Introduction
It is a fact that dedication to work is appreciated much in any organization. However, the organization also encourages taking breaks. Taking some time to relax during your break while you are at work, or taking some holidays not allows one to take work tensions off mind but it also allows one to relax and concentrate on other things. When talking about holidays, traveling the best way to enjoy these is through traveling with the country or abroad. Traveling abroad not only lets you enjoy unfamiliar sceneries and settings but also makes one think about the difference in culture and learning new ways of doing things. Travelling needs a lot of planning if it is to be done without any help, however much of the burden in planning is taken off if a travel agent is used. Travel agents offer different packages to destinations around the world at a reasonable price, taking the hassles of visa, booking and traveling away and offering full opportunity to enjoy the trip (Plawin 2003). Sydney, being a large city, has a lot of travel agents and agencies which one can use to book holidays but choosing the best one is always troublesome. In this report we will compare two travel agents in Sydney with regards to the travel option they offer, the information they possess and the services they offer regarding the holidays.
Our Requirements
Our Requirements were to either take a 7-day trip tour of Bali or any other Asian beach resort, or, to take a 3 week trip to Europe which would include travel by coach. The dates available to us were 21st of September 2009 to 5th October 2009. We also had another option for the date which is anything after the 30th of November.
The Consultation
The consultant at JetSet PennantHill told us that although she does not have a complete package of 3 weeks for Europe, she could tailor-made one for us by combining two or more packages. The best one she offered was traveling to Italy and Germany. For Italy, the package offered by the consultant offered trips and stays at Rome, Venice, Florence and Pompeii. This package also included a visit to Island of Capri, the Colosseum and Vatican Museums. We would be accompanied by a Tour Director and would also be offered complimentary transfers on the first and last day of our travel. For Germany, we were offered visits to Frankfurt, Rothenberg, Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Lucerne. It also included trip to Mount Pilatus and Marienplatz. All accommodation was in premium hotels which included selected meals as well. All travel in Germany was through luxury coach as well along with Tour Director and complimentary transfers.
Preferred Airline of the Consultant/Agent
JetSet PennantHill is the member of JetSet Worldwide group and therefore its preferred airlines were Virgin Blue, Jet Star, Qantas, Rex and Skywest.
Knowledge of the Consultant
The consultant was very knowledgeable about the package and the destinations she offered. Regarding traveling, she told us about the effect of jet lagging when traveling to Europe. She also told us about the environment and weather conditions in various destinations in Italy and Germany so that we could prepare accordingly. The consultant also told us that by using the package we would be staying at 3-Star hotels and traveling in Italy will take place by Luxury Coach. All accommodation was in premium hotels which included selected meals as well. All travel in Germany was also through luxury coach as well along with Tour Director and complimentary transfers.
Use of Internet by the Consultant
The consultant made good use of the Internet facility to find out demographical and geographical information about the destinations to just give us a taste of what we were in for. Her sources included Wikipedia and LonelyPlanet website. She also provided information on expenditures, places to visit, culture and laws in Germany and Italy. We were interested to know some commonly used words and the consultant happily searched the internet to find us a list of words and sentences in German and Italian Languages.
Travel Advice Offered by the Consultant
The travel consultant offered us advice and information on the H1N1 worldwide pandemic. She also told us that we could make ourselves more secure by travel insurance from ING and 1Cover. The foreign exchange was to be arranged by the consultant and she also advised that there would be money changes available at all destination airports from where could change our money. For Italy she advised us to avoid standing near small demonstrations or large public protests as they can turn violent. For Germany, she advised us to be more vigilant of our surroundings as Germany always faces a threat of terrorism due to participation in War against Terrorism.
Recommendation of Internet
The consultant highly recommended using the Internet to find out more information about cities and destinations we wanted to visit. She told us that Internet not only offers up-to-date information on our destination but we could also find a complete list of travel advice, tips for preparing for holidays and a lot of other useful information.
Overall Assessment
The visit to JetSet PennantHill was quite informative. When leaving, we felt that we were almost ready to travel. The consultant at JetSet PennantHill provided us with thorough information about the package and destination on offer as well as a lot of relevant information that we thought would be very useful when traveling. The host at JetSet PennantHill was very courteous and encouraged us to asked questions. The consultant made good use of the internet and the information offered by the consultant regarding travel advice and visa information was almost complete and only few questions remained unanswered regarding the visa information which we thought would be easily available through information desk at the embassies of Italy and Germany.
The Choices Offered By the Consultant
The consultant at Hills Travel Centre had a wide variety of beach holiday packages to Pacific Island. All were excellent but we found three of them irresistible. The first one was a holiday package at Rydges Hideaway Resort, Fiji. The pictures we were shown of the beach and the resort took our breath away. The package included return tickets from Air Pacific, return transfers and 6-night accommodation at Frangipani bure. The second package was a Fiji Hawaii Combo package which offered add-on and flexibility options as well. It offered residence in 4-Star hotels in Hawaii and Fiji and well as option for a tour of Pearl Harbor and the Waterfall tour at a suitable additional cost. The third option was a luxury cruise tour of Tahiti and French Polynesia. All three packages were superb in terms of their offering and price.
References
Plawin, P. 2003, Careers for Travel Buffs & Other Restless Type,. McGraw-Hill Professional.
Todd, G. & Rice, S. 2003, A Guide to Becoming A Travel Professional,. Cengage Learning.