Travel agents plan itineraries for their clients, scheduling and booking tours, lodging and reservations for all activities. The travel agent has to learn the clients' expectations, including the destination, type of transport, travel dates, budget, required accommodations and special requirements. Travel agents also work with travel providers, such as hoteliers, tour guide companies, airlines, car rental companies, tourism bureaus and others in the hospitality industry. Agents make clients aware of various promotions offered by travel providers.
Employees in tourism bureaus typically work for the government in their community or a coalition of tourism-related businesses. Their job is to promote these businesses and all the tourism-related attractions in their region. Some tourism bureaus are so small, they have just one or two people. Others in larger communities with more funding have several employees. These would include a director, marketing people, media relations staff and administrative assistants.
Owners and operators of tour guide companies host groups of people on tours. Some tours involve chartering buses or passenger vans for day trips. Longer trips may include air or train travel, and lodging. Tour guides plan the trip from beginning to end, including all the stops, attractions visited, meals, transportation and accommodations. The traveler pays a flat fee that includes all the components of the trip. Tour guides work with transportation providers, hoteliers and various tourism attractions to put together the best package for a price that will be acceptable to the targeted group of clients.
Tourism bureaus promote all the lodging in their area. Bed and breakfast owners and hotel managers are expected to provide not only lodging for their guests, but all the extras they require, such as special pillows, room service and other amenities. They also give guests information about the local area, directions to destinations, and suggestions on what there is to see and do. Managers must also keep peace between guests if one guest's next-door-neighbor becomes loud and unruly, causing the neighbor to lose sleep.
Employees in resorts, such as Disney World, Dollywood, Biltmore House, Mackinac Island and golf resorts around the country, just to name a few, help keep the resort in perfect condition and functioning smoothly. These places have huge staffs, and each staff member has his or her own area of responsibility. Most resorts have their own public relations staff, groundskeepers, building maintenance, hospitality hosts, and other staff, based on the needs of each particular resort.
Some food providers at tourism destinations are attractions in themselves, such as the fudge shops on Mackinac Island in Michigan and restaurants that serve cheese steaks in Philadelphia. Tourism promoters--whether travel agents, tour guides or tourism bureau employees--try to make certain their clients experience food on their trips that is the area's specialty. Independent restaurants, rather than chains, are often chosen because they are unique and cannot be experienced on trips to other destinations.
