1.2 Organising a trip Intermediaries: wholesalers and tour operators Intermediaries Some tourists don’t have a lot of travelling experience, may be anxious about booking a holiday, or find it difficult to deal with a different language. These challenges create the opportunity for companies to act as in the booking of tourist services. intermediaries like cruise companies, hotels, etc. because: Intermediaries benefit suppliers They can reach a wider part of the market; They know the tourist market better; They can reduce marketing and promoting expenses as these can be shared across different suppliers. too because: Intermediaries benefit customers They know the travel product they sell; They can obtain lower prices as they buy in bulk ; They can provide help with the language, currency , payments, and sometimes through a representative based in the destination. There are three main types of intermediaries in the tourism system: , , and . wholesalers tour operators travel agencies (like Jactravel or GDS) buy a particular type of service in bulk and sell it to tour operators and travel agencies. Traditionally, they didn’t sell to consumers directly, but they have recently started to do so through the Internet. Wholesalers Types of tour operators combine different tourist products and services into a fixed price . Tour operators package The caters to customers who want to travel abroad, so it operates a selection based on the knowledge that it has of the requirements of its customers. outbound tour operator The specialises in providing packages to visitors coming from abroad, thus offering direct knowledge of the tourist product. inbound tour operator How tour operators work Tour operators research the tourist destination and product by conducting inspections, trying the different services, negotiating prices, putting together all the costs and adding a margin for themselves. Then, they fix a price, promote, and finally sell the package to potential customers directly or through intermediaries, the Internet included. The process of creating the package normally lasts more than a year, and the long time between purchasing the services and selling them leaves tour operators vulnerable to many factors, like exchange rate fluctuations, fuel price changes, or collapse of the demand for that particular destination, due, for example, to natural disasters, diseases , or wars. GLOSSARY : : : : : : : : : : : to cater provvedere, servire collapse crollo currency moneta disease malattia exchange rate tasso di cambio fuel carburante in bulk all’ingrosso margin ricavo package pacchetto supplier fornitore wholesaler grossista