational Standards:
Tend to specify what has to be done
or said;
● Receptionists wear name badges and
are encouraged to smile and make
eye contact with guests as they
17
 approach the desk and use their ● Food and Beverage;
names whenever possible; Such as operational and
● Telephones should be answered administrative, conference and
before the third ring, with a greeting banqueting.
followed by the name of the hotel or ● Accounts;
the internal department. Such as finance, purchasing, cost
control, information technology.
● Competence Standards: are ● Human Resources;
designed to describe the Such as employee welfare, training,
action an individual needs to
and recruitment.
follow to perform a task
● Quality Department;
competently; they specify the
● Engineering;
‘how’;
● Leisure and Recreation;
● Always treat customers in a
courteous and helpful Such as golf, gym, marina, beach,
manner, even when in stress; and pools etc.
● Consistently maintain ● Team work: the combined action of a
standards for appearance and group, especially when effective and
behaviour; efficient;
● Ensure equipment and ● Team-working advantages and
supplies used in transactions disadvantages:
with customers are available,
up to date and in good order; Advantages: Disadvantages:
● Actively seek opportunities
for improving working Improves May initiate
relationships with customers; productivity unwanted
● Ensure that their own competition
behaviour consistently
Improves Risk of
conveys a positive image of quality of miscommunicati
the organisation to current products and ons between
and potential customers. services members

NECESSITY OF GOOD TEAM WORK AND More ideas are Reduced

shared and flexibility
TRAINING: voiced

● Job opportunities in large Improves Employees with

organisations, such as hotels; customer focus strong
personalities
● Front Office;
may dominate
Such as reception, reservations, guest the group,
relations, concierge, making others
communications. opinions feel
● Housekeeping; unwanted
Such as rooms and public areas, Quick responses Labour may be
laundry and linen rooms. to opportunities dealt unevenly,
● Sales and Marketing; and threats and giving an unfair
Such as sales, marketing, loyalty to fast-changing amount to
environments certain
club, e-marketing.
members
● Kitchen;
Such as hot kitchen, cold kitchen,
pastry, butchery, artistry.

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 18

 IMPORTANCE OF COURTESY, TACT, AND
DIPLOMACY:
● Guest Cycle: is the complete
experience that a guest goes through
in a hotel;
● R.R.O.C.H:
- Reservation
- Registration
- Occupancy
- Check-out and History
● Pre-Arrival Stage: where the hotel
creates a reservation record.
● Reservation records include the
following;
- Passport number or other
identification,
- Any special needs or requests,
- Credit card details,
- Guest signature.
● Occupancy Stage: this is the stage
where guests are experiencing the
full range of hotel services.
● Departure Stage: the guest leaves
the hotel having settled the account,
and a proper check out is done;
● The check out process:
- Vacates the room;
- Receives an accurate statement of
the guest account and pays any
outstanding amount;
- Returns room keys,
- Leaves the hotel.
PROCEDURES OF HANDLING
COMPLAINTS -
● Listen carefully;
● Keep an open mind;
● Member of staff should apologise in
general terms for the inconvenience
caused;
● Let the customer know the problem is
being investigated;
● Do not argue;
● Agree to the solution with the
customer.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
PERSONAL AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:
● Interpersonal Skills: often referred
to as people skills, social skills, or
social intelligence.
● Door Attendant/commissioner skills:
> Have a friendly, approachable, and
polite manner;
> Have a smart personal appearance;
> Be willing to help people;
> Have a responsible and reliable
attitude;
> Be capable of providing a high
standard of customer service;
> Be observant;
> Have stamina to remain standing for
lengthy periods of time;
> Have excellent communication and
organisational skills;
> Be confident in dealing with any
challenging behaviour from
customers/guests;
> Be able to work well alone and in a
team.
IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL
PRESENTATION -
Requirements for female and male staff
members:
● Uniforms are provided and must be
clean and freshly pressed;
● Ladies wearing skirts must also wear
flesh-coloured tights;
● Jewellery limited to wedding band for
men and one pair of non-dangling
earrings for women;
● No visible tattoo or piercing;
● Clean, short well-cared for
fingernails;
● Hair should be clean and well kept at
all times with no extreme styling;
● Do not use excessive perfume.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:
● Language Problems: such as accent,
if one of the parties comes from a
19
 different part of the country or
abroad;
● Prejudice: the sender may have
already got preset views and is not
prepared to listen;
● Cultural differences: the receiver
may receive the message correctly
worded but due to cultural
differences take the message to have
a different meaning;
● Complexity; if the message is too
long or technical, it may not be
properly understood;
● Concentration: if the receiver has
his/her mind on other matters, the
message may not be properly
understood.
AWARENESS OF APPLICATIONS OF
TECHNOLOGY -
● Websites: which allows online
booking and acts as a marketing tool.
● Databases: aid direct marketing;
● Finance systems: help to streamline
payments, accounts, and stock
control;
BASIC PROCEDURES WHEN HANDLING
CUSTOMER ENQUIRIES, RESERVATIONS,
AND PAYMENTS:
● Booking service: Computer
reservation systems, or central
reservation systems, are
computerised systems used to store
and retrieve information and conduct
transactions related to air travel,
hotels, car rental, or other activities;
● Booking services include the
following:
● Prospective clients are told clearly
what is included in the prices quoted
for accommodation, meals, and
refreshments, such as;
> service charges;
> taxes;
> other surcharges;
● Other information which may have an
impact on the guests’ stay, such as;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
> smoking policies;
> refurbishment work;
> planned functions/events;
● Where operational policy dictates
that certain facilities need to be
pre-booked, such as spa treatments,
dinner, etc, these should be
mentioned at the time of booking;
● Advance warning should be given if
the restaurant is to be closed or likely
become fully booked soon;
● Full details of the hotel’s cancellation
policy should be provided if there is
one. This includes information about;
> credit cards;
> changes to the booking;
● Information about deposits if required
should be mentioned, including
details of how the deposit is taken
and whether or not it is refundable
on cancellation;
● Clear explanation of charges
additional services or available
facilities including cancellation terms
should be made available;
● Information about any unacceptable
types of payment, need to be clearly
stated;
● Information and full details about any
fees charged for the acceptance of
credit cards should also be provided.
SIMPLE RESERVATION FILE
PREPARATION:
● Once a booking is made, the
reservation department is interfaced
and connected with the central
reservations office.
● The department can generate the
following:
> Letters of Confirmation;
> Produce requests for guest deposits;
> Handle pre-registration activities;
> Daily expected arrival lists;
> Occupancy and revenue forecast
lists.
SIMPLE RECEIPT ISSUED + PAYMENTS
RECORDED:
20
 ● Organisations operate on a fully
automated system and the production
of invoices, receipts, and payment
records can be automatically
generated at fixed points.
REFERENCE SOURCES TO OBTAIN
INFORMATION:
● Pamphlet: a small booklet or leaflet
containing information or arguments
about a single subject, used for
non-commercial promotion.
● Tariff: a tax imposed by the
government of a country or by a
supranational union on imports or
exports of goods.
● Itinerary: a schedule of events
relating to planned travel, generally
including destinations to be visited at
specified times and means of
transportation to move between
those destinations.
● Computer Reservation Systems
(CRS): are computerised systems used
to store and retrieve information and
conduct transactions related to air
travel, hotels, car rental, or other
activities.
● Global Distribution Systems (GDS): a
computerised network system owned
or operated by a company that
enables transactions between travel
industry service providers, mainly
airlines, hotels, car rental companies,
and travel agencies.
● Exchange Rates: an exchange rate is
the rate at which one currency will
be exchanged for another currency.
NOTE: exchange rates vary daily!
● Bureau De Change: a business where
people can exchange one currency for
another.
PRESENTATION AND PROMOTION OF
TOURIST FACILITIES:
● Sale: made when a customer
undertakes to spend money in
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
exchange for a promise to deliver a
product.
● Revenue Target: the amount of
actual gross revenues, indicated on
Schedule A hereto, to be derived by
the Company from sales of its
products and services to customers
generated by the Agent.
● Sales volume: refers to the number
of units sold during a specific
reporting period.
● Qualities required of employees to
help sell a product:
● Enthusiasm;
● Honesty;
● Intelligence;
● Initiative;
● Friendliness;
● Knowledge of the industry and
product;
● Good Judgement;
● Consistency.
● Sales presentation: a talk giving
information about a product or
service that you are trying to sell,
intended to persuade people to buy it
PROMOTIONAL METHODS AND THEIR
USE:
● Brochure: an informative paper
document that can be folded into a
template, pamphlet, or leaflet;
● A map is included in most brochures,
giving the location of the destination
relative to the point of entry,
together with resort attractions;
● A table of climate figures indicating
what the weather conditions will be
like;
● Photographs showing aspects of the
natural and built environment that
people will likely be interested in;
● A description of the facilities to be
found in selected types of destination
accommodation;
● Brief details of local places of
interest and attractions;
21
 ● Advantages and Disadvantages of ● Tactical advertising: aimed at
Brochures: specific market segments and
persuades customers to buy a
Advantages: Disadvantages:
product/service or to visit a
Advertising Printing expense particular place.
benefits ● Strategic advertising: a method of
creating awareness of markets, and
Time saving; Environmental of products, of developing an
less time than concerns
organisation’s identity and image.
answering a
tourist’s inquiry This method takes a long term view.
● Internet: a form of marketing and
Easy to Limited space; advertising which uses the Internet to
distribute meaning that promote products and services to
space for audiences and platform users;
show-casing ● Website features for national
products is
destinations include:
small
● Search facilities;
● Promotional leaflets: a printed sheet ● Special offers and packages
which details information of an advertised on the website;
advertising nature such as events, ● Enquiries page;
product sheets, special offers or ● Samples of the particular culture of
promotions etc; the country;
● They are carefully designed to attract ● Subscription capabilities for regular
the eye and provide basic details such email newsletters;
as prices, timings, and contact ● Information in different languages;
details. ● Virtual brochure rack;
● Itineraries that include directions,
● Advantages and disadvantages of photographs, and dining suggestions;
Promotional Leaflets: ● Online packages of activity,
Advantages: Disadvantages: sightseeing, and cultural interest;
● It is important to properly profile the
Cost effective Distribution of site with the main search engines, to
leaflets can be ensure the site appears in most
labour intensive
search results.
Visually pleasing They may be ● Window display & other in-house
and grabs the discarded if promotional methods:
attention of they are not ● Window display: involves arranging
tourists high quality products, signage, posters, and
decorations at your storefront to
Provides a lot of No long term
create a display
information impact
about products, ● In-House promotion: a system of
etc product promotion that is executed
by members of that product's firm
Targets specific - rather than an external advertising
demographics agency.

