Being a travel agent for more than 42
years and an IATA travel consultant since 1989 I came to
the conclusion that most of my clients do not know what
happens with the organization of the guided bus tours,
and in their messages they refer to "your
tour". It is not "mine" or, another
travel agent's tour.
In all the big cities, there is a number of Tour
Operators that organize these guided sightseeing tours and
all the travel agents, locals and from abroad, sell these
tours, usually at discounted prices, meaning that you save money by buying your tours,
after a careful search at discounted prices, from a travel agent.
This is what happens in Athens, too. The 3 big Greek Tour Operators, G.O. TOURS
CHAT TOURS, KEY TOURS, organize
the guided tours and we, the travel agents, promote them
and sell them. All three Tour Operators use modern air conditioned
buses, extremely knowledgeable professional tour guides,
and selected hotels. They are good organizers, they are
organizing these tours for a long time, and are highly
experienced. Looking at the descriptions of the tours, they all look
the same, they follow the same routes, programs and most
times, they use the same hotels. Reading the comments in the trip
advisor about them, you will find very good, good, average, but
you may also find a couple of negative comments. You
cannot have everybody satisfied. A common, but
unreasonable complain, is about the free pick up service
in the morning. It starts at 07.30am, takes a long time and drives through
Athens. Unfortunately a pick up service cannot be done
otherwise, and usually the people that are to be picked
up are not ready on time. The only way to avoid this
early pick up, is to get to the bus terminal on your own way.
WHY DO YOU SEE DIFFERENT SELLING PRICES?
The Tour Operators suggest a selling price, but travel agents decide their selling
prices adding a % of profit. Some agents prefer to sell at the
suggested price counting on their well known brand name, and their attractive website , other
smaller ones by offering a lower price, and better service. The result is
that who ever from you buy your tour, you will end up
sitting in one of the 3 T.O. buses, you, paying a lower
price, next to somebody that paid the full price. The
service that you get by the Tour Operator in either case, is exactly the same.
The decision, where to buy your tour from, is yours. If, following your market research,
you are attracted by the website, or, the comments about a
certain Tour Operator, do not hesitate to request your booking with the Tour operator
of your choice, paying our discounted rate. You are not losing. On the contrary,
you gain the difference. Select one of the Tour Operators but buy the tour from a
travel agent getting a better rate. Your
criteria should be the reliability of the agent, how many
years he's being in the market, and the way and speed he
replies and responds to your request.
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