Inglés Profesional para El Turismo

Ingls Profesional Para El Turismo
UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

1. TOURIST SERVICES PRESENTATION: CHARACTERISTICS OF GOODS OR SERVICES,
MEASUREMENTS, QUANTITIES, ADDED SERVICES, PAYMENT TERMS AND AFTER
SALES SERVICES, AMONG OTHERS.
Tourism:
According to the World Tourism Organization, United Nations, tourism comprises the activities
of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for a period less
than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.
Tourism itself is born in the nineteenth century as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution,
with displacements for relaxing, leisure, culture, health, business and family relationships as
primary intention.
Tourist Enterprises:
Tourist Enterprises are those related to tourism. There are two main groups: Those producing
goods and services (production), and the ones distributing them (distributors). All provide tourist
service.
Tourist companies need not to be purely dedicated to, say, accommodation or catering. The
boundaries are invaded, the services are mixed and a single company can offer different types
of services. Thus, a hotel may have a restaurant and a travel agency may offer transfer service
or provide hostess for a convention.

1.1. PRODUCTS OR SERVICES CHARACTERISTICS.
Tourist services are considered those which are related to the provision of services related to
the tourism industry and they can be classified as follows:
Hosting service, when accommodation is provided to tourists, with or without provision

of other complementary services.
Catering service, when providing food for consumption in the same establishment or
outside facilities.
Brokerage service in the provision of any travel services that may be demanded by
users of travel services, including transport services.
Information service, where users are provided information on tourism services,
tourism resources, with or without provision of other complementary services.
Welcome service: for congress, events, conventions or similar.

1.1.2. CATERING SERVICE.
They are catering establishments whose principal activity is to provide, regularly and by price,
meals and drinks for your consumption in or outside the spot. Although these establishments
are considered of public use, owners may establish rules or considerations on the course of
their services and facilities, including a law reserving admission, making exclusive services to a
particular segment.
Catering establishments are divided into two types:
COMERCIAL CATERING
Whose clientele is not captive, that is, the client chooses the type of restaurant he wants to
attend for he has different alternatives available. These are divided into:
Traditional: connected with the cultural and gastronomic traditions of the area (seafood
restaurants, taverns, grills, rice mills, tapas bars, beer houses...). Also Chinese
restaurants or Pizzerias are considered traditional thanks to the way they are managed.
Neo-catering: catering establishments responding to culinary innovations (cuisine) and
innovative management methods. (Mc Donald's, vending machines...)
SOCIAL RESTORATION
is the one whose clientele, being a community, is captive, or most of it ends up being (large
supermarkets, motorways, train stations, airports, schools, canteens...). It is characterized by
reducing the price diminishing supply. This type of restoration covers fixed costs with a regular
clientele.
The main types are:
RESTAURANT
I it has a kitchen and dining room to provide meals and/or dinners to be consumed in the same
place. They have a mandatory offer for the Day Menu. Like hotels, the restaurants also receive
a ranking based on several concepts: facilities, services, menu, etc.., being the service of the
waiters at the tables one of the most valued criteria. They are classified as: 5,4,3,2 and 1 fork.
1 fork or fourth restaurant:

o Dining room separated from the kitchen.
o Stainless cutlery, crockery, simple glass, cloth or paper napkins.
o Decent bathrooms services.
o Personal perfectly neat.
o Simple menu list
2 forks or third category restaurant:

o Dining room with an area according to its capacity.
o Cordless Phone.
o Appropriate furniture.
o Cutlery steel, crockery, glassware, cloth or paper napkins.
o Independent health services for ladies and gentlemen.
o Kitchen with sink with hot water, cold room or refrigerator, cupboards and
extractor fan.
o Uniformed staff.
Simple menu list.
3 forks or second category restaurant:

o Independent access for customers and staff.
o Cloakroom
o Wireless phone for customer service.
o Quality furniture.
o Independent bathroom services for Ladies (including children) and gentlemen.
o Kitchen with refrigerator, pantry, storage, sinks, vented to the outdoors.
o Menu list according to the establishment category.
o Properly uniformed service staff.
o Stainless steel cutlery.
4 forks or first category restaurant:

o Independent entrance for customers and staff
o Cloakroom. Wardrobe
o Cordless Phone.
o Air conditioning, heating and cooling.
o Furniture and decoration of high quality.
o Independent bathrooms services for ladies and gentlemen.
o Kitchen with refrigerator separated for fish and meat, oven, pantry, store, sinks
and ventilation.
o Properly uniformed service staff
o Stainless steel cutlery.
5 forks restaurant or luxury:
Such establishments must have an effective organization, governed by rules and procedures,
and have internal and external policies for management. The restaurants of this type are usually
decorated with very fine wood, tables and chairs must agree to the decor, very good quality
carpets, music (live or environmental) should be soft, lights (bulbs and lamps) should be
adjustable and air conditioning must be controlled by thermostat. Food and drinks are
mandatory to be of the highest quality, hygiene must reign in all areas and, finally, the staff must
be properly uniformed. Service personnel, in addition to being trained for each task, should be
trained regularly to ensure an efficient and elegant service.
In addition they should have:
Independent entrances for customers and staff.

Cloakroom and lobby or waiting room.
Dining room with an area according to its capacity.
Telephone in isolation booths and wireless phone for customer service.
Air conditioning.
Bathrooms with luxury facilities, separate for ladies and gentlemen.
Decoration in harmony with the rank of the establishment.
Cold buffet in the dining room (optional).
Diverse accessories: tables for flaming, side tables, tops to cover dishes.
Equipped kitchen with storeroom, cellar, cold room, pantry, office, ovens, grill, grill for
fish and meat dishes, sinks, extractor fans.
Menu list with variety of dishes from national and international cuisine and extensive
wine list regularly amended.
Personal properly uniformed.
Stainless steel or silver cutler
There are other systems that allow clients to take a decision, such as the famous stars (3
maximum) that the Michelin Guide gives, or other merits of private enterprises which have the
greatest respect in the culinary world and, as in the case of the classification of hotels,
sometimes outweighs the sheer number of forks.
Those who meet specific building characteristics, age and geographical location, can use (prior
authorization) the term "eating houses". The identification placard is blue with the letters R and
number of forks in white.
CAFETERIA
Establishment with one same unit for bar and table service but no dining room, which provides
the public, at any time of the opening hours, with ice cream, soft drinks in general, hot or cold
tapas, sandwiches and mixed, cold or grilled dishes. In Spain they are classified as: 3, 2 or 1
cup and their requirements by category are:
Cafes with 1 cup:

o Independent bathroom services for ladies and gentlemen endowed with soap
and hand dryers
o The entrance may not be used during the hours of meal service to bring in
goods
o The dining room, which need not to be independent, equipped with heating
o Furniture, linen (cloth or paper) and crockery in accordance with the local
category
o The public service staff must dress appropriately
o Jugs of water should be available, at customer request, even when not using
the service of dish of the day
Cafes with 2 cups:

o Independent bathroom services of ladies and gentlemen endowed with soap
and hand dryers
o The entrance of customers may not be used during the hours of food services,
to bring in goods.
o Telephone service available to customers
o Separate Dining Room equipped with heating
o Furniture, linen (cloth or paper) and crockery in accordance with the local
category
o The public service staff must dress appropriately
o They must offer a combination platter of the day
o Jugs of water should be available, at customer request, even when not using
the service of dish of the day
Cafes with 3 cups:

o Independent bathroom services for customers and staff
o The ladies and gents toilets must be independent
o Services with hot water, soap and hand dryers
o Independent customer entrance from the staff and goods one or, failing that,
entry only during hours outside the established for the dining service
o Cloakroom according to the category of local
o Isolated phone booths
o Separate Dining Room equipped with heating and cooling
o Furniture, linens and kitchenware will be adequate to the level of the local
o The staff will be uniformed
o Menu dishes must be available to customers in Spanish, English and French
o They must offer at least a combined dish of the day
5
BAR
Establishment with bar but no dining room, which can also have table service in the same unit in
order to provide drinks with or without small meals or sandwiches, and one dish of the day.
Those who meet special features (recognized by the administration) of building, age and
geographic location, may use the name "tavern".

1.1.3. BROKERAGE SERVICE.
Tourism enterprises engaged in intermediary services may be several: from those organizing
complete package tours as the official tour operators, to those which inform the customer and
sell the final package like travel agents, to the ones which provide transport, like a flight or train
company.
Carriers are those designed to carry passengers from one point to another. They are classified
into:
o
o
o
Aviation: There is a distinction between scheduled flights, which are governed

by predetermined schedules, and charters, that are used in most package
tours, as their recruitment is more economic because, as they have a lower
supply, demand is more concentrated and the costs can be reduced for being
almost always full.
Ground transports: Here we find the bus, train, car, car rentals
Shipping: Regular line such as the ferry that units the peninsula with islands
and cruises.
TRAVEL AGENCIES
These companies are distributors of goods and tourism services and they are in
possession of a diploma or license granted by the public administration. They practise
tourism intermediation.
The agencies are classified into 3 groups:
Wholesaler or Tour operators (TTOO): they design, produce and arrange all
kinds of tourist services and packages in order to sell them to other agencies
(retailers) and may not offer or sell their services directly to the public. Its
products are marketed through own leaflets distributed to retailers. As they buy
"large amounts", that is, they manage major airline seats (= charter), or hotel
rooms, they can negotiate lower prices with their suppliers, apart from having
major commissions, since they have to commission their own products to the
retailers who sell them. The social capital to be disbursed when forming a
wholesale agency is 120,000 adding the same amount as a bail.
Retailers: They market the products made by the wholesalers or their own
directly to consumers but not to other agencies. It is travel agencies which are
on the street where consumers usually go for information, advice and purchase.
They use the wholesalers brochures for the sale and receive a previously
stipulated percentage of each sale as commission. They may also directly
manage a service for customers without turning to a wholesale agency, by
directly contacting a hotel or transport company. For complete package (flight,
transfer, accommodation, meals and other activities ...) it is obviously easier to
turn to wholesale than deal service by service by themselves. Furthermore, the
final price would be probably much more expensive for it would have to reflect
all management costs such as telephone calls, fax bank costs The social
capital to be disbursed when forming is 60,000 and the same amount is
required as bail.
Wholesale-retail: These companies, having the two licenses, can make and
sell tour packages to other businesses and the general public. The social
capital to be disbursed when forming it is 180,000 and the same amount is
required as bail.
The law on this is known, but reality is sometimes different. The wholesalers do not
have offices at street level to connect with the customer, but on the Internet the situation
is confused and sometimes on the same site you can find may direct access for
customers and restricted ones for agencies with confidential rates.
Besides the type of agency it may be, they can also be classified as senders and
receivers.
o
o
Outgoing agencies: the ones sending travellers to other places. The largest
issuers in the case of Spain are the ones in Germany and England.
Incoming agencies: Those who receive and welcome tourists from abroad.
Spain is eminently recipient, so it brings together a substantial number of
incoming agencies that are responsible on the ground to deal with tourism
businesses. For example: An English agency (outgoing) contacts a Spanish
agency (incoming) to handle its bookings in Spain. This means lower costs
(telephone, fax ) because they just have to send one fax per day not several
ones (one per Hotel) and it is easier, and again cheaper, to deal directly on the
ground with the providers to get even better conditions. The incoming agencies
get a commission for this service.
Outgoing-Incoming: They perform both functions, sending and receiving. Most
agencies are working in that direction.

1.1.3. BROKERAGE SERVICE.
Tourism enterprises engaged in intermediary services may be several: from those organizing
complete package tours as the official tour operators, to those which inform the customer and
sell the final package like travel agents, to the ones which provide transport, like a flight or train
company.
Carriers are those designed to carry passengers from one point to another. They are classified
into:
o
o
o
Aviation: There is a distinction between scheduled flights, which are governed

by predetermined schedules, and charters, that are used in most package
tours, as their recruitment is more economic because, as they have a lower
supply, demand is more concentrated and the costs can be reduced for being
almost always full.
Ground transports: Here we find the bus, train, car, car rentals
Shipping: Regular line such as the ferry that units the peninsula with islands
and cruises.
TRAVEL AGENCIES
These companies are distributors of goods and tourism services and they are in
possession of a diploma or license granted by the public administration. They practise
tourism intermediation.
The agencies are classified into 3 groups:
o
Wholesaler or Tour operators (TTOO): they design, produce and arrange all
kinds of tourist services and packages in order to sell them to other agencies
(retailers) and may not offer or sell their services directly to the public. Its
products are marketed through own leaflets distributed to retailers. As they buy
"large amounts", that is, they manage major airline seats (= charter), or hotel
rooms, they can negotiate lower prices with their suppliers, apart from having
major commissions, since they have to commission their own products to the
retailers who sell them. The social capital to be disbursed when forming a
wholesale agency is 120,000 adding the same amount as a bail.
Retailers: They market the products made by the wholesalers or their own
directly to consumers but not to other agencies. It is travel agencies which are
on the street where consumers usually go for information, advice and purchase.
They use the wholesalers brochures for the sale and receive a previously
stipulated percentage of each sale as commission. They may also directly
manage a service for customers without turning to a wholesale agency, by
directly contacting a hotel or transport company. For complete package (flight,
transfer, accommodation, meals and other activities ...) it is obviously easier to
turn to wholesale than deal service by service by themselves. Furthermore, the
final price would be probably much more expensive for it would have to reflect
all management costs such as telephone calls, fax bank costs The social
capital to be disbursed when forming is 60,000 and the same amount is
required as bail.
Wholesale-retail: These companies, having the two licenses, can make and
sell tour packages to other businesses and the general public. The social
capital to be disbursed when forming it is 180,000 and the same amount is

required as bail.
The law on this is known, but reality is sometimes different. The wholesalers do not
have offices at street level to connect with the customer, but on the Internet the situation
is confused and sometimes on the same site you can find may direct access for
customers and restricted ones for agencies with confidential rates.
Besides the type of agency it may be, they can also be classified as senders and
receivers.
o
o
Outgoing agencies: the ones sending travellers to other places. The largest
issuers in the case of Spain are the ones in Germany and England.
Incoming agencies: Those who receive and welcome tourists from abroad.
Spain is eminently recipient, so it brings together a substantial number of
incoming agencies that are responsible on the ground to deal with tourism
businesses. For example: An English agency (outgoing) contacts a Spanish
agency (incoming) to handle its bookings in Spain. This means lower costs
(telephone, fax ) because they just have to send one fax per day not several
ones (one per Hotel) and it is easier, and again cheaper, to deal directly on the
ground with the providers to get even better conditions. The incoming agencies
get a commission for this service.
Outgoing-Incoming: They perform both functions, sending and receiving. Most
agencies are working in that direction.

1.1.4. INFORMATION SERVICE.
A travel agency is not only an intermediary. It is also an information service since when a client
comes to a travel agent he does not always have all the information he needs. Maybe he is
looking for relax on a Caribbean beach but has no knowledge of what the weather season looks
like across the Atlantic. The task of a good travel agent is to grasp the idea of the kind of travel
the client is looking for and guide and advise him in that direction.
At destination, the tourist information is the summary of services offered to tourists in order to
inform, guide, facilitate and assist him during his trip or holiday, in tourist information offices
through informants or through tourist guides, translators or accompanying groups. The definition
includes those services dependent on public institutions that are tasked to facilitate and inform
tourists during holiday or travel by providing free information.
The tourist information includes information about:
Resources and cultural activities: monuments, museums, rural areas, tourist attractions,
fairs, conferences and festivals.
Information and guidance on tourism: cultural, recreational, sports and leisure or play.
Information and guidance on tourism: services, services of interest (transport, hospital,
telephone)
Facilitating informational material: brochures, leaflets, posters, guides, maps and plans.
Developing statistics
Participating in business marketing for local enterprises
Implementing information projects, meetings, debates, and even advice for companies
in its area of management (job boards, recruitment tables, firms)
The main aims of a Tourist Information Office are:
Providing a public service

Improving quality of Area Tourist Destinations
Making it easier for potential tourists to stay
Increasing the arrival of more tourists making it easier and more comfortable for them to
book reservations stays and tours in their scope.

1.1.5. WELCOME SERVICE.
Within this tourist service we find all those related to the proper celebration of congresses, fairs,
conventions and similar. Such an event requires virtually of all tourist services provided, since
you need to accommodate a large number of people, you have to feed them at the hotel or
restaurant, entertain them with shows or tours, shuttle bus, taxi,... from an airport or other point
to hotels, restaurants, theatres, conference hall, etc.
They may also require other services such as the presence of attendants, guides, which in turn
can be a guide-translator, simultaneous translation services, audiovisual rental, decoration of
spaces, video and photography, etc.
It is a very demanding market with high purchasing power which spares no expenses, requiring
the best services. We must consider the possibility of lots of changes throughout the planning of
such events, changes which sometimes occur very late so it is necessary to have a certain
margin of manoeuvre, for example booking not exact numbers, maybe more rooms than initially
asked for, but always taking into account the time of cancellation to avoid incurring costs that
may diminish profit margins.
The supply of tourist services also varies depending on the type of client because not all
segments demand the same service.
We distinguish between:
Individual Tourism
Individual tourism is defined as the one whose program of activities and itinerary are
decided by travellers without the intervention of operators. The opposition would be
group tourism who works mainly with standard packages.
This type of tourism is programmed by a person or a small group that organizes their
trip by themselves or perhaps assisted by another specialist such as a travel agent. The
activities and itineraries can either be chosen before starting the journey or be decided
at destination. In this latter case, activities and itineraries can be booked more or less in
advance. So we have a wide range of products: from fully organized trips to far more
flexible travellers seeking their services during the trip.
Experts believe that this type of tourism is replacing group tourism and in most places it
is the main kind of tourism.
The most frequently given reasons for this trend are the emergence of low cost airlines
and Internet ticket purchase. To these factors others of a more structural nature must
be added, among which we find the increased supply of tourist services in the
destinations, the higher level of citizen security, the better education (especially in
foreign languages), the increase of information for the trip (guides and Internet) and
especially the impact of globalized culture that facilitates the integration of travellers at
destination.
The profile of the individual tourist is far more adventurous. He likes immersion in the
culture of the country he visits. He shows special interest in cultural and ecological
tourism, he has preference for local cuisine and a greater respect for the environment.
The higher the hotel category is the higher is the demand of more facilities and the
consume of more services (spending on a la carte restaurant service, spa treatments,
minibar service...).
Mass or group Tourism:

Mass or group tourism is that which is done massively by people regardless of
economic level and therefore not an exclusive type of tourism. It is the most
conventional, passive, and seasonal. It is usually less demanding and specialized. Here
we find the sun and beach tourism, associations and also guided tours. They usually
book the journey in a complete package at the agency, from full board or even all
inclusive, that's why they generate minimal expenses at destination. By coming in
groups they reach a better price because the hotel can play with aspects that reduce
costs. Being the menus already closed from the beginning, it takes less staff (not
necessary to command, only to serve) and kitchen work can also be done in advance,
for the exact service is already known. If the group goes on tour during the day, it
requires less cleaning staff or customer service, etc. Groups help to alleviate the low
season in many small hotels that can be kept open longer each year even though the
profit margin is not high.
The reasons why a visitor goes on a journey can also be analyzed since, depending on them,
tourist services are managed. Some are perfectly valid for individual as for group tourism. We
differentiate among others:
Cultural Tourism: It needs historical and artistic resources for its development. It is
more demanding and less seasonal.
o Urban: mainly in World Heritage Sites. Clients with a high cultural level and
high purchasing power.
o Monumental: tied exclusively to historical and artistic monuments that may be
remote from major population centres.
o Archaeological: linked to sites which can be remote from major population
centres.
o Funeral: linked to cemeteries designed by famous architects or where
celebrities are buried.
o Shopping: linked to purchases at a good price or exclusive ones. Includes
luxury items, art, crafts and common items such as footwear, electronics, etc.
o Ethnographic: linked to the customs and traditions of peoples. In some cases
close to ecotourism.
o Literary: motivated by places or events of a biographical nature.
o Training: related to studies basically languages.
o Science: tourist offer to investigate in special places such as biological or
archaeological sites.
o Gastronomic: linked to traditional food at destination.
o Wine: linked to local wines in the region.
o Industrial: motivated by the visit to factories or large civil constructions.
o Itinerant: takes place at several places along predetermined routes.
o Mystic: related to visits to energetic sites.
10
Business Tourism: It refers to journeys with the purpose of trade, business or

commercial agreement between companies, to attract customers or provide services,
used by entrepreneurs, executives, business and other professionals. Seasonality is
inverted to holidaymakers: the maximum occupancy in a beach hotel is recorded on
weekends, while this segment focuses its stays during the week, so it is a very
important and desirable segment for the industry. This is fundamentally an urban
tourism or looking for hotels with a certain category, with a high purchasing power and
with some very specific needs.
Worth mentioning in this type of tourism, are some sub-segments such as Meetings
and Conferences, bringing together a group or association, and usually with a scientific
nature attended by professionals of the same kind of industry but not of the same
company. The Convention brings together various professionals of a single enterprise
with the aim of raising awareness among its employees of a new product, process of
strategic planning or of a new campaign, etc.
Incentive Tourism is also linked to Business Tourism, although the difference is that while
Business means work, the incentive is designed for pleasure. It is used by the Management of
large companies to improve employees performance by rewarding them for achieved goals.
They are encouraged with a trip that can be individual or in a group.
Nature Tourism:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Theme Parks: Based on tourist attractions with specific themes. It is

characterized by active participation of the visitor. Tourism eminently familiar
with the presence of children.
Ecotourism: Based on contact with nature. Its resources are composed of
national parks with an interesting flora and fauna in the visited area.
Rural: The main motivation is to know the customs and traditions of people in
rural areas. Tourists are interested in gastronomy, popular culture, and
handicrafts. Public aid (state and community) helped to restore old buildings
where they can spend the night. Very booming in recent years, it did much to
revitalize degraded and forgotten regions.
Agro tourism: Its purpose is to show and explain the production process of
agricultural farms and agribusiness. Tourists can be hosted on the same farm
or elsewhere.
Agro ecotourism: Where the visitor is staying in tourist standard rooms,
participating in agricultural work, living and having food with the family.
Ornithological: Kind of tourism focused on bird watching.
Active Tourism: It takes place in natural areas. Active tourism is closely linked to rural
tourism. This type of activity usually takes place in a natural park because of the
environmental interest it causes. The most popular activities of active tourism are:
o Sport Fishing: tourism activity is centered in the practice of sport fishing.
o Sports: The main motivation is to practice sports. It can be divided into two
groups: outdoor sports and indoor. You could also do another subdivision in
terms of the one practicing the sport, or the who watches it (assistance to a
tennis tournament, a car race, a football game)
o Adventure: To practice high-risk sports (rafting, abseiling...). The user of this
type of tourism is often of high cultural and purchasing level and very fit.
o Space: Space Travel. Only for millionaires.
11
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Religious: Linked to places or events of special religious relevance. The four

main areas of greater importance are Jerusalem, Mecca, Rome and Santiago
de Compostela (this latter one could also be within sports Tourism).
Spiritual: Its main motivation is the recollection and meditation (monasteries,
oriental philosophy courses, etc.).
Thermal or Health: Linked to spas that offer treatments for various ailments
(rheumatic, stress, skin, beauty treatments...). It usually owns thermal facilities
independent from hotel facilities.
Medical: Focused on the realization of surgery or related medical treatments.
In this category there is one modality which has become very popular lately: the
cosmetic surgery trip which includes journey, room and board, surgery and
treatment.
Sexual: For sexual intercourse.
Social Tourism: Dedicated to improve life conditions of the economically
weaker making them participate in different activities, etc.
Experimental Tourism: Participants take an active part on the work they are
developing. This type of tourism is part of more or less fantastic stories.
Participants are immersed in a movie.

