You have been saving money for a long time, or maybe you got a good bonus at work. It is time to relax abroad, in a country where you have long dreamed of going or want to return again to visit your favorite places. Tengri Travel in the material created with the support of Tez Tour company will tell you what you need to pay attention to when choosing a travel agent and hotel, as well as how to properly prepare for a vacation trip.
To begin with, many people do not understand the difference between a travel Agency and a tour operator. It is the tour operator who is responsible for organizing your tour: booking a hotel, buying air tickets and organizing transfers. A travel Agency is an intermediary company between a tourist and a tour operator, which offers its clients ready-made (developed by tour operators) programs.
This is a simple division of labor. Tour operators work with large organizations and form tours at the most affordable prices, for example, mass booking rooms in hotels in advance. It is beneficial to all. Travel agents-focus on marketing and convenient customer service. Sometimes large tour operators do not even have their own convenient infrastructure for working with retail clients.
Most of the tourists purchasing tickets, will have to deal with travel agents. These are often ordinary individual entrepreneurs who are engaged in reselling vouchers from tour operators.
Several years ago, Kazakhstan was shaken by a series of scandals when small travel agencies sold tickets to non-existent hotels or when due to the collapse of tour operators, Kazakhstanis were left without return plane tickets abroad. After that, the legislation was seriously changed, introducing mandatory insurance for tourists and tour operators.
So, what you need to do before you buy a ticket.
Conduct a ” detective investigation”
Choosing a tour operator, imagine yourself a real detective investigating a complicated case, and start collecting information, so to speak, a dossier. Choose from about 10 travel agencies on the market. Make up the questions you are interested in, call and interview them. The questions you need to get answers to should look something like this:
– what directions are available;
– if the hotel is booked;
– whether a visa and other necessary documents are issued;
– what and how tourists go on a trip. Will there be round trip tickets;
– whether medical insurance is issued;
– whether the transfer from the airport and transportation back at the end of the tour period is included;
– what additional services can be offered to you.
Enable the skills of a psychologist
In asking these questions, pay attention to that, surely if the Manager is responsible, if the Manager begins to “float” and dance around it should alert you. If you have any doubts, delete the candidates from the list. After that, go to the important thing-look for information about the remaining “candidates”. Storm the Internet, read forums, use social networks, and interview friends and acquaintances. In General, do everything to find out as much information about the travel Agency as possible.
Check the tour operator
To protect tourists in Kazakhstan, the corporate Fund “Turistik Kamkor”was created. It is his responsibility to check the integrity of tour operators. Tour operators provide this Fund with serious Bank guarantees and deduct money in case of force majeure. The organization maintains a special register. Therefore, after you have learned about the proposed tours, find out from the travel Agency the name of the tour operator. After that, check the official registry. If the company is not in the register, do not deal with this travel Agency.
Ask about insurance
From January 1, 2019, all tourists who purchase vouchers through operators must be provided with insurance against accidents and sudden illnesses. For this purpose, when selling a tour, a mandatory insurance contract is concluded. If there is no such insurance, again, we do not recommend dealing with a travel Agency and looking for a more responsible organization.
Negotiate with a travel Agency
After your travel agent dossier contains comprehensive data, compare their pros and cons and go to the next point – make appointments. When meeting in person in the office, pay attention to the details, evaluate the managers and the interior. Ask them to provide information about hotels, and ask them to tell you about their airline partners. It is not superfluous to specify the age of the travel Agency, how many years on the market, whether there are representative offices in other countries, and so on. Do not hesitate to ask questions, make sure that this is not a one-day company.
Check the prices
Pay great attention to the agreement, study it in detail, and better show it to your lawyer. In addition, compare the cost of services with other companies, their prices should not differ much. If you are offered a suspiciously cheap tour, ask why they have such a low price compared to other companies.
Find out all about the airline
Often, behind the promise of Paradise and inexpensive travel lies a Charter flight to a remote airport on a plane that is living out its last days. Therefore, be sure to find out which airline will operate the flight. Then check whether the flight payment includes baggage and on-Board meals. Now, with the development of low-cost airlines, which often exclude these services so that the ticket is cheaper, the human factor can play a role. If an employee of the tour operator forgets to book your Luggage and food, you may find yourself in a stalemate: the flight is paid for, the ticket is there, but you can not get on the plane with a suitcase – pay on the spot from $ 40 and above. Flying without lunch and water from friendly flight attendants for more than four hours is also not the most pleasant experience.
Find out all about the hotel where you will live
Another important point is the choice of a hotel. Get all the information about the hotel independently – via the Internet, by studying the reviews of other tourists. It is important to know the conditions in the rooms, the availability of food, how far the room will be from the beach and what entertainment is available. The squaring of the room is very important if you are going to stay in it not only at night. If you need space, take a room of at least 30 square meters. The best option is a room with a balcony, and preferably with a sea view.
Be sure to ask how many nights you are buying a vacation. Travel agencies like to talk about a week-long trip, but they forget to say that there are only six nights in the hotel, and at 9 am on the seventh day, which you want to spend enjoying a vacation on the beach, you may be knocked on the door and asked to vacate the room. So be sure to find out about the check-in and check-out times.
Here it is very important to compare the information on the Internet with what they tell you in the travel Agency. If the “indications” differ, then you should think about choosing a different company. You should be provided with various options and warned about pitfalls. Ask as many questions as possible. And remember that photos from tourists in social networks can sometimes display more truth about the hotel than professional photos from advertising companies.
So, the tour is selected, the hotel is booked, and we start packing our bags… Think about what you need to take with you, what things you will need, and what you can leave at home. You don’t need to instinctively and indiscriminately throw everything in a suitcase and take half of the house on a two-week trip. Make a list and choose the most comfortable and compatible clothing. Choose several pairs of shoes, it is important that they are comfortable. Check your documents and collect your first aid kit. The main thing is not to overdo it with fees, we wrote in our article about what exactly to take with you on a trip – What should you take with you on a trip: list of required items.
The best vacation in popular destinations and at nice prices from the leading tour operator Tez Tour.
