Tour Operations - Lesson Plan

This resource is designed specifically for Unit 12 'Tour Operations' of the Edexcel BTEC National qualification in Travel and Tourism, although it will be of relevance to centres following other awarding bodies' programmes.

Aim

To develop understanding of the UK's tour operations environment. The lesson will focus on the two big tour operators, economic pressure and the impact of the collapse of the XL Group on the travel sector.

Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• Know more about the structure of the tour operations sector.
• Understand the impact of consolidation in this sector.
• Analyse the collapse of the UK's third largest tour operator.
• Analyse the impact of this collapse on the industry.
• Use case studies to evaluate firms' ability to withstand an economic recession.
• Use marketing mix analysis to understand trends in the industry.

Resources

• Activity - Tour Operations
• Projector/PC/Internet access

Lesson structure

1. Outline the key learning objectives of the session
2. Hand out the activity sheet
3. Navigate to other Biz/ed resources linked to in the activity
4. Guide learners through the activity tasks
5. Discuss the case studies of XL Group and Jet Republic in the activity
6. Discuss the idea of being a 'recession-proof' sector or firm.
7. Review the learning objectives of the session