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1. Get familiar with major types of travel services.
2. Sum up the working procedures of an operator and a salesman in the travel services.
3. Deal with situations like giving suggestions about the tour arrangement for the tourists,confirming the quotation and itinerary with a sales manager of an organizing travel agency.
4. Get familiar with some knowledge of Chinese customs and festivals.
5. Manage to design an itinerary for a certain tour group.
Q1: What are the major types of travel services?
Q2: What are the functions of diferent departments of a travel agency?
Pre-reading: Before reading the passage, discuss in groups about the following questions.
1. How much do you know about travel agencies?
2. What are the differences between a domestic travel agency and an international travel agency?
A travel agency refers to a profit-making enterprise engaged in tourism business. The term “tourism business” as mentioned above refers to the business activities of handling visa,exit and entry formalities for tourists, soliciting business and receiving tourists, and arranging paid services like accommodation for tourists. Travel agencies are mainly divided into two categories: Travel wholesalers and travel retailers. Travel wholesaler is a travel agency or travel company that mainly engages in wholesale business. Wholesale business refers to the travel agency which orders large quantities of transportation companies, restaurants, tourist attractions and related tourism enterprise products and services based on its knowledge of market demand and forecast, and then sells these products to consumers through certain distribution channels.Travel retailers primarily operate retail operations, typically represented by travel agents and other relevant booking agencies.
Generally speaking, the role of a travel agent is to purchase the products from travel wholesalers and the relevant travel enterprises in the aspects of travel, accommodation and entertainment on behalf of the customer. Chinese travel agencies were initially divided into: category Ⅰ, category Ⅱ and category Ⅲ, which were under the leadership of national tourism bureau and local tourism bureau. After 2000, the national tourism administration no longer specifically managed the afairs of travel agencies but assigned them to local tourism bureau. From then on, travel agencies fall into domestic agencies and international agencies(international agencies refer to those with right to leave the country while domestic agencies have no right to leave the country).
At present, the travel agencies in all parts of the country are divided into: organizing travel agencies, offices (also known as wholesalers, distributors, agents, peers) and local agencies.Organizing travel agencies refer to the travel agencies signing the travel contracts with the guests at the origin. Local travel agencies refer to those receiving tourists from the travel agencies of the origin. Offices refer to the agencies or agencies of the local reception agencies in the city of origin, which have the legal management license. Of course, there are some clubs and illegal tourism organizations, who do not have the relevant qualifications.
1. All travel agencies are allowed to handle outbound business. （）
2. You have to go to a travel agency to get a passport. （）
3. One of the premises of travel agency business is legal. （）
4. Travel agencies can provide hotel reservation service for tourists. （）
1. Can you name some famous travel agencies of China?
2. Can you sum up the classification of the travel agencies based on the passage?
Pre-reading: Discuss the relationship between travel agency operators and travel agency sales.
A travel agency operator is very important, which is regarded as the pivot of a travel agency. It plays an important role of coordinating other departments of the travel agency.For the product department, the operator should cooperate with them to determine the main products in the next stage and the feasibility of the itinerary. For the ticketing department, the operator should contact them when the schedule needs to be changed or the itinerary should be adjusted. As for the visa department, sometimes the operator should also participate in the check and follow-up of the visa materials of the guests, because the final number of tourists should be fixed according to whether they can get the visa. For the tour guide and leader department, the operator should provide service throughout the travel: from the handover of all materials before departure to the submission of all materials after the group leaving, bill checking, application for reimbursement, follow-up and handling of unexpected matters during the group trip. The operator should participate in the purchase and final pricing of hotels, cars,restaurants and assist in cost accounting and dealing with the local travel agency. In short, a good operator basically can be said to be a housekeeper of a travel agency.
Sales department is another important department of a travel agency, which is responsible for the designing and making tourism products for tourists according to the needs of them,negotiating with customers and promoting tourism products.
Firstly, travel agency sales must design products according to the needs of tourists. Travel agencies combine the products provided by the suppliers to form their own products. Even in the Internet era, when the intermediary function of travel agencies is weakened, the design function of such products becomes the basis of travel agencies.
Secondly, the sales staf must go through a series of processes such as selling, negotiation,quotation and contract signing. To be a good tourism sales person, he must accumulate time,have professional knowledge, practical experience and know how to sign industrial contracts.A good sales person should know how to meet the demands of both sides to reach a satisfactory outcome and form a win-win situation.
