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Travel Agency Supply Chain
Travel Agency Supply Chain
With eCommerce technology rapidly improving and the number of people using the Internet increasing everyday, "brick and mortar" travel agencies are turning to non-traditional methods when developing their supply chain. Over the past 10 years the supply chain of the travel agency has evolved tremendously in order to incorporate the use of websites to promote online sales. In the following paper we will first describe the supply chain for a traditional "brick and mortar" travel agency. Second, we will describe the supply chain for online travel agency. And finally, we will describe the differences in the supply chain from a traditional "brick mortar" travel agency to an online travel agency.
Brick and Mortar Travel Agency Supply Chain
The supply chain for a standard "brick and mortar" travel agency is quite simple. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (2006) defines a travel agency as "a business that attends to the details of transportation, itinerary, and accommodations for travelers." The travel agency business goes as far back as the mid-19th Century. Abreu Tours (2006), which was "established in the city of the Porto in the year of 1840" and is still in business today, claims to be "the world's oldest travel agency." According to Encyclopedia Americana (2006), "Cook, Thomas (1808-1892)," was an "English travel agent who originated the idea of a travel agency," although his type of business may be more aptly considered a tour operator than a travel agency. Encyclopedia Americana further states that Thomas Cook's "son, John Mason Cook (1834?1899), specialized ...