International Tour Operators

The operations of a tour operator can be described as

• retail operations

• wholesale operations

• final consumer operations

A tour operator typically combines

• flight services

• accommodation components

• tour and travel components

Typical suppliers of tour operators are

• airlines, hotels and attractions

• attractions

• airlines and attractions

Mass market tour operators

• specialize in a specific market sector

• offer traditional packages

• are part a minority of tour operators

Inbound tour operators

• bring visitors into specific tourism receiving areas

• take visitors to specific destinations abroad

• are a kind of specialist tour operators

Outbound tour operators

• bring visitors into specific tourism receiving areas

• take visitors to specific destinations abroad

• are a kind of specialist tour operators

Inbound tour operators

• work mainly with overseas visitors

• work mainly with local visitors

• focus their operations on either overseas and local visitors

Outbound tour operators

• offer packages such as those including the entrance to a Disney World park in Orlando for tourists who live OUTSIDE the US.

• offer packages such as those including the entrance to a Disney World park in Orlando for tourists who live IN the US.

• offer packages such as those including the entrance to a Disney World park in Orlando for tourists who live either IN or OUT of the US.

Club Med (Club holiday Méditerranée), with branches across the world, is a good example of

• an outbound tour operator

• an inbound tour operator

• a mass market tour operator

A tour operator based in Buenos Aires city that markets products such as ski-week in Bariloche and rafting in Mendoza for the Argentine public is an example of

• a domestic tour operator

• a mass market tour operator

• an outbound tour operator