1.2. FURTHER SERVICES IN THE TOURISM SECTOR.
Customers, more and more, are seeking for experiences, keeping "something" from his travels,
so the only way to differentiate themselves from competitors, in an industry as competitive as
the touristic one in Spain, is to provide added services and sell "something more than just a bed
". Hence the key to the hotel industry today is offering customer service and useful information
about the destination (cuisine, entertainment, tours, car rentals, etc.). not only at the planning
stage of the journey, but also during and after it, as a loyalty tool which can make customers
pronounce positive comments about our hotel that will determine our future clientele.
Typical services of a touristic company can be extended in order to capture and retain a
clientele. If a hotels primary function is to provide accommodation and meals, including
breakfast, lunch and dinner service through half board or full board, offering added services can
be a good way to extend range of services that also serve as a differentiator.
To promote the consumption of services in less demanded dates, special offers could help,
such as:
Stays at hotel for 7 nights for the price of 6 or 4 paying 3
Discounts of 10% or 15% on the room
Free upgrades: suites at standard room price
Details in the room: Welcome Bottle, Chocolates, floral detail
Flight tickets at symbolic prices, valid for a specific date or bought on a concrete day to
be enjoyed another.
Children stay in hotels, their transport or entry for free
Recreational activities to enliven the evening; yoga or pilates classes, live performances
during dinner, live kitchen showrooms (especially booming in exotic restaurants),
cuisine according to the season (hunting, seafood, harvest time ...).
Babysitting and animal care
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Deals 2 x 1: travel 2 people for the price of 1.
Flat fees
All inclusive service for the price of Half Board or Full Board
Special discounts for early booking
Valet-parking service at a restaurant
Free Wi-Fi Connection
Design of special packages either for collective or private memorable dates: Valentines
Special, New Year's Eve, Love Weekend with champagne, chocolates, pre-summer
treatments, Special Mother and Baby (programs focused on new mothers and their
babies), Special Grooms and Brides, Birthday Promotion ...
Worth mentioning here, as an initiative of a novel Hotel in San Diego, California,
published on 08.18.2009 in 'La Voz de Galicia' by Victoria Toro:
Luxury hotel for 13 Euros per night
Crisis racks ones brains, and if not, look at the promotion of a
luxury hotel in San Diego. The rooms you paid for 160 Euros
can now be enjoyed for 28 or even for 13. Though perhaps the
word enjoy can be excessive to describe the offered comfort.
If the customer chooses the offer of 28 Euros, he will have the
same room as for 160 but with no air conditioning, light, pillow,
sheets, toilet amenities, TV or minibar. And if the customer
chooses the cheapest option, he will not even have a bed. The
hotel staff will install a small tent in the same place where
formerly stood a comfortable bed. And yes, you need only to
pay
13
Euros
for
the
room.
The Hotel Rancho Bernardo enfaces this way the crisis.
According to them, in the first months of this year they had a
15% fewer clients than in 2008 and they forecast for the third
quarter a reduction of up to 25%. So they decided to show
imagination and sense of humour. This same promotion that
began last weekend, was already featured in June, and seems
to work well. According to the hotel manager, John Gates, they
had one hundred clients who took the offer, from which 24
chose the option of the tent. Gates also said they wanted to
give hikers, either by foot or bicycle, or those who usually have
no means to stay in a place like Rancho Bernardo, the
opportunity to enjoy a luxury hotel. This promotion hides
another intention. Most customers, though sleeping in a tent
and paying 13 Euros for it, use some of the hotel facilities such
as restaurants, spa, shops ... And that's profit. Even in the
cheapest option, the Hotel includes what they called survival
bid ", these are entertainments offered by the hotel as
swimming pools, golf, hiking... According to Gates, they have
already 50 bookings for the fortnight of August.
13

1.3. PAYMENT TERMS AFTER ENJOYING TOURIST SERVICES:
The services a client may enjoy during his stay are not usually paid until the departure or until
the end of booked services.
A direct client asks for his invoice and pays the concepts which appear in it: room food and
extras he consumed. A possible prepaid amount will be deducted. Payment can be in cash, by
credit or debit card or if the company authorizes, by check or bank transfer. The two latter
options are generally not accepted in most establishments because they require confirmation of
its accuracy by the administration department or the bank. A charge on a credit card requires
the signature of the cardholder. Without that signature the client may send within the next 10
days an order to his bank in order not to pay.
When the booking has been made by a travel agency, the payment for the services may be
with prepayment or on credit. If it is on credit it depends on the signed contract: invoices must
be accompanied by the corresponding voucher and they must bear the client's name. Following
details of agreement, the payment must be done within 45 or 60 days after receiving the
invoice. In many cases there are clauses that must be taken into account, as if the wholesaler
does not receive an invoice within 180 days since the booked services, it assumes that there is
nothing to pay. Seen so, an oversight by the hotel, can be very expensive.
An agency bills in advance customer service (except large accounts and full credit vouchers)
and thus provides liquidity to settle their invoices. On the contrary, a wholesaler does not have
this liquidity when giving credits to his retailers. Once they get the invoice from the provider
(hotel), they in turn, send their invoice with the voucher to the retailer who proceeds to pay.
Once the wholesaler gets the money from the agency, they pay. This is a very simplified
scheme, because a wholesaler can have prepayments and credits with different deadlines as
well to pay as to recover.
Generally, retailers have prepayment unless they have a high sales volume or already a certain
reputation that serves as a business card. Retail agents belonging to a chain such as Halcon
Viajes, Viajes El Corte Ingls, Marsans, Iberia ... usually enjoy the same conditions as the Tour
Operator itself, so if a hotel signs contract with Tourmundial (wholesaler of Viajes El Corte
Ingls) and agrees a credit line, its retailers have the same conditions.
A franchised dealer would be a different thing, with franchise agreement for reasons of image
and name. These retailers sell packages from the own wholesaler's catalogue, they own the
same logo on the door, etc. but do not depend neither legally, nor financially on their "main
house". They are allowed to work also with other wholesalers and do not have automatically a
credit line. The advantages of franchising are that the retailer does not start from scratch, has
already a name and trademark they do not need to earn, a certain prestige and developed
know-how. The more outlets an agency owns, the higher possibilities of more turnover, detail
which is taken into account when negotiating new contracts regarding next season.

1.4. AFTER-SALES SERVICES:
The evaluation of satisfaction level is a tool to reach it, not an end, and it would be a mistake to
imagine that the fact of making such an evaluation achieves already customer's loyalty. Service
levels do not get better by simply measuring them. Once the client's stay or service finishes, the
customer is given a questionnaire. It can also be found in the room and be filled in during the
stay.
14
The questionnaires can be:
to fill in
by telephone
personal or anonymous
per mailbox for complaints and suggestions
by interview to clients or potential clients
by audits (announced or unannounced), external or internal
The tests are usually attractively easy to fill in. If the design is confusing or very heavy, the
client can abandon the idea of giving us his opinion. If the customer prefers, he can stay
anonymous, although this entails no answer by the establishment.
Another increasingly common modality of survey chosen, for it saves time and material, are
telephone surveys which have the advantage of obtaining precise information directly from the
customer. Disadvantage is that the customer does not tend to like telephone survey: we do not
know if the timing is right, and that is the risk to receive information from low quality or even no
response.
Surveys can be ordered by the producer itself or can also be designed by an agency in order to
measure the client's satisfaction, not only regarding the service provided by themselves
(information, advising, delivering of documents...) but also the one enjoyed at destination by the
client. That's very important regarding the contracts for the following campaign. If there are the
same negative comments from customers on a same establishment, the agency could take
action on the matter even not renewing a contract. An agency usually attaches a questionnaire
to the original travel documentation which is delivered to the customer when paying the trip.
They tend to be in prepaid envelopes or payable at destination and the client can answer
anonymously.
Internet booking sites, according to their online work, send within few days after finishing the
booked service, an e- mail survey whose responses (anonymous or not) are posted on the web
itself as customer's feedback. That's a double edged sword: a satisfied customer does not
always fill in a survey because he assumes that the provided service meets his expectations as
it should. On the contrary, if the experience was not satisfactory they do tend to "spread" their
anger and publish negative critics. A customer who wants information about a facility before
making a reservation, does not usually read only the official website of the establishment where
information is obviously to sell and not always objective. Opinion sites such as Ciao.es or Travel
Advisor.com and the specific booking ones as Booking.com publish all kinds of experiences
instead. This information is beyond the scope of the establishment itself (they cannot make it
disappear but can debate it through a press release) but it must be taken into account the
extent of such action that "might make feel bad" or be considered a "tantrum". The vast majority
of people who go online to plan their travel take into account views and opinions of other users
on the Web in order to make a decision. This trend is being manifested by the present
generation of Web users: on the one side there are the so-called "digital natives" who have
been born with the Internet. It is a generation of users between 12 and 30. On the other side the
"digital immigrants" between 30 and 50. Both generations have taken technologies to all areas
of their personal and professional life (including people older than 50), and they are the current
customers of the hotel sector. So if the customer today is "tecnodependent it is important in
Tourism to adapt business to their needs and be up to date.
Internet is a communication channel representing threats and opportunities and tourism
entrepreneurs must be able to learn to know well the threats and take full advantage of the
15
opportunities. Internet benefits those tourism businesses which care for their customers and
offer quality but "exposes" those who do not provide truthful information to consumers.
However, no matter how much progress there is, it is important never to leave the "traditional
tourist aside. It is the one who does not use new technologies and therefore depends entirely
on the suggestions given by the producer or distributor.
The reasons why an evaluation does not generate changes may be several:
The company measures by requirement or fashion. When measure of the

evaluation is a standard requirement (for instance ISO) or a requirement from the
Management (in case of chains), it means that there are no real interest in knowing the
customer's satisfaction level.
Negative comments are ignored. The company wishes customer's satisfaction
immediately, discarding negative comments as hearsay and not understanding what
caused the customer's dissatisfaction, either because the client was not specific enough
to give his opinion or because they think they know more than the client and they do not
agree with him.
They do not know what to improve or change. If the survey is unclear, the answer
probably is not clarifying either. If they ask for the enjoyed service in a restaurant and
the customer only has to chose between good or bad, they really do not know if the
client liked (or not) the service itself, the taste of the food or something else entirely
different. So, the company could undertake changes that are not the ones the client
related to and the result is that there is no improvement at the end.
To improve customer satisfaction, it is not enough to ask for opinion, but the obtained
information must be taken into account to make decisions. Without making a decision, the
evaluation has no sense and the customer's satisfaction does not increase either. It may even
decrease because an inquired client expects changes in the future and if they do not happen,
the opinion gets worse even if the provided service is still the same.

1. STOCK CONTROL OF DESTINATIONS(DESTINIES) OR TOURIST SERVICES
Reservations can be direct or through an intermediary.
Direct ones are those made by the final consumer directly, whether a hotel stay, an
airline ticket or a restaurant table. The customer can obtain information through multiple
channels: Internet, guidebooks and tourist brochures, tourism fairs, television programs
or directly from the provider.
Transport bookings: Transports companies can be contacted via telephone

hotline or Internet. The client decides his travel dates, if one-way or round trip,
number of people travelling and books. A credit card for the payment is
imperative. The operator who attends it (if one chooses to book by phone)
checks if there are places available and what kind of charge is to apply. He
proceeds to your booking taking note of the name of all passengers, identity
card number if they are over 14 years old, contact (telephone number) and the
credit card numeration for the payment. It is important to report the amount of
costs in case of cancellation or modification of the reservation. In case the end
user chooses to make his reservation by Internet - today the fastest and most
economical way - the handling is identical. In any case, the client receives a
reference number to be submitted at the airline counter at the airport between
16
90 and 120 minutes before departure for testing and delivery of documentation
as boarding pass and return ticket if proceeds. It is also possible to get all
documents scanned. For reservations for train, boat, bus the system is
similar. Tickets are personal and confidential, so if the client does not arrive on
time, he loses any options of repayment.
Booking of tickets and restaurant tables: As in the case of transports, the

consumer can directly book his tickets for theme parks, shows or restaurant
tables either by telephone or Internet. The requested data are similar to
transport except in the case of the restaurant where they do not require the
names or ages of the people and where sometimes indicating a contact
telephone number is sufficient. If the client is not there at the agreed time, the
restaurant will sell the table in order to mitigate a potential loss of income.
Not direct reservations are the ones that the final consumer manages through an
intermediary, who can be a travel agent or an online reservation centre.
The customer goes to a travel agency where he collects all information needed to
complete his purchase.
Transports booking: Whether by plane, train, coach ... the travel agent
advises the customer seeking the best combination to get to his destination
taking into account the wishes of the client (dates when he wants to travel, what
kind of transport he prefers, how many people ...). The travel agent gets in
touch with the carrier to process the final booking. This can be through the
companies telephone hotline or also via Internet. If the agency belongs to an
association of travel agencies they may have an allotment of seats.
Another option is to book through a booking system like Amadeus, which is the
world's largest international distribution network where most reservations are
made through, more than with any other one. Amadeus was founded by an
alliance between Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia Airlines and Scandinavian
Airlines System. It specializes in software solutions for creating reserves for
airlines, trains, cruises, car rentals, hotels and travel. Amadeus is used by
67,000 travel agencies and 10,000 airline sales offices worldwide. With
Amadeus reservations can be made in: 490 airlines, representing over 95% of
the seats of the airlines worldwide, 79.266 hotels, 22 car rental companies, 17
cruising companies, and other providers of travel (ferries, trains, insurance
companies and tour operators). Amadeus has subscribers in over 217 countries
worldwide and offers local solutions for marketing, customer care and support
through a network of more than 70.
Other systems would be: SABRE centralized operating system processing in
real time (RT TPOS) developed by American Airlines and IBM; SIRE for railway
reservation
Upon receipt of written confirmation of the booking, the agent proceeds to
ticketing. Most agencies have tickets and passages that become valid through
their seal and GAT number (reference number of a travel agency) and which
the customer delivers directly at the check-in at the airport, train station or bus.
In case the agency lacks of these tickets, they can issue a voucher with all
booking details such as name and reference number, which the customer
17
delivers at the transport company to get the final documents. The client pays
the total amount of the booked trip at the travel agency and, once they discount
their commission, it is now the agency' responsibility to pay the final invoice to
the service provider.
o
Tickets and restaurant table bookings: To make reservations for restaurants

through a travel agency or a reservation centre is not the most common unless
it is a large group of people or within the organization of a event or congress.
There are associations or culinary groups which manage reservations among
their members in order to better prices and other attentions. This kind of
reservation, even having an intermediary, is effectively a direct booking, for the
intermediary gets usually no benefit from this kind of booking. For ticket
reservations it is more common to use the management through an agency.

1. TICKETING, BONDS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE MARKETING OF A
TOURIST SERVICE
Today, in the information age and yet the desire to minimize costs and also taking into account
environmental factors, everything considered superfluous tends to be eliminated and thus
reduce the amount of paper produced by issuing paper tickets and others. Until recently when
booking trips by plane, bus, train or ship we got a ticket or passage with the corresponding
copies to be given to the service provider. They were selfcopying models with copies for the
agency itself, copy for the administration department to settle bills, original for the customer and
then as many copies (=coupons) as journeys are included in the trip.
Through Internet, for the client it is sometimes difficult to discern whether the booking is made
directly to the hotel or if there is an intermediary, although there is no fundamental difference
regarding the price, since they usually match. It is true that the more intermediaries there are,
the easier it is to lose information and if, for example, for a client it is important that the room is
located on the ground floor for some reason, if he has not directly contacted the establishment,
that information can be lost on his way to the hotel. Seen so, the existence of an agency may
not be considered very helpful when making a reservation for a holiday product, but we cannot
forget that a primary function is also to inform, not just to sell. They are the ones who guide,
advice, counsel and they are there in the flesh, they are not just a voice on the telephone or a
contact via e-mail. The tourism product is not a tangible asset that the client takes home after
paying. They pay for a future service whose result they do not know yet and which they cannot
return at the end (Unless he fills in a complaint form, wins and gets his money reimbursed).
A roundtrip ticket consists of 2 flights, the outward and back, so we had to have 2 flight coupons
which were torn at the airport in every way. In a trip that includes a roundtrip flight but someday
scale, 3 coupons would be for the flights and if on top it was a complete package with hotel stay
and maybe also car rental service, also a coupon for the hotel and one for the car rental must
be given. So, the more services, the more coupons would be necessary. That entailed a lot of
paperwork and increased the possibility of error by the agent, if any coupon was torn out by
mistake, it caused serious problems for the traveler at the airport and the hotel or car rental
counter. This is because the coupon was the payment guarantee for the provider.
To minimize human errors, to avoid problems of loss of documents and generally to lower
amounts of paper, today all this became obsolete. Just by providing a reference or booking
number and our name, whether the reservation was made directly with the company as if made
through an agency. In the latter case, with the purpose of giving something physical to the
customer, the agent often prints an information sheet with flight details (departure time, flight
number, airline, time before check-in ...) and reference number. With this document the client
may go directly to the check-in counter or to companies counter (as they were informed). The
18
same happens today with train tickets or bus. Only in hotels, the paper voucher is still present
with personal vouchers, on site vouchers, full credit vouchers and open vouchers.