● Advertisements: a marketing
communication that employs an
openly sponsored, non-personal
message to promote or sell a product,
service or idea.

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 22


UNIT 4
IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE TOURISM
PRODUCTS;
● Inter-relationship: where individual
businesses work in partnership with
other organisations in order to be
successful.
● Package product: a form of product
bundling where several distinct
products are combined and sold at a
special price.
● A package product includes at least two
of these components:
> Transport;
> Accommodation for at least one
night stay;
> Car rental, transport from an
airport and vice versa;
> Recreational activity.
● Independent product: those who
make their own transportation and
accommodation arrangements, and
those who choose not to buy
prearranged packages, tours, or the
use of travel agents.
● All-inclusive product: a product
package that includes all activities,
accommodation, and food services for
a fixed price.
● Ancillary services: any additional
service offered by travel and tourism
providers beyond the main product or
service normally associated with
these types of providers.
● Ancillary services include:
Travel insurance
Foreign exchange currency
Excursions and sightseeing tours
Car hire
Airport transfers
Passport and visa information
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
Coach and rail tickets
Tickets to theme parks, theatres,
and other named attractions
Hotel bookings
Guidebooks and guiding services
● Guiding services: someone with
experience, training, and local
knowledge of the area, who will offer
expert information about the nature,
the history, the cultural background
and local customs associated with a
specific destination.
● Guiding services include;
Coach tours of a town
Walking tour of a specific
attraction
● Currency services: a licensed
business that allows customers to
exchange one currency for another.
● Marketing services: a form of
marketing businesses that provide a
service to their customers used to
increase brand awareness and sales.
ROLES OF TOUR OPERATORS AND
TRAVEL AGENTS:
International tour operators:
● Mass market tour operator: tour
operators that operate in the
mainstream travel and tourism
industry and offer packages that
cater to large numbers of tourists;
● Inbound tour operator: are
locally-based, and they work to
promote the destination as a whole to
interested travellers;
● Outbound tour operator: create
packages and tours designed to allow
travellers from one country to
conveniently visit another country of
their choice;
● Domestic tour operator: tour
operators who provide travel
23
 packages and tours within a tourist's
native country;
Stages of putting a package/tour together:
● Specialist tour operator: plans
unique travel packages for niche
clientele, by destination, activity,
theme, transport, and age group.
Operating characteristics of tour
operators:
● Horizontal integration: refers to a
situation when companies join
together with the aim to remove
competition, to increase economies
of scale, and to increase their
purchasing power;
NOTE: horizontal integration occurs
with mergers at the same level in the
tourism distribution or supply chain.
● Vertical integration: refers to an
expansion strategy where one
company takes control over one or
more stages in the production or
distribution of a product.
● Backward integration: a form of
vertical integration in which a
company expands its role to fulfil
tasks formerly completed by
businesses up the supply chain.
● Forward integration: a business
strategy that involves a form of
downstream vertical integration
whereby the company owns and
controls business activities that are
ahead in the value chain of its
industry,
● The operating characteristics of
mainstream and independent tour
operators:
Mainstream Independent
Tour Operators: Tour Operators:
High volumes of Relatively small
tourists volumes of
tourists
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
NATURE OF TOUR OPERATORS:
● Research and Planning:
Product managers will focus on a
selection of resorts, choice of
accommodation and selection of
departure airports aimed at
particular market segments.
● Estimation of the number of
customers;
Tour operators will estimate the
amount of customers requiring the
products in order for the capacity of
the package to be calculated.
● Market Research;
To determine the requirements of the
potential market as precisely as
possible.
● Negotiation with providers
This role is often carried out by
senior managers within the
organisation as it will result in
contracts being drawn up.
These negotiations include:
- agreements on price, quantity and
quality.
● Selling the package;
The appropriate price for the package
is set and this starts the beginning
process of marketing and selling the
finished product;
● Many tour operators incorporate the
same accommodation in their
packages, henceforth there are three
main types of contracts used in these
‘deals’.
● Commitment/guarantee: this is
where the tour operator guarantees
to pay for a certain number of bed
spaces.
● Allocation/release back: a number of
bed spaces is agreed but any bed
space not sold by an agreed date is
‘given back’ to the accommodation
provider to be sold elsewhere.
● Ad hoc: an arrangement where the
tour operator agrees on a discounted
rate with the hotelier and makes the
bookings as and when required.
24
 ● The main components affecting tour
operators prices:
1. Peak pricing (seasonality): a form of
congestion pricing where customers
pay an additional fee during periods
of high demand;
2. Peak pricing is most frequently
implemented by utility companies,
which charge higher rates during
times of the year when demand is the
highest.
3. Off-peak pricing (seasonality): prices
are lessened due to the drop of
demand and tourism.
4. Flight times: customers prefer to fly
during the day or during the night,
there is a policy that keeps all the
holiday prices down.
5. Single room and other
accommodation supplements: most
tour operators’ contracts with hotels
and apartment owners are based on a
price per room, whilst their brochure
holidays are sold price per person, as
a result, the per person price for a
single traveller includes the whole
room cost.
TOUR OPERATORS AND EXCHANGE
RATES:
● A high proportion of the costs
incurred by tour operators is paid in
foreign currency, as holiday prices are
advertised a long time before the
tour operator has to pay hotels,
airlines, etc, variations in exchange
rates could have a major impact on
the profit a tour operator makes.
● No surcharge guarantee: prohibits
merchants from charging higher
prices to consumers who pay by card
instead of other means.
● Exchange rate: the rate at which one
currency will be exchanged for
another currency.
TOUR OPERATORS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION:
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Consumer protection: the practice
of safeguarding buyers of goods and
services, and the public, against
unfair practices in the marketplace.
Consumer protection measures are
often established by law.
● Legislation: the process or product of
enrolling, enacting, or promulgating
law by a legislature, parliament, or
analogous governing body.
RETAIL TRAVEL AGENTS:
● Retail Travel Agent: agents who sell
travel services directly to customers
and act on their behalf to book and
purchase holiday packages, travel,
accommodation, and more.
● Principles: any individual or
corporate entity in the travel industry
contracting with consumers to
organise or provide a facility or
service;
● A travel agent acts as the
intermediary between the customer
and the tour operator or the
principals.
● NOTE: travel agents do not act
exactly the same as other retailers.
They do not necessarily ‘buy-in’ stock
in advance to sell on to customers;
● Instead, they tend to react to the
demands of the customers and
contact the suppliers, on the behalf
of the customer, to seek out the
availability of the desired product.
Services/products offered by travel agents;
● Short breaks;
● Cruise holidays;
● Flights, coach, rail, and ferry
bookings;
● Accommodation bookings;
● Travel insurance;
● Theatre bookings;
● Car hire;
● Excursions and entrance tickets to
tourist attractions;
● Foreign exchange;
● Passport and visa applications;
25
 ● Airport parking;
● Information on health requirements.
TRAVEL AGENCY APPOINTMENTS:
● Travel agents may create an
agreement between themselves and
tour operators in order to sell the
packages offered by the tour
operator;
● These agreements set out the policies
and procedures that the travel agent
should follow, in relation to:
● Issuing tickets, voucher and other
travel related documentation;
● Cancellations and refunds;
● Racking of tour operator’s brochures;
● Accounting for the payment of
deposits and balances.
OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF
TRAVEL AGENTS:
● Miniples: travel agencies with a small
number, (between 5-50 branches), of
outlets in one geographical area.
● Multiples: companies which operate a
large number of branches under a
single brand name.
TRAVEL AGENTS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION:
● Consumer protection: the practice
of safeguarding buyers of goods and
services, and the public, against
unfair practices in the marketplace.
Consumer protection measures are
often established by law.
● Legislation: the process or product of
enrolling, enacting, or promulgating
law by a legislature, parliament, or
analogous governing body.
SUPPORT FACILITIES FOR TRAVEL AND
TOURISM:
● Infrastructure: the basic physical and
organisational structures and
facilities needed for the operation of
a society or enterprise;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● This includes basic facilities such as,
> services and installations;
> utilities, (power supplies, water,
sewage etc);
> roads;
> telecommunications;
> education;
> and health facilities.
TYPE AND RANGE OF ACCOMMODATION
AVAILABLE:
● Accommodation: the provision, for a
fee, of sheltered overnight
accommodation in appropriately
equipped rooms, including at least a
bed, offered as a main service to
tourists, travellers and lodgers.
● Serviced accommodation: members
of staff are present on the premises
to provide various services, such as
cleaning, meals, and room service,
these services are included in the
price charged.
● Self-catering: the action of
holidaying or staying in
accommodation with facilities to cook
one's own meals.
● Hotel: an establishment providing
accommodation, meals, and other
services for travellers and tourists;
● Services offered by hotels:
Catering facilities
Leisure facilities
Car rental
Restaurants
Coffee lounges
Bars
● Guesthouse: a small owner-managed
establishment offering serviced
accommodation
● Services offered by guesthouses:
Daily room-cleaning
24 hour security
26

