Tour operator - wikipedia Tour operator This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( April 2013 ) An open top double decker bus is used worldwide to provide sightseeing tours, such as this one in Washington, D.C., USA A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a package holiday. They advertise and produce brochures to promote their products, holidays and itineraries. The most common example of a tour operator 's product would be a flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price. Niche tour operators may specialise in destinations, e.g. Italy, activities and experiences, e.g. skiing, or a combination thereof. The original raison d'être of tour operating was the difficulty for ordinary folk of making arrangements in far - flung places, with problems of language, currency and communication. The advent of the internet has led to a rapid increase in self - packaging of holidays. However, tour operators still have their competence in arranging tours for those who do not have time to do DIY holidays, and specialize in large group events and meetings such as conferences or seminars. Also, tour operators still exercise contracting power with suppliers ( airlines, hotels, other land arrangements, cruise companies and so on ) and influence over other entities ( tourism boards and other government authorities ) in order to create packages and special group departures for destinations that might otherwise be difficult and expensive to visit. The three major tour operator associations in the U.S. are the National Tour Association ( NTA ), the United States Tour Operators Association ( USTOA ), and the American Bus Association ( ABA ). In Europe, there are the European Tour Operators Association ( ETOA ), and in the UK, the Association of British Travel Agents ( ABTA ) and the Association of Independent Tour Operators ( AITO ). The primary association for receptive North American inbound tour operators is the Receptive Services Association of America ( RSAA ). See also S.J. Mathes ( 1849 ? -- 1927 ), an early tour operator References External links Find more aboutTour operatorat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Wikimedia Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Learning resources from Wikiversity Tour Operators at Curlie Tourism Types Accessible Adventure Agritourism Alternative Atomic Birth Business Culinary Enotourism Cultural Archaeological Bookstore Heritage Militarism heritage Literary Tolkien Music Pop - culture Dark Holocaust Disaster Domestic Drug Ecotourism Shark Extreme Factory Tourism Garden Genealogy Geotourism Honeymoon Jihadi Jungle Justice LGBT Medical Dental Moon Nautical Rail Religious Christian Halal Kosher Rural Sacred Safaris Sex Child sex Female sex Slum Space Sports Stag party Suicide Sustainable Vacation Volunteer travel War Water Wellness Wildlife Hospitality industry Bed and breakfast Boutique hotel Conference and resort hotels Convention center Destination spa Front desk General manager Homestay Hospitality management studies Hospitality services Hostel Hotel Hotel manager Inn Island resort Motel Referral chain Resort Resort town Restaurant Seaside resort Ski resort Terminology Campus tour Convention ( meeting ) Gift shop Grand Tour Holiday ( vacation ) Hypermobility Package tour Passport Perpetual traveler Road trip Roadside attraction Souvenir Staycation Sunday drive Tour guide Tour operator Tourism geography Tourism minister Tourism region Tourist attraction Tourist gateway Tourist trap Touron Transport Travel Travel agency Travel behavior Travel document Travel insurance Travel literature Travel medicine Travel survey Travel technology Travel warning Travel website Trip planner Visa Visitor center Industry organizations, rankings and events American Bus Association American Hotel and Lodging Association American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute BEST Education Network Caribbean Tourism Organization Destination marketing organization European Travel Commission Historical archive on tourism South - East Asian Tourism Organisation Tourism Radio Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report Wikivoyage World Federation of Travel Journalists and Writers World Tourism Day World Tourism Organization World Tourism rankings World Travel and Tourism Council World Travel Monitor Lists Adjectival tourisms Attractions Bibliography Casino hotels Casinos Convention and exhibition centers Hotels Largest hotels in the world Most internationally - visited cities Motels Travel magazines UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists World Heritage Sites by country Commons Portal WikiProject Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tour_operator&oldid=862120829 '' Categories : Tourism Hidden categories : Articles lacking in - text citations from April 2013 All articles lacking in - text citations Articles with Curlie links Talk About Wikipedia Български Deutsch Español Euskara Français 한국어 Italiano Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Русский Українська 中文 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 2 October 2018, at 09 : 19 ( UTC ). 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Question: what is the role of a tour operator in tourism industry
Answer: typically combines tour and travel components to create a package holiday