HOW DO TOUR COMPANIES OPERATE?

Tour companies comprises of a group of tour operators. Therefore tour companies organize safaris on behalf of their clients. The tour companies consists a group of people with a common goal – tour companies worker include Tour consultants, Accountants, Secretaries and Safari Guides. Other workers include the cooks, cleaners, webmasters, and messengers and so on.

Like tree with branches, all the listed categories of worker operating in a tour company work for the common goal as follows:

The tour consultants receive clients’ emails via websites – they answer all the clients’ emails and send their replies as soon as possible. It should be noted that most of the inquiries from the clients in the tourism sector concerns the following:

-Requests for tailor made itineraries and costs

-Requests for car hire with drivers or self-drive

-Requests for the services of the tour guide- professional ones are mostly proffered.

-Travel tips and advises

-Safari packing list, available tourist activities, special safari discount seasons, accommodation booking, Gorilla permit, chimpanzee and park entry permit availability.

-The best travel periods, Air ticket booking, visa application and rates among other things.

For that case, the tour consultants handle the client’s inquiry basing on their schedule, budget and interest. After sending the replies, they patiently wait for the replies- the exchange of communication continues to take place and after negotiations, the tour company consultants will ask for the following:

-Deposit for the safari

-Full names of the clients, passport numbers and countries of residence

-Vaccination certificates if needed

After fulfilling the requests, the consultant goes on to confirm the safari- draws a detailed itinerary.

The work of the accountant is to balance books, issue cheques, and write receipts, record keeping among others. Therefore, the accountant will withdraw money from the bank and pay safari bills including accommodation, gorilla permits, park entry fees, chimpanzee permits to mention but a few.

On the day to start the safari, the tour company safari guide/ driver go to pick the clients from the Airport or from the hotel. Brief them and start the trip as per the itinerary agreed upon.

After the trip, the guide has to give the accountability and the details of how the safari went!!