1. The travel agency operator is one of the indispensable staf of travel agencies. （）
2. Booking tickets for scenic spots is one of the main tasks of travel agency operators.（）
3. Travel agency sales also learn to lead groups. （）
4. Travel agency sales must be familiar with travel products. （）
Dialogue 1 Peter Green is a sales manager of an American travel agency. He is calling Liu Mei, an operator of Kunming CITS, to book a tour.
Liu Mei: Good morning, this is Kunming CITS. What can I do for you?
Peter Green: Good morning. This is Peter Green from American International 1.____ . I would like to speak to Liu Mei, please.
Liu Mei: Hello, Mr. Green. This is Liu Mei speaking.
Peter Green: Hello, Miss Liu. We have a group of tourists who would like to travel to Yunnan. So, I’d like to know some 2._____about this province.
Liu Mei: Sure. May I ask you some questions at first? It may help me choose the right itinerary for you.
Peter Green: Yes, please.
Liu Mei: How many tourists are there in your group?
Peter Green: 21 including the tour leader.
Liu Mei: When do they want to come to Yunnan?
Peter Green: At the beginning of next month.
Liu Mei: How long will the tour group stay here?
Peter Green: Nine to ten days.
Liu Mei: What level of hotel do they want?
Peter Green: 3._____.
Liu Mei: And how much for meals?
Peter Green: About ＄5 per person per meal.
Liu Mei: In that case, how about the ten-day 4._____including Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangrila? It covers many beautiful places of interest in Yunnan.
Peter Green: How about the price?
Liu Mei: It might be ＄4,000 per person, including three meals a day, four-star hotel accommodation, transport, tour guide service, the first admission ticket of each 5.____and insurance.
Peter Green: Can you send me a detailed itinerary of this package?
Liu Mei: Sure. May I have your email address?
Peter Green: petergreen@gmail.com .
Liu Mei: OK. I will send it to you as soon as possible.
Peter Green: Thank you.
Liu Mei: You’re welcome.
A. Greet the guest.
B. Ask for the guest’s expectation of the tour.
C. Give some advice on the tour arrangement.
Dialogue 2 Peter Green is calling Liu Mei to check the quotation with her.
Liu Mei: Hello! This is Kunming CITS. How can I help you?
Peter Green: Hello, Miss Liu. This is Peter Green.
Liu Mei: Oh! Mr. Green. I’m happy to hear from you again. Did you receive my itinerary?
Peter Green: Yes. The group is very satisfied with your itinerary. But they asked me to 1. _____pwith you.
Liu Mei: OK.
Peter Green: In the itinerary, it only gives the price for adults. And we have two kids in the group. How much will you charge them?
Liu Mei: How old and how tall are they?
Peter Green: Both are 5 years old and about 1.1 meters tall.
Liu Mei: They will be charged half of the price for an adult, that is, ＄2,000, including transport, meals and insurance. They will share a bed with their parents.
Peter Green: OK. My tourists want to take a high-speed train from Kunming to Dali instead of 2._____. Can you arrange that?
Liu Mei: Yes, fine. I’ll book 3._____tickets for them. Is that OK?
Peter Green: OK, thank you. One more thing, some tourists want to watch The Impression of Lijiang . Can you book the tickets for us?
Liu Mei: Sure. The prices 4._____＄30 to ＄40 according to the seats you want to have. Which one do you prefer?
Peter Green: We’d like to book the tickets at the price of ＄30.
Liu Mei: OK, I’ll book them for you.
Peter Green: What is the quotation now?
Liu Mei: It makes a 5.______to the last quotation but not much. I will send you the new quotation in ten minutes.
Peter Green: OK. Thank you!
Liu Mei: It’s my pleasure.
A. Greet the guest.
B. Tell him the charge for the tour leader.
C. Answer some questions about quotation.
Dialogue3 Peter Green is calling Liu Mei to confirm the itinerary with her.
Liu Mei: Good afternoon! This is Kunming CITS. Can I help you?
Peter Green: Good afternoon, Miss Liu. It’s Peter here. I’m calling to check some 1. _____of the itinerary with you.
Liu Mei: OK.
Peter Green: The itinerary includes 28 meals, is that right?
Liu Mei: No, only 2.____meals. We just serve supper on the day of arrival and breakfast on the day of departure.
Peter Green: I see. The new quotation for adults is $3,950, and $1,900 for kids, right?
Liu Mei: Yes, it includes the cost of tickets for The Impression of Lijiang show.
