Unit 38 Operations Management Support

Introduction

Operations support is an essential component of the tour operating business. The operations department is responsible for client bookings and arrangements after sales and reservations have been made. They manage every aspect of the customer journey post-reservation, during their trip and post-visit. The aim of this unit is to give students understanding and insight into the roles and functions of operations, how operations interact and interrelate with other internal and external business, and the issues and challenges that they face.

The tour operating business is a dynamic and fast-paced environment that must be responsive and prepared for unforeseen circumstances including large-scale disasters. Students will learn about risk assessment and crisis management planning, which is of primary concern for tour operators operating within a vulnerable and volatile global marketplace. Maintaining reputation through well- formulated risk management practice and procedure is a vital asset to any tourism business.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

Examine the roles and functions of the operations department of a tour operator
Conduct a stakeholder analysis of the operations department to assess the value of building relationships
Analyse the issues and challenges that affect the operational services of a tour operator
Produce a risk assessment plan to assess the potential impact of current threats and challenges.

Essential content

LO1 Examine the roles and functions of the operations department of a tour operator

After-sales customer care:

The management of the customer reservation pre-departure, during and post- visit

The administrative roles of obtaining and managing customer information

Managing customer expectations, dealing with customer complaints and feedback

Additional arrangements/ad hoc requests Dealing with schedule changes, hotel renovations Insurance sales and upselling

Legal requirements of booking conditions and compliance with regulatory bodies

Accessible travel and the implications for operations, Health and Safety requirements and equal opportunities

Operations handling:

Liaising with overseas ground operations, hotels and tourism suppliers Liaising with the ticketing department

Handling group operations and ground operations

Administration duties involving documentation packaging and checking, sending rooming lists, updating tour guides and suppliers

Manage cost control, quality levels and facilitate solutions

Risk management:

Troubleshooting and problem resolution in handling reservation changes, process changes, cost fluctuations

Contingency planning and crisis management to deal with emergencies and incidences

LO2 Conduct a stakeholder analysis of the operations department to assess the value of building relationships

Analytical frameworks:

The internal and external stakeholders for the operations department

Tools for stakeholder analysis: the stakeholder matrix and stakeholder mapping

Stakeholder relationships:

The importance of meeting stakeholder requirements

Building relationships and trust with tourism suppliers, providers and ground handling agents

The inter-relationships with other departments in the business, with specific reference to ticketing, sales and reservation teams

Developing customer-centric services and support

LO3 Analyse the issues and challenges that affect the operational services of a tour operator

Issues and challenges:

Issues and challenges e.g. war and terrorism, natural disasters, political unrest, epidemics and economic global downturn

Defining crisis management for tour operators

Crisis management in relation to volatile international markets Time to prepare for crisis management

The crisis management plan:

Decisions and actions required for co-ordinated response Post-incident management

Managing media expectations

Responsibilities of Government and overseas authorities Legal implications and responsibilities

LO4 Produce a risk assessment plan to assess the potential impact of current threats and challenges

Planning for a crisis and emergency situation: The risk management process and functions Risk assessment of issues and impacts Assessing the severity and category of risk Measures to be taken

Considerations – support for staff and customers

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Pass	Merit	Distinction
LO1 Examine the roles and functions of the operations department of a tour operator
P1 Investigate the different roles and responsibilities of operations support for a tour operating business P2 Examine the legal and regulatory body requirements that operations staff must comply with	M1 Analyse the different roles and responsibilities of operations support in meeting customer requirements	D1 Critically analyse the roles and responsibilities of operations support in meeting customer requirements
LO2 Conduct a stakeholder analysis of the operations department to assess the value of building relationships	D2 Critically evaluate the significance and value of stakeholder interrelationships from both internal and external perspectives, using a selected tour operating business
P3 Conduct a stakeholder mapping activity for the operations department of a selected tour operating business P4 Assess the significance and value of the interrelationships between operations and relevant stakeholders	M2 Evaluate the significance and value of stakeholder interrelationships from both internal and external perspectives, using a selected tour operating business
LO3 Analyse the issues and challenges that affect the operational services of a tour operator	LO3 LO4

P5 Analyse the potential threats and challenges that currently affect the operational services of a tour operating business	M3 Critically analyse the implications of the potential threats and challenges that currently affect the operational services of a tour operating business	D3 Produce a detailed risk assessment plan that justifies realistic measures to be taken in order to minimise risk for both staff and customers
LO4 Produce a risk assessment plan to assess the potential impact of current threats and challenges
P6 Produce a risk assessment plan that addresses a range of potential current threats and challenges that affect the operational services of a tour operating business	M4 Produce a risk assessment plan that provides valid measures to be taken in response to the severity of the risk

Recommended resources

Textbooks

BHATIA, K. (2013) The Business of Travel Agency and Tour Operations Management. London: Sterling.

COOPER, C. (2016) Essentials of Tourism. 2nd ed. Harlow: Pearson.

HOLLAND, J. and LESLIE, D. (2017) Tour Operators and Operation: Development, Management & Responsibility. Wallingford: CABI.

Websites

www.aito.com	Association of Independent Tour Operators (General Reference)
www.etoa.org	European Tourism Association (General Reference)
www.fto.org.uk	Federation of Tour Operators (General Reference)

Links This unit links to the following related units:

Unit 1: The Contemporary Travel and Tourism Industry

Unit 2: Managing the Customer Experience

Unit 3: Professional Identity and Practice

Unit 4: The Travel and Tourism Business Toolkit

Unit 6: Managing Aviation Services

Unit 7: Managing Conference and Events

Unit 8: Visitor Attraction Management

Unit 11: Corporate Travel Management

Unit 16: Marketing Essentials for Travel and Tourism

Unit 20: Tourism Consumer Behaviour and Insight

Unit 21: Airline Operations Management