How to Revise The Travel and Tourism Industry — WJEC-CBAC A-Level Travel & Tourism
Distinguish between tour operators and travel agents. Describe the role of tour operators in package holidays. Analyse the impact of online booking on travel agents
Examiner Tips for The Travel and Tourism Industry
- Use up-to-date industry case studies, e.g., TUI, Expedia, Hays Travel.
- Structure analysis with balanced arguments: benefits and challenges of online booking.
- Incorporate key terminology: vertical integration, dynamic packaging, OTAs, GDS.
- Reference current statistics on online vs. offline bookings for credibility.
- In extended answers, evaluate long-term trends and potential future scenarios.
- Use a real destination case study to structure your analysis of interrelationships—this demonstrates applied understanding and boosts marks.
- When explaining roles, always link to specific statutory or strategic responsibilities, e.g., licensing, regulation, or destination marketing.
- In extended answers, include a sentence on how recent events (e.g., a pandemic) disrupted interrelationships, showing higher-order thinking.
Common Mistakes in The Travel and Tourism Industry
- Confusing the roles: claiming travel agents create packages.
- Assuming all online travel companies are tour operators.
- Ignoring the continued relevance of travel agents for complex itineraries or face-to-face service.
- Oversimplifying the impact of online booking as purely negative for agents.
- Failing to note that many tour operators now also sell direct, bypassing agents.
- Confusing tour operators with travel agents—failing to recognise that tour operators create packages, while agents sell them.
Key Marking Points
- Award credit for clear distinction between tour operators (principals) and travel agents (intermediaries) with concrete examples.
- Credit for explaining how tour operators bulk purchase and combine components to create packages.
- Look for evaluation of the decline in high street agencies versus growth of OTAs and direct operator sales.
- Expect mention of ABTA/ATOL protection and its relevance to travel agents.
- Credit for discussing the shift to online platforms and changes in consumer search and booking behavior.
- Award credit for accurately mapping real-world businesses to the correct industry sector (e.g., airlines to transport, hotels to accommodation).