TOURIST SERVICE
19

TOURIST SERVICE
20

1. NEGOTIATING WITH SUPPLIERS AND PROFESSIONALS IN THE PROVISION OF
TOURISM SERVICES.
A contract is an agreement between two or more parties where trade relations are defined. So
are the contracts between tourism enterprises and their customers which can be direct, travel
agencies, wholesalers or retailers or booking centres.
In a contract with a wholesale travel agency particular attention must be paid to:
Rates: Discounts and supplements

Booking types: Allotment (number of rooms) or free sale
Release
Minimum requirements: stay and basis
Commission
Terms of payment: prepayment or credit line
Overcommission: for prompt-payment or turnover
Cost-free products or services

1. NEGOTIATING WITH SUPPLIERS AND PROFESSIONALS IN THE PROVISION OF
TOURISM SERVICES.
1.1. RATES
The market is free, so each enterprise decides prices to convenience, not having a specific fee
per category marked by the Administration. The price depends on supply and demand, so
where no competition is given and unique service is offered, the price is probably higher than in
the case where many similar ones are present and where it is necessary to "fight" for the client.
Prices are broken down into accommodation, bed and breakfast, half board and full board
according to the services available at the hotel.
Prices vary depending on room type and number of people (pax), regardless of the extras that
are engaged (pensions, treatment packages...) and the season.
Prices tend to be per person in double room. If the room is occupied by a single person (Double
single occupancy) a single supplement is to be added to reduce the loss of income by not being
the room occupied by two people. It can be a percentage (usually 15% or similar).
If the room is occupied by 3 people the price is not multiplied by 3 but a discount for the 3rd
party is applied. This discount is for the discomfort of 3 people occupying one room (usually a
percentage of 15 or 20% in the case of 3rd person over 12 years. If the 3rd party is a child, the
situation may change, being possible to have the children staying for free or with a discount of
up to 50%). Babies are usually free in only bed. It is very important to know that discount per
child is not for being a child, it is for being a 3rd person in a double room, so if the room is
occupied by an adult plus a child, no discount would be applicable. In the case of suite,
supplement is usually per night not per person.
21
EXAMPLE
A hotel publishes the following rates:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Price per pax in only bed: 60

Price for breakfast per adult: 8
Single supplement: + 15%
3rd pax Adult Discount - 20%
Discount child under 12 sharing room with 2 - 50%
Half board (HB) adult: 20
Full board (FB) adult: 32
Discount for children under 12 years: -50%
7% VAT not included
1. Price for a double room with bed and breakfast (BB) for 2 adults
would be:
1. (60 x 2 persons) + (8 x 2 people) = 136 + 7% VAT =
145.52
2. In HB = 136 + (20 x 2 people) = 176 + 7% VAT =
188.32
3. PC: 136 + (32 x 2) = 200 + 7% VAT = 214
2. Single with HB:
1. (60 + 15% single supplement) + 8 + 20 = 97 + 7%
VAT = 103.79
3. Triple with adult Triple Price FB:
1. ((60 - 20% discount) + 60 x 2) + (8 breakfast + 32 suppl. Pc)
x 3 pax) = 288 + 7% VAT = 308.16
4. BB Triple with child:
1. ((60 - 50% discount) + 60 x 2) + (8 breakfast - 50%) + 8
breakfast x 2 pax) = 170 + 7% VAT = 181.90
Generally and unlike the case of 3rd person adult, the discount is also on
the diet.
Offers like: Children free, generally refer to taking accommodation having
boards an extra price.

1.2. BOOKING TYPES
There are two booking types: allotment and free sale.
ALLOTMENT
Number of booked seats or rooms with no clients names which require final confirmation. They
can be FIT, back to back or series. They are negotiated in free sale for a certain number of
seats or rooms and season, and from there on request.
FIT: Type of allotment for individual bookings.
22
Back to back: Type of allotment where customers leave the same day as others enter,
covering consecutive periods of time. Typical for resort hotels on the Canary and
Balearic Islands where most of tourists arrive with a holiday package.
Series: Type of allotment where a group departs and the next one arrives but never
meet.
Allotment is usually per room type, only double rooms or suites, being other types on request.
There is also a type of allotment called guarantee: the hotel receives payment even if the
agency does not sell the room: the agency knows they have a fixed number of rooms
guaranteed to sell and the hotel knows that they will receive payment for sure. It is frequent to
find that kind of allotment for groups moving a significant number of people over a year (for
instance Telefnica Social Fund). Besides the importance of knowing a guaranteed number of
rooms to sell, it is interesting from the standpoint of saving, as there is no need to spend on
communication costs by asking the availability, through modifications of reservations etc.
FREE SALE
It means that the agency keeps on selling rooms until the hotel decides to remove availability
and close sales, either because of being already complete or because they keep a certain
number of rooms for its own direct sales. In some cases a security allotment is activated once
sales are closed, also with a release time to observe. The opposite of free sale is on request.

1.3. RELEASE
It is the deadline to cancel reservations of accommodation or transports without cancellation
fee. Time varies depending on whether it is low season, medium or peak. The easier it is to sell
(= peak season) the longer (14 to 21 days) the release time, so the hotel has time enough to
sell by themselves. During the low season, with less movement, the release is much shorter
(between 7 days and 48 hours) although it may exist cases of release 0 where the bookings can
be for the same moment. This is feasible when there are many rooms to sell and few
probabilities of complete: a way to encourage sales.
EXAMPLE
A hotel with 100 rooms signs an allotment of 25 rooms with a peak
seasonal
release
of
21
days.
They can sell directly (whether direct or retail customers) a total of 75
rooms. The other rooms are operated by wholesalers who have to
confirm at least 21 days before arrival of the client all reservation data
(customer name, room type, number of persons, basis ...). From that day
on, all rooms that the agency has not sold are again available for the
hotel to sale.
Calculation: For arrivals on the 27th of a month a release of 21 days
ends on the 6th of that month so, from that day on, the allotment is lost
and the hotel owns back the rooms to be sold even to the same
23
wholesaler but on request.
A hotel works with a free sale until closing sales. The agencies sell without having to consult
availability. Once the hotel is booked out or decides to keep a number of rooms for their own
sales, they close sales. Some agencies have a safety allotment which gets activated in that
moment in order to process missing bookings. A sales closing is not immediate, that is
important in cases of powerful wholesalers who "split" their allotment among its partner
agencies and therefore need some time to communicate a sales closing. It usually provides a
delay time of 24 hours to make sales closing effective for all purposes. Hence the importance of
updating daily sales and availability to avoid overbooking situations.
24
1.4. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF SALE
A hotel may establish minimum conditions of sale, such as minimum stay or basis on specific
date, in order to optimize its resources.
A holiday hotel may impose during high season a minimum stay of 4 or more nights, or a
minimum stay of 2 if it is including Saturday night during the low season.
Imposing at least bed and breakfast service ensures that everybody has breakfast, so that is
worth setting up a buffet. If an agency does not respect the imposed minimum conditions, even
with free sale or allotment, passes on request.
The minimum requirements are not rigid and can change over the year at the convenience of
the establishment.

1.5. COMMISION
The percentage agreed between the provider of tourist services and the agency or booking
center. It varies depending on whether it is a wholesaler who has to commission their products
to whom he sells, which is the retail travel agency, or it is a retail travel agency who benefits.
.
Usually, a wholesaler has a sales commission of between 20 and 25% of the gross price. Once
the commission is deducted, the price is called net. Wholesalers in turn give a commission to
retailer of between 10 and 14%, so that the difference is benefit to the wholesaler. The more
commission they receive and the less they give, the bigger the profit margin they obtain. When
negotiating the commissions, several points are taken into account such as the type of agency
(if retail or wholesaler), history of previous reservations (whether rising or stagnant trend setting)
and the actual interest of the service provider: if it is a powerful wholesaler with which, up to
date, they had no relationship, it will be interesting to grant a high commission percentage just
to attract them as a customer. The more commission they get, the higher their interest in selling
that tourist service.
A hotel can also boost sales increasing commission rates during the lower season.
EXAMPLE
The price per night for a double room is 100 + 7% VAT (= 107 ) If a
wholesaler has an agency commission of 20%, the net amount to pay the
hotel is 100 - 20% + 7% tax = 85.60.
The difference (107 - 85,60 = 21,40 ) would be considered profit if
everything went to the coffers of the wholesale agency, but if they turn
commission to a retailer for selling them, giving for example a 12%, the
benefit would be another:
100 - 12% + 7% VAT = 94.16 is the amount paid by the retailer, so
the final benefit for the wholesaler would be 94.16 - 85.60 = 8.56

1.6. TERMS OF PAYMENT
The agreed per contract between the parties. We distinguish between prepayment and credit
situation:
Prepayment: When full payment is done before the client makes use of booked
and paid tourist services. In case of a stay in a hotel, it would be the net cost of
the booking. There are variations as a percentage prepayment before arrival of
the client and the rest during the stay, but this is not very common because it is
neither practical nor profitable.
Credit Line: we talk about credit line when it is agreed to pay booked services
after being consumed. So that the payment is not delayed at the discretion of
the wholesaler, a time limit is set of 30, 45, 60 or even 90 days after the receipt
of the invoice. So if 45 days were signed, the wholesaler or reservation center
assumes to settle the bill at the latest within 45 days after receiving the invoice
with the net that covers the booked stay or services. Keep in mind that the
wholesalers are not allowed to sell directly to consumers so that they have in
turn to charge the intermediary (retailer). Again, it may be on credit so they
have to wait to collect, or with prepayment. In this case they already have the
net amount so they can play with the generated interests of having a sum of
money in the bank. A wholesaler therefore prefers credit with a higher deadline
without giving credit in turn.
Another control mechanism is the limit of the credit line. Frequent values are
50,000 to 100,000 . That amount will depend on both the tourist service
provider and the wholesaler or reservation centre. A small hotel may not grant
credit to 45 days from invoice date and a credit line of up to 100,000 because
it probably leads to ruin, which is contrary to large chain hotels. The set limits
tells the maximum amount the wholesaler or reservation centre may owe to the
tourism enterprise in credits, in other words, although 60-days-payment are
signed, if the credit line set at 100,000 is exceeded, the credit will be cut until
it gets reduced to less than 100,000 .
25

1.7. OVERCOMMISSION
Amount that an agency, usually a wholesaler with signed contract, can obtain in function of a
certain pre-agreed production levels. This is a percentage of the total turnover of a period,
following a prescribed amount which is paid by tourism providers to the agencies as a sale
incentive.
Overcommission for prompt payment: You can arrange a higher commission in

exchange for prepayment or make payment within a very small period of time. That is
feasible in cases where the wholesaler, as far as they are concerned, do not give any
credit and therefore they have sufficient liquidity to meet their payments and thus get an
additional amount of commission.
Overcommission for turnover: This can be for the overall turnover at the end of the
campaign or for different levels of turnover. In any case , it always refers to the final net
amount without VAT, generated by the wholesalers with its sales during a calendar
year, and excluding in these calculations possible groups (bookings of more than 20
persons with one same reference number), so the final amount paid for booked
services.
The stages or levels can be from 0 , which means that the wholesaler receives an
overcommission from the first booking they make or starting from an amount they need first to
achieve in order to get this overcommission. Factors like the type of relationship that can unite
both parties and their skills on the negotiation determine such agreements.
Ranges or levels can be:
From 0 to 35,000 2% (this first level may not exist)
From 35,001 to 50,000 3%
From 50,001 to 60,000 4%
60,001 onwards 5%
Another way to boost sales in specific seasons is to set levels according to the season rather
than to overall turnover. So, in the months of low occupancy, the overcommission could be
higher (or minimum turnover amount is lower) than in months where it is easier to sell because
there is high demand.
Low Season:
From 0 to 35.000 2% (*)
Pack Season
From 0 a 50.000 2% (*)
26
From 35.001 to 50.000 3%
From 50.001 to 75.000 3%
From 50.001 to 60.000 4%
From 75.001 to 90.000 4%
From 60.001 onwards 5%
From 90.001 onwards 5%
(*) This first level may not exist.
A contract is an agreement between two or more parties where trade relations are defined. So
are the contracts between tourism enterprises and their customers which can be direct, travel
agencies, wholesalers or retailers or booking centres.
In a contract with a wholesale travel agency particular attention must be paid to:
Rates: Discounts and supplements

Booking types: Allotment (number of rooms) or free sale
Release
Minimum requirements: stay and basis
Commission
Terms of payment: prepayment or credit line
Overcommission: for prompt-payment or turnover
Cost-free products or services

1.8. COST-FREE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
In order to spur sales among its retailers or even among its own employees, wholesalers ask for
the grant of cost-free products or services at the end of the campaign, which they draw or
transfer directly.
Apart from a service contract between a tourist establishment and an agency, there are more
relationships that can be contracted after negotiations between all parties.
Tourism is a major source of income, so that public institutions show their support through
advertising campaigns both nationally and internationally. There are Tourism fairs throughout
the year and everywhere. One of the most important is precisely in Spain, FITUR in Madrid. An
enterprise can participate independently (not very common because of high costs that this
entails unless it is a chain of establishments) or grouped in an association. Institutional
development, whether local, regional, national or international, benefits all tourist areas, and
besides attending trade fairs, it is shown in form of brochures, advertisements, institutional
visits, opening Tourism offices abroad and other occasional events, such as televised galas
from one region of Spain in order to promote it. Besides the musical entertainment and the
show itself, the viewer is guided through the best corners of the region. As an example Summer
Galas like "Murcia, how beautiful you are". Another example could be the Eurovision Song
Contest gala where the host country ensures a millionaire audience across the continent or
Miss and Mister Spain Galas.
A private company apart from its website, flyers and partnership contracts with agencies, can
promote or seek profit through trade agreements with other companies who may not have at
27
first sight to do with tourism. So a coffee shop, bar or restaurant can reach exclusive
agreements with a brand of soda or beer. In exchange for these brands being exclusively sold
in the establishment, they could receive special discounts. However, this won't be seen by the
consumer, thus it is common to get marketing material from the brands, such as the typical
umbrellas, chairs, clip-letters, cards, bottle-holders... In the case of hotels, they can agree
specific campaigns with, for instance, health food producers or water distributors who want to
promote their products as highly healthy. If the hotel owns a spa or wellness area, the producer
or distributor can draw stay at that hotel among their customers. The producer increases their
sales among consumers who want to win that stay and the hotel promises to have these
products in his establishment. The accommodation price is agreed, normally below the
prevailing rate.
Private media advertising can be managed through an own marketing department or through an
advertising agency. Advertisements may be timely, to promote a specific event, such as New
Years Eve Celebration, local festivals, opening new facilities or new product introductions, or
continuously over a period of time, as the small footnotes ads in press to "refresh the memory,"
specialized magazine ads (health magazines, interior decoration, stylish hotels, restaurants,
sports, trip specials in women's magazines (or males), collective magazines: National police,
army, firemen, civil...).
It is also appealing the promotion through sponsorship of sporting events at any level through
insertion of advertising on shirts, banners, billboards or trophies. Each promotion depends on
the type of tourist service and market segment you want to attract. On a professional level,
advertising reaches a broad audience. A few years ago Atletico de Madrid (a football club) bore
Marbella city in their shirts so the city was promoted worldwide. This is a good example of
promotional success. If instead of promoting the whole city, it had been a city restaurant called
"Casa Pepe" it would probably have been far less successful. No one would travel only and
specifically from, say, England to visit a restaurant. On a more modest level, if a restaurant or a
hotel with spa services is promoted on the shirts or signs of a small regional team, spectators
from the surroundings can be potential customers and it is a fine way to reach them.
Finally, it is necessary to include the increasingly importance of promotion through social
networks such as Facebook, MySpace or Tuenti. This is a new form of communication where
problems such as space, time or ubiquity disappear; an information tool for sharing knowledge,
helping to find communities, to integrate them and cooperate. It has become a quick and cheap
way to make promotion and communicate with past and future clients making them aware of
developments. Like most things it is also a double-edged sword in the sense that others can
post their experiences both positive and negative.

1. MANAGEMENT OF ROOM BOOKINGS AND OTHER SERVICES OF THE HOTEL
ESTABLISHMENT
Direct ones are those that the final consumer makes directly, whether of a hotel stay,
an airline ticket or a restaurant table. The customer can obtain information through
multiple channels: Internet, guidebooks and tourist brochures, tourism fairs, television
programs or directly from the provider.
o Hotel Accommodation bookings: Internet and telephone are the best allies
when booking a hotel room.
On its website the hotel advertises its rates, packages and proposals and the
client chooses based on what he prefers. Most of the websites of the hotels
have the option to on-line bookings, to check availability, rates and to receive
28
confirmations immediately. The website has to be updated every time a

reservation enters in order to have exact and correct information; it also serves
to encourage specific dates, for instance if it appears that a date has a low
occupancy, it is possible to launch a specific tender on that date in order to
minimize loss of earnings.
If the management is by phone, it's the reservations department task to close
successfully the booking. They must pay attention to what the client says, listen
to what he asks for and thus recommend the best option for the customer. If
travelling with children, he may opt for a larger accommodation or for a package
including half board or some type of complementary activity. Meanwhile a
customer who is on a business travel probably does not look for much more
than a room and few facilities. Once it is known the choice of accommodation
type the customer wants, we must check the availability of date, always taking
into account any allotment or blockades made by an agency with which a
contract is signed. Allotment must always be respected, so until the expiration
of the release, a Hotel cannot sell any room even if they still have no
confirmation. Given this situation, a Hotel always has to offer alternatives, either
offering other dates or another room-type or offering a waiting list. The possible
reservation is in stand-by until the moment a cancellation occurs or the release
expires and so the rooms become again property of the establishment.
The booking request meets all our requirements, we do have availability of
room type and dates and the customer accepts the provided quotation, we
proceed to the reservation itself. A booking form is filled out with all points
concerning this booking. Essential data are the customer's name, exact date of
entry and exit, type and number of bedrooms, number of people who occupy
(adults and children), chosen regimen, additional services (activities program,
treatment program if it is a hotel with spa services), special clients requests
(cod, terrace, non-smoking room, upstairs...), contact telephone number, fax or
mail to send written confirmation and reservations guarantee in shape of a
credit card. This last step can be replaced by a bank transfer if the customer
does not want to provide his credit card. A hotel is an enterprise that seeks to
generate profits, therefore it cannot trust - except in some isolated cases the
good word of a client, that is why money acts as a guarantee: it can vary from a
the amount of the first night up to a percentage of the final price. This amount of
money is on the customer's account and is deducted from the final invoice. If
the client does not check-in on the booked day, the hotel can keep the collateral
money to offset the loss generated by the lost reservation. Either the client
makes a cash deposit as a guarantee, or a bank transfer or gives a credit card
numeration, it is important to stress the requirement of sending always a written
confirmation to the client indicating the amount of the guarantee and a
reference number, either by fax, by email, SMS, or, infrequently, postal mail.
Confirmation is useful for both parties: the customer has something physical to
confirm his purchase with all its details and so does the hotel, so in case of
doubt, everything is written (the date could be wrong and that would be a big
problem during peak season). The customer must also be informed of possible
charges in case of cancellation or modification, for example how much it would
cost if he cancels out of time (usually the amount of the guarantee of booking).
A customer with a confirmed booking with check-in on day 20th of the month,
contacts the hotel 1 day before wanting to delay his check-in day for 2 days. He
is not cancelling the booking, but even so the hotel could - according to their
cancellation policy charge cancellation costs because the customer is
cancelling the first night just one day in advance so the hotel may have no
longer option to sell the room by itself. Never forget that a hotel sells a
perishable product: an unsold room cannot be stored for sale on another
occasion, it is a room that cannot be sold anymore.
29
intermediary who can be a travel agent or an online reservation centre.
complete his purchase:
o
Hotel accommodation Booking: The sale of hotel rooms through a travel

agency can be of single nights or of a whole package including travel, transfers
to the hotel, accommodation arrangements, excursions
Systems as Amadeus facilitate the efforts. Another option would be direct
contact with the hotel or other intermediary which would be the wholesale
agency. This last one launches a leaflet with their products, but, by law, they
cannot sell directly to the customer and they must use retailers and distributors.
The confirmation may be immediate if the wholesaler has an allotment, or on
request if they do not have any allotment and have to consult with the hotel
whether there is availability or not. The amount of commission that a retailer
gets for selling a product from a wholesaler is essential in order to choose
working with one or another, but this is not always the most decisive point. If a
wholesaler gives a commission of 14% but is never able to confirm bookings
immediately, the retailer may seek to sell another wholesaler who maybe gives
less commission but confirms at the moment, so that the sale can be closed in
on the spot. A customer who wants to buy and does not get what he is looking
for, may change his mind or seek his fortune elsewhere, so that would be a lost
sale. After closing the sale and getting the written confirmation from the
wholesaler, the retailer charges the consumer the full amount, issues a voucher
covering the booked services and delivers it to the client in order to be given to
the hotel.
A voucher is a document issued by a travel agency which requests the hotel (or other
touristic service) to provide the indicated services. There are different types of
vouchers:
o
Personal voucher: Customer's name is written, so in case of loss nobody

could benefit from it. Also written arrival and departure dates, confirmed room
type, number of people and rooms, basis, booking reference and stamp of the
retailer agency that processed the booking. The voucher may be designed by
the own retailer, especially if the sale is directly made. If the voucher is an own
design but the booking was confirmed by a wholesaler an indication of who is
the final payer usually appears (for instance: Payable through Ekoalfa S.A.).
Most of the wholesalers design their own vouchers which they hand out blankly
to their retailer. Another option is to send the original voucher scanned to the
agency or by fax. If the client does not make his check-in as confirmed on the
voucher, the customer could lose the right to enjoy the tourist service.
Everything which is not covered by the voucher is considered an extra which
has to be paid by the client to their departure.
Onsite service voucher: This type of voucher is much less common than the
first one. It only confirms some services but does not serve as a payment
method, since all reflected services have not been paid previously, these being
paid directly by the customer once the service is used. An example can be car
rental service or in case of a hotel, when the retailer has no credit and must pay
in advance but for some reason cannot make such prepayment (weekend). It is
important to distinguish this kind of voucher from a personal one, as one
involves the payment of services and the other is a direct client payment.
30
Open Voucher: These vouchers are paid in advance, but they are anonymous,
it means they reflect neither name nor dates, so if you lose one of these, it
could be used by another person. The most common are offers such as
Weekend Plan, Bancotel, Talonhotel... The price of these vouchers is lower
than the hotel's official rate and they do not usually include anything but the
room. The customer can purchase those checks in an agency without a
planned trip and use them at his discretion within their validity (usually a year)
by booking the hotel directly. They are usually valid in low season helping this
way to improve a poor occupation but they carry the risk of becoming a noshow and there is no way to get the money. The hotels try to protect
themselves by dictating top hours of arrival, cancelling all bookings which did
not make the check-in before that time (around 18.00).
Full Credit voucher: The most expensive type of voucher. It covers everything
a client may consume during his stay. Only very VIP customers or with special
treatment or account with an agency can apply for this kind of voucher,
because it responds for all tourist services. When invoicing, the hotel charges
everything used by the clients with no feedback from the customer, so in some
cases the payment takes longer than expected. Many hotels are very reluctant
to accept this type of voucher. It also involves the inability to prepay because it
is impossible to quantify the extras in advance. For rental cars it is usually more
common, since the only thing to be "extra" here would be fuel if the tank is not
left as agreed.