Secure parking
24 hour reception
● Hostel: an establishment which
provides inexpensive food and lodging
for a specific group of people, such as
students, workers, or travellers.
● Hostels can also offer self-catering or
serviced facilities;
● Services offered by hostels:
Shared kitchen
Basic safety
Hostel Bar
● Camping site: a place used for
overnight stay in an outdoor area.
● Economies of Scale: the reduction in
average costs as a result of increasing
the scale of operations.
● Economies of Operations: means
projects that result in a reduction of
annual operating costs or capital
savings.
● Occupancy rate: the ratio of rented
or used space to the total amount of
available space.
● Grading Scheme: 1-5 stars: the more
the stars, the higher the quality and
the greater the range of facilities and
level of services provided.
FACILITIES PROVIDED FOR
BUSINESS/LEISURE TOURISTS:
● Facilities for Business Tourists:
> Conference rooms;
> Meeting facilities..
● Facilities for Leisure Tourists:
> Spa clubs;
> Jacuzzi;
> and other leisure facilities.
LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT PROVISION:
● Rapid transit systems: system of
railways, usually electric, that is used
for local transit in a metropolitan
area.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Air Transport: carries the goods and
passengers through airways by using
different aircraft;
● International flights: a form of
commercial flight within civil aviation
where the departure and the arrival
take place in different countries.
● Domestic flight: a form of
commercial flight within civil aviation
where the departure and the arrival
take place in the same country.
● Scheduled service: a regular service
between two destinations operated
according to a published timetable,
available for use by any member of
the public.
● Chartered service: a group of people
who have contracted the use of a
vehicle for a certain amount of time,
with a detailed itinerary, at a fixed
rate.
● Hub: occurs where a network of
airline routes pass through a major
airport with many connecting services
to and from the outlying airports.
● Gateway: a name given to any
destination or main point of access to
a country or region because of its
location and its transport links.
OPERATING ECONOMICS OF AIR
TRANSPORT:
● Expenses of airlines due to increase
of demand:
> Aircraft insurance premiums;
> Maintenance costs;
> Landing fees;
> Advertising and promotion costs;
> Air navigation service charges;
> Food and beverage supplier costs;
> Travel agency commission and
ticketing costs;
> Increase cost of crude oil.
● The airline industry is linked closely
with economic development, and the
economic impact of air transport is
considerable.
27

REGULATION AND DEREGULATION:
● Regulation: the term used to
describe the measures and controls
that exist over industry practices.
● It is believed that regulation offers a
greater level of consumer protection,
with an independent authority
ensuring that the industry does not
come under a monopoly;
● Monopoly: a market where a single
seller serves a large number of buyers
in the market due to no close
substitution and restrictions in the
entry and exit from the market.
Disadvantages of Regulation:
It creates a huge government
bureaucracy that stifles growth
It can create huge monopolies that
cause consumers to pay more
It reduces innovation by
over-regulating
● Deregulation: the term used to
describe the situation in which
organisations within a given industry
or market, such as air travel, become
‘self-regulating’; i.e. airlines assume
responsibility for the routes they
offer and the prices they charge.
● Airline alliances: an agreement
formed between several airlines to
establish cooperation in the global
aviation industry.
● IATA (International Air Transport
Association): has priorities such as
improving the safety and security of
airline passengers and crew,
involvement in air-related
environmental projects, including
fighting a global climate-related tax
on passengers, carbon and fuel.
SEA TRANSPORT:
● Sea transport: is the transport of
people or goods via waterways.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● NOTE: remember to learn main ports
and international passenger ferry
routes, such as Case Study ⅚ in unit 4!
MAJOR TYPES OF SEA TRANSPORT FOR
TOURISM:
● Ferry services: a boat that transports
passengers and sometimes also
vehicles, usually across rivers or short
stretches of sea;
● Cruise ships: large passenger ships
used mainly for vacationing.
● Unlike ocean liners, which are used
for transport, cruise ships typically
embark on round-trip voyages to
various ports-of-call, where
passengers may go on tours known as
"shore excursions";
● The majority of ferry and cruise
companies operate within the private
sector, and there is government and
public sector involvement in the
passenger shipping industry.
RAIL AND ROAD TRANSPORT:
● Car travel: a trip or voyage made by
automobile.
● Advantages and Disadvantages of Car
Travel:
Advantage: Disadvantage:
More flexible Car travel may
and convenient become
exhausting and
tiring
Promotes Costly
privacy
It is easier to Sudden car
explore places issues can arise
and destinations and cause
problems
● Fly-drive package: where a traveller
flies into a destination, picks up a car
and drives around the area/region
staying at different places along the
way.
● Coach travel: a bus used for
longer-distance service.
28
 ● Advantages and Disadvantages of Coach ● Marketing does this by:
Travel: > building brands;
Advantage: Disadvantage: > nurturing innovation;
> developing relationships;
Beautiful Overcrowded > good customer service;
scenery
> good communicating benefits;
Reduces The coach may > positive returns on investment;
environmental be dirty > satisfies shareholders;
damage > contributes to positive behavioural
change;
Comfortable Tourists are
and fuss-free bound to the > contributes to sustainable business.
travel timetable of the ● Promotion: any form of
tour communication or activity carried out
● Rail travel: a means of transport that specifically to call attention to the
transfers passengers and goods on products and services of a particular
wheeled vehicles running on rails, organisation.
which are located on tracks.
● Advantages and Disadvantages of IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING AND
Rail Travel: PROMOTION:
Advantage: Disadvantage:
● Sales/Usage/Profitability:
Comfortable Lack of Marketing is important to increase
flexibility
the number of sales, [in the private
Reduces Monopoly sector] with a view to increasing
environmental organisational profitability; or to
damage increase the usage patterns of a
facility, [in the public sector] with a
Beautiful Huge capital
scenery outlay view to maintaining the operating
efficiency of the facility;
● Rail transport is an important
● A profit seeking organisation uses
contributor to the economic
marketing to boost the value and the
development of tourism destinations;
● Investment in road and railway volume of its sales.
infrastructure is publicly funded by ● A non-profit seeking organisation uses
governments and these networks are marketing to increase users in order
often the first to be developed in to continue the businessś operation in
tourist receiving countries. the future.
● Profit-seeking organisation:
organisations attempting to make
UNIT 5 profit or financial gains;

● Non-seeking organisation: one that

ROLE AND FUNCTION OF MARKETING
is not driven by profit but by
AND PROMOTION:
dedication to a given cause that is
the target of all income beyond what
● Marketing: marketing is the strategic
it takes to run the organisation.
business function that creates value
● Competitive advantage: marketing
by stimulating, facilitating, and
plays an important role, therefore, in
fulfilling customer demand

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 29

 helping organisations or destinations ● Stage 4: Analyse the data: once all
to attract more customers than their the data has been collected, this will
rivals, in order to survive in this need to be collated and interpreted.
competitive business environment. ● Stage 5: Report the results: overall
● Positive organisational and product findings from the research will be
image: marketing is essential in presented, drawing conclusions
creating an association of a certain against the original objectives.
product or service in the customer's
mind; PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH:
● A product or service with a positive
image will gain more customers than ● Primary market research: type of
products and services which are less research that requires organisations
well perceived. to go out into the market to find out
● Customer satisfaction: customer about customers' experiences and
satisfaction is gained by offering expectations.
products and services which meet the ● This is also known as 'field research';
needs and wants of the customers; ● Advantages and disadvantages of
Primary Market Research:
● Thus, marketing plays an important
function in helping to create
customer satisfaction, by allowing a Advantages: Disadvantages
customer to gauge whether the
Up to date Time-consuming
product will offer them what they information,
want. creating a
reduction of
MARKETING AND PROMOTION mistakes
TECHNIQUES: Person of the High cost
organisation will
● Market research: the planned be able to take
process of collecting, recording, ownership of
analysing and evaluating data about the data
customers and the market itself. Addresses There are
specific numerous
The market research process: research issues resources
required
● Stage 1: Set the objectives: this
stage sets the purpose for conducting
the research and is often posed as a
statement, which needs to be proved ● Self-completion questionnaires: a
or disproved. series of open-ended, closed, or
● Stage 2: Design the research: a multiple choice questions which is
detailed plan of action is drawn up, given directly to a [potential]
identifying the timescale and customer.
resources required for the research as ● Advantages and Disadvantages of
well as deciding the research Self-completion questionnaires:

methods that will be used.

