Part II. Travel agents or consultants (US) have the job of selling the packages created by tour operators

Travel agents or consultants (US) have the job of selling the packages created by tour operators. They are retail outlets which, like high-street stores, are often part of a national chain. Contrary to popular opinion, working in a travel agency does not lead directly to jobs in other tourism sectors, though it is useful training for other things. Tourist information centers (TICs) employ a vast number of people. Incentive conferences serve as bonuses to the high-achieving staff in big companies, and provide a surprising amount of work within the industry.

Anyone who enjoys looking after people, has stamina and the will to work hard even under pressure has a good chance of finding work in tourism. There are jobs in tourism for young and old, male and female, school leavers and university graduates, people of all nationalities. Knowledge of a foreign language is becoming more valued, though a great many people employed in the industry are still monolingual.

Questions:

1. What are the basic jobs in tourism?

2. What is the idea of incentive conferences?

3. What is the scope of job opportunities in tourism?

4. How important is knowledge of a foreign language for those who work in tourism?

5. What occupation would you chose?

6. Summarize the text.

1. Successful Tourism Marketing

Part I

Most promotional activities work through the “AIDA principle“, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. To be effective your brochure will need to grab attention, appeal to the readers' self-interest, arouse the desire to buy, urge the reader to take action. For brochure producers this means that the promotional message will depend on several key factors:

-the target market;

- channel of distribution (for example, different messages may be necessary for tour operators, members of the public and tourist information centers);

- the type of response you need to evoke – these usually divide into ration centers;

- promotional method – for example, you need a stronger and shorter message for radio advertisements than you do for a direct sales campaign when a salesperson can explain in more detail;

- you should always be aware of the reasons why people buy specific products. Sometimes people appear to be buying for reasons different to their real motivations. By understanding the reasons people buy you are more likely to appeal to them.