LESSON 2

The Tour Components

Tour Package

Tour packages are pre-arranged tours that combine two or more travel components, such as airfare,
transfers, accommodation, and other services needed to provide worry-free travel for the visitor. The tour
operator purchases and combines these components to create a complete tourism product. The operator
then sells the packages at all-inclusive prices paid in full by the clients before starting the tour.

In the Philippines, tour operators offer two types of tour packages: regular and ad-hoc. Regular packages
are pre-arranged, while ad-hoc packages are “tailor-fit” to the client's.

Basic Components of a Tour Package

1. Travel Component. It includes the air transportation from the origin to the destination and vice versa;
2. Ground Component. It includes services such as transfers, accommodation, sightseeing, meals,
entertainment, shopping, and other ancillary services

Classifications of Tours

Tour packages are classified into different categories. When grouped according to the services included
in the package, they are known as:

1. Independent
2. Inclusive
3. Escorted or Hosted
4. Fully-inclusive or all-inclusive

Independent tour packages are arranged by the travelers themselves. Tour components such as air
transportation, transfers, accommodation, sightseeing, and other services are separately booked and
purchased by the tourists, mostly called Foreign Independent Travelers (FITs) or Domestic Independent
Travelers (DITs). The price of the tour varies depending on the components where the traveler is in control
of their budget. There is also a great degree of freedom in terms of the schedule to visit and stay in a
particular destination.

Inclusive tour packages include specific elements such as airfare and land arrangements, which may
include transfers, accommodation, sightseeing, and some meals. Although sightseeing is included in the
package, the itinerary allows a certain degree of freedom that allows the tourist to purchase optional tours or
use the scheduled freedom for whatever purpose they intend to.

Escorted or hosted tour packages are inclusive tour packages with extra elements on the services
provided by the tour operator, like an escort. Basically, escorted tours are provided to tourists visiting a
foreign destination for the first time. Tour operators or travel agencies assign escorts to assist travelers or
groups of travelers from the origin to the destination. On the other hand, hosted tours are provided by travel
agencies at the travelers' inbound destination. They are responsible for assisting the travelers from their
transfer to the hotel and vice versa and in some portions of the tour.
 Fully-inclusive or all-inclusive tour packages include all the tour elements, including airfare,
transfers, accommodation, sightseeing, all meals, escort, and host, with complete activities and limited free
time. It may also include extras like a passport jacket, bag, or any other freebies the tour operator may
provide. Purchasing an all-inclusive package makes travelers worry-free since all the expenses were paid
before the tour. Extra money can be used to buy souvenirs and other personal expenses not included in the
package.

Package tours may also be classified according to purpose. Some of the package tours are designed
according to the following purposes:

1. Recreation and leisure

These package tours inspire the tourism industry to develop new destinations to meet and satisfy
travelers' needs. Emerging trends in tourism, such as farm tourism, adventure tourism, and creative tourism,
among others, were developed.

Variation of Tour Packages (Claravall, 2013)

Tour packages vary according to any of the following:

1. Duration. It refers to the number of days and nights included in the package.

2. Destinations. A package may cover a single or multiple destination.

3. Category of Accommodations. The category of accommodation establishment may vary from a five-star
De Luxe (DLX) hotel to a four-star First Class (FST), to a three-star Standard (STD), to a two-star Economy
(ECO), to a one-star Budget Hotel (BUD). Other types of accommodation, such as Pension Houses, Hostels,
Air B&Bs, and Condotels, were not categorized.

4. Meal Plan. It refers to the number of meals per day included in the package served either within or outside
the lodging place. These can be:
a) Full-board/Full-Pension or American Plan (AP) consists of all meals.
b) Half-board/Demi-Pension or Modified American Plan (MAP)-means that two meals are included,
either breakfast and Lunch or breakfast and dinner.
c) Bed and Breakfast-means only full breakfast is included. It can be American Breakfast (ABF), egg
and bacon or ham with toast; Continental Breakfast (CBF) or Continental Plan (CP), consisting of
a roll, coffee, or juice; Filipino Breakfast, fried or plain rice with “tapa” or “daing”; Oriental Breakfast
will consist of rice porridge (“lugaw”) and a number of side condiments. When no meals are
included in the package, it is called a European Plan (EP)
5. Mode and Class of Transportation. Mode refers to air, land, or sea travel and type of equipment. The air
transportation class of service may be first class, business class, or economy class. Inland travel can be
motor coach, air-conditioned, or ordinary. It can be a suite, stateroom, cabin, first class, business class,
tourist and economy class for sea travel.

Accommodation and Catering

Accommodation and catering are among the components that affect the price of the tour package. Aside
from their classification, whether it is deluxe, first class, standard class, or tourist class, other factors may
dictate its price. Some of the factors that determine its price are as follows:

1. Quality of the property

Therefore, in deciding the type of accommodation to be included in the package, several questions
should be asked, such as:

1. Is it famous?
2. Is there anything spectacular or unusual going on?
3. Which day of the week is it?
4. How inclusive the property is
5. How long will the guest stay?
6. How many people will be accommodated in the room?