● Stage 3: Data collection: this is the Advantages: Disadvantages:
stage where the previous range of
Cost effective Respondents may
data from stage one and two are put have questions
into action. that might not be

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 30

 facility, asking direct questions of a
answered
visitor.
Time saving Might contain bias ● Advantages and Disadvantages:

Greater Feedback may be

anonymity for inaccurate or Advantages: Disadvantages:
those taking the incorrect
questionnaire Ability to find Highly
the right time-consuming
● Telephone and internet surveys: candidate
customers are contacted either by Enables detailed Risk of personal
telephone or by email or are assessment bias
randomly targeted when visiting a
website on the Internet and asked Great source of Less anonymity
information for respondents
questions relating to travel and
tourism products and services.
● Advantages and Disadvantages of ● Postal surveys: surveys which are
Telephone Surveys: self-administered, paper-based,
standardised surveys in which the
questionnaires are sent by post.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
● Advantages and Disadvantages of
Cost effective Less control Postal Surveys:
over feedback
and answers
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Time saving Behaviour and
body language Respondents Low response
cannot be can share their rate
observed thoughts and
opinions from
the comfort of
● Advantages and Disadvantages of their homes
Internet Surveys:
Tend to be May not be
cheap representative
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Can use larger Cannot control
Quick and Increase of
samples who completed
efficient errors
the
questionnaire
Cost effective Questions can
be left
unanswered and
feedback may
be incorrect ● Focus groups: a moment where a
number of customers are led by a
● Exit surveys: carried out as a visitor member of staff to discuss their views
leaves an attraction in which opinions of a certain product or service.
about the overall visitor experience ● Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus
whilst at a particular facility are Groups:
sought, which can be done through a
face-to-face interview. Advantages: Disadvantages:
● Face-to-face interview: an interview
that is led by a member of staff at a Time effective Might contain
bias

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 31

 ● Quantitative data: tends to be
Uncover ideas Not
and issues that cost-effective numeric or statistical by nature - it
initially may not allows patterns and trends in the
have been market to be displayed visually in
considered chart or graph forms
before
● NOTE: Qualitative data is more
difficult to represent graphically
SECONDARY MARKET RESEARCH:
SWOT and PEST ANALYSIS:
● Secondary market research: a type
of research that has already been ● Situation analysis: situation analysis
compiled, gathered, organised and refers to a collection of methods that
published by others, this can also be managers use to analyse an
called 'desk research' organisation's internal and external
● Advantages and Disadvantages of environment to understand the
secondary market research: organisation's capabilities, customers,
and business environment.
Advantages: Disadvantages: ● Internal influences: internal
influences are influences that a
Cost-effective Information may
business has some control over, such
be dated and
can create as;
mistakes > product;
> location;
Time saving Risk of bias
> management;
Helpful in Quality of data > business culture.
research may be bad ● External influences: the factors that
collection are out of the control of a business,
because it such as;
provides
support for data > Political;
found previously > Economic;
> Social;
● Internal data: data from the > Technicological.
organisation's own sales records or a ● SWOT Analysis: a strategic planning
customer database detailing how and strategic management technique
often a customer uses a particular used to help a person or organisation
facility identify Strengths, Weaknesses,
● External data: which includes Opportunities, and Threats related to
government-produced data or trade business competition or project
reports - most of which can be planning. It is sometimes called
assessed through memberships situational assessment or situational
accounts via the Internet analysis.
● NOTE: Secondary market research ● S - Strengths
can also be referred to as Desk W - Weaknesses
research O - Opportunities
● Qualitative data: refers to the
T - Threats
information collected about
● Strengths and Weaknesses:
customers' opinions and attitudes
These elements are internal factors
towards products and services

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 32

 that the organisation itself can
control.
● Opportunities and Threats:
these elements are external factors
that the organisation can not control;
● If the results of an analysis shows
that the organisation has many
weaknesses and threats, then it is
unlikely that an organisation will
choose to expand the range of
products and services it offers;
● If the analysis shows that the
organisation has many strengths and
opportunities, it will develop further.
● PEST Analysis: analysis that describes
a framework of macro-environmental
factors used in the environmental
scanning component of strategic
management;
● P: Political
E: Economic
S: Social
T: Technological
● Political:
Organisations within the travel and
tourism industry are regulated by the
government, through legislation
the construction of airports with high
carrying capacities and hotels with
high numbers of bed spaces all
contribute to positive technological
influences on tourism provision;
● Destinations with under-developed
infrastructure face the loss of
competitive advantage.
● Marketing mix: getting the right
product to the right people at the
right price at the right place, using
the right promotional methods' [the
four P's of marketing].
● Four P’s of Marketing: a foundation
model for businesses, historically
centred around product, price, place,
and promotion.
MARKETING AND SEGMENTATION:
● Marketing segmentation: a
marketing strategy in which select
groups of consumers are identified so
that certain products or product lines
can be presented to them in a way
that appeals to their interests.
● Different marketing segments:

and/or controlled by other regulatory

bodies, in order to protect the Forms of Market Customers
customers, suppliers and the Segmentation: ‘classified’ by
these typical
environment.
characteristics:
● Civil unrest, acts of international
terrorism also exert political Geographic by locality, area,
influence within this industry. segment region, etc.
including
● Economic:
domestic vs
foreign exchange rates, periods of overseas visitors
recession and the global economy all
play important roles in exerting Demographic by age, gender,
positive or negative influences on segment ethnicity, levels of
disposable income
tourism. etc
● Social:
threat of pandemics, [such as H5N1 Life-style segment by socio-economic
Avian Influenza, SARS, and H1N1 (psychographic) factors such as
level of education
Swine Flu], increase in crime rates in
or profession, as
certain destinations, and local well as interests
attitudes toward tourists can cause and attitudes
tourists to cancel holiday plans.
● Technological:
infrastructure development, including

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 33

 DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTS TO CATER ● Many tour operators specialise in
FOR THE NEEDS/EXPECTATIONS: niche markets, offering unusual
transport options [mentioned below]
● Product types and their relationship: to appeal to different customers;
Services they offer:
TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP WITH > motorcycle tours;
PRODUCT: DIFFERENT MARKET > luxury rail holidays;
SEGMENTS: > houseboat experiences;
> Hot air ballooning.
Package families; club 18-30;
Holidays groups - education; ● Accommodation and catering: the
special interests, offering of furnished rooms or other
luxury/budget etc accommodation for customers in need
of temporary accommodation on a
Transport age; specific needs -
mobility; families; type professional basis.
of customer - business or ● The features, characteristics and
leisure; luxury/budget amenities offered by each type of
accommodation will appeal to a
Accommodatio families; singles; groups;
variety of different types of
n and Catering types of customer -
business or leisure; customer;
different ages/gender; Services they offer:
specific needs; > hotels;
luxury/budget
> campsites;
Tourist families; groups; > island resorts;
attractions ages/genders; specific > apartments.
needs; special interest; ● Tourist attractions: each year an
free entrance enormous number of tourist
Tourist families; singles; groups; attractions are offered up for tourists
information types of customer - to visit during their recreational time
services business or leisure; within a destination.
specific needs; special Types of tourist attractions:
interest
> theme parks;
> museums;
● Package Holidays: consists of
> zoos;
transport and accommodation
> tropical island resorts.
advertised and sold together by a
● Natural attractions: named features
tour operator.
which appeal to tourists because of
● Tour operators try to cater
the nature of the landform or the
specifically for the needs and
beauty of the landscape in which the
expectations of different types of
attraction is set.
customers by offering a variety of
● Historic attractions: an official
different package holidays.
location where pieces of political,
Services they offer:
military, cultural, or social history
> car rental;
have been preserved due to their
> activities and excursions;
cultural heritage value.
> tours;
● Cultural attractions: a type of
> travel insurance.
tourism activity in which the visitor's
● Transport: each tourist has to move
essential motivation is to learn,
from place to place and needs
discover, experience and consume the
transportation for their movement.
tangible and intangible cultural

