BY- S M MUJAHIDUL ALAM DEPUTY MANAGER BANGLADESH PARJATAN CORPORATION FORMER HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL AND TOURISM, NHTTI

1. THE PACKAGE TOUR
The package tour is the typical product of a tour operator. The
package tour is a prearranged circular journey for individual or
groups. Its price includes all the services of the ‘package’ like:
 Transportation,
 Accommodation,
 Food & beverage,
 Recreation, sightseeing,
 Entertainment,
 Insurance etc.
The price does not correspond to the sum of the prices of the
various components of the package. A net price paid to the
business partners has to be raised by a margin for own cost and
profit.

2. THE PACKAGE TOUR
Tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to
create a holiday.
The most common example of a tour operator's product would be a
flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and
the services of a local representative, all for one price.
 Package holidays are a form of product bundling . Product bundling is a
marketing strategy that involves offering several products for sale as one
combined product .
 Package holidays are organised by a tour operator and sold to a
consumer by a travel agent. Some travel agents are employees of tour
operators, others are independent.

3. THE PACKAGE TOUR
This package offers-

4. The package actually delivered to the client contains:
Ticket
Vouchers
Itineraries
Insurance Coupons
Address list
Travelling Instruction

5. History of package tour
The first organized tours dated back to Thomas Cook who, on 5 July 1841,
chartered a train to take a group of temperance campaigners from
Leicester to a rally in Loughborough , twenty miles away. Thomas Cook —
the company — grew to become one of the largest and most well known
travel agents before being nationalized in 1948. With the gradual decline
of visits to British seaside resorts after the Second World War, Thomas
Cook began promoting foreign holidays (particularly Italy, Spain and
Switzerland) in the early 1950s.
Vladimir Raitz, the co-founder of the Horizon Holiday Group, pioneered the
first mass package holidays abroad with charter flights between Gatwick
airport and Corsica in 1950. By the late 1950s and 1960s, these cheap package
holidays — which combined flight, transfers and accommodation — provided
the first chance for most people in the United Kingdom to have affordable
travel abroad.

6. TYPES OF TOUR PACKAGES
Free Independent Tour (FIT)
This tour is especially for those travelers who do not want to be part of a group, but they
want to travel in an organized tour. This is the most popular way to travel to Latin America.
With this tour, the travellers specifically choose the components. FIT tour may prefer to the
either of the following situations:
• An individual traveling alone on a specifically prepared itinerary
• A group operating out of a single travel agency on a itinerary developed in conjunction
with a whole seller.
Group Inclusive Tour (GIT)
When the same group follows the same itinerary from beginning to end, then that type of
tour is known as GIT. This is an all-inclusive tour for group travel with pre-arranged
components. All members of the travel group are required to travel together and there is
usually little flexibility in the itinerary. Variations or modifications of the itinerary are
impossible. Optional Pre and Post Tours are very popular for group tours. A GIT can be
locally hosted or fully escorted.

7. TYPES OF TOUR PACKAGES
Locally Hosted
In this type of tour, every tourist will get a service, which is hosted by a local
representative or by a bilingual tour guide.
Fully Escorted
In this type of tour, a tour manager travels with the tourists throughout the
complete itinerary, and he is available 24-hours a day. The Tour Manager main
responsibilities are to oversee the complete operation of the itinerary,
organize dinning outing and activities during the free time in the itinerary

8. SPECIAL INTEREST TOUR PACKAGES
Trade associations also are heavily involved with offering group tours.
Retail merchants visit cities that face similar marketing problems and
agriculture groups visit farms to swap fertilizer stories and husbandry tips.
This is a tour designed for a specific group with common interests or
objectives, like:
• Congress/Convention/ Exhibition
• Incentives- Award Winners
• Educational- Cooking, farming, Cultural etc
• Sports- Golf, Fishing, Diving etc
• Special events- Food festivals, Religious Festival etc

9. TOUR TYPES:
• Car and Hotel
• These are packages that include rental car and hotels only. These packages
can also include flights. Clients drive themselves around the destination
and no guides, meals, or scheduled sightseeing is included. Other services
such as information, maps and sightseeing may be included.
• Escorted Tour
• Escorted Tours are our most popular product. Escorted tours are normally
conducted by a tour director who takes care of all services from beginning
to end of the tour. Escorted tours normally include flights, hotels,
transportation, and transfers to the airport/hotel, most meals and
sightseeing. Escorted Tours are conducted by motor coach and usually no
more than 2 nights are spent in each location visited. Escorted Tours are
usually fast-paced and prices include much of the sightseeing.