ESTABLISHMENT
Hotel Accommodation bookings: Internet and telephone are the best allies
31

32

the hotel.
vouchers:
o

33
left as agreed.

ESTABLISHMENT
Hotel Accommodation bookings: Internet and telephone are the best allies
34

35
the hotel.
vouchers:
o

left as agreed.
36

1. DOCUMENTS COMPLETION RELATING TO THE MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF
A HOTEL.
Documents needed in management and marketing of a hotel:
Booking index card

Agency booking index card
Voucher
Welcome Contract (accommodation contract)
Police registration

1.1. BOOKING INDEX CARD.
Where to translate the data related to a customer reserve.
Vital points:
Customer Name
Phone, email or fax contact, to get in touch with the customer in case of doubt and to
send the written booking confirmation.
Date of arrival at hotel. Note: In case of mistake could generate a room overbooking or
unsold room.
Check out date. Important to specify either the day of departure. Write from ... to ... may
lead to a misunderstanding whether the last night is included or not.
Type of room. If a standard double room, suite, triple, with cod...
Number of people and distribution. Number of rooms: how many people go to sleep and
how they are distributed. 3 persons can stay in a double and one single or a triple.
Chosen basis. Bookings can be B (only bed) BB (bed and breakfast) HB (Half Board)
FB (full board) AI (All inclusive)
Rates, promotion. Provided and confirmed price indicating whether it includes any
special detail.
Guarantee (This may be the numeration of a credit card where an amount can be
debited or not depending on hotel booking policy, a bank transfer or much less
commonly, a cash amount in cash delivered directly to hotel).
37

1.2. AGENCY BOOKING.
Similar to data in booking index card, but in this case is the agency the responsible of
collecting customers data. The Hotel gets the on request or confirmed booking with all the
points except phone, fax or mail (in this case we just need the agencies contact). The guarantee
depends whether it is an agency with contract or not. A retailer without contract is requested to
prepay the booking, meanwhile a wholesaler with contract usually does not need to.
1.3. VOUCHER.
Document which acts as a proof of booked services. Those listed are those that the client
booked and is entitled to.
There are different types depending on if it is a presentation voucher (Entitles to mentioned
services but they must be paid at the end of the stay at the hotel); if this is afull credit
voucher (absolutely all the services that customers consume will be paid by the voucher
issuer); if it is an open voucher (usually includes 1 night accommodation); if it is a personal
voucher (closed dates. If the client does not appear as indicated, he would lose all rights).
Except for open voucher, all the others have in common the imperative of customers name,
date of arrival and departure, booked room type, chosen basis and if any special promotion was
taken

1.4. WELCOME CONTRACT (ACCOMMODATION CONTRACT)
Accommodation contract between the hotel and the customer who is staying consisting of a
copy for the establishment and one for the client.
It consists of both: clients and booking data, so customers name, number of persons staying,
room number, chosen basis, arrival day, departure and other observations that the hotel may
consider important (for example if the customer took garage). Being a contract, it is important to
note that conditions the client needs to know , such as maximum time of departure,
cancellations and amendments policy. A customer who has not been reported to not incur
cancellation charges, must advise in advance if he leaves the hotel in advance (and therefore
cancel one night), could refuse to pay for not knowing precisely the cancellation policy. That is
its importance. There is no standard model, each hotel can design it following their taste and
needs. Extra space is usually used to publish Hotel services.
38

1.5. POLICE REGISTRATION
It is mandatory in all types of establishment to know at all times who stays at the hotel. A
registration card has to be filled in for every person over 16 years with full name, sex, identity
card number, date of birth, date of issue of ID card, document type (if ID card, passport, driving
license, residence permit for foreigners). It must be signed by the owner, and bear the seal of
the establishment. The hotel is obliged to keep the signed cards grouped into up to 500 units
over a period of not less than 5 years. The police may claim them at any time, hence the
importance of adequately filling.
Formerly the customers data had to be sent by fax to the Police, had o be written in a Police
Book which had to be sent at the Police Station once a month. This system is completely
obsolete. Today, data reviews must be sent daily via Internet
UNIT 2. PROVISION OF TOURIST INFORMATION IN ENGLISH

1. TOURIST INFORMATION
Tourist information is the set of services offered to tourists with the aim of informing, guiding
and helping them during their trip or stay. These services are offered by tourism information
offices or through tourist information agents, guides, interpreters, group assistants, etc.
All those public services which provide information at no cost and are aimed to inform and
assist tourists during their trips or stays are also included.
As tourist information we understand:
Cultural resources and activities: monuments, museums, rural areas, places of interest
to tourists, fairs, conferences, festivals,
Tourist activities, either cultural, recreational or sportive.
Services of interest: means of transport, hospital, phone numbers,
Communication or advertising material: leaflets, posters, guides, maps,
Companies related to the tourist industry: restaurants, hotels,

2. TOURIST INFORMATION CENTERS
Tourist information centers or offices offer a broad guidance service of tourist information
about the geographical area where they are placed. They also manage, assist and search for
that information covering both technical and human aspects.
Tourist information offices are devices at the service of tourist development They are
distributed along every geographical region and they are related to the other tourist areas,
being exclusive in the municipalities where they are located.
In Spain, there are more than 1,500 public offices.
39
These offices not only provide information to customers in a direct way, but also to tourist
services companies (restaurants, hotels,) which later will provide this information to their own
customers.
The main goals of a Tourist Information Center (TIC) are:
Providing a public service

Improving quality of the region tourist destinations
Making visitors stay easier
Increasing tourists arrivals, making their bookings, stays and journeys easier and more
comfortable.
40
Tourist information centers can be organized into tourist information networks. They share
efforts and resources and make their work methods homogeneous, this way.
Centers belonging to a network should follow some basic and common working rules. They
share promotional material (catalogues, leaflets, maps) and they normally use an intranet in
order to operate with the same database, thus making visitors mobility.
3. INFORMATION EXCHANGE
TICs should have correct and up-to-date information related to the region where they are
located and its surroundings.
It is because of this reason that they should communicate with other TICs and with providers of
tourist services.
A tourist information office should obtain information from the following sources:
From the municipality tourism counsellorship which will provide information about
festivals, events, fairs, concerts,
From museums, theaters, cinemas which will provide information about shows,
timetables, prices,
From the points of interest such as natural reserves, places of historic interest and their
timetables, services,prices,
From leisure places such as zoos, amusement parks and their timetables, services,
prices,
From the different urban transport companies such as taxis, local buses, underground,
trams and their routes, timetables and prices.
From the interurban transport companies such as trains, underground, buses, planes,
ships and their timetables, location, destinations and prices.
From the catering companies such as restaurants, pubs, discos,and their timetables,
prices and services.
From the hotels which will provide information regarding their category, services,
fees,
From other tourist information offices.
From sports facilities which will provide information about their equipment, timetable,
address,
At the same time, tourist information offices will provide information to:
Other tourist information offices
Other municipalities
Local and external neighbourhood associations.
Hotels
Nowadays, this exchange of information is basically made on the Internet, through the offices
and service companies webs and also through newsletters.
In the tourist industry catalogues and leaflets, whether printed or on-line, keep being a very
usual way of advertising.
An example is the leaflet Vigo en ruta, published both in Spanish and in English, where there
is a full description of interesting places to visit and the best routes to get to them.
EXAMPLE
E-mail sent by an amusement park to a tourist information office.
To: CFV Information Office
CC:
Subject: Parque Diversin New Catalogue
Summer Catalogue 2009
Dear Ana,
In Parque Diversin we have renewed our offer for this summer, including
new activities, such as the zip-line for children under 12 and the paintball for
adults.
In order to celebrate it, we will have 3 days a week with reduced prices,
during the month of July.
Please, find our new catalogue in pdf attached to this e-mail. I would also
like to inform you that you will be receiving the new informative leaflets in
the forthcoming days.
We would really appreciate if you could hand them over and please, do not
hesitate to ask for more.
Best
Pedro Ramas,
regards
41
Another way of providing information in a clear and visual way is through the use of spots,
which can be shown both online or on television.
Some examples of spots are Montenegro Wild Beauty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqGMyRHkMjA
and Soulful Japan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm0dwrtRMuM
42
Apart from obvious differences, both videos use image and sound to attract potencial tourists,
highlighting those aspects that can be more appealing: beach and activities in the case of
Montenegro and relax and tradition in the case of Japan.

4. INTERNET INFORMATION SOURCES
One of the main tourist information sources is the Internet.

For this reason, each country, even each region or city, have web pages which provide users
and companies with tourist information.
Sources:
Amadeus:
Albania
Germany
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Denmark
Scotland
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Greece
Holland
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
www.amadeus.net
www.albaniantourism.com
www.germany-tourism.co.uk
www.andorra.ad
www.austriatourism.com
www.visitbelgium.com
www.bhtourism.ba
www.bulgariatravel.org
www.htz.hr
www.visitdenmark.com
www.visitscotland.com
www.slovakia.travel
www.slovenia.info
www.spain.info
www.visitestonia.com
www.visitfinland.com
www.francetourism.com
www.visitgreece.gr
www.holland.com
www.hungarytourism.hu
www.discoverireland.ie
www.icetourist.is
www.italiantourism.com
Latvia
www.latviatourism.lv
Liechtenstein
www.tourismus.li
Lithuanian
www.lithuaniatourism.co
luxemburg
www.visitluxembourg.com
Macedonia
www.exploringmacedonia.com
Malta
www.visitmalta.com
Monaco
www.visitmonaco.com
Norway
www.visitnorway.com
Poland
www.polonia.travel
Portugal
www.visitportugal.com
Britain
www.visitbritain.com
Czech Republic
www.czechtourism.com
Moldova Republic
www.turism.md
Romania
www.romaniatourism.com
Russia
www.russia-travel.com
Sweden
www.visitsweden.com
Switzerland
www.myswitzerland.com
Serbia and Montenegro www.visit-montenegro.com

1. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
The tourism industry works mainly upon information. The way in which we organize and
present that information may be the difference which makes a customer come to an agency or
another.
It is essential to manage the information available using the kind of software that makes that
process easier.
1.1. INFORMATION SEARCH
On many occasions, the first problem we encounter when searching for information is the
language. It establishes a contact with the environment of the problem, and the knowledge of it
brings us closer to the nature of information.
It is necessary for the tourism industry employees to know the specific language used in the
industry, English at least, since this is the current lingua franca.
In information management, the needs for searching information can fall into one of these
categories:
Profesional needs sare those needs where the knowledge is related to the
professional activity.
Efficiency needs are based on the need to improve the efficiency of the company or
the service.
Quality needs are related to the need to improve and obtain an acceptable standard.
43
When searching for information we can make use of the Internet, but we face several problems
there:
Too much information and a great part of it can be considered as junk information: it is
not reliable, it is incomplete
Disarray: the information is not presented in a logical order
Lack of knowledge: the information is adapted to our knowledge level, and this is the
reason why we are not able to understand it sometimes.
Lack of guidance
44
To help us with our search, we can use the search tools:
Search engines:
Searches are made using keywords and not topics, and the results appear in order of
relevance according to criteria alien to us.
An example of these search engines is Google, with more than 8.000 million pages.
Some searching strategies are:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Skilfully choosing the keywords, considering their context

Changing the words that brought up no results
You should always check the spelling
Choosing the appropriate tool and knowing how to use it
Making use of the search engines math
Searching in English
To evaluate the quality of the information obtained, we can use the URL, the authors, the
sources, the links, the quotes,
Indexes or directories
We can make an indexed search and the results will be organized in categories. You
must be familiar with their structure.
An example of this is the Yellow Pages.
Meta search engines

The search can be made in several search engines at the same time. It brings up too
many results, but they are useful for basic searches.
Specialized search engines

They are specially designed for the tourism industry.

1.2. SELECTION
Depending on our purpose, the information will be presented in a way or other. The
presentation and the way in which we group the information obtained varies from simple files
containing information, summaries, essays, revisions, reviews, reports, thesis, brochures,
forms, to a descriptive way of presenting the information in a speech.
The importance of each of the previous approaches will vary according to the information we
want to present.
Summary: it shows in a few lines the information contained in the documents it refers to.
Revision: it can be generated at the same time of doing the search and the data can be
entered automatically. The objective is to gather information avoiding subjectivity as far
as possible.
Reports, reviews and minutes: a review lets us show in a clear and precise way a topic
which requires a deep previous knowledge. A report shows the subject in a clear and
objective way. a.
Essay: it shows all the information in an objective way from a scientific point of view, but
it also adds the subjectivity of literary beauty.
Glossary: it contains the definitions, the abstract concepts construction, the precision,
the simplicity of concepts and the application typical of the language in the contributions
to possible research or ways in which you can interpret reality through the written word.
Thesis: line of argument which constitutes the base for research.
Book: it gathers together the information, it classifies it, connects it and distributes it in
sections called chapters.
File: it makes the search for information easy. Unlike the summary, the writing style of
cards must serve as a reminder. The presentation responds to efficiency criteria and
immediate comprehension, which is the result of a very strict methodology.

1.3. ORGANIZATION
Organizing information is an important part of information management, since isolated pieces
of information are not useful.
1.4. PROCESSING
45
Sometimes, processing information will warn us of any loose ends. Every process will lead us
to possible research, new selections, new searches. It will make us re-organize the information
to obtain a bigger benefit. The process will be finished when we have answers to give.

1.5. DATABASE
A database is like a storage room in which we keep large quantities of information in an
organized way for us to be able to easily find it and use it later. It can be defined as a grouped
or structured set of related pieces of information.
From the point of view of information technology, a database is a system formed by a set of
data stored in disks which can be directly accessed to and a set of computer programs to
handle those data.
A database consists of one or more tables which store data. Each table has one or more
columns and rows. Columns keep part of the information about every item we want to save in
the table. Each row in the table is a record.
Some of the characteristics of databases are:
Logical and physical independence of data.

Minimum redundancy.
Concurrent access by multiple users.
Integrity of data.
Optimized complex queries.
Security of access and authorship.
Backup and recovery.
Access through standard programming languages.
A Database Management System (DBMS) is a specific type of software, designed to be the

interface between the database, the user and the applications that use it. It consists of a data
definition language, a data manipulation language and a database query language.
Advantages of databases:
Control of data redundancy: databases prevent saving several copies of the same data
in different files.
Data consistency: removing or controlling data redundancies greatly reduces the

possibility of any inconsistencies.
Data sharing: the database is property of the company and can be shared by all the
authorized users.
Meeting standards: standards may be set on the format of data to facilitate their
exchange. We can set document standards, updating process standards, and rules of
access.
46
Improvement of data integrity: the integrity of the database refers to the validity and
consistency of the stored data.
Improvement of security: the database security is the protection of the database against
non-authorized users.
Improvement of accessibility to data: many DBMSes provide query languages or report

generators which let the user do any type of query over the data, without the need of a
programmer writing an application to carry out that task.
Improvement of productivity: the DBMS provides all the typical routines for file
management. The availability of these functions allows the programmer to focus on the
specific function required by the users, without having to worry about the details of low
level implementation.
Improvement of maintenance: in file systems, the descriptions of data are included in

the programs that handle them. However, DBMSes separate the descriptions of data
from the application. This is known as data independence. It simplifies the maintenance
work of the applications that have access to the database.
Increase of concurrence: most DBMSes manage the concurrent access to the database
and guarantee that no problems will occur.
Improvement of back-up service: many file systems require the users to make daily
back-ups, and to restore them using these back-ups if something goes wrong. However,
current DBMSes work in a manner that minimizes the quantity of lost work when a
failure takes place.
The main disadvantage of databases is their complexity. Database management systems are
groups of programs that can become very complex, with a great functionality.
1.6. SOFTWARE PROGRAMS APPLIED TO THE TOURISM INDUSTRY
A CRS (Computer Reservations System) is a computerized system used to conduct
transactions and retrieve information related to air travellers.
Originally designed by airlines to meet their organization needs, CRSes were later extended for
the use of travel agents, as a channel for sales.
They required an exclusive computer system and therefore they were very expensive.
The functions of a CRS are:
To give information about schedules

Availability
Fares and related services
Booking
Tickets issuing
A GDS (Global Distribution System) is a computerized system which includes all CRSes and
extends their functionality to other areas related to travelling, like:
Allowing to book additional services: hotel, car rental, etc.

Instant verification of the validity of credit card payments.
47
Access to a general information system.
Information system of a CRS/GDS:
Automatic reservations: A CRS/GDS contains all the flights and services offered by
proprietary and depositary.
Requests reservations: A CRS/GDS contains flights and services offered on request by
non-depositary companies.
48
The confirmation of reservations leads to the creation of the PNR (Passenger Name Record)
which is unique for a set of transactions and is different for transactions from different non-allied
CRS/GDS.
PNR is a record in the database of a CRS which contains information about the reservation of a
passenger or a group of passengers travelling together.
The structure of a PNR is:
Last and first name of the customer

Contact details, agency or office
Ticket number and deadline for payment
Itinerary and services data (a line for each segment or service)
Name of the person who makes the reservation
Record locator (provided by the CRS)
Details about fares and restrictions
Method of payment
Additional information to contact the customer
Control of the ticket issuing
Special services and information about customers
EXAMPLE OF A PNR
ABC123/1S AG 01234567 23JUL
1.1WARRIOR/ROAD*1234
1 UA 123F 10AUG SFOJFK HK1 0815A 0515P * WE E
2 HHL GR HK1 JFK 10AUG-12MAR 2NT 98765 GRAND HOTEL NEW YORK
1234ABCD-1/RG-USD215.00/AGT01234567/G-DC12345678910123EXP0904/SI
NON SMKG KING CD-GLOBALCON/NM-WARRIOR ROAD/CF-87654321 *
3 DL1234F 12AUG JFKSFO HK1 1125A 0210P * FR E
4 OTH ZO BK1 SFO 15MAY-**THANK YOU FOR CALLING ABC TRAVEL**
*** PROFILE ASSOCIATIONS EXIST *** >*PA
*** SEAT DATA EXISTS *** >9D
*** FREQUENT FLYER DATA EXISTS *** >*MP
*** ITINERARY REMARKS EXIST *** >RM*
FONE-SFOAS/415-555-1111 ABC TRAVEL 01234567-JANE
2 SFOR/415-555-2222-RES
3 SFOB/925-555-3333-MARY SMITH
4 SFOB/415-555-4444-PAX
5 SFOF/925-555-5555-FAX
6 SFOR/415-555-6666-PAX CELL
7 SFOB/800-555-7777
RUL*PNR
DLVR-ATTN-MARY SMITH[PSGR-MR ROAD WARRIOR[DEL-15MAY[VIP
ADRS-GLOBAL CONGLOMERATE INC[123 MAIN ST[ANYTOWN CA Z/94123
FOP:-DC12345678910123/D0904
TKTG-T/QAB 15MAY0215Z 1X AG **ELECTRONIC DATA EXISTS** >*HTE
Among the many programs available in the market to manage the input and output of
information,
these
are
the
most
important
ones:
De entre los muchos programas que existen en el mercado, para gestionar la informacin de
entrada y salida, podemos destacar:
Reservations system: Galileo. It is used to code and decode airports, cities and airlines
codes, to check airlines availability, reservations, sales, to confirm and retrieve
reservations, to examine optional fields and changes in the reservation, schedules
Hotel reservations system: Fidelio. It is used to book hotel rooms, to manage the
services, to manage invoicing, to create statistics, to manage suppliers
Hotel reservations system: Fortune. It is used to manage customer profiles, to make
reservations, to issue invoices
Tourism information system: Amadeus. It is used to plan trips, it offers information
about flights, car rental and hotels.

2. SERVICE SUPPLIERS
Service suppliers are external organizations that provide services to other companies and users
in the tourism industry.
Some of them are: travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, car rental companies, airlines
These service suppliers provide information.
49

3. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS:
Tourism companies select and create the information provided by the suppliers to distribute it
among
3. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS:
Tourism companies select and create the information provided by the suppliers to distribute it
among their customers according to their needs and characteristics.
In a hotel, when the guest arrives s/he is offered a description of the general services which
most customers may be interested in: restaurant, Internet connection
Additionally, if the guest comes with a child, s/he will be given information about nursery
services and the facilities designed for children.
According to the age of the guest, s/he will be offered the services which are usually demanded
by customers in that same age frame.
This communication will be constant and it will respond to the requirements of the guest.