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 34

 attractions/products in a tourism
destination.
● Man Made attractions: attractions
that were made for tourism purposes
and attractions that were made for
other purposes but have since been
used for tourism.
● Tourist information services: a
physical location that provides tourist
information to visitors - most
countries offer tourism information
service, either through an online
research facility and/or the provision
of a Tourism Information Centre in
the main destinations within the
country.
Tourism information methods:
> brochures;
> travel guides;
> travel agents;
> guidebooks.
DIFFERENT MARKET SEGMENTS [VISITOR
TYPES]:
● FAMILY:
the family market, the tourists who
visit places with their first and
extended families, or families of
relatives - one person, generally the
head of the tourist family, is the
decision maker.
Special offers:
> free places for children;
> family-room accommodation;
> children’s menus, etc.
● SINGLES:
These are tourists who travel alone
and are independent - this market
segment isn't publicised much, but it
plays an important role within
accommodation providers since they
have higher earnings by offering
single rooms at a supplemented
price.
● NOTE: some tour operators advertise
additional security measures for
female travellers to ensure safety.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● GROUPS:
a group tour consists of a group of
people who want to have a travel
experience with others with a
common interest;
● This market segment is an important
factor for transport providers and for
tourist attractions, both of which
commonly offer discounted prices for
groups of tourists.
TYPES OF CUSTOMERS:
● Different ages/genders: this segment
is easily subdivided to make the
distinction between the probable
needs and expectations of more
mature customers in the so-called
'grey market', compared with the
needs and expectations of the more
youthful student market.
● Elderly people market: older people
tend to select destinations in quieter
locations, away from the hustle and
bustle found in larger resorts.
● The 18-30 market: tend to choose
destinations with a more lively and
vibrant nightlife.
● Specific needs: travel and tourism
providers cater for the specific needs
of any customers with a disability, a
religious /spiritual need or even
something as commonplace as a
dietary need arising from
vegetarianism.
● Special interests: this market
segment acts as a 'catch-all' for other
sub-divisions of the market that is
difficult to categorise.
● Special interest customers can
include:
> eco-tourists;
> responsible travellers;
> cultural tourists;
> sports tourists;
> medical tourists.
● Quality/Economy/Value for money:
travel and tourism customers are
35
 often described as being price
sensitive;
● Hence why tour operators, transport
and accommodation providers cater
for the needs and expectations for
this category of tourists, ensuring
there is a wide choice of low cost
services.
Low cost services include:
> low cost flights;
> discounted rail passes.
THE USE OF THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE:
● Product Life Cycle: the succession of
strategies by business management as
a product goes through its life-cycle;
● The conditions in which a product is
sold changes over time and must be
managed as it moves through its
succession of stages.
● Advantages and disadvantages of the
Product life cycle:

MARKETING MIX: PRODUCT: Advantages: Disadvantages:

● Product: a product is anything that Improves a Unpredictable

company's
can be offered to a market that might
competitive
satisfy a need. It includes physical advantage
objects and services.
● Tourism product: the complete Increases Unreliable
experience from the time the tourist profitability
leaves home, to the time they return Easy sales Incorrect data
to it. forecasting gathering (this
happens if the
PRODUCTS IDENTIFIED AND EXPLAINED: company uses
external sources)
● Intangible: are goods sold by a
company that are not physical in FOUR STAGES IN THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE:
nature.
● Heterogenous: services are not ● INTRODUCTION - STAGE 1:
standardised; every experience is 1. The product is launched into the
individual - means that the product is market;
not always the same. 2. Period of intense marketing to
● Homogenous: when they are perfect raise awareness and to attract
substitutes and buyers perceive no customer loyalty;
actual or real differences between 3. Limited volume of sales and high
the products offered by different cost of promotion;
firms. 4. During this stage, there is no
● Inseparable: it is not possible to competition.
separate the service out of the ● GROWTH - STAGE 2:
experience; 1. Demand rising steadily;
● Example, being waited upon is an 2. Competitors work on substitute
integral part of the service element products;
of a meal. 3. Sales volume increasing and levels
● Incapable of being stored: services of profitability increases;
are perishable and cannot be 4. This stage is critical to the success
transferred for use at a later date. of the product.
● MATURITY - STAGE 3:
1. Sales curve peaks within this stage
and the product continues to make a

