Topics “tourism” IV course (for the state exam)

1. People in Tourism

I want to tell about different professions in the tourism industry. There are many interesting professions in tourism: a tourism manager, a tour operator, a travel agent, booking agents, travel consultants, a guide-interpreter, an animator and many others. The tour operator works in a tourism company. He develops tour packages. Tour operators organize tours, so they are the main producers in the tourism industry. Also they are wholesalers. The travel agent works in a travel company. The travel agent like a shop-assistant sells goods to the customers. The goods which he offers are tour operator’s packages. The travel agent is a retailer. He sells tour packages retail to consumers. He gets a commission from the tour operator. The commission is from 5 to 10 per cent of the tour cost. The travel agent also sells separate services. They are flights, hotel rooms, sightseeing tours, car rentals, travel insurances and so on. The travel agent works directly with the public. The travel agents sell tours, so hey are the main sellers in the tourist industry. A booking agent makes sales by telephone and a ticket agent also issues tickets and meets customers in person. The tourism manager runs some tourism business. He supervises the staff and all kinds of operation in a tourism company. Sometimes the tourism manager is just a head of some department in a large tourism company. The guide-interpreter or the tour guide handles tour groups. He shows tourists round a city, a sight, or a museum. The tour guide conducts sightseeing tours or tours to museums and exhibitions. The tour guide accompanies tourists during a local tour or during the whole journey. He or she caters to the needs of tourists. During a journey the tour guide deals with all kinds of problems. The tour guide speaks the language of the tourists perfectly well. The tour guide knows a lot on history, geography, art and culture. He or she knows al the sights in a destination. The tour guide answers a lot of questions. The tour guide is a friendly, easy-going and helpful person. Tourists always tip their guides if they like them. The animator organizes and provides entertainment for guests in a hotel or a holiday resort. The animator conducts parties, shows, sports or arts contests, games for children and grown-ups.

2. People in Hospitality

There are many interesting professions: a hotel manager, a receptionist, a concierge, a chef, a hotel manager, a restaurant manager, a housekeeper, a cashier and many others. The receptionist is in charge of the check-in. She or he meets and greets guests, registers guests and assigns rooms to them. The receptionist must ensure that the check-in procedure is brief and convenient. The receptionist must help guests do the hotel formalities. She or he takes the guest’s name. If the guest is a foreign visitor, the receptionist must take the guest’s passport number. Then she asks the guest to sign the hotel register. In a large hotel the receptionist asks the guests to fill in a registration card and to sign it. She or he must explain how to do it correctly. The receptionist must send the signed registration card to the cashier’s office. The hotel manager is the head of a hotel. For the hotel guests the hotel manager is the host who must offer hospitality to his guests. For the hotel staff the hotel manager is the person who must establish the policy of the hotel business. He has to check up how different hotel departments carry out their functions. Often he has to deal with the hotel guests in person. He has to handle their problems and complaints. There may be different management positions in a hotel: the assistant manager, the resident manager, the night manager. The concierge works at a hotel’s information desk. The concierge must speak a few languages because she has to help guests from other countries. The concierge must help guests in all ways. She can recommend shops, restaurants, nightclubs. She can reserve tickets, find a babysitter, offer entertainment. The chef The hotel manager The restaurant manager