SITTIND001B Develop and update tourism industry knowledge

Sectors of the tourism industry and their functions

Sector / Function
Accommodation / To provide shelter and sometimes food, beverages and entertainment for visitors. Examples: hotels, resorts, motels, inns, farm-stays, ‘Bed-and-Breakfasts’ (B&Bs), campsites.
Transportation / To provide a means of travel for people from their home to their travel destination. Examples: rail, air, ship, vehicle hire, coach.
Tour operators/guides / To organise and conduct tours. They generally own the services they are selling and also operate the tour. They package or put together products provided by the other sectors of the tourism industry such as accommodation, car hire, sightseeing etc.
They can provide local information and help to arrange transportation, organise suitable accommodation and add to the enjoyment of a destination for visitors.
Tour wholesalers (Inbound & Outbound) / To package services provided by other sectors.
Tour wholesalers do not generally own the actual product or service. Rather, they provide a reservation service to the travel agent.
Wholesale packages include accommodation, coach tours, car hire, sightseeing, transfers and flights.
Inbound operator:
A wholesaler who provides the above to an international market visiting Australia.
Outbound operator:
A wholesaler who provides the above to a market travelling overseas.
Attractions and theme parks / To provide for leisure, educational and entertainment requirements of visitors, either on the way to or at their destination.
Natural attractions: describe naturally occurring geographical and physical features of a region. In Australia these include examples such as the Great Barrier Reef National Park, Daintree Rainforest, Uluru (Ayers rock), and the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains.
‘Man-made’ attractions: describe architectural constructions such as Movie World, Dreamworld and Seaworld (QLD), Sydney Harbour Bridge, National Maritime Museum (Sydney), Big Ben (London), MGM Studios (Los Angeles, USA).
Information services / Provide visitor information and services on destinations including accommodation, maps, dining, events, touring and transport options, etc.
Examples of these are:
National: eg Tourism Australia.
Primary function is international marketing of Australia, marketing development, domestic tourism development and events, and business tourism. Also plays a role in policy advice to government agencies such as the Australian Department of Industry, and Tourism & Resources.
State / Territory: eg Tourism New South Wales, Northern Territory Tourist Bureau.
These are owned and operated by State/Territory governments around Australia to promote tourism to their respective regions. They promote within Australia to domestic tourists and outside Australia to international visitors. Some have retail outlets eg Queensland Travel Centre in Cairns; and offer wholesale packages to retail travel agents.
Regional / Local: Visitor Information Centres (V.I.C).
The role of the regional / local tourism organisation is to coordinate the promotion of the area and any local areas within a large region. They cooperate with their State/Territory tourist commission,working within their broader marketing campaigns. Eg Hornsby Visitor Information Centre, Manly Visitor Information Centre, Mudgee Information Centre.
Retail travel agents / Agents act as ‘intermediaries’, making reservations, collecting payments, and providing information and documentation to the general public on behalf of tourism suppliers.
Retail travel agents include Jetset Travel, Flight Centre, and Harvey World Travel.
Retail corporate travel agents who service mainly business clients include Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), Corporate Travel Management (CTM) travel.
Meetings and events / To coordinate products and services provided by other sectors of the tourism industry to facilitate meetings, conventions, exhibitions and other networking or educational events.
Examples: Organisers of Trade shows eg Sydney Boat Show; art and other product exhibitions or launches; industry conferences; Olympic and Commonwealth Games or other sporting events.

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