An increasing number of European travel agents say they're beginning to see the start of a pick-up in sales for summer holidays. Tui, Europe's largest tour operator, has announced that its revenues from tourism are expected to increase this year from 14.1bn Euros to 15bn Euros. It said it expected the market to grow by between 3 and 5%. Tui believed sales in its three major markets - the UK, France and Germany - would increase this summer, particularly after the FIFA World Cup, to be held in Germany in June.
Some travel companies are suggesting prices for destinations other than Germany in June might actually be lower than last year - precisely because of the World Cup. Tour operators generally dislike global events such as the Olympics and World Cup because a higher number of people prefer to spend their time at home.
Manny Fontenla-Novoa, the Chief Executive of Thomas Cook, said he believed the Eastern Mediterranean would be his company's holiday hotspot this summer. ?Over the past two years, Spain has had a declining number of visitors from the UK. We thought this was to do with Spanish hoteliers putting up their rates, which made Greece and Turkey look cheap by comparison. ?Now the Spanish have dropped their hotel prices, so it's back in favour. Sales of holidays to Majorca are 5 per cent up, for example, so we think Greece is where the bargains will be,? he said.
ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, announced in April it expected record numbers of travellers to head off to European and worldwide destinations over the Easter break - a record 2.4 million people. That number is substantially ahead of the figure for the same period last year, at 2.2 million passengers.
Overall, however, although the number of people booking traditional package holidays has increased over the last ten years, they make up smaller proportion of the total holiday market. And packages have in fact declined this year for the third year running. Across the board, bookings for packages are down five per cent over the year, though it's believed this figure is more than offset by the number of people who are constructing their own ?DIY? holidays ? buying flights and accommodation separately, particularly in Spain.
A spokesperson for Thomson said, ?Spain is doing very well, but that is largely because we are putting more no-frills flights on. You can fly from Gatwick to Alicante for ?30, and a lot of people are buying their own accommodation to go with that.?
As for the hottest destinations this year ? not those with the highest number of visitors, but those with something a little different to offer, ask ABTA and they say: Brazil.
A spokesman said: ?A number of major tour operators have put on direct charter flights to Northern Brazil. The country has so much going for it, including a rich and vibrant cultural heritage, amazing beaches, and the biggest rain forests and rivers in the world. Your money will also go far and who knows, you may even get to see the world's best footballers play.?
People looking to advance a career as a travel agent may be a little surprised to hear that it is now fast becoming a competitive role. More people are attracted to the benefits of working as a travel agent or representative. No longer is it possible that people simply work in a travel agency, employers are looking to recruit people with a strong background in travel training courses - often these can be in the form of an accredited course completion certification, diploma or degree.
The average travel agent has participated in intense travel training courses, in order to keep up with changing systems and improvement to the service in the travel industry. Competition is stiff in securing a position, as this is a popular career path to follow, because it offers good benefits such as discount on plane tickets, rental cars and hotel bookings.
The travel agents role involves much more than just dealing with customers. Often they are required to change customer flight booking, find the correct packages, hotel booking, organise transportation to and from the airport and finding rental cars and accommodation. The agents work with both consumer clients and business companies, therefore the agent must have good logistics knowledge.
Most of their day-to-day activities consist of consulting with clients on various travel information and arrangements. For this reason, the travel agents knowledge of the travel industry should be at its best. Travel training course enable the agent to better prepare for working with various clients, networking with external agencies, CRS training and product training.
The travel agent find useful information through researching in journals, books, websites and often visiting various destinations in order to assess the tourist value of the area, for example, hotel quality, activities availability, restaurant and catering services and the quality of the resort. This is so they can provide their clients with an accurate and informative evaluation.
Many of the agents undergo training each year to keep up-to-date with new software packages, including airline-booking systems. Most of the time agents are involved with client services, company advertisement, internet marketing and sometimes providing travel presentations for large organisations. They are also involved with business trade shows and travel groups across the globe.
There are travel agents who are trained to work with one specific destination and sector, such as business or tourism groups. They are also assigned to work with specific geographical locations such as Asia or Europe. However, all travel agents have good researching skills, therefore for anyone seeking to work within this field should be aware that it takes a lot of patience and plenty of drive.
One thing is for certain, this is a growing profession and one that comes with many perquisites. However, gone are the days of getting into the travel and hospitality industry without background qualification and/or travel experience. Those with degrees and travel training qualifications are far more likely to gain employment over those coming straight out of secondary school with little or no knowledge.
Both Liam Perkins & Anna Stenning are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Liam Perkins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure. Liam Perkins is a journalist and Editor with , the web's. Liam Perkins's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.
Anna Stenning has sinced written about articles on various topics from computers and the internet, Management and Wedding Gifts. Anna Stenning has past experiences in courses, having considered working within this industry. For more on training for the travel industry vi. Anna Stenning's top article generates over 4090000 views. to your Favourites.