Travel agents and tour companies

1. In 1841 an English Baptist missionary named Thomas Cook arranged a railway excursion from Leicester to Loughborough for a temperance group. Three years later the railroad – the Midland Counties Railway Company – agreed to make the excursion a permanent feature if Cook would provide the passengers. He became the first travel agent, and the company he founded – Thomas Cook and Son – went on to become one of the world’s leading travel agencies with offices around the world.

2. In the late 1950s, before the jet age, there were about 3.000 travel agents in the United States. By the late 1980s there were more than 20.000 with tens of thousands more worldwide. Travel agents book and sell airline, train, bus, and ship tickets. They reserve hotel rooms and arrange for ground transportation at the destination. They can also make restaurant reservations and obtain theater tickets. For these and other services they are paid a commission by those whose wares they sell. In addition to dealing with public, the travel agent must deal with people who work for other components in the industry. One of the important aspects of the job is keeping informed of the pricing policies of airlines and hotels. The agent must also keep up with different developments in tourism – new resorts, changing travel regulations, new services.

3. Tour operators are companies that arrange every aspect of a travel package. They bring together all the elements of a trip for travelers or for groups of travelers: plane reservations and tickets, hotel arrangements, ground transportation, entertainment, and more. All these components are sold together as a package. Travelers may deal directly with a tour company, or they book tours through a travel agent.

4. Today there is a great deal of overlapping between the services of travel agents and tour operators. Companies like Thomas Cook and American Express perform both services, and many independent travel agencies put together tour packages for customers.

I. Определите, является ли утверждение истинным (true – t), ложным (false – f) или в тексте нет информации (not available – n.a.):

a) Thomas Cook is considered to be the first travel agent.

b) Tour operators sell package tours.

c) Travel agents should be aware of the new developments in travel industry.

d) Travel agents are paid commissions by airlines and hotels.

II. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1, 2, 3, 4) соответствует следующая

идея:

1. Travel agents have a wide range of responsibilities.

2. Package tour includes various components of a trip.

III. Ответьте на вопрос:

What was the main difference between travel agents and tour operators functions?

1. Travel agents sold only package tours.

2. Travel agents made restaurant reservations.

3. There were tens thousands travel agents all around the world by the end of the 20^th century.

4. Travel agents performed services connected with different aspects of travel.

IV. Определите основную идею текста:

a) There are a lot of tour companies worldwide.

b) The career of a travel agent is very popular.

c) The history of travel agencies back in the 19^th century.

d) Both travel agencies and tour companies either perform different tourist service or arrange package tours.