1. PROVIDING GENERAL INFORMATION TO THE CUSTOMER ABOUT DESTINATIONS,
ROUTES, WEATHER, ENVIRONMENT AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Providing information is one of the services of customer care and advice that tourism
companies offer to individuals and groups.

1.1. BEHAVIOUR IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
Tourist services require of staff who are trustworthy among customers and who make
customers identify themselves with the organization, the company and the products that are
being offered.
If customers are satisfied with the products but unhappy with the attention they get, it can result
on a great loss to the company.
Working in contact with the public, tourist services staff must have the following advice into
account:
Be kind: each and every member of the staff working in a tourist company should
understand that they are representatives of the company and the company is
representative of the tourist sector.
50
Keep yourself up to date with your companys product: staff should not only be kind
with customers but they should also know deeply the product they are offering.
Know your company policy: workers must know the company internal regulations
regarding what should not be done and, regarding their tasks, they should know the
correct procedure to carry them out. Likewise, they should know the discounts applied
to customers, the quantity of products limited to customers, the relationship with
suppliers,
the
relationship
with
products
It is also necessary for each member of staff to know accurately the characteristics of
their tasks and their relationship with other members of staff and other posts within the
compan.
Privacy is an important subject: when workers render a service to customers, they

are exposing themselves to criticism, depending on the customers personal
characteristics, which can be of a more or less kind nature. For this reason it is
important for staff to have a strictly professional relation with their customers.
Staff who deals with the general public must respect their customers privacy and, both
the company and the staff, should watch over each member of staffs privacy.
Know the value of the service rendered: workers must be proactive, dynamic,
discreet but above all, they must be responsible for the value that their work represents,
the quality of service, the quality of the product and the quality of the company.
They must transmit those values to customers respecting the companys policies and
making the customers trust in the product, the company, the products value and the
members of staff.
Take care of your image or appearance: everybody develops the need of feeling they
are facing the best market opportunity. Customers have this experience through the
image
of
the
company,
the
product
and
the
staff.
For this reason, many companies develop policies intended to the staffs perfect
appearance, regarding their uniforms and the way they behave while they work in the
company.
Establish labour relations: relations among members of staff are aspects to be taken
into account within the company. Bad relations between the groups of work affect the
image of the company, the customers attention, the performance of the tasks, the
product disposal and every general resolution among parties, in order to achieve a
satisfactory
quality
service.
Customers notice when the relations among workers are in harmony and they also
perceive when there are differences among the members of a work team.
Be creative and improve the service rendered: workers who stand out in a company
are those who suggest new alternatives for sales, new solutions to existing problems,
new ideas to increase performance and have new proposals to increase the services
value.
Customers are satisfied when they feel that staff is qualified to solve any problem or
unforeseen event while they are rendering a service.
51

1.1.1. COMMUNICATION
People communicate verbally and non-verbally. In order to understand customers in an efficient
way, we should pay attention to their words, their gestures and the way they express
themselves.
Behaviour and non verbal communication is shown in different ways. From the customer service
point of view, we must take the following behaviours into account:
Smile. It is necessary to smile warmly and naturally at the beginning of the commercial
interaction so that the customer is willing to be in good spirits.
Look customers into their eyes: visual contact helps and reinforces communication.
Nod or shake your head. In order to show that we understand and follow customers
communication we should move our heads slightly.
Control our body language. Body gestures should not be excessive or clichd. Any
forward movement shows interest in the communication the same way that backward
movements show lack of interest or disagreement.;
Folded arms. If there is a small personal space it is advisable not to fold our arms as
some kind of gap between two people. We can simply hold our own hands to show
more warmth.
Shake hands firmly. We should shake hands firmly and warmly.
When we communicate ourselves, our style is our best asset as well as our image, personal
appearance and non verbal behaviour.
In every way of communication, assertive style is the most effective, since it is aimed at
objectives and so, the chances to reach them are higher. This style is defined by expressing
clearly and concisely ideas, wishes, requests and attitudes towards another person, always
being respectful with the other persons point of view.
When we speak we should try the content and language to be clear, specific and complete at
the same time. For this reason, we should follow some pieces of advice:
The more we know about a subject, the easier we can explain it.
We should use short sentences and paragraphs in order to make understanding easier.
Verbal tenses should be close from the psychological point of view. If we are talking
about the past, compound forms are always closer.
We should never use unnecessary technical terms.
In order to get a correct communication we should adopt an assertive style which can help us
direct our communication depending on our objectives. We should select the necessary skills in
order to reach our objectives given a particular context. Some of the skills that help
communication are:
To listen actively.
To notice non verbal signs.
To choose the right time and place for each kind of communication.
To summarize what we are explaining.
To make short and direct questions which help us get information.
To be positive.
To give useful and planned information.
To give importance to the first moments of communication.
52

1.1.2. QUALITY SERVICE
In order to get a quality service it is necessary to act according to certain standards that have
been previously established either by us or by others. Service is the combination of benefits
expected by customers, apart from the basic service resulting from the purchase. The quality of
service is remarked by customers because it depends on their perception.
Quality and satisfaction are based on customers perceptions regarding a given service. We
can define perception as the acknowledgment of something through the senses or intelligence,
thus it is a psychological and active phenomenon.
Offering customers details that they did not expect and which go beyond their perception
through senses is what we call unexpected quality. This is placed above the agreed quality:
"Payment in exchange for certain specific services that are thus owed to me.
Unexpected quality is above the kind and careful treatment that looks for the lack of defects,
and it is indispensable for the competitiveness in the attraction of new customers and above
what is agreed and normal. All these questions are fundamental in the customers decision
making.
If we want to foster customer loyalty we should go beyond their expectations regarding the
expected service. Besides it is important to keep this loyalty relationship throughout time. Here
are some rules in order to improve customer service:
Do not have a customer waiting, greet him/her immediately.

Pay full attention, without distractions or interruptions.
Give value to the first thirty seconds.
Be natural, not false or robot like.
Show energy and friendliness (enthusiasm).
Be your customers agent (if you cannot solve a problem, help to find who can do it).
Think and use your common sense in order to solve your customers problem.
Adapt the rules whenever it is necessary (in case the rule can be questioned).
Give value to the last thirty seconds (leave good impression).
Keep yourself in good shape, take care of yourself.
The importance of customer service for nowadays companies has become an important
competitive advantage which allows them to be in the market, to grow and to get profitability.
This advantage attracts customers and creates enough confidence to make them ask again for
the same products and services.
We search not only the quality of service, but also the excellence.
The 10 commandments for a service of excellence are:
1. The customer is the most important person in the company.
2. The customer does not depend on you; it is you who depend on the customer. You
work for your customers.
3. The customer does not interrupt your work. He is the purpose of your work.
4. The customer does you a favour when he visits you or when he calls you to make a
business deal. You are not doing him any favour by dealing with him.
53
5. The customer is part of your company in the same way as any other, including
inventory, staff and facilities. If you sell your company, your customers will go with it.
6. The customer is not a mere figure, but a person with feelings and emotions, just as you
are. Treat the customer better than you would like to be treated.
7. The customer is not someone to argue with or to beat with tricks.
8. Your job is to satisfy your customers necessities, wishes and expectations whenever it
is possible. We should also dispel their fears and solve their complaints.
9. The customer deserves to be treated with the highest attention, kindness
professionalism that you can offer him/her.
10. The customer is the most vital part of your company or business. Always remember that
without your customers, you would not have business activities. You work for your
customers.
54
1.2. TOURIST INFORMATION SERVICE
Visitors service tasks are mainly divided into front-desk and black-desk tasks.
FRONT-DESK. After-sales service tasks in the presence of customers.
Service to tourists, visitors and natives through tourist information provision: basic and
complementary offer, cultural agenda, entertainment, festivities, means of transport,
museums, taxis, destinations, parks, etc.
Group attention and guided tours.
Attention and processing of complaints through territorial services.
BACK-DESK. Service to customers who are not present.
Processing tourist requests through consultations on the phone, e-mail, ordinary mail
and fax

1.3. INFORMATION PLANNING
1. Promotion:
Development of promotional and advertising material and different media (video,

spots,) for the image campaigns.
Attendance to the main tourism fairs.
Advertising in different means of communication.
Development of events: parties, contests, fairs, etc.
2. Product improvement:
Assessment of the different resources and tourist offer: cultural, gastronomic, natural,
sportive, festivities,
Processing subventions.

1.4. PROVIDING INFORMATION
1.4.1. Providing information about tourist destinations
1.4.2. Providing information about routes

1.4.3. Providing information about weather conditions
1.4.4. Providing information about environment and leisure possibilities

1.4.1. PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT TOURIST DESTINATIONS
In travel agencies, it is very common that customers do not have a specific idea about the
place they want to go. Many times, they are limited by their working schedule which reduces the
periods they can travel. Sometimes they are limited economically and some other times they are
limited by their ignorance of the offer.
There are also situations in which, even though the customer seems to know exactly the
destination where he wants to go, he/she is open to suggestions, if they are close to their
interests. That is, a customer who is interested in cultural visits in Rome, for instance, will
probably accept suggestions about other culturally relevant cities, but he/she is not likely to feel
attracted towards a trip to a tropical beach.
It is a task of the tourist agency staff to provide customers with suitable information, taking into
account the period they want or are able to travel, the money they are willing to spend and their
interests.
For this purpose, tourist agencies have catalogues, made by themselves or by the wholesalers,
which summarize the main characteristics of each destination.
Customers can also have access to this information through the internet, the agencies web
pages and also the official web pages of the different countries.
When we provide information about a destination, we should take into account what the
customer is interested in.
Taking Amadeus as an example, both for retailers and individuals, we can see that information
about destinations is organized in the following categories:
General information:
Introduction: destination short description, location and how to get there.
Basic characteristics: way of government, electricity, area, population, language,
geographic description,
Means of transport: car, bus, ship, train, tram, destinations, prices, bonus
Festivities, traditions and events: religion, festivities, bank holidays, customs
Emergencies, health and politics: illnesses, necessary vaccines, risky behaviour, thefts,
criminality rate, useful phone numbers (police, ambulance).
Gastronomy: typical food, drink, restaurants.
Art and culture: important festivities, monuments, museums, libraries, cinema, theatre,
opera, literature, music
55
Purchases: dressing codes, typical shopping places (street markets, boutiques).

Geography: location, area, population, geographic description, places of interest (parks,
nature reserves, lakes, Rivers); main cities,
History: short description of the destination history.
Fauna and flora: native species and places where they can be observed.
Places of interest: cities and places of special interest for the tourist.
Customers do not need all this information but it is essential for the person who deals with them
to know it.
56
EXAMPLE
Situation: in a travel agency, a customer plans his/her trip with the agents help.
Agent. Good morning, how may I help you?
Customer: Good morning. I was thinking in visiting an exotic place during the next bank holidays
but I do not know where. Can you give me a piece of advice?
A: Certainly, Sir. As a matter of fact, we have a promotion to the Galapagos Islands for that
date.
C: Galapagos Islands? Are they in Africa?
A: No, Sir, they are in South America, in the Pacific Ocean, just opposite Ecuador.
C: It sounds good, what can I find there?
A: It is a very interesting destination, in fact they are known as the Enchanted Islands. They have
a great diversity of plants and animals, which are fascinating for an observer. As a matter of fact,
they are the place where Darwin started to develop his Theory of Evolution.
C: Are you serious? It looks very interesting, but how much money are we talking about?
C: En serio? Parece muy interesante, pero de qu precios estaramos hablando?
A: Fees for this trip are unbeatable, believe me. Moreover you can choose an all-inclusive
package: hotel, meals and several guided tours in order to explore the Islands. Would you go by
yourself or with someone?
C: There would be 4 people.
A: Any child under 12?
C: No, just 4 adults.
A: Perfect, let me check the prices out for you.

1.4.2. PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT ROUTES
Once they arrive at the destination, tourists can choose among different activities, one of them
being the routes.
This is a wide category which includes nature routes and urban routes which go over points of
interest related with a certain subject. There are gastronomic routes, outdoor routes, cultural
and oenological routes,
Some routes are made on foot, trekking being the most typical, while some other times routes
are made by bus or minibus. The presence of a guide is also optional.
It is common that customers hire and plan their routes beforehand, searching information on the
internet or asking in a tourist agency; however, there are tourists who prefer to decide their
routes once they arrive at their destination, asking the hotel staff or visiting the local tourist
office.
EXAMPLE
Situation: In a travel agency, a customer asks about routes in order to know the city they are going
to visit:
Agent: Well, everything is ready: trip to London for two people, from 7th to 14th July in a 3 star
hotel. Is that correct?
Customer: Yes, that is perfect.
A: Can I do anything else for you?
C: Yes, please. I would like to make the most of the visit and get some information about the
history of the city, do you have any service?
A: Of course, if you want to know the city at your own pace, we can provide you with information
about routes to travel around the city on foot or on the underground, visiting the most important
places.
C: I would rather have a guide in order to get information, instead of doing it on my own.
A: No problem. We can hire guided visits adapted to your necessities. What language would you
like to use for your visits?
C: In Spanish, if it is possible.
A: Would you rather make the visit on foot or by minibus?
C: On foot, if it is not too long.
A: OK. In this station there are several guided visits around town. In Spanish, for the week you
have chosen, we have a route for Shakespearean London, which includes a visit to The Rose; a
route around the historic pubs in London, going through 200 years of conspiracies and
treacheries; a tour around Jack the Rippers London,
C: The pubs route looks interesting.
A: Here is a map with the pubs you will visit and the starting point. You can take it home if you
want and make a decision. There is still a month ahead for your visit and we can book it one week
in advance.
C: Thank you very much. Good afternoon!
A: Good afternoon!
57
Useful vocabulary
In the countryside
En el campo
Mountains
Montaas
Forest
Bosque /selva
Wood
Bosque
Village
Aldea
Lake
Lago
Fields
Campos
Path
Camino
Country road
Carretera
River
Ro
Farm
Granja
Hills
Colina
58
1.4.3. PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT WEATHER CONDITIONS

When someone is going to make a trip, a general concern is the weather they will find in their
destination since weather will determine the activities they can do, the clothes they will wear,
the means of transport,
In the tropics, rain can last for days and weeks, making trip plans to be changed completely. In
areas of typhoons and hurricanes, it can occur that the tourist has to stay at the hotel during the
most part of the visit.
When a customer hires a trip, the agency should provide him with information about the weather
and advice about dressing.
Sometimes, tourists do not turn to travel agencies and they contact with hotels directly. For this
reason, hotels usually provide information about the city and the weather in their web pages.
EXAMPLE: situation: E-mail of a hotel customer service.
To: jay.stu@yahoo.es
Para: jay.stu@yahoo.es
CC:
CC:
Subject: Weather conditions.
Dear. Mr. Stuart,
My name is Jacques Annaud, Elysee hotel in Paris.
I am writing in reference to your request of information about the weather conditions we will enjoy during your
stay with us, from 21st to 28th June, when summer is at its
height.
Relax and enjoy life under the sun on the outdoors cafs, lying on the gardens grass and the beaches along
the river Seine.
Have a snack in the open air and if you really have a sweet tooth enjoy Paris best ice-creams.
Cinema and music are living a celebration, free films and concerts make the city glow with the districts
warmth.
Average temperature and rainfall record are:
Minimum
15C
Maximum
25C
Rain in mm
59
I hope this information can be useful for you.

Please, do not hesitate to contact us whenever you need it.
Sincerely yours,
Jacques Annaud,
Customer Service Manager
Useful vocabulary
Sunny
Rainy / Showery
Windy
Cloudy
Snowy
Foggy
Thundery
Icey
Humidity
Temperature
Boiling
Hot
Warm
Not very warm
Cold
Freezing
59
Soleado
Lluvioso
Ventoso
Nublado
Nevado
Con niebla
Con truenos
Con hielo
Humedad
Temperatura
Hirviendo
Caliente
Clido
No muy clido
Fro
Congelado

1.4.4. PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT ENVIRONMENT AND LEISURE POSSIBILITIES.
Tourists need to know what to do in their destinations.
Options will depend on the destination itself, the time of the year and, of course, tourist
budget.
Among the many leisure possibilities that a tourist can enjoy, we can distinguish:
Events: concerts of all music genres, from folk music festivals to orchestras; arts; plays;
dancing shows from classic ballet to regional dancing
Outdoors activities: golf, fishing, cycling, mountain climbing, ski, adventure Sports
(snowboard, quad, ultra light aircraft, rafting,).
Health: spas, resorts,
Tourist attractions: historic castles, ancestral homes, museums and art galleries,
Gardens, factories, interactive scientific centres, unusual means of transport, lakes and
rias, zoos, aquaria, natural reserves,
Bars and restaurants: local gastronomy and haute cuisine.
EXAMPLE
Situation: A guest at the hotel asks about the activities he/she can do in the city:
Guest: Good afternoon. Can you suggest somewhere to visit tonight? I have checked my guide
and all the interesting places are closed.
Receptionist: Of course. Most museums and places of interest close at 5 p.m. but there are other
options that can be of interest to you. Are you thinking about an activity in particular?
G: Not really, I guess some place where I can sit in order to rest from the days activity.
R: You have several bars near here where you can listen to local musicians. You may have the
chance to have dinner with them or you can simply rest while you taste some typical liquor. You
could also go to the theatre. There are three plays on stage these days. I can book the tickets for
you and call a taxi, if you wish.
G: I think I will have dinner and listen to music.
R: Certainly.
G: What place would you recommend?
R: You can go to the Soft Bar, just five minutes walking from here. It is a very quiet place, food is
excellent and you can listen to local jazz players.
G: Perfect. How can I get there?
Useful vocabulary
Town hall
Museum
Bus station
Railway station
Shopping Centre
Pedestrian Area
Temple
Castle
Cathedral
Market
Fountain
Statue
Palace
Sunbathe
Swim
Go sightseeing
Go for a drive
Go hiking
Go touring
Go on an excursion
Go climbing/mountaineering
Go camping
Look round the shops
Take photographs
Ayuntamiento
Museo
Estacin de autobs
Estacin del tren
Centro comercial
rea peatonal
Templo
Castillo
Catedral
Mercado
Fuente
Estatua
Palacio
Tomar el sol
Nadar
Hacer turismo
Ir a dar una vuelta en coche
Ir de excursin por la montaa
Ir a dar una vuelta
Ir de excursin
Hacer montaismo
Ir de acampada
Ir de tiendas
Sacar fotografas
60
Buy souvenirs
Comprar suvenires

1.4.4. PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT ENVIRONMENT AND LEISURE POSSIBILITIES.
Tourists need to know what to do in their destinations.
Options will depend on the destination itself, the time of the year and, of course, tourist
budget.
Among the many leisure possibilities that a tourist can enjoy, we can distinguish:
Events: concerts of all music genres, from folk music festivals to orchestras; arts; plays;
dancing shows from classic ballet to regional dancing
Outdoors activities: golf, fishing, cycling, mountain climbing, ski, adventure Sports
(snowboard, quad, ultra light aircraft, rafting,).
Health: spas, resorts,
Tourist attractions: historic castles, ancestral homes, museums and art galleries,
Gardens, factories, interactive scientific centres, unusual means of transport, lakes and
rias, zoos, aquaria, natural reserves,
Bars and restaurants: local gastronomy and haute cuisine.
EXAMPLE
Situation: A guest at the hotel asks about the activities he/she can do in the city:
Guest: Good afternoon. Can you suggest somewhere to visit tonight? I have checked my guide
and all the interesting places are closed.
Receptionist: Of course. Most museums and places of interest close at 5 p.m. but there are other
options that can be of interest to you. Are you thinking about an activity in particular?
G: Not really, I guess some place where I can sit in order to rest from the days activity.
R: You have several bars near here where you can listen to local musicians. You may have the
chance to have dinner with them or you can simply rest while you taste some typical liquor. You
could also go to the theatre. There are three plays on stage these days. I can book the tickets for
you and call a taxi, if you wish.
G: I think I will have dinner and listen to music.
R: Certainly.
G: What place would you recommend?
R: You can go to the Soft Bar, just five minutes walking from here. It is a very quiet place, food is
excellent and you can listen to local jazz players.
G: Perfect. How can I get there?
61
Useful vocabulary
Town hall
Museum
Bus station
Railway station
Shopping Centre
Pedestrian Area
Temple
Castle
Cathedral
Market
Fountain
Statue
Palace
Sunbathe
Swim
Go sightseeing
Go for a drive
Go hiking
Go touring
Go on an excursion
Go climbing/mountaineering
Go camping
Look round the shops
Take photographs
Buy souvenirs
Ayuntamiento
Museo
Estacin de autobs
Estacin del tren
Centro comercial
rea peatonal
Templo
Castillo
Catedral
Mercado
Fuente
Estatua
Palacio
Tomar el sol
Nadar
Hacer turismo
Ir a dar una vuelta en coche
Ir de excursin por la montaa
Ir a dar una vuelta
Ir de excursin
Hacer montaismo
Ir de acampada
Ir de tiendas
Sacar fotografas
Comprar suvenires