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 36

 profit;
2. Competition is strong and
marketing is needed to extend the
productś appeal.
DECLINE - STAGE 4:
1. Number of sales falls sharply and
the organisation needs to decide
whether to discard the product or
re-launch it;
2. This is a costly stage for the
organisation.
CREATION OF BRAND IMAGE:
● Brand Image: an analysis on how a
brand is currently perceived in the
market, proceeds to planning how the
brand should be perceived if it is to
achieve its objectives and continues
with ensuring that the brand is
perceived as planned and secures its
objectives.
travel and tourism organisations can create
a brand image by:
● Naming the organisation;
this name may become its brand
identity.
● Their USP [Unique Selling Point];
This is associated with the brand
image of an organisation that creates
the image through actual product
features.
● Packaging; this is rather uncommon
in the travel and tourism industry,
although hotel chains develop their
own packaging for bathroom
products, etc.
● Price: a common method to create a
brand image - this is done by the
association of low cost airlines, etc.
● Promotion: creates brand image by
advertising on billboards/tv which
helps customers remember specific
brand identities.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Target market segment: some
organisations use this method to
promote special holidays to certain
customers which is identified by
target market segmentation.
● Product features: a product's traits
or attributes that deliver value to
end-users and differentiate a product
in the market.
● Brand identity: a corporate identity
or corporate image is the manner in
which a corporation, firm or business
enterprise presents itself to the
public.
DEVELOPMENT OF A PRODUCT/SERVICE
MIX & A PRODUCT PORTFOLIO:
● One of the main aims of marketing
and promotion is to raise awareness
of a company's specific product range
and try to attract new customers to
an organisation;
Manufacturer companies do this by:
● Product range: refers to variations of
a single product that are made in
order to create similar yet distinctly
different products.
● Each version of the product is
designed to attract a different
market segment with the intention of
maximising sales and building the
customer base.
● Service range: provides a service at
the customer's location (they come to
you) - serves a wide area beyond the
service provider's immediate location.
● Product portfolio: the collection of
all the products or services offered by
a company;
● There is a time where organisations
consider developing its
products/service mix - the majority
of changes to product and service
ranges in the travel and tourism
industry take the form of
37
 modification being made to an
existing product or service offering.
Reasons why organisations decide to
develop a product/service mix:
● To gain recognition as innovator in
the market;
● To develop/stimulate the market in a
specific destination;
● To extend operations into new
territories;
● To defend market share when
challenged by competitors;
● To imitate the success of a more
successful competitor;
● To keep abreast of technological
advances;
● To reposition themselves in the
market.
MARKETING MIX: PRICE:
● Price: price is the term used to
describe how much a customer pays
to receive the product or service
upon purchase.
● Market penetration: a measure of
how much a product or service is
being used by customers compared to
the total estimated market for that
product or service;
● This method is used sed to gain entry
into the market and to attract market
share;
● Low prices are set initially to entice
customers to 'try' the product; this is
also known as 'trial-pricing';
● The aim is to win a large customer
base and to generate revenue quickly
from a high sales volume;
● Once the place in the market has
been established, organisations tend
to opt for a different pricing policy -
one which allows the price to
increase without losing customer
loyalty.
● Market skimming: a pricing approach
in which the producer sets a high
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
introductory price to attract buyers
with a strong desire for the product
and the resources to buy it, and then
gradually reduces the price to attract
the next and subsequent layers of the
market;
● Market skimming is used when the
tourism product is relatively new to
the market and the level of
competition is low;
● It allows the provider to charge a high
price, attracting customers who are
comfortable paying a relatively high
price;
● Once the market has adopted this
product, it is described as having
been 'skimmed';
● Competitors enter the market with a
number of substitute products; thus,
forcing the price down and making
the product more affordable for a
wider range of customers.
● Discount pricing: a range of
strategies where the price of a
product or service is decreased in the
interest of generating interest,
unloading excess inventory, or
boosting sales.
● Variable pricing: a system for
altering the price of a product or
service based on the current levels of
supply and demand.
● Loss leader pricing: a pricing
strategy where a product is sold at a
price below its market cost to
stimulate other sales of more
profitable goods or services.
● Special offers: a product that is
being sold for less than its usual price
or the act of selling something for
less than the usual price.
● The going rate/competitive pricing:
where there is a high degree of
similarity between products offered
by different organisation, the price
may be determined by the going rate
● this is also known as
competitor-based pricing; tour
38
 operators sometimes offer to 'price
match' their competitors
● The going rate: the average or usual
price that is charged for something
● Prestige pricing:
also known as premium pricing,
where products have an exclusive
appeal or are of an exceptional
quality; high prices are often set
based on the assumption that people
will associate high prices with high
quality.
● Price bundling:
when companies package several of
their products or services together as
a single combined unit, often for a
lower price than they would charge
customers to buy each item
separately.
FACTORS THAT DETERMINE PRICING
POLICIES:
● Fixed costs: remain the same
regardless of production output.
● Variable costs: change based on the
amount of output produced. Variable
costs may include labour,
commissions, and raw materials.
● Profitability: a measure of an
organisation's profit relative to its
expenses.
● A profit seeking organisation,
operating in the private sector will
take a different approach in
determining price compared with
those organisations financed through
public sources;
● Public sector organisations are driven
by the need to break even, so tend to
adopt a more relaxed approach in
setting a price for their products and
services.
● Subsidies: a form of financial aid or
support extended to an economic
sector generally with the aim of
promoting economic and social policy.
● Taxation: a compulsory financial
charge or some other type of levy
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
imposed on a taxpayer by a
governmental organisation in order to
fund government spending and
various public expenditures.
● Surcharges: an extra payment of
money in addition to the usual
payment for something.
● Competitors: if no substitute
products are available, a higher price
can be set. Competitors in the market
may then adopt the ´going rate’
policy.
● Price making: the innovator in the
market sets the price, with other
providers who imitate the initial
product becoming price takers.
● Customers’ expectations/likely
number of customers: customer
perception exerts one of the greatest
influences on price;
● A customer has to have confidence
that the product or service presents
value for money, otherwise the
customer will not buy.
● Seasonality: reflects the variations in
tourist arrivals due to natural
attractions, institutional systems,
economic development, and business
cycles.
● Economic factors: a factor that can
affect and influence an individuals'
financial status.
MARKETING MIX: PLACE:
● Place: refers to where your product
or service will be sold;
● For tangible products, this will
include physical locations such as
your own store, or a retailer where
your product will be resold.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE
SELECTION OF A LOCATION:
● Locational factors: location factors
consider capital availability,
(investment capital, venture capital,
exchange rates), subsidies and
39
 incentives, regulations, taxation, and
available technology.
● Costs: is the value of money that has
been used up to produce something
or deliver a service, and hence is not
available for use anymore;
● Organisations need to be aware that
prime locations cost money, and as
areas become more developed and
the land becomes less available, the
more costly it will become.
● Availability of suitable premises:
International organisations plan with
precision the global distribution of
their facilities using locational
analysis to determine the best sites
for their premises.
● Locational analysis: a technique for
discovering, assessing and specifying
the optimal placement of an
organisation's people, information,
activities, and materials.
● Character of area: Organisations
consider the standards of the area, if
it has political instability, high crime
rates, and social deprivation the
chance of it being a good tourist
destination will be small, hence why
they consider the standards of living
and general living costs in the areas
they choose.
● Local and transient population: it is
important to easily access the local
population in terms of workforce and
a potential customer base + a
transient population is of importance
to use the facilities offered.
● Transient population: means
individuals in a location in which they
do not normally reside.
● Adjacent facilities: providers
consider what else there is in close
proximity to a selected site for
tourism development, such as cafes,
restaurants, and hotels, all of these
are beneficial.
● Access/transport links: Access is
important to support the high
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
volumes of visitors, and a sufficient
carrying capacity.
● Availability of staff: the need of
employees to support the business is
required;
● Employees who are skilled are often
employed, but at times when there
are not enough skilled people,
organisations call in people from
other countries to fill in the required
field - this can cause leakage.
RANGE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
FOR TRAVEL AND TOURISM
PRODUCTS/SERVICES:
● Direct selling: the process whereby
customers are able to obtain products
and services they require straight
from the provider.
● Wholesalers: is the sale of goods or
merchandise, in bulk, to retailers; to
industrial, commercial, institutional
or other professional business users;
or to other wholesalers and related
subordinated services.
● Retailers: A retailer purchases goods
in large quantities from
manufacturers, directly or through a
wholesaler, and then sells in smaller
quantities to consumers for a profit.
● Internet: a form of electronic
commerce which allows consumers to
directly buy goods or services from a
seller over the Internet using a web
browser or a mobile app.
● Global distribution systems: a
computerised network system owned
or operated by a company that
enables transactions between travel
industry service providers, mainly
airlines, hotels, car rental companies,
and travel agencies.
MARKETING MIX: PROMOTION:
40
 ● Promotion: refers to any type of
marketing communication used to
inform target audiences of the
relative merits of a product, service,
brand or issue, most of the time
persuasive in nature.
● Four purposes of Promotion:
1. To raise and maintain customer
awareness of products and services;
2. To inform customers of the product´s
features;
3. To stimulate demand;
4. To encourage sales.
MAIN METHODS OF PROMOTION:
● Advertising: a marketing
communication that employs an
openly sponsored, non-personal
message to promote or sell a product,
service or idea;
● Advertising includes broadcast media,
print media, and display media.
● Publicity: is the public visibility or
awareness for any product, service,
person or organisation;
● It may also refer to the movement of
information from its source to the
general public.
● Point of sale displays: a specialised
form of sales promotion that is found
near, on, or next to a checkout
counter. They are intended to draw
the customers' attention to products.
● Public relations: is the practice of
managing and disseminating
information from an individual or an
organisation to the public in order to
affect their public perception.
● Direct marketing: a form of
communicating an offer, where
organisations communicate directly
to a preselected customer and supply
a method for a direct response;
● Direct marketing is used to target
specific customers and market
segments.
● Sales promotions: one of the
elements of the promotional mix;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● It includes coupons/vouchers,
competitions, special offers, and
loyalty incentives.
● Personal selling: occurs when a sales
representative meets with a potential
client for the purpose of transacting a
sale.
● Videos and the internet: allows
organisations to demonstrate their
products and services through video
clips on their own websites.
● Electronic media: the use of
technology and the internet to
communicate with customers or other
providers.
● Trade promotions: “trade” refers to
the relationship between
manufacturers and retailers. Trade
Promotion refers to marketing
activities that are executed in retail
between these two partners.
FACTORS THAT ARE CONSIDERED WHEN
PRODUCING EFFECTIVE PROMOTIONAL
MATERIALS:
● Costs:
Organisations must choose the most
cost-effective promotional method to
fit into their budget.
● Stages of the promotional campaign:
1. Choosing an audience;
2. Establishing the message;
3. Selecting the appropriate media;
4. Setting the timing of the
campaign;
5. Agreeing the advertising budgets;
6. Measuring the results.
● Target market segments: splitting
potential customers into meaningful
groups based on their characteristics,
wants, and behaviours.
● Timing: A campaign´s success is
determined by an appropriate
timescale in which to run the
promotional campaign.
● Brand image: An organizationś brand
is important to allow customers to
identify it.
41
 ● AIDA principle: Once a piece of
promotional material has been
created, it is evaluated to see how
successfully it conveys the messages
it has been designed to communicate,
the main method of evaluation is the
AIDA principle.
● AIDA:
- Attention
Use of bold fonts and headlines to
grab readers attention.
- Interest
Using photographs and illustrations to
create interest in the product, and
clear pricing information.
- Desire
Using emotive language to make
customers want to be there or use
the product.
- Action
Providing contact details, such as
emails, phone numbers, and website
details so that customers can take
action to access the product.
UNIT 6
OPERATION OF TOURISM BOARDS AND
TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRES:
tourist information centres and tourist
boards are responsible for:
● Tourism planning and policy;
● Promoting the tourism industry;
● Carry out promotional activities
across the globe;
● Development of the visitor economy;
● Marketing the country to domestic
and overseas markets;
● Improve the tourism product;
● Marketing and promotion;
● Responsible for tourist information
centres within their regions.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
OPERATION OF TOURISM AUTHORITIES
AND VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRES:
● Scale of operation: the size of
business operations measured by the
business's maximum output.
● Organizational structure: how the
various organisations involved in
visitor services work together or it
can be presented as an organogram.
● Organogram: a chart which shows
hierarchical structure of how tourism
and visitor services are managed.
● Sources of funding: provision of
visitor services, , including tourist
information services, in most
countries are publicly funded through
the equivalent of the ministries of
tourism;
● Revenue may also be raised through
the advertisement of privately owned
tourist facilities and attractions;
● They can do this by
- national tourist board websites;
- print materials.
● Channels of communication: refers
to how information is passed between
various departments, organisations,
and customers;
● Communication is sharing information
for a variety of purposes including
informing, persuading, influencing,
and motivating.
● Formal communication: organized
and managed information that is
shared with relevant individuals in
order to maintain a coordinated
approach within an organization;
● Typically, formal communication
flows downwards from executives to
directors to managers to staff
regarding company direction and
instructions.
● Informal communication: this form
of communication is not planned, and
is not based on the positions of
individuals in the organization,
instead it is casual and relaxed.
42
 ● Accountability: occurs when a person
or position has to ensure that tasks
are completed on time and in a
manner which meets all expectations
for it.
● Responsibility: is attributed to the
person or position required to
complete a specific task, each task is
required to have a responsible person
or position assigned to it;
● Lines of responsibility usually go
downwards in the hierarchical
structure, whilst lines of
accountability go upwards.
ROLE AND FUNCTION OF TOURIST
BOARDS AND TOURIST INFORMATION
CENTRES:
● Tourist boards and tourist information
centres play similar interconnected
roles in providing a range of visitor
services to both their travel and
tourism trade customers and to
tourists themselves;
● Role of Tourist boards:
Play a largely administrative role,
gathering information and working at
a strategic level.
● Role of Tourist information centres:
Play a large role of being the visible
face of visitor service provision, and
are located at key points in tourism
destinations where there is likely to
be a high volume of tourists.
● The role of Tourist Boards in
Marketing and Promotion: work in
close partnership with the travel
trade to develop a long term tourism
marketing strategy, this involves;
● Creating a strong destination brand;
● Planning and running promotional
campaigns in the press and on TV, as
well as targeting overseas embassies
and tourism promotion partners;
● Designing and creating successful
websites to inspire and entice
customers to visit.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● The role of Tourist information
centres in Marketing and Promotion:
the centres act as an information
point, with large collections of
brochures, leaflets, etc from local,
regional, and national visitor services
organisations.
● They do the following:
● Use display racks to promote
attractions, accommodation, and
catering provision;
● Promotion of leisure and recreational
offerings in a given locality;
● Supporting promotional campaigns
from out of the area;
● Play a role in promoting and selling
the destination in which they are
based.
● Research: Tourist boards carry out
market research that is strategically
co-ordinated and interlinked in order
to provide their partners within the
tourism sector with meaningful
analysis that can lead to the
facilitation of professional marketing
activities.
● This market research is carried out by
tourist boards and tourist information
centres, if it was carried out by
individual providers in the tourism
industry, it would be expensive and
time-consuming.
● Role of tourist boards as information
services: national tourist boards
collect and collate information about
the range of products and services
available across the country they
represent, they provide the
following:
● Websites that are carefully organised
with information, to help tourists
plan a visit to a specific area;
● They provide publications, both in
print and digital media formats, with
information about specific sectors of
the tourism industry;
● Provide information to their travel
trade partners;
43
 ● Participation in trade fairs offering
sales in literature in an attempt to
increase interest in the products and
services of the tourism industry.
● Role of tourist information centres
as information services: staff are
trained and have excellent product
knowledge so as to be able to answer
questions, and provide directions to a
range of tourist locations.
They also provide:
● A booking service for hotel
accommodation;
● Theatre tickets;
● Excursions;
● Guided tours, etc.
● Advice and consultation: visitor
services staff are able to offer advice
and guidance to visitors in connection
with places to visit, what to do, and
where to stay.
● Visitor services staff need to be able
to put together an informal itinerary
of attractions to see, restaurants to
visit, with personal recommendations
about the best places to shop, etc.
● Quality standards: Tourist boards,
tourism authorities, and other public
sector tourism organisations ensure
that the people working the travel
and tourism industry adhere to the
set quality standards. In terms of;
● Customer services offered to enhance
tourists experience;
● The quality of accommodation and
food customers receive;
● Quality of attractions they visit.
● Inspections: accommodation and
catering provisions are inspected on a
regular basis and graded against strict
pre-set criteria;
● Staff receive relevant and
appropriate customer service training
and have to perform skill-based
assessments to update their
expertise;
● Visitor attractions are inspected
against safety standards;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Animal-based attractions are checked
for the standards of care they
provide;
● Tour guides, excursion operators,
diving instructors, etc, may have to
be licensed in order to practise in
some countries.
● Pre-Arrival: The interaction between
a guest and a hotel before the guest
arrives at the hotel forms the
pre-arrival phase of the guest cycle.
● On arrival: the act of someone or
something that reaches a place.
TOURIST PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:
● Guidebooks and maps: Tourist
information centres will stock a
variety of local guidebooks, travel
brochures, and leaflets. These
information sources are free of
charge, but guidebooks tend to be
chargeable.
● These resources include:
Attractions;
Accommodation and catering
establishments;
Trips and tours in the locality;
Information about destinations
further afield.
● Tourists usually receive a street map,
highlighting the main tourist
attractions, hotels and shopping
malls.
● Souvenirs: Tourist information
centres will incorporate small gift
shops which sell local produce, and
other souvenir items.
● These include:
Postcards;
Small momentos;
Ornaments;
Stationery;
Jewellery, etc.
44
 RANGE OF VISITOR SERVICES:
Information services:
● Websites: important source of
destination information prior to the
tourist’s departure from home to the
destination;
● Websites offer up-to-date, and
interactive information about the
destination and often include virtual
tours which allow the tourist an
opportunity to gain a good
understanding of what is available;
● Tourists can see first-hand, via digital
technology, what they are paying for,
making the tourism product more
tangible.
● Email: queries can be sent via email
to receive relatively speedy responses
from staff members at a tourist
information centre;
● Emails meet the needs of the
customer, and reassures them about
the quality of the customer
experience at the destination.
● Face-to-face: once tourists are at the
destination, any queries and
questions can be solved face-to-face
with the tourist/employee;
● Leaflets, brochures, maps, and
guidebooks will be available for
tourists to take away.
● Touch screen and digital displays:
these may be available to provide
visual information for customers,
even during out of office opening
hours.
Reservation systems:
● Book A Bed Ahead scheme: where
staff determine bed space availability
in other destinations from a
customer’s itinerary;
● Reservations can also be made for
theatre tickets, excursions, a tour
guide, theme park, etc.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
Destination management systems:
● It is important to ensure that
measures are taken to integrate
tourism activity with other social and
environmental activities within the
destination in order to minimise the
negative impacts that tourism can
bring;
● This can be achieved by
implementing destination
management schemes:
● Restriction of tourists: a scheme
often used to control the flow of
visitors in an attraction or destination
by setting a maximum number of
tourists allowed at any given time;
● This system is beneficial for the
protection of heritage sites.
● Traffic management systems: a
scheme to minimize traffic
congestion by introducing
pedestrianization zones, one way
systems, and speed bumps.
● Park and ride scheme: a scheme
used to reduce traffic congestion in
town and city centres;
● Visitors are encouraged to leave their
cars at municipal car parks on the
edge of town or other convenient
places, and there are (usually) no car
parking fees;
● Visitors can then be transported into
the city by bus for a reduced rate
fare.
Guiding services:
● Tourist Guide: escorts groups or
individual visitors around historic
sites, museums, and other attractions
in a destination;
● The guide provides a commentary
using their expertise and local
knowledge to help visitors understand
the cultural or natural heritage of
where they are visiting, (the guide
must also be able to interpret in the
visitor’s own language, if required).
45
 ● Guiding services include:
An accompanied walking tour;
Coach tours;
Boat trips;
Audio tours (where tourists pay to
listen to a pre-recorded
commentary).
Virtual tours, (using computerized
presentation).
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING AND PROMOTION
& WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO TRAVEL AND
TOURISM PROVIDERS:
● Increased sales/usage/profitability:
Tourist boards and tourist information
centres operate predominantly in the
public sector, therefore, they are
concerned with increasing the
number of sales made and also the
usage of the products and services
offered by the travel and tourism
industry;
● It is important to remember that
tourist boards work in close
partnership with providers from the
private sector, whose targets include
profitability.
● Competitive advantage: visitor
services face many competitors in the
market, hence why it is important
that organisations gain a good
understanding of the market in which
they operate in order to increase
their market share;
● Market share: the percentage of the
total revenue or sales in a market.
● Monitoring the business activities of
competitors enables businesses to:
- find new ways of marketing and
promotion for the organization;
- identify how the market is changing;
- destinations swing in and out of
popularity and the market needs to
change rapidly;
● Destinations that can react swiftly to
any shift in customers’ perceptions
will emerge favourably and may be
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
able to gain an advantage over their
rivals.
● Positive organizational and product
image: all organisations wish to
establish a distinctive identity for the
company and their products and
service, this helps create a successful
brand image and allows customers to
hold an association of the
organization;
● For visitor services providers, such
as tourist boards, it is important to
create a corporate image to present
to the market;
● This can be done by presenting
positive characteristics about the
organization’s goals, which can be
achieved through a mission statement
or through public relations activities.
● Customer satisfaction: Tourist
authorities and tourist information
centres use extensive market
research to identify customer wants
and what they expect from their
visit;
● The information gathered by market
research is then used to seek out
market opportunities and to cater to
customers’ specific requirements;
● If customers enjoy their time at a
destination, they will likely re-visit.
MAIN MARKETING RESEARCH TECHNIQUES:
● Primary market research
techniques:
This research method is designed to
collect data directly from the
market, also known as field research.
● Advantages and Disadvantages of Primary
Market Research:
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Data is Time-consuming
up-to-date
Data is reliable Expensive
and accurate
46
 Privacy is Requires more High response Costly
maintained labour rate