10. TOUR TYPES:
• Guided Tours
• Guided Tours are somewhat similar to escorted tours but passengers are greeted
by a local representative rather than a Tour Director and will not be escorted to all
activities and functions. Local guides will be available to answer questions through
the duration of the tour. Some meals, accommodations and sightseeing may be
included in your tour. This style is ideal for people who want some freedom but
still have the comfort of a guide.
• Independent Vacations
• These vacations usually spend 2 or 3 nights in each location visited and usually
only a few locations are visited. A tour guide is not included, but there is a host
available to answer questions and suggest sightseeing. Few meals and some
sightseeing are included, but a lot of free time to explore is available. These
vacations are ideal for independent travelers looking to set their own pace.

11. TOUR TYPES:
• Rail Tour
• Similar to an escorted, guided or hosted tour except that the transportation is conducted by rail.
• River Cruises
• A River Cruise is basically a tour that is conducted on a small or medium sized cruise-ship and
travels via rivers instead of rail or road.
• Tour and Cruise
• This is a tour that also has an accompanying cruise. The cruise is at lest 2 nights or more. Tours with
a one-day or overnight cruise are simply considered Escorted Tours.
• Group Tours
• Group tours can be arranged to just about anywhere worth going. The difficult part now is choosing
where. Air trips can be very involved, particularly taking into account security concerns. These are
usually reserved for longer trips, usually a week or more, but many can be found for as short as a
weekend.
These are some of the most elaborate packages available but certainly not only ones worth
considering. Some of the most fun group travel experiences can have you back in your own bed the
same night as you started.

12. TOUR TYPES:
• Weekend Tours–These might lack the glamour of an airplane trip abroad but can be a
lower cost answer for the quick getaway. If you live in the Midwest and long to see Dolly
Parton in Branson, Missouri, you can get there easily by bus. Tour companies also offer
weekend trips to sporting events, such as NFL football or major league baseball. On the
other hand you might find yourself at the largest mall in North America for two days of
shopping. These weekend trips usually include overnight hotel fees, tickets to the game
or show, and possibly dinner reservations.
• Day Trips–These outings get you there and get you back and usually are offered in areas
near major resorts or attractions. Travelers do not have to worry about packing or
checking into a hotel. They also do not have to worry about driving or paying attention
to the road. For example, on the bus from Pensacola, Florida to the riverboat casinos in
Biloxi, Mississippi, travelers get to play bingo to pass the time.
• Boats and buses are the most common but not the only means of transportation for
group tours. Train trips also are popular, whether chugging through the wilderness in
Alaska or Canada to covering the countryside of Europe or Asia. Tour packages also can
be arranged where the main means of transportation is hiking, biking, skiing and
rafting.

13. TYPES OF LAND TOURS
The tour business is constantly changing and expanding to fit the newest
travel trends, and tour companies can vary their focuses greatly. Most
tours, however, do fit into one of the following major categories.
• Sightseeing/Bus Tours
• Land tours of this variety are the most common type of organized tour.
They almost always involve travel by motor coach, overnight hotel lodging,
and usually air transportation to the tour departure area. Sightseeing
guides are the typical guides––the ones easily identifiable by their busload
of tourists. Picture a dashing, blue-scarfed tour guide as she takes charge
of the group, enlightens them on the history and geography of the area
they are visiting, stopping for a quick photo or video shot, and then whisks
them off to a new destination. Tour areas can take place virtually
anywhere in the world.

14. TYPES OF LAND TOURS
• Shore Excursion Tours
• Some tour companies are affiliated with or even run by cruise companies.
Passenger ships like to offer their customers tours in the most interesting
ports of call, and hire tour guides to give bus tours and narration of the
nearby area. This arrangement is particularly popular in Alaska. Alaska
tour positions are usually seasonal, enabling students to work in Alaska
without interrupting their school schedules, although many student
guides do end up taking some time off. Also, excursion operators enjoy the
advantage of living in a more or less permanent location when guiding
tours instead of being on the road most of the time.