1. ELABORATION OF LISTS OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE AREA, OF SPORTS
AND/OR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES, AND ITINERARIES, SPECIFYING LOCATION,
DISTANCE, DATES, TRANSPORTATION OR MEANS OF ACCESS, TIME USE AND HOURS
OF OPENING AND CLOSING.
To be able to provide tourism customers with up-to-date, reliable and appropriate information,
we need to make lists as thorough as possible, including all the necessary information.
Thus, when somebody comes asking for information, the tourism employee will simply have to
browse the list.
It is advisable to prepare those lists in a digital format, since it makes them easier to search
through and update when new data are available.
62

1. ELABORATION OF LISTS OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE AREA, OF SPORTS
AND/OR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES, AND ITINERARIES, SPECIFYING LOCATION,
DISTANCE, DATES, TRANSPORTATION OR MEANS OF ACCESS, TIME USE AND HOURS
OF OPENING AND CLOSING.
To be able to provide tourism customers with up-to-date, reliable and appropriate information,
we need to make lists as thorough as possible, including all the necessary information.
Thus, when somebody comes asking for information, the tourism employee will simply have to
browse the list.
It is advisable to prepare those lists in a digital format, since it makes them easier to search
through and update when new data are available.
1.1. NATURAL RESOURCES
Natural resources are material goods and services provided by nature without any changes
being made by the human being. They are valuable for the society because they contribute to
its welfare and development either directly (raw materials, minerals and food) or indirectly
(ecological services, essential for our survival in the planet).
Natural resources may be renewable or non-renewable.
Renewable natural resources refer to unlimited resources (sunlight, tides, wind,) or

resources with regeneration cycles higher than their extraction rate, which may become
extinct by an excessive use.
Non-renewable natural resources are generally limited or with regeneration cycles

much lower than their extraction or exploitation rates (minerals, hydrocarbons, etc.).
Sometimes, an uncontrolled and excessive use of them can lead to their depletion.
To prepare a list of natural resources, first we have to make an inventory of them, including
these pieces of information:
Location:
Position
Dimensions
Description of the area
Etc.
Physical aspects:
Geological aspects: soils, water courses, outstanding characteristics
Topography: general description, heights
Water resources: type, water quality
Biotic factors:
Biome: jungle, forest, mountain, park, meadow, desert,
Flora: type, characteristics, dangerous plants, endangered species,
Fauna: type, endangered species, characteristics, migrations,
Ecological relationships: plants supplying a support and shelter to birds, plants
supplying food to animals, plants living on other plants, animals who depend on other
animals for food or transport,
Air: quality, sources of pollution,
63
Climate: rainfall, temperature, season fluctuations, winds,

Protected areas: scientific reserve, national park, nacional monument,
Fauna
Ant
Bat
Bear
Bee
Budgie
Butterfly
Camel
Cat
Cow
Crab
Dog
Dolphin
Eagle
Eagle
Elephant
Fish
Fly
Frog
Giraffe
Goat
Gorilla
Hedgehog
Hen
Horse
Leopard
Lion
Monkey
Mosquito
Parrot
Peacock
Pig
Pigeon
Seagull
Seal
Shark
Sheep
Snail
Snake
Spider
Tiger
Tortoise
Whale
Worm
Zebra
Hormiga
Murcilago
Oso
Abeja
Periquito
Mariposa
Camello
Gato
Vaca
Cangrejo
Perro
Delfn
guila
guila
Elefante
Pez
Mosca
Rana
Jirafa
Cabra
Gorila
Puercoespn
Gallina
Caballo
Leopardo
Len
Mono
Mosquito
Loro
Pavo
Cerdo
Paloma
Gaviota
Foca
Tiburn
Oveja
Caracol
Serpiente
Araa
Tigre
Tortuga
Ballena
Lombriz
Cebra
Carnivore
Carnvoro
64
Docile
Domesticated
Herbivore
Mammal
Predator
Reptile
Rodent
Wild
Dcil
Domesticado
Herbvoro
Mamfero
Depredador
Reptil
Roedor
Salvaje
65
Flora
Elm
Fir
Forest
Oak
Pine
Willow
Olmo
Abeto
Bosque
Roble
Pino
Sauce
On Granadas official tourism website (www.turgranada.es) there are lists of its natural parks,
with a description of their fauna, flora and landscape
EXAMPLE
Natural Resources list of the Natural Park of the Atlantic Islands:

Description
These islands form a chain from the Ra de Arousa to the Ra de Vigo, emerging from the
ocean and embellishing the marine landscape with the magic of their cliffs.
Its entrails, in the depths of the sea, keep the most precious ecological treasures, watched
over by the cannons of the ancient ships that sank here.
It is doubtless a place to discover the mysteries and legends of the Atlantic Ocean.
Flora
Round-headed leek
Maerl
Kelp (Laminaria ochroleuca)
Peacocks tail
Gelidium latifolium
Cottonweed
Sand stock
European alder
Angelica
Armeria
Sea daffodil
European beachgrass
Sheepbit
Fauna
Pollack
Hoopoe
Hedge accentor
Razorbill
Northern gannet
Alcyonium
Skylark
Mallard
Anemone
Common guillemot
Northern goshawk
Zitting cisticola
Common bullfinch
Marigold
Portuguese crowberry
Aarons rod
Spanish Golden-thistle
Sea holly
Galactites tomentosa
spiny thrift
Sea campion
Silene littorea
Cytisus insulares
Purple foxglove
Blackthorn bush
Prickly Asparagus
Greater sea-spurrey
Blue-gum
Tongue orchid
Everlasting flower
Ivy
Common ragwort
Fig tree
Sea fennel
Sea sandwort
Spanish candytuft
Wild hyacinth
White Rockrose
Spiny rush
Laurel
Evergreen bugloss
Sand Toadflax
Linaria polygalifolia
Yellow iris
Buckthorn
Honeysuckle
Tree strawberry
Malva tournefortiana
Sea mayweed
Leucanthemum merinoi
Apple mint
Soursob
Mint
Burclover
Daffodil
Black Bryony
Pennywort
Dwarf nettle
European searocket
Goldmoss stonecrop
Maritime pine
Pennyroyal
Pyrenean oak
Poets cassia
Dog rose
Butcher's broom
Great tit
Coal tit
Spider crac
Common kestrel
Sandwich tern
Wren
Kentish plover
European nightjar
Red-billed chough
Chromodoris purpurea
Black redstart
Rabbit
Great cormorant
Shag
Yellow corynactis viridis
Common raven
Grass snake
Ladder snake
Viperine snake
Sardinian warbler
Blackcap
Dartford warbler
Bottlenose dolphin
Sea urchin
West european hedgehog
Rock bunting
Bedriagais skink
Starfish
Ernobius Vinolasi
Puffin
Sparrowhawk
Yello-legged gull
Lesser black-backed gull
Red Gorgona
Eurasian jackdaw
Peregrine falcon
Crested tit
Blue tit
Seaslug
Goldfinch
Iberian wall lizzard
Eyed lizzard
White wagtail
Yellow wagtail
Barn owl
Slow worm
Dead mans fingers
Blackbird
Greater horseshoe bat
Shrew
Crac
Common scoter
Otter
66
Seawrack
Sea spurge
Common gorse
Erect cinquefoil
Flax-leaved Daphne
White stonecrop
Common vervain
Lax Viper's-bugloss
Elmleaf blackberry
Brittle star
Green ormer
Oystercatcher
European store-petrel
Rock dove
Common wood pigeon
Balearic shearwater
Corys shearwater
Linnet
Turban shell
Goose barnacle
Robin
Great spotted woodpecker
Common chaffinch
Green wookpecker
Weathry-tuft tube Word
Octopus
Black rat
Wood mouse
Common buzzard
Firecrest
Fire salamander
Salpa
Iberian painted frog
Spiny squat lobster
Common cuttlefish
Common stonechat
Turtle dove
Boscas newt
Painted top-shell
European serin
Greenfinch
Whimbrel
Melodious warbler
Spanish festoon
Song thrush
There will be a card for every item in the list:

Calendula (Calendula arvensis)
Popularly known as marigold.
Annual herb, not generally exceeding 30 cm in high. The bright yellow
flowers give a pleasant smell.
It is found in cropped land and waste land.
67
1.2. SPORT AND/OR LEISURE ACTIVITIES

Holidays are a period in which people can enjoy sport or leisure activities.
People frequently carry out activities that they cannot usually practice, like skiing, because they
require specific facilities and weather conditions.
To be able to appropriately give information to customers about the activities available in each
destiny, it is important to prepare lists of these activities, specifying where they can be done,
what is the price, what is the equipment needed, etc.
Sports
Gymnastics
Chess
Athletics
Dancing
Basketball
Baseball
Boxing
Diving
Cycling
Fencing
American football
Futsal
Football/Soccer
Jockey
Judo
Karate
Weightlifting
Wrestling
Climbing / Hiking
Swimming
Polo
Rowing
Squash
Taekwondo
Tennis
Ping-pong
Archery
Triathlon
Volleyball
Skiing
Snowboard
Deportes
Gimnasia
Ajedrez
Atletismo
Baile
Baloncesto
Beisbol
Boxeo
Buceo
Ciclismo
Esgrima
Futbol americano
Futbol-sala
Futbol
Hockey
Judo
Karate
Halterofilia
Lucha
Montaismo
Natacin
Polo
Remo
Squash
Taekwondo
Tenis
Ping-pong
Tiro con arco
Triatln
Voleibol
Esqu
Snowboard
Places to go
Art Gallery
Caf
Concert Hall
Dance-hall
Disco
Football Pitch
Sitios a los que ir

Galera de Arte
Cafetera
Sala de conciertos
Saln de baile
Discoteca
Campo de ftbol
68
Golf Course
Nightclub
Opera House
Radio Station
Restaurant
Skating Ring
Sports Centre
Swimming Pool
Take-away
Tennis Courts
Theatre
Campo de golf
Pub
Casa de la pera
Estacin de Radio
Restaurante
Pista de patinaje
Polideportivo
Piscina
Sitio de comida para llevar
Canchas de Tenis
Teatro
69
Adjectives
Atmospheric
Crowded / Packed
Deserted
Elegant
Filthy
Hectic
Historic
Lively / Bustling
Magnificent
Picturesque
Quaint
Run-down
Shabby
Spacious
Adjetivos
Atmosfrico
Atestado
Desierto
Elegante
Sucio
Agotador, febril
Histrico
Animado
Magnfico
Pintoresco
Pintoresco/ extrao
Decadente
Pobre, en mal estado
Espacioso
ALTERNATIVE TOURISM
Alternative tourism comprises most of the activities that the conventional tourism has not been
able to satisfy, especially for the tourists who look not only for recreation but also for an
interaction with the environment and the culture of the place, always with an absolutely
respectful attitude towards the natural and cultural environment of the places they visit.
The term ecotourism refers to those trips in which the aim is to carry out recreational activities
of appreciation and knowledge of nature, through the interaction with it.
Some of the activities in ecotourism are:
Swimming in spas
Fauna viewing
Natural phenomena viewing
Flora viewing
Participation in programmes of flora and/or fauna rescue.
ALTERNATIVE TOURISM
The aim of these trips is to carry out recreational activities which imply a certain level of
physical/sport skills with a controlled risk to overcome, and which are generally subject to
constant and immediate emotions, in direct contact with nature.
Adventure tourism activities are subdivided in water, land and air activities.
Air activities: paragliding, parachuting
Water activities: scuba diving, free diving, river descent, kayak, fishing
Land activities: horse riding, hiking, mountain cycling, climbing, rappelling
On the web of recreational tourism in USA (www.recreation.gov), we can see the National Park
Albert Moser offers the following recreational activities: fishing, hiking, sightseeing, wild life
viewing, berry picking, horseback riding, hunting,
SPA TOURISM
Since water has been proven to calm down the effects of stress, spas and hotels make an effort
to offer the best spa facilities available and they have become a much demanded destination.
There are many forms of spa tourism, from simply secondary facilities, like tennis courts or
swimming pools, where the water does not have mineral properties, to purely therapeutical
facilities, whose waters have a millennial tradition.
Nowadays, every important hotel has got a spa area, both in the city and on the coast, where
thalassotherapy centres are flourishing. Rural tourism does not fall behind, and both hotels and
houses include this type of facilities and treatments as a priority service, which may be more
humble but equally comforting.
EXAMPLE
A hotel clerk uses these lists to make suggestions to the guests.
Guest: Good morning, I would like to know if there are any places where I can ride a horse.
Clerk: Of course, Miss. There are several horse riding centres where you can hire a horse or a
trip.
The hotel clerk checks his database (list) and finds the following:
Ranch
The Water
The Rooster
The Country
The Grass
The Mare
Services:
Horse rides, tours.
Horse rides, visits, horse drawn carriages, horse riding tours.
Horse rides.
Horse rides, horse riding lessons.
Horse rides, horse riding tours, horse riding courses, pony riding.
70
G: You see, I have never ridden a horse, and I would like to learn how to do it.
C: (checks the list again): In this case, I would recommend the Ranch The Grass, where you can
attend horse riding lessons at any level, including beginners.
G: Perfect. How can I make a reservation?
C: I can do it for you from here, if you want.
G: Thank you very much.
C: Youre welcome. I will let you know when it is ready. Anything else I can do for you?

1.3. ROUTES
One of the ways of getting to know a destination is through itineraries or routes, which
usually combine sightseeing with routes on foot or by bus.
Sometimes they include an accompanying guide to explain what we are seeing or visiting.
The itineraries or paths are divided into four groups according to their distance and typology:
Long Distance paths run through hundreds or thousands of kilometres, crossing very
diverse landscapes and joining several countries. If they run through more than three
countries they are called Continental Footpaths. An example of this is the Way of Saint
James.
Short distance paths are more achievable, with a maximum length of 30 kilometres,
equivalent to one day, with usually circular routes, and with the aim of showing a
specific geographical area of interest.
Local paths, with a maximum length of 10 kilometres, are designed to easily access
places of special interest.
And finally, the Urban paths run through pedestrian zones in an urban area with the aim
of visiting the most interesting areas.
In all these cases, indications are made using internationally recognizable signs, so it makes it
easy to walk the route in both directions. These indications consist of horizontal signs using
paint of different colours and vertical information signs.
Example of an itinerary:
Route name: Alto do Prncipe route (in the Islas Atlnticas Natural Park).
Distance: 3 Km.
Time: 1 h. (to and back).
Route type: not circular.
Difficulty: easy.
Height difference: 120m.
From the information booth, we turn right following the track, which leads us to Figueiras beach
(300m). A wooden fence protects the dunes of Figueiras-Muxieiro, where we find a magnificent
71
sample of species typical of these fragile ecosystems, like the everlasting flower (Helichrysum
picardii) or the Portuguese crowberry (Corema album). The path keeps going up until the main
crossing of Monteagudo Island (20 min.) where we turn left into a trail between pines and
scrubland leading to the Alto do Principe. At this point we will enjoy the spectacular view of the
cliffs from the Silla de la Reina (Queens chair), a whimsical rocky formation, which like a natural
balcony on the Atlantic ocean, allows us to watch the contrast between the two slopes of the
islands, much more abrupt on their west side.
1.3. ROUTES
One of the ways of getting to know a destination is through itineraries or routes, which
usually combine sightseeing with routes on foot or by bus.
Sometimes they include an accompanying guide to explain what we are seeing or visiting.
The itineraries or paths are divided into four groups according to their distance and typology:
Long Distance paths run through hundreds or thousands of kilometres, crossing very
diverse landscapes and joining several countries. If they run through more than three
countries they are called Continental Footpaths. An example of this is the Way of Saint
James.
Short distance paths are more achievable, with a maximum length of 30 kilometres,
equivalent to one day, with usually circular routes, and with the aim of showing a
specific geographical area of interest.
Local paths, with a maximum length of 10 kilometres, are designed to easily access
places of special interest.
And finally, the Urban paths run through pedestrian zones in an urban area with the aim
of visiting the most interesting areas.
In all these cases, indications are made using internationally recognizable signs, so it makes it
easy to walk the route in both directions. These indications consist of horizontal signs using
paint of different colours and vertical information signs.
Example of an itinerary:
Route name: Alto do Prncipe route (in the Islas Atlnticas Natural Park).
Distance: 3 Km.
Time: 1 h. (to and back).
Route type: not circular.
Difficulty: easy.
Height difference: 120m.
From the information booth, we turn right following the track, which leads us to Figueiras beach
(300m). A wooden fence protects the dunes of Figueiras-Muxieiro, where we find a magnificent
sample of species typical of these fragile ecosystems, like the everlasting flower (Helichrysum
picardii) or the Portuguese crowberry (Corema album). The path keeps going up until the main
crossing of Monteagudo Island (20 min.) where we turn left into a trail between pines and
scrubland leading to the Alto do Principe. At this point we will enjoy the spectacular view of the
cliffs from the Silla de la Reina (Queens chair), a whimsical rocky formation, which like a natural
balcony on the Atlantic ocean, allows us to watch the contrast between the two slopes of the
islands, much more abrupt on their west side.
72

1. CUSTOMER AWARENESS
RESOURCES USED
ON
THE
CONSERVATION
OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
Tourism sustainability depends on the visitors suitable environmental awareness.

Hotel industry should also encourage environmentally responsible tourism by means of
providing suitable information and it should contribute to customers awareness of the necessity
to preserve natural and leisure areas.
The dos and donts of a responsible tourist in order to reach sustainable tourism are
detailed below:
1. When you plan your trip, you should choose those providers who offer quality and
respect guarantee regarding human rights and environment.
2. Use natural resources such as water and energy in a moderate way since they
are limited.
3. Try to minimize waste since it is a source of pollution.
4. When you have to get rid of waste, do it as cleanly as you can, given the
resources you have at hand.
5. In a natural area you should never leave marks, apart from your footprints.
6. If you are visiting sensitive ecosystems you should be informed about how to
cause the least impact.
7. When you buy presents and souvenirs, those products typical of the local culture
will prevail, thus favouring economy of the places you visit and their cultural
diversity.
8. Never purchase flora or fauna which is protected under the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or
products made of these species. It is a crime and it helps to their extinction.
9. When you are at your destination, enjoy, respect and get close to local culture,
customs, gastronomy and traditions.
10. Try to favour responsible and sustainable tourism development, thus contributing
to keep a healthy and supportive planet.

1. CUSTOMER AWARENESS
RESOURCES USED
ON
THE
CONSERVATION
OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
Tourism sustainability depends on the visitors suitable environmental awareness.

Hotel industry should also encourage environmentally responsible tourism by means of
providing suitable information and it should contribute to customers awareness of the necessity
to preserve natural and leisure areas.
The dos and donts of a responsible tourist in order to reach sustainable tourism are
detailed below:
1. When you plan your trip, you should choose those providers who offer quality and
73
respect guarantee regarding human rights and environment.

2. Use natural resources such as water and energy in a moderate way since they
are limited.
3. Try to minimize waste since it is a source of pollution.
4. When you have to get rid of waste, do it as cleanly as you can, given the
resources you have at hand.
5. In a natural area you should never leave marks, apart from your footprints.
6. If you are visiting sensitive ecosystems you should be informed about how to
cause the least impact.
7. When you buy presents and souvenirs, those products typical of the local culture
will prevail, thus favouring economy of the places you visit and their cultural
diversity.
8. Never purchase flora or fauna which is protected under the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or
products made of these species. It is a crime and it helps to their extinction.
9. When you are at your destination, enjoy, respect and get close to local culture,
customs, gastronomy and traditions.
10. Try to favour responsible and sustainable tourism development, thus contributing
to keep a healthy and supportive planet.
1. COLLECTING CUSTOMERS INFORMATION ON THEIR SATISFACTION WITH TOURIST
ACCOMMODATION SERVICE
Customers satisfaction is the best and most efficient way to guarantee development,
growth and improvement of the company.
There is a direct relationship between customers satisfaction and fidelity and the
companys income. The more satisfied customers are the more faithful they become and,
therefore, they produce higher income for a longer period of time.
Those are the reasons why it is so important our customers level of satisfaction and
acceptance regarding our services.
Measuring their satisfaction will allow us to:
Know our customers point of view regarding our services (or products) and help
us adapt them to their necessities.
Improve our resources and direct our future investments taking into account
customers real requests.

1. COLLECTING CUSTOMERS INFORMATION ON THEIR SATISFACTION WITH TOURIST
ACCOMMODATION SERVICE
Customers satisfaction is the best and most efficient way to guarantee development,
growth and improvement of the company.
There is a direct relationship between customers satisfaction and fidelity and the
companys income. The more satisfied customers are the more faithful they become and,
therefore, they produce higher income for a longer period of time.
Those are the reasons why it is so important our customers level of satisfaction and
74
acceptance regarding our services.

Measuring their satisfaction will allow us to:
Know our customers point of view regarding our services (or products) and help
us adapt them to their necessities.
Improve our resources and direct our future investments taking into account
customers real requests.