High Time consuming

● Self completion questionnaires: accessibility
This method is commonly used by
visitor services providers. Easy data Data may
● Advantages and Disadvantages of Self management contain bias
completion questionnaires:

● Interviews:
Advantages: Disadvantages A personal interview involves a
: researcher talking to individual
visitors to find out about customer
Customers feel Inaccurate
more comfortable information preferences or buying behaviour.
as their responses ● These are carried out at the tourist
will not be instantly information centre or elsewhere, and
judged or most interviews are short and tend to
scrutinised
rely on closed questions.
Affordable Low response ● Advantages and disadvantages of interviews:
rate
Advantages: Disadvantages
Easy to set up May be :
time-consumin
g as people Enables detailed Risk of
can take long assessment personal bias
to finish the
questionnaire Great source of Time
information consuming
● Telephone Surveys: a method that is
Interviewer can Can be costly
used to conduct a short survey, it
explain any
requires cold-calling, contacting an questions that
unknown respondent based on a may be
database of contact details. misunderstood
● Cold-calling: the business practice of
contacting a potential customer or ● Secondary marketing research
client who has not expressed previous techniques:
interest in speaking with a customer ● The use of information that already
service representative or making a exists and is available, also known as
purchase. desk research.
● NOTE: Warm calling is when you call ● Visitor Surveys:
a sales lead who has already Tourism authorities and tourist boards
expressed interest in your product or conduct research regularly, and
service. Unlike a cold call, where you upload this information onto the
have no proof they're interested, internet, this gives other
with a warm call, you do have that organisations the opportunity to
proof of interest. access each other’s data.
● Advantages and disadvantages of Telephone ● Disadvantage: the disadvantage of
Surveys:
visitor surveys is that organisations
can access each other’s data, and can
Advantages: Disadvantages: use that data to gain more
competitive ground.

