1. Roles and Responsibilities
BTEC National Travel and Tourism

2. Introduction
In the previous lesson we looked into the structure of the travel and tourism industry.This week’s focus is on:
the types of travel and tourism organisations
their roles and responsibilities
But first let’s re-cap with an overview of the industry

3. Types of Organisation Tour operators Leisure travel agents
Business travel agents
Accommodation providers
Airlines and airports
Regulatory bodies
Public sector organisations
QUANGOs

4. Tour Operators Creating tours and travel activities
Offering these to customers…
Through travel agencies or
Directly via the Web
Four main firms dominate:
TUI (Thomson)
Thomas Cook
MyTravel
First Choice

5. Travel Agents
Travel agents provide the link between tour operators and customers
Range from large national chains to small independents
Leisure travel agents provide services to holiday destinations
Business travel agents provide services for commercial consumers

6. Accommodation Providers
Hotel chains
New trends, such as budget hotels
Bed and breakfast
Youth Hostel Association
Villas and country houses

7. Airports BAA is the UK market’s leading airport group
BAA owns seven UK airports
Manchester Airport Group is the second largest airport owner

8. Airlines Charter airlines Scheduled airlines
Budget or no-frills airlines
See Biz/ed’s easyJet business profile (
and our At Your Leisure feature on budget airlines for more

9. Regulatory Bodies
Regulators exist to control an industry to ensure that public, business and consumers rights are protected
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is one of the travel and tourism industry’s main regulators

10. Public Sector Organisations
Central government creates legislation and local government is involved in policing the laws
Key travel and tourism government departments:
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

11. QUANGOs
Quasi Autonomous Non Governmental Organisations (see why their name is abbreviated !)
Often consist of Government-appointed people but can set policy independent of the state
English Heritage is key in this industry

12. Roles & Responsibilities
Travel and tourism organisations have responsibilities to:
Customers
Other businesses that depend on them
The whole industry

13. Customers Have expectations, such as: Good service
Quality products and services
Effective complaints procedures
Protection from improper business practice

14. Other Businesses
In the first session we saw how the travel and tourism industry has many examples of vertical integration:
Travel firms own businesses above and below them in the ‘chain’
e.g. Tour operator
Travel agent Airline

15. Other Businesses They may not be owned by the same company, though
Firms can still be inter-dependent, even though they may compete with each other

16. Whole Industry
Organisations in travel and tourism have a responsibility to the entire industry because:
It is a highly valuable industry
Consumers’ confidence is vital
Many firms’ growth and survival are inter-linked

17. Where Next?
Go to the Activity to find out more about how the responsibilities of organisations in the travel and tourism industry are met in real life.