1.1. METHODS FOR INFORMATION COLLECTION
There are two basic methods used in order to collect customers information: make them
questions and observe them.
Both collection methods are valid but the last one is based on the perception of the one who
observes and it is therefore more subjective than the first one, where first hand information is
obtained.
It is important to take care of every single aspect. Cleaning staff, for instance, does not normally
chat with customers but, thanks to their day-to-day and direct work, they can provide us with
information that we wouldnt get any other way. There is an anecdote published by a Disney
Resort manager in his memoirs: in order to reduce expenses they have decided to change
some of the room services and they removed their sewing kits because they were considered
old-fashioned. They did this without asking the people who were in direct contact with
customers rooms: cleaning staff. What managers were removing was their customers most
demanded objects due to their old and practical aspect.
In order to get information some standard questionnaires are used. They are called forms and
they register every piece of information received.
There are two basic kinds of forms:
Structured Forms: They consist of a list of closed questions with fixed answers
(multiple choice forms). Customers choose the option which is closest to their opinion;
structured forms are also those where answers are yes/no/good/bad or where
customers have to mark a statement from 1 to 10.
EXAMPLES
In this point it is reflected the problems with closed questions. We will get an average of the
amount of customers who find our service very good, good, average, bad or awful, but we wont
know exactly their reasons to mark it that way. If mark is low, was it due to the staffs behaviour?
Was it food? Was it appearance? Perhaps was there a considerable delay between courses?
Without further explanation we wont know what to correct.
NOT STRUCTURED FORMS
They have open questions where customers can develop their own explanation. In verbal
surveys, such as informal chat with our customers, there is the possibility to improvise and
75
ask them about aspects that can be interesting for our purpose. Customers sometimes
answer just what they are asked for but they would say much more if they could.
Customers can explain here, in a short or long way, their opinions and it will be useful for us to
know where we fail to meet their expectations. We should never forget that when customers
complain, they are offering us an opportunity to improve. Those who do not care to give their
opinions, do not care for our companys progress. If we know our failures, we will be able to act
and make corrections.
On the one hand, structured forms are easier to assess, thus making it possible to establish
exact percentages since they are mechanic processes which allow comparison with general
information. On the other hand, non-structured forms offer specific information which allows
customers to express themselves easily.
Most companies use hybrid or semi-structured forms, including open and closed questions.
In general terms, forms can be:
Undercovered forms: polled customers do not know exactly the purpose of the
questionnaire.
Uncovered forms: polled customers realise about the purpose of the questionnaire.
In the tourism sector, questionnaires are obviously uncovered, since customers know exactly
what they are asked about.
1.2. KNOWING THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVEL.
Knowing the customer satisfaction level is not a question that can be dealt with in a general
way, since it depends on the type of company, the service they offer, the type of customers, etc.
We must ask customers what their opinion is instead of putting ourselves in their place. And to
ask the customer, we must decide: who asks, what we ask, and how and when we ask.
Who asks?
By and large it is the Customer Service Department of a company the one that
centralizes the communication with customers and gathers opinions, suggestions and
information about any incidents with their customers, making possible a direct and
efficient communication; but this is not the only department that can do it.
It is essential that every employee, regardless of their professional position, is aware of
the importance of appropriately serving their customers and of having a certain number
of samples to be able to draw conclusions from a survey. They must also be aware that
the information obtained from the customers is useful to improve the company and
make it grow, not to penalize the employees in case of a low score.
It is therefore necessary to kindly encourage customers to help us improve, letting us
know about their opinion. If the decision of answering a survey or not is left entirely up
to them, generally the dissatisfied customers will be the ones answering the survey.
What do we ask?
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We can make the customer very diverse questions and with different purposes. But it is
clear that the questions must be:
o
o
o
In enough quantity to obtain the information we are looking for, but not too
many, because we should not bore or tire the customer, making them spend an
amount of time that probably they do not have or want to devote to this
Easy to understand and to answer, clear and concise
Useful to obtain the information we are looking for.
How and when do we ask?

We can try to obtain the information we need from the customer in several ways:
o
o
Talking with the customer, making occasional interviews which can turn into
informal talk, for instance, coming out of the breakfast room or after a
scheduled service (cosmetics, massage,).
Doing a telephone survey, during or after their stay. This type of survey is
widely used because of its quickness and saving of time and material. The
advantage is that we can obtain directly from the customer the information in
which we are interested. The disadvantage is choosing the right moment,
finding the customer motivated and ready to spend some time listening to us. If
we choose a bad moment, we take the risk of receiving low quality information
o no valid answers.
Sending a questionnaire by post or e-mail. We can send it after the customer
has left or used the services, taking the customer details from our files; we can
send an e-mail after the customer leaves, or we can hand them a written
survey. This can be done upon arrival, during the stay or after, but still in situ.
This last way of data gathering is very effective because the impressions of the customer, both
the good and the bad ones, are recent. However, the surveys taken some days after can give
different results, because the customer is already in another environment.
1.2.1. DESIGN OF A QUESTIONNAIRE
The way of measuring the customer satisfaction level that appears to be more reliable and the
one that can give us better and broader results is the questionnaire.
A good questionnaire that joins briefness and simplicity with well designed and intentional
questions and with a good presentation, is a good tool. To make it this way, we must take into
account:
An adequate presentation with an introduction
Obtaining the highest percentage of response possible
Being able to draw conclusions from the answers obtained
It is not easy to design a valid questionnaire because:
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We must overcome the habit and the apathy of most people when they are asked to
respond to a survey, either face to face or in written.
We must try to overcome a natural self-defense attitude of the people who are faced
with someone who asks them questions in order to know things about them.
We must acquire a balance between the purpose of the questionnaire and its easiness
as well as the time needed to fill it in.
We must know how to formulate questions in a coherent and organized way to search
for clear objectives, know how to interpret the customers answers beyond what we can
infer from a first reading.
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A badly written questionnaire gives us information, but this will probably be poor and even
misleading.
Depending on how the questions are formulated and on what is being asked, a customer can
express his/her satisfaction or a negative opinion.
The motivation of the customer to respond a survey is extremely important: a customer who
does not feel attracted or motivated will not answer a questionnaire.
To capture their interest:
It is useful to provide a brief introductory explanation about the purpose of the

questionnaire, either written or verbal.
It is essential to let them know that the results of the survey will help improve our
services, which they will eventually use.
We can give an incentive to their participation, through advantages, gifts or raffles for
those who respond.
Depending on the type of company, either in the tourism industry or not, we have to think to
whom we send the questionnaire.
Usually, we do not make any differences between customers. There is only one common
questionnaire for all of them, though by dividing it into segments we can avoid the subsequent
selection of answers.
If the aim of the survey is to know which are the weak or strong points of a restaurant, it will be
more useful for us to address our interest to customers who have already used that service o
who are planning to use it.
Measuring the customers satisfaction is obviously only worthwhile if the results obtained are
seriously taken into account and are linked to actions which lead to improvement and
innovation. If we are not willing to invest time, effort and money to improve from the results, the
measurement of customers satisfaction is inconsequential.
The following are some of the reasons why an evaluation does not generate any changes:
The company takes the measurement as a requirement or for fashion. The

evaluation is not carried out to know about the customers satisfaction level, but to fulfill
a requirement for a quality standard like ISO, for instance, or because it is required by
the company management (in the case of a hotel chain). In this case no actions will be
taken to improve the customers satisfaction.
The negative comments are ignored. The company seeks the customers
satisfaction, but in an immediate way, excluding the negative comments because they
consider them unfounded and do not understand what has caused that insatisfaction,
either because the customer has not been specific enough when sharing their views, or
because they think they know better than the customer and they do not admit the
customer is right.
They do not identify what to improve o what has to be changed. If the

questionnaire is not clear, it can happen that the answer is not explanatory either. If the
customers are asked about the service in a restaurant and they just have to say if it was
good or bad, we do not really know if what they liked (or not) was the service, the taste
of the food or anything else. Therefore the company may introduce some changes that
are not related to what the customer mentioned so we do not see any improvement.
We must always take into account that it is easier to do things right from the beginning than to
try to correct them afterwards. We have a selective memory and we will always remember the
negative aspects longer than the positive ones.
SURVEY DESIGNS
Anonymous: The customers do not have to identify themselves. They will not receive
any response either. These surveys usually include a brief introduction.
Personal: The customers data make possible to segment the results and to send them
a reply if they want to.
Hybrid: with a brief introduction to each item in the survey. The questionnaire
has two sides, and on the reverse the customers fill in their personal data
(optional). It looks like a lot of text at first sight, but it is well designed and
structured.
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UNIT 3. SERVICE TO TOURIST SERVICES CUSTOMER

1.1. VOCABULARY RELATED TO TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION
Transportation can be by land, air or sea. There are different means of tranport.
Car
Bus / Coach
Train
Bicycle / Bike
Motorbike
Van
Caravan
Lorry (BrE) / Truck (AmE)
Taxi / Cab
Underground (BrE) / Subway (AmE)
Streetcar
Plane
Helicopter
Ship
Pleasure boat
Coche
Autobs
Tren
Bicicleta
Moto
Furgoneta
Caravana
Camin
Taxi
Metro
Tranva
Avin
Helicptero
Barco
Barco de recreo
Means of transport are preceded by the preposition by (exceptions: on horse and on foot): by
car, by train, by plane, etc.
TRANSPORT BY LAND
Transport by land:
Accident insurance
Aisle
Bus station
Bus stop
Car park
Carriage
Change / transfer
Compartment
Driving licence
Express train
Garage
International driving licence
Left luggage office
Level crossing
Luggage
Luggage rack
Luncheon car
Motorway
One way ticket
Platform
Seguro de accidentes
Pasillo
Estacin de bus
Parada de bus
Aparcamiento
Vagn
Transbordo
Compartimento
Permiso de conducir
Tren expreso
Garaje
Permiso de conducir internacional
Consigna de equipaje
Paso a nivel
Equipaje
Portaequipaje
Vagn restaurante
Autopista
Billete de ida
Andn
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Railway
Return ticket
Road
Sleeping car (train)
Suitcase
Ticket
Ticket inspector
Toll-paying motorway
Traffic lights
Train station
Waiting room
Window
Transportation by air:
Air terminal
Airline
Airport
Aisle
Arrivals
Boarding
Boarding card
Cancelled flight
Charter flight
Customs
Delayed flight
Departures
Domestic flight
Duty free
Emergency exit
Emergency landing
First class
Flight
Flight attendant
Gate
Jet
Landing
Long-range aircraft
Medium-haul aircraft
Non-stop flight
Passenger aircraft
Passenger cabin
Seat
Stopover
Takeoff
Tourist class
Visa
Window
Ferrocarril
Billete de ida y vuelta
Carretera
Coche cama
Maleta
Billete
Revisor
Autopista de peaje
Semforo
Estacin de tren
Sala de espera
Ventanilla
Terminal area
Aerolnea
Aeropuerto
Pasillo
Llegadas
Embarque
Tarjeta de embarque
Vuelo cancelado
Vuelo chrter
Aduana
Vuelo retrasado
Salidas
Vuelo nacional
Sin impuestos
Salida de emergencia
Aterrizaje de emergencia
Primera clase
Vuelo
Auxiliar de vuelo/azafata/o
Puerta
Avin a reaccin
Aterrizaje
Avin de larga distancia
Avin de distancia media
Vuelo sin transbordo
Avin de pasajeros
Cabina de pasajeros
Asiento
Transbordo
Despegue
Clase turista
Visado
Ventanilla
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TRANSPORTATION BY SEA
Transportation by sea:
Aboard
Boat
Bound for
Cabin
Cruise
Deck
To embark
Ferry boat
Harbour/port
Lifeboat
Marine station
Passenger liner
Pleasure boat
Port of call
Quay
Sailing club
Sailing ship
Sea
Ship
Sport boat
To call at a port
To disembark
To put off
Yacht
A bordo
Barco/bote
Con rumbo a
Camarote
Crucero
Cubierta
Embarcar
Barco transbordador
Puerto
Bote salvavidas
Estacin martima
Transatlntico
Embarcacin de recreo
Puerto pesquero
Muelle
Club nutico
Velero
Mar
Barco
Embarcacin deportiva
Hacer escala en un puerto
Desembarcar
Hacerse a la mar
Yate

1.2. VOCABULARY RELATED TO ACCOMODATION
Rooms
Single room
Double room
Adjoining room
Twin beds
Double bed
King size bed
Habitaciones
Habitacin individual
Habitacin doble
Habitacin contigua
Camas gemelas
Cama de matrimonio
Cama extra grande
Hotel facilities
Shower
Bath
TV
Refrigerator/fridge
Telephone
Internet connexion
Swimming pool
Indoor pool
Jacuzzi
Gym
Servicios de un hotel
Ducha
Bao
Televisin
Minibar
Telfono
Conexin a internet
Piscina
Piscina climatizada
Jacuzzi
Gimnasio
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Bar
Restaurant
Laundry service
Linen
Parking
Parking pass
Bar
Restaurant
Servicio de lavandera
Ropa de cama
Aparcamiento
Pase de parking
To book / to make a reservation

Front desk/reception
Floor
Baggage
Bellboy
Lift
Room service
Check in
Checkout
Vacancy
Reservar
Mostrador/recepcin
Piso
Equipaje
Botones
Ascensor
Servicio de habitaciones
Llegada
Salida
Plaza libre

1.3. VOCABULARY RELATED TO GASTRONOMY
Restaurants
Italian restaurant
Chinese restaurant
Spanish restaurant
Fast food restaurant
1 fork restaurant
Restaurantes
Restaurante italiano
Restaurante chino
Restaurante espaol
Restaurante de comida rpida
Restaurante de 1 tenedor
Traditional gastronomy
Modern gastronomy
Book a table
Gastronoma tradicional
Gastronoma moderna
Reservar una mesa
Menu
Starters
Main course
Side dishes
Drinks
Desserts
Order
Men
Entrantes
Plato principal
Guarnicin
Bebidas
Postres
Pedir
Have breakfast
Have lunch
Have dinner
Bill
Tip
Desayunar
Comer
Cenar
Cuenta, factura
Propina
Waiter
Customer
Camarero
Cliente
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Useful sentences
Do you have a reservation?
For how many people?
Smoking or non-smoking?
Could I have your name, please?
Are you ready to order?
Have you decided yet?
What would you like as a starter?
What would you like for the main course?
What would you like to drink?
Would you like to have dessert?
Here you are/ here you go
Frases tiles
Tiene reserva?
Para cuntas personas?
Fumadores o no fumadores?
Me podra dar su nombre, por favor?
Estn preparados para pedir?
Ya han decidido?
Qu les gustara de entrante?
Qu van a tomar de plato principal?
Qu van a beber?
Van a tomar postre?
Aqu tienen

1.4. VOCABULARY RELATED TO LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Amusement park
Beach
Billiards
Camper
Camping
Circus
Dance
Disco
Diving
Fair
Games
Golf
Gym
Hiking
Hobby
Horse riding
Mountaineering
Picnic
Show
Sports
To go for a walk
To sunbathe
To swim
Trekking
Trip / Excursion
Zoological park (zoo)
Parque de atracciones
Playa
Billares
Campista
Camping
Circo
Baile
Discoteca
Buceo
Feria
Juegos
Golf
Gimnasio
Senderismo
Pasatiempo
Hpica
Escalada
Picnic
Espectculo
Deportes
Dar un paseo
Tomar el sol
Nadar
Montaismo
Excursin
Zoo
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1. TREATMENT OF CLAIMS OR COMPLAINTS FROM CUSTOMERS OR CONSUMERS:

COMPLAINTS COMMON SCENARIOS AND CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
Customers are the most important part of tourism so our main aim is their full satisfaction. We
should provide a product that fulfils and even exceeds their expectations. In tourism, this task
becomes more difficult because the product is a service and thus it is intangible, variable and
perishable. It is intangible because it does not become real until the product is consumed or
finished. It is variable because the result depends on each customer individual expectations and
other external aspects, such as the seasonality. And it is perishable because it cannot be
stored.
Dealing with customers is a rewarding and interesting experience most of the times. However,
from time to time, we may have to deal with customer complaints. Acomplaint is an expression
of discontent with the service provided either because it does not match with what the customer
expected or with what we as a company have promised them. Complaints can be written, over
the telephone or face-to-face. It is important that we know how to deal with these situations and
when and whom to ask for help, if it is necessary.
When a customer makes a complaint we should first recognise the problem, then we should
handle it in a professional way and finally we should give an appropriate response. The causes
of dissatisfaction vary considerably depending on the type of establishment and they can range
from minor difficulties (a TV that does not work, for instance) to serious complaints, such as
accidents caused by negligence.
Some of the most common complaints in the tourism industry relate to:
The number and quality of facilities and services
Lighting, heating and air-conditioning
Facilities or services which are not the same as advertised
Difference in prices
Errors in bookings and bills
Delays
Health, safety and food hygiene
Behaviour of employees
Behaviour of other customers

1.1.FACE TO FACE COMPLAINTS:
When a complaint is made face-to-face we should take into account the following aspects:
Be friendly and helpful.

Make an effective use of your body language and facial expression. Be warm and open.
Let the customer know that you have a good and deep knowledge of the service you
are offering.
Put your listening skills into practise.
Be polite.
85
Show your complaint handling skills.

Use a positive language (tell them what you CAN do in order to solve the problem).
Avoid terms such as problem, difficulty, handicap, impossible
The most important is to deal with the complaint immediately so that the result is as little
negative as possible. Remember that an apology for any inconvenience caused is always
welcome.
We should listen attentively and not interrupt. Make them feel understood even though their
complaint makes no sense at all. Do not make immediate judgements and be calm. Ask them to
get as much information as possible and, of course, avoid any kind of confrontation. Never
blame a colleague and never raise your voice or get angry. Do not take the complaint personally
and remember that, even if you are not responsible for the problem, you are representative of
your business.
We should empathise with them, even if we think the complaint is exaggerated. Try to walk on
their shoes and to find out how they feel. Our attitude should be humble and thankful. It can be
sometimes helpful to ask the customer to sit down or to move from the public area, just to avoid
other customers to overhear the conversation.
Try to downsize your differences and find those points in which both agree. Highlight those
areas.
We should identify the causes of the complaint and let the customer know that the matter will be
fully investigated. We should also explain what our next steps will be to find a solution.
Whenever it is possible, suggest more than one alternative. If we are not able to deal with a
complaint, we should contact a more senior member of staff.
We should always agree the solution with the customer. Ask them for their opinion and approval
and make sure that what you promised to do gets done. Never promise action or timings that
you are not sure you can deliver. Make sure that the agreed solution is implemented as soon as
possible and let them know.
Some customers seek a refund, a reduced bill or compensation, especially if we have failed to
supply the services advertised or booked. It is necessary to decide whether we wish to
compensate the customer. Remember customers have legal rights so we should consider if
they apply to the situation.
1.2. PHONE COMPLAINTS
When dealing with complaints on the phone we should adopt an understanding tone of voice
and use active listening responses. We should try to deal with the customers feelings and
handle the call efficiently. Before transferring the call to a senior member, we should explain him
the situation.
86
1.3. WRITTEN COMPLAINTS

Written complaints must be dealt with as a matter of urgency. If we cannot give a solution
immediately, we should let the customer know we are investigating and analysing the issue.
Serious complaints should be referred to a senior member of staff.
We should regard complaints as a way to detect problems and a possibility to solve them, thus
improving our service. We should not become discouraged if a customer exposes a complaint.
If we handle it effectively, we can benefit in many ways. First and most important, we can solve
a problem that could have been overlooked had the customer not told us. We can also raise the
level of repeat business and finally, we can increase our customers loyalty. Do not forget that a
dissatisfied customer will give a bad image of our company to his/her environment and will
never come back, while a satisfied customer will spread the word about us.
Once a complaint has been dealt with satisfactorily, managers should consider if any action
must be taken to stop the same complaint to occur again. This will help to increase customers
satisfaction.
Despite all previously stated, most customers who are dissatisfied with our service will not
complain, so it is a matter of high importance to seek for their feedback before a complaint is
formally communicated. Different methods are used in order to get this feedback. Some of them
are surveys, feedback forms and questionnaires, visitors books, etc. Of course, there is always
the possibility of talking to our customers in order to get a first hand opinion.
1.4. HANDLING COMPLAINTS POLICY
Some establishments develop a written policy for handling complaints which should be
communicated to all employees and, in some cases, to all customers. This policy usually
includes:
A statement of the desire of the establishment to offer products in a professional way

A statement of the value of complaints to the establishment
Different ways of identifying complaints
List of actions that employees should take when they face a customer complaint
Your policy on compensation
Details of how a complaint should be recorded and tackled
In some cases it is particularly important to have clear policies in order to deal with major
problems, such as those which can lead to legal actions. Some of these situations can be
accidents, illnesses that could be blamed on the establishment (food poisoning, for instance),
safety, damage and theft to customer property, data protection, misleading advertisement or
discrimination on the grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or
disability. In these cases, the most senior member of staff should be informed and he should
handle the situation carefully. Sometimes, consultation to liability insurers or solicitors may be
necessary so that they can advise on the steps to be taken.
1. SIMULATION OF CUSTOMER SITUATIONS AND SETTLING CLAIMS WITH FLUENCY
AND SPONTANEITY
Staff who deals with customers, either face-to-face, on the phone or by written media, has
many different functions and tasks:
Providing information
87
Selling
Bookings
Welcome and registration
Fulfilling of the customer needs
Invoicing
Farewell
Handling of complaints, etc.
They act as sellers since they have to inform the customer about the facilities and services
given at the establishment. They are also facilitators because they solve customers possible
doubts and complaints. Moreover, they are tourism information agents as they should know and
inform about all the data customers may be interested in knowing, such as leisure offer, cultural
events, fairs, routes, monuments, etc.
In any case, customers should always be treated as if their opinions and needs are worth
listening to and thus, they deserve our maximum effort so that their expectations are fulfilled.
When a customer approaches us we should first make eye contact and smile, so that he
perceives we are open to what he/she has to tell us. Remember our body language should not
say otherwise. Then we should greet him/her and listen attentively, trying to empathise as much
as we can. Finally we should provide him/her with information, giving alternatives if it is
possible.
There are as many situations as different customers but all of them seek a pleasant treatment
and they value our friendliness, good service and information, honesty and good presence. We
should listen attentively to what they say and be diligent, trying to solve their problems. We
should control ourselves and avoid confrontation. We should never give away our mood and
always be aware of their needs, suggestions and complaints.
Some examples of different situations with customers are shown below.