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 47

 ● The data of companies is not private.
● Local, regional, and national
research:
Tourist boards use their websites to
publicise statistical information about
tourism volumes and values which
becomes accessible by other
organisations for use in their own
research exercises.
● The data provided can consist of
inbound tourism data, length of stay
and average visitor spend, etc.
THE MARKETING MIX:
Components of the Marketing Mix:
Product:
● Product: a product is anything that
can be offered to a market that might
satisfy a need. It includes physical
objects and services;
● Products should be tangible,
homogenous, separable, and storable.
● Services are deemed intangible,
heterogenous, inseparable, and not
capable of being stored.
● Homogenous: a homogeneous
product cannot be differentiated
from similar products by the
consumer;
● Example: An example of a
homogeneous product is bottled
water. Most bottled water is identical
to other bottled water, and the
consumer makes the purchase based
on price alone.
● Heterogenous: viewed by consumers
as having very different qualities
from one another making them less
interchangeable;
● Example: clothing and furniture, etc.
Price:
● Price: denotes the published rate
being charged, in exchange for the
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
provision of a clearly defined product
or service.
PRICING POLICIES:
● Market Penetration: a low price is
set to gain entry into the market, but
prices increase as customers gain
loyalty to the product.
● Market Skimming: setting a high
price for a new product that is unique
or very different from any other
product on the market;
● Once competitors enter the market,
the price is lowered so that more
people can access the product.
● Discount Pricing: if sales are low, the
cost of the products are reduced by a
percentage;
● This makes customers believe they
have picked up a bargain.
● Variable Pricing: different prices are
charged for the same product due to
differences in seasons or in the
targeted market segment.
● Loss leader Pricing: setting the price
of a small number of products at
below cost to attract customers into
the outlet in the hope that they will
buy other products priced to earn
profit.
● Special Offers: used when products
are not selling, these methods
include money off coupons, free gifts,
or a competition that may entice
people to buy the product.
● The Going Rate: the average or usual
price that is charged for something.
Place:
● Place: refers to where your product
or service will be sold. For tangible
products, this will include physical
locations such as your own store, or a
retailer where your product will be
resold.
● Factors that provide suitable
premises for a business:
48
 - Cost of location;
- A prime location in the central
business district is likely to carry a
high rental charge;
- An area of low crime rate;
- A local population centre nearby to
act as both a workforce and a
potential customer base;
- The business should be near transient
populations as these will form the
majority of the customers;
- Adjacent facilities, such as retail
outlets, cafes, etc, should be present
so that the business can benefit from
the passing trade and customers feel
there is a sufficient area to make a
visit;
- Premises should be fully accessible by
public and private transport methods
in order for ease of access.
Promotion:
● Promotion: : refers to any type of
marketing communication used to
inform target audiences of the
relative merits of a product, service,
brand or issue, most of the time
persuasive in nature.
PROMOTIONAL METHODS:
● These methods may be used by
tourist boards and tourist information
centres (TIC’s);
ADVERTISEMENT:
● Digital displays in TIC’s;
● In-flight entertainment systems in
airports;
● In-house channels in hotels;
● Printed in in-flight magazines, travel
trade press.
PUBLICITY:
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Brochures, leaflets, and flyers for
distribution at the TIC’s, in hotel
bedrooms, and lobbies, at the
airport.
POINT OF SALE:
● Postcards by the counter in the TIC’s;
● Tickets for excursions at hotel
reception desks.
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
● Press conferences;
● Familiarisation trips;
● Trade fair attendance;
● Travel trade awards;
● All of these raise the profile of the
tourist board.
DIRECT MARKETING:
● Emails or direct emails from the
tourist board.
SALES PROMOTION:
● Free kids places;
● Discount coupons;
● ‘Passport’ type tickets to a range of
attractions in one locality.
PERSONAL SELLING:
● Selling guided tours face to face;
● Closing the sale.
VIDEOS AND INTERNET:
● Websites;
● Virtual tours;
● Touch screen displays in the TIC’s.
LEISURE TRAVEL SERVICES:
● The leisure market is a term used to
denote tourists who travel
specifically for leisure purposes;
● This includes those on a package
holiday, travelling for sports, religious
or medical reasons, adventure
49
 tourists, eco-tourists, and cultural
tourists.
DEVELOPMENT OF PACKAGES FOR THE
LEISURE MARKET:
● There is a vast amount of products
and services available in the leisure
travel market, such as;
● Weekend breaks;
● City breaks;
● Activity packages;
● Relaxing holidays;
● Summer sun holidays;
● Snow sports packages;
● Budget holidays;
● Luxury holidays, etc.
● This market is highly competitive,
due to it being so big. This means
that tour operators,
airline/accommodation principals,
attraction owners, travel agents,
agents of tourism development, etc.
serve the leisure tourism market by
working consistently to find ‘the next
new package’;
● Once this is discovered, marketing
and promotion will be an essential
element of ensuring it is brought to
the attention of the leisure market.
SUPPORT OF SPECIAL EVENTS,
FESTIVALS, AND ATTRACTIONS:
● Types of entertainment:
Special
Events
Festivals
Attractions
● Leisure travellers plan their vacation
around special events that are
planned or about to happen;
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023
● Tourist boards play an important role
in both planning, preparation, and
staging of events, including marketing
and promoting them to the world.
● Tourist boards and TICs are involved
in the promotion of visitor attractions
too.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
● Events are shown on a tourist boards
website for international access for
tourists to view the planned events;
● This information is uploaded digitally
as this allows details to be updated
regularly and with ease.
BUSINESS TRAVEL SERVICES:
● Business tourism: the provision of
facilities and services to the millions
of delegates who attend meetings,
congresses, exhibitions, business
events, incentive travel, and
corporate hospitality etc. each year;
● Characteristics of Business
Travellers:
> Stay in high quality accommodation
(such as 5 star hotels);
> visit restaurants each evening for a
meal;
> They use private hire transportation
services or taxis;
> They shop for souvenirs;
> And visit popular visitor attractions.
THE CONTRIBUTION THAT TOURIST
BOARDS AND TICS MAKE TOWARDS THE
BUSINESS TRAVEL MARKET:
● Incentive travel: arranged by
businesses for employees, often with
their spouses, as a reward for
achieving sales or other performance
targets.
● Corporate hospitality: refers to any
event for the benefit of an
organisation entertaining clients or
50
 staff, or prospective clients, at the
organisation’s expense;
● Tourist boards can assist with
developing incentive programmes and
suggesting appropriate venues for
corporate hospitality events;
● Tourist board websites show details of
forthcoming conventions, in the aim
to promote the destination to
business travellers;
● The benefits of this are:
> secures additional income
generation in the future;
> Raises the profile, (reputation), of
the destination in the public’s eyes.

NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL

CONFERENCES, TRADE FAIRS, AND
EXHIBITIONS:

● Exhibition centres provide services

such as event management, catering,
security, marketing, advertising,
ticketing, audio visual, graphics, and
the Internet and IT, utility and
technical services.

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 51

   

r/IGCSE Resources   

r/IGCSE Resources repository │ r/IGCSE subreddit │ Official Discord Server 

Subreddit: igcse.reddit.com
Official Discord Server: discord.gg/IGCSE

Acknowledgements and Information:

© UCLES 2020 as the publisher of the Cambridge IGCSE™ Travel and Tourism (0471) syllabus
© r/IGCSE Resources 2023, authored by ItsArtemis
________________________________________________________________________________________
The information on this booklet was generously prepared by alumni who have taken the subject, and
the author(s) have been acknowledged where possible. The website links which may be in this
document should not be understood to be an endorsement of that website or the site/folder’s owners
(or their products/services).
This booklet is meant to be for educational purposes only, and is to remain free of cost for the benefit
of all students.
The moderators of r/IGCSE will be pleased to make amendments at the earliest possible opportunity if
requested.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
International License.
 

© r/IGCSE Resources 2023 2