Peter Green: OK. Do you have any discount for that?
Liu Mei: I’m sorry. It’s the lowest price in the peak season.
Peter Green: What kinds of breakfast are ofered?
Liu Mei: Four–star hotels offer American breakfast, Continental breakfast and Chinese breakfast. They are 3._____styles.
Peter Green: Our tourists may want to try some local dishes sometimes. Can they cancel some group meals and have local specialties instead?
Liu Mei: Certainly! But they’d better tell their local tour guide at least 3 hours in advance and I’m afraid they will pay the 4. _____ .
Peter Green: OK, no problem.
Liu Mei: We can book the flight tickets for your tourists once you send their names and 5._____to us. One more thing, I’m afraid you need to pay ＄40,000 to us as deposit and the rest of the 6. ____ will be paid before the tourists leave.
Peter Green: OK, I will transfer the deposit to the account of your company soon.
Liu Mei: Thank you very much. I’ll tell you the local tour guide’s name and phone number in four days.
Peter Green: That’s fine. Good-bye.
Liu Mei: Good-bye.
A. Greet the guest.
B. Answer some questions about the itinerary.
C. Ask the guest to pay deposit.
This is a 6 days’ itinerary from Kunming to Dali and Lijiang. Read and finish the tasks below.
Continued
1. What aspects should be included in an itinerary?
2. What factors should be considered when you design an itinerary?
1. Chinese horoscopes are based on the Chinese lunar calendar. There are 12 zodiac signs represented by animals, and every year there is a diferent one. After twelve years, the cycle repeats itself. The 12 animal signs are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit，Dragon，Snake，Horse，Sheep，Monkey，Rooster，Dog，and Boar. Therefore，every twelve years the same animal name or“sign” would reappear. Similar to western horoscopes, many people believe the Chinese animal signs decide what your character will be like and can influence your decisions. A Chinese horoscope may predict that a person born in the Year of the Horse would be“cheerful，popular, and loves to compliment others”. The animal signs also serve a useful social function for finding out people’s ages. Instead of asking directly how old a person is，people often ask what is his or her animal sign. This would place that person’s age within a cycle of 12 years，and with a bit of common sense，we can deduce the exact age.
2. Chopsticks, or kuaizi in Chinese, are usually made of wood, used for eating food. The earliest evidence of a pair of chopsticks made out of bronze was excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang, Henan province, dating back to roughly 1,200 BC. Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese food culture. They are round on the eating end which symbolizes heaven, and the other end is square which symbolizes earth. This is because maintaining an adequate food supply is the greatest concern between heaven and earth. There is an old Chinese custom making chopsticks part of a girl’s dowry, since the pronunciation of kuaizi is similar to the words for “quick” and “son”. Chopsticks are so frequently used in daily life and they have become more than a kind of tableware and have fostered a set of etiquette and customs of their own.
1. 农历九月初九是中国的重阳节。根据易经，“九”是一个正数或阳数。因此，九月初九意味着“双九”或“双阳”。因为“chong”在汉语中是“双”的意思，所以在中国也被称为“重阳”。重阳节有爬山、赏菊、喝菊花酒、吃螃蟹、戴茱萸驱鬼和写诗的习俗。值得庆幸的是，重阳节有了更积极的意义。由于“九”在汉语中的发音与“永恒”或“永远”相同，这个节日被认为是一个特别吉祥的日子，人们经常拜访或问候他们家中的老年人，因此，在1989年，中国政府为这个节日指定了另一个名称来促进对老年人的尊重：老人节。
2. 自汉朝（公元前206—221年）起，元宵节就已成为中国新年庆祝活动的一部分。一般农历的正月十五为元宵节，这一天也标志着新年庆祝活动的结束。每年的元宵节会举办一些活动，如猜灯谜、踩高跷、敲鼓和舞龙舞狮。与大多数中国节日一样，元宵节同样有自己的特色小吃，称为“汤圆”（也叫“元宵”）。汤圆外形圆圆的，外皮由糯米制成，内馅或甜或辣。人们都说汤圆有两个象征之意，一为农历的第一个月圆，二为家庭团聚圆满。
1. Divide the class into several small groups of 2-4 students. Make dialogues about the process of booking a tour, confirming itinerary and the quotation before starting a tour.
2. Share some knowledge of Chinese customs and festivals with your partners.
3. Manage to design an itinerary for a certain tour group. Present your design and poster to your classmates.
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