1.1. SITUATION 1: BOOKING A CONFERENCE ROOM ON THE PHONE.
Receptionist: Western Hotel, good morning! Charles speaking, may I help you?
Customer: Good morning! I am calling because I am looking for a conference room.
R: Alright Sir, may I ask when will you be needing it? We are booked for the next two
months.
C: I need it for next December 20th, is there any problem?
R: Let me check it out, Sir. No, no problem for that date. We have two conference rooms
available, could you tell me how many people are expected to attend?
88
C: Around 50 people but I couldnt tell you right now the exact number. We will need
internet connection and audio-visual equipment. If you could give me an estimate I could
call you up and confirm this afternoon.
R: Our conference rooms are equipped to the highest standards. All of them have
wireless internet connection and we will provide you with the equipment you require, Sir.
Would you like to book it for the whole day, meals included?
C: Yes, please.
R: No problem, Sir. We can also offer you free car park for up to 50 vehicles.
C: OK, thats interesting.
R: If you are so kind as to give me your name and contact details I will send you an
estimate for 50 people right away.
C: My name is Trevor James, from Thames Publishing, and my contact number is
65538762.
R: Could I have an e-mail address or fax number to send the estimate?
C: Sure. My e-mail is tjames@thamespublishing.com.
R: Well, thank you Mr. James. Ill send you a detailed estimate in a moment. Thank you
very much for calling Western Hotel and we look forward to hearing from you!
C: Thank you!
1.1. SITUATION 1: BOOKING A CONFERENCE ROOM ON THE PHONE.
Receptionist: Western Hotel, good morning! Charles speaking, may I help you?
Customer: Good morning! I am calling because I am looking for a conference room.
R: Alright Sir, may I ask when will you be needing it? We are booked for the next two
months.
C: I need it for next December 20th, is there any problem?
R: Let me check it out, Sir. No, no problem for that date. We have two conference rooms
available, could you tell me how many people are expected to attend?
C: Around 50 people but I couldnt tell you right now the exact number. We will need
internet connection and audio-visual equipment. If you could give me an estimate I could
call you up and confirm this afternoon.
R: Our conference rooms are equipped to the highest standards. All of them have
wireless internet connection and we will provide you with the equipment you require, Sir.
Would you like to book it for the whole day, meals included?
C: Yes, please.
R: No problem, Sir. We can also offer you free car park for up to 50 vehicles.
89
C: OK, thats interesting.

R: If you are so kind as to give me your name and contact details I will send you an
estimate for 50 people right away.
C: My name is Trevor James, from Thames Publishing, and my contact number is
65538762.
R: Could I have an e-mail address or fax number to send the estimate?
C: Sure. My e-mail is tjames@thamespublishing.com.
R: Well, thank you Mr. James. Ill send you a detailed estimate in a moment. Thank you
very much for calling Western Hotel and we look forward to hearing from you!
C: Thank you!

1.2. SITUATION 2: TAKING CARE OF A GUEST PETITION ON THE PHONE
Receptionist: Western Hotel reception. Charles speaking. May I help you?
Guest: Good afternoon! I am calling from room 322. Id like to ask if you have rapid
laundry service.
R: Certainly, Mrs. White. We have an express laundry service. You can have a look at the
leaflet on your bedside table.
G: Yes, I have seen it but what I need to know is how long it will take to have a suit
cleaned. I need it for tonight, it is very urgent.
R: I see. Our express service usually takes 12 hours but I am sure in this case we can
arrange it so that you can have it for tonight.
G: That will be very kind on your part, I would really appreciate it. Shall I bring it
downstairs?
R: Dont worry Mrs. White, Ill send someone to pick it up right away. Room 322, right.
Shall I add the amount to your account?
G: Yes, please. Thank you very much indeed.
R: You are welcome. Thanks to you.
Remember the tips when answering a phone call:
Introduce yourself and give the name of the company as soon as you pick up the
phone.
Use appropriate tone and speak clearly. Try to sound positive, friendly and helpful.
Listen carefully to what customers say. Never interrupt them and try to understand their
needs and problems.
Take responsibility, either solving the callers problem or promising to take some
appropriate action
Use expressions to show your interest and attention
90
Paraphrase what your customer says so that he notices you are paying full attention
Thank your customer for calling

1.2. SITUATION 2: TAKING CARE OF A GUEST PETITION ON THE PHONE
Guest: Good afternoon! I am calling from room 322. Id like to ask if you have rapid
laundry service.
R: Certainly, Mrs. White. We have an express laundry service. You can have a look at the
leaflet on your bedside table.
G: Yes, I have seen it but what I need to know is how long it will take to have a suit
cleaned. I need it for tonight, it is very urgent.
R: I see. Our express service usually takes 12 hours but I am sure in this case we can
arrange it so that you can have it for tonight.
G: That will be very kind on your part, I would really appreciate it. Shall I bring it
downstairs?
R: Dont worry Mrs. White, Ill send someone to pick it up right away. Room 322, right.
Shall I add the amount to your account?
G: Yes, please. Thank you very much indeed.
R: You are welcome. Thanks to you.
Remember the tips when answering a phone call:
Introduce yourself and give the name of the company as soon as you pick up the
phone.
Use appropriate tone and speak clearly. Try to sound positive, friendly and helpful.
Listen carefully to what customers say. Never interrupt them and try to understand their
needs and problems.
Take responsibility, either solving the callers problem or promising to take some
appropriate action
Use expressions to show your interest and attention
Paraphrase what your customer says so that he notices you are paying full attention
Thank your customer for calling

1.3. SITUATION 3: AN E-MAIL OF ENQUIRY
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TO: reservations@ttoouurrss.com
CC:
BCC:
SUBJECT: information about Norwegian Tour
Dear Sir or Madam,
I have seen your advertisement on yesterday issue of New Post and I am writing to enquire about
the offer of the Norwegian Holiday Tour next June.
Firstly, what are the dates of the tour? Secondly, what are the ticket prices? I would also like to
know what types of rooms are available and their prices. Will you be providing transfers to and from
the airport? Finally, I would appreciate it if you could send me a complete list of activities during the
tour.
Please email me at: t.johnson@random.com
Thank you very much in advance and I forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Yours faithfully,
Ted Johnson

1.4. SITUACIN 4: REPLYING AN E-MAIL OF ENQUIRY
TO: t.johnson@random.com
BCC:
SUBJECT: RE: information about Norwegian Tour
Dear Mr. Johnson
Thank you for your e-mail.
There are two possible dates, from June 1st to the 14th and from 15th to 30th. Prices vary
depending on the date chosen (the second fortnight is more expensive) and on other factors such as
the type of room you are interested and the activities you would like to book. Transfer is always
included. I have attached a brochure with full information so that you can decide the option that best
suits you.
Remember you can make your reservation through this e-mail address or logging in our website
(www.ttoouurrss.com). You can also dial 5554654646548131 and make your reservation on the
phone.
Thank you very much for your interest in our services and we hope to count on your presence in one
of our tours.
Looking forward to hearing from you I send you my kindest regards
Rachel Hunt
Remember the tips when writing an e-mail:
Reply as soon as possible

Be concise but careful in the layout
Organise the information into paragraphs and go to the point
Paragraphs and sentences should be short
92
Use appropriate vocabulary and avoid using informal language

Thank your customer
1.5. SITUATION 5: LETTER OF ENQUIRY
Sunset Avenue 437

Nuton, N.Y.
98330
Consulate General of Spain in New York
Tourism Office of Spain
666 Fifth Avenue, 35th floor
New York, N.Y. 10103
June 4th 2006
To whom it may concern
I am planning a trip to Spain next autumn and I would need some information. I am writing to you
because I would like to get tourist information about the Northern coast of Spain: interesting
places, beaches, hotels, restaurants, etc.
Thank you in advance and I look forward to having news from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
Lucy Miles

1.6. SITUATION 6: REPLYING A LETTER OF ENQUIRY
Consulate General of Spain in New York

Tourism Office of Spain
666 Fifth Avenue, 35th floor
New York, N.Y. 10103
Ms. Lucy Miles
Sunset Avenue 437
Nuton, N.Y.
98330
June 7th 2006
Dear Ms. Miles
Thank you very much for your letter of June 4th asking for information about tourism in the North of Spain.
We are very glad so send you, together with this letter, our latest information package, which we hope is of interest to you.
It contains a guide to Spanish accommodation and catering and tourist brochures with information about Galicia, Asturias,
Cantabria and the Basque Country.
Besides I strongly recommend you to visit the following websites for more information:
www.turgalicia.es
www.infoasturias.com
www.turismodecantabria.com
www.turismoa.euskadi.net
Please, do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Yours sincerely
Susana Smith
Remember the tips when writing a letter:
93
Do not use informal language

Be polite
Try to be concise and direct
Write in clearly defined paragraphs
Thank the customer
Use a complementary close

1.7. SITUATION 7: A COMPLAINT ON THE PHONE
94
Guest: Excuse me, my room is facing the main street and I cannot sleep at night because
of the traffic noise.
R: Oh, I am very sorry to hear that, Sir.
G: Would it be possible to stay in a different room?
R: I will see what I can do, Sir.
R: Your room is 302, isnt it?
G: Yes, it is.
R: Thank you Sir. I will check it out and let you know as soon as I get some news.
G: Thank you.
1.8. SITUATION 8: A COMPLAINT ON THE FRONT DESK
Receptionist: Good morning, Mrs. Black. Is there anything I can do for you?
Guest: Actually you can. When I got back to my room last night I realised I my TV didnt
work properly.
R: My apologies for that Madam. Could you turn it on?
G: Yes, I could, but I wasnt able to watch any channel.
R: OK Madam. I will call the technician immediately.
R: You are welcome Madam.
1.9. SITUATION 9: A COMPLAINT ON THE FRONT DESK
Guest: Good morning. Id like to make a complaint about your room service.
Receptionist: May I ask you why, Sir?
G: Of course. Last night I placed the Do not disturb sign on my door but the maid
seemed not to have noticed it when she came in this morning.
R: I am really sorry Sir. I am sure she did not do it on purpose.
G: I know but that is not my problem.
R: I can understand Sir and I apologise for that. Is there any way we can solve this
problem?
G: Can you please tell her to read the signs before coming into the room? Next time I will
ask for the complaints book.
R: My deepest apologies, Sir. This situation has never occurred in this hotel. I am sure
theres a good explanation for it. Could you tell me your room number?
G: 211. This is not my first time here and I have never had any trouble. Thats why I am
telling it to you instead of leaving and never come back.

R: I really appreciate it, Sir. I will talk to her about this and I will make sure it will not
happen again.
G: I hope so.
Remember the tips to handle a complaint:
Be friendly and helpful

Listen attentively and not interrupt
Ask them to get as much information as possible
Never blame a colleague
Use a positive language
Deal with the complaint immediately
Remember that an apology is always welcome
Empathise with them
Identify the causes of the complaint and let the customer know that the matter will be
fully investigated
Explain what your next steps will be to find a solution
Agree the solution with the customer

1.10. SITUATION 10: AN E-MAIL OF COMPLAINT ABOUT A HOLIDAY
TO: management@ttoouurrss.com
CC:
BCC:
SUBJECT: complaint about my last holidays
Dear Sir/Madam
I have just returned from a holiday in Spain and I am writing to complain about your service.
In the first place, my travel arrangements were changed and nobody dared to notify it to me. You
switched my flight and I lost a whole day waiting at the airport. When I got to the airport in Spain your
representative didnt turned up, (I guess he wasnt informed about the change, either) and nobody
answered in the contact number you gave me. Finally, I decided to take a taxi to the hotel.
Here comes my second point. El Cortijo hotel had nothing to do with what you advertised on your
brochure. I wouldnt call it traditional mansion where exquisite good taste pervades but an old dark
decaying house in the middle of nowhere. My room with a view had a view in fact, but a view to the
parking lot.
The offer said breakfast included but I wouldnt call that breakfast. The quality and variety was poor
and service was really unsatisfactory. The waiter was rude and very unprofessional, the same as
with the rest of the staff.
Finally the activities were really difficult to enjoy. The golf course you advertised was 20 km away
and there was not transportation from the hotel. I couldnt believe it! Also, it was difficult to practise
water sports if the only water around was a dry stream nearby.
I recommend you to check the establishments you announce or even to try them first. I think you
should improve the comfort of the hotel and the quality of food in the restaurant.
I will be happy with an apology on your side and I hope you will consider my suggestions positively.
Yours sincerely,
John Terrace
95

1.11. SITUATION 11: REPLY TO AN E-MAIL OF COMPLAINT ABOUT A HOLIDAY
TO: johnterrace@random.com
CC:
BCC:
SUBJECT: RE: complaint about my last holidays
Dear Mr. Terrace,
We are writing in response to the e-mail of complaint you sent to us after the return from your
holiday at El Cortijo Hotel in Malaga, Spain. We understand from your e-mail that your stay at this
hotel was far from satisfactory and we would like to apologise beforehand for it. We have decided to
investigate the case fully and we will be replying to you to let you know our findings a.s.a.p.
Thank you very much for your e-mail and we look forward to giving you a satisfactory response in
the near future.
Yours sincerely
Tracy King
Ttoouurrss Manager

1.12. SITUATION 12: GIVING A SOLUTION TO A WRITTEN COMPLAINT
TO: johnterrace@random.com
CC:
BCC:
SUBJECT: RE: complaint about my last holidays
Dear Mr. Terrace
We are writing to you to inform you that, shortly after receiving your e-mail complaining about your
stay in one of our hotels in Spain, one of our teams flew directly to Malaga to investigate the matter
and the results, I am afraid, are quite similar to what you stated in your e-mail. Of course, we have
already taken the necessary measures.
For this reason, we would like to send our deepest apologies for the inconvenience caused. We are
aware we cannot compensate you for the trouble and dissatisfaction and definitely we will not be
able to give you your holidays back. However, we would like to offer you a voucher valid through
2010 for a 7 day stay in one of our Spanish luxury hotels. We hope you are so kind as to accept it.
Please, find the conditions detailed in the attached document.
Thank you very much for your e-mail and we look forward to counting on your presence in one of our
hotels.
Best regards
Tracy King
Ttoouurrss Manager
96
Remember the tips to handle a written complaint:
Remember that written complaints must be dealt with as a matter of urgency

Be friendly and helpful
Use a positive language
Remember that an apology is always welcome
Let the customer know that the matter will be fully investigated
Explain what your next steps will be to find a solution
Agree the solution with the customer
97
1.3. VOCABULARIO REFERENTE A LA SALUD
Useful Expressions
What is the matter?
How do you feel?
What symptoms do you have?
Do you have nausea or vomiting?
Does the pain go and come?
Is this the first time this has happened?
How did it happen?
We must phone for an ambulance
We must call the police.
Do you have your insurance card?
Fortunately, there are no casualties
You are going to be taken to hospital
The guests were escorted safely from the hotel
Illnesses
Allergy
Asthma
Bronchitis
Cancer
Chickenpox
Cold
Cough
Depression
Diabetes
Diarrhoea
Disease/Illness
Earache
Flu
Headache
Expresiones tiles
Qu ocurre?
Cmo se siente?
Qu sntomas presenta?
Presenta nausea o vmito?
El dolor viene y va?
Es la primera vez que le ocurre?
Cmo ha sucedido?
Debemos llamar a una ambulancia.
Debemos llamar a la polica.
Tiene usted su tarjeta del seguro?
Afortunadamente, no hay que lamentar muertos
Lo van a llevar al hospital
Sacaron a los huspedes del hotel sanos y salvos
Enfermedades
Alergia
Asma
Bronquitis
Cncer
Varicela
Catarro, resfriado
Tos
Depresin
Diabetes
Diarrea
Enfermedad
Dolor de odos
Gripe
Dolor de cabeza
Measles
Pharyngitis
Sea sickness
Smallpox
Stomach ache
A sore throat
Sunstroke
Temperature/Fever
Physical State
To be well/to be healthy/to be in good health
To be sick/to feel sick
To be dead
To bleed
To cough
To faint
To feel dizzy
To get vaccinated
To shake
To suffer
To vomit/To throw up
Sick
Ill
Health
Ache
Bump
Disability
Haemorrhage
Health
Healthy
Heart attack
Hygiene
Infection
Infectious
Injury
Pain
Rash
Scar
Scratch
Sprain
Stroke
Swollen
Wound
Sarampin
Faringitis
Mareo
Viruela
Dolor de estmago
Dolor de garganta
Insolacin
Fiebre
Estado Fsico
Estar bien de salud
Tener nauseas
Estar muerto
Sangrar
Toser
Desmayarse
Estar mareado
Vacunarse
Temblar
Padecer, sufrir
Vomitar
Indispuesto
Enfermo
Salud
Dolor
Chichn
Minusvala
Hemorragia
Salud
Sano
Ataque al corazn
Higiene
Contagio, infeccin
Contagioso, infeccioso
Herida
Dolor
Erupcin, sarpullido
Cicatriz
Rasguo
Esguince, torcedura
Derrame cerebral
Inflamado
Herida (por un arma)
98
Doctors and Medicine

Disposable needles
Dentist
Doctors case
Doctors stamp
Dressing material
Family doctor/General practitioner (G.P.)
First-aid kit
General Practice
Health insurance certificate
Hospital
Intensive care unit
Medicine cabinet
Mask
Medical record
Nurse
Ophthalmologist
Paediatrician
Patient
Prescription
Sterile gauze
Surgeon
Waiting room
X-ray unit
Mdicos y Medicina
Jeringas de un solo uso
Dentista
Maletn del mdico
Sello del mdico
Material de vendaje
Mdico de cabecera
botiqun de primeros auxilios
Consultorio de medicina general
Volante de asistencia mdica
Hospital
Unidad de cuidados intensivos (UVI)
Botiqun
Mascarilla
Ficha mdica
Enfermera
Oftalmlogo
Pediatra
Paciente
Receta
Gasa esterilizada
Cirujano
Sala de espera
Unidad de rayos X
99

Inglés Profesional para El Turismo

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Inglés Profesional para El Turismo

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Ingls Profesional Para El Turismo

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Hosting service, when accommodation is provided to tourists, with or without provision

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

1 fork or fourth restaurant:

2 forks or third category restaurant:

Simple menu list.

3 forks or second category restaurant:

4 forks or first category restaurant:

5 forks restaurant or luxury:

Independent entrances for customers and staff.

Cafes with 1 cup:

Cafes with 2 cups:

Cafes with 3 cups:

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Aviation: There is a distinction between scheduled flights, which are governed

The agencies are classified into 3 groups:

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Aviation: There is a distinction between scheduled flights, which are governed

capital to be disbursed when forming it is 180,000 and the same amount is

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

The main aims of a Tourist Information Office are:

Providing a public service

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Mass or group Tourism:

Business Tourism: It refers to journeys with the purpose of trade, business or

Theme Parks: Based on tourist attractions with specific themes. It is

Religious: Linked to places or events of special religious relevance. The four

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Stays at hotel for 7 nights for the price of 6 or 4 paying 3

Discounts of 10% or 15% on the room

Free upgrades: suites at standard room price

Details in the room: Welcome Bottle, Chocolates, floral detail

Children stay in hotels, their transport or entry for free

Babysitting and animal care

Deals 2 x 1: travel 2 people for the price of 1.

Special discounts for early booking

Valet-parking service at a restaurant

Free Wi-Fi Connection

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

The questionnaires can be:

per mailbox for complaints and suggestions

by interview to clients or potential clients

by audits (announced or unannounced), external or internal

The company measures by requirement or fashion. When measure of the

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Transport bookings: Transports companies can be contacted via telephone

Booking of tickets and restaurant tables: As in the case of transports, the

Tickets and restaurant table bookings: To make reservations for restaurants

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Rates: Discounts and supplements

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

Price per pax in only bed: 60

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

FIT: Type of allotment for individual bookings.

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH

wholesaler but on request.

UNIT 1. MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF TOURIST SERVICES IN ENGLISH