Advance Planning

A look at operators’ annual schedules for planning, marketing and delivering holidays and variants that affect those schedules

Planning, negotiating, contracting, marketing and successfully administering a package holiday is a complex management task and takes place over a long period of time. For example prices are set and printed over a year in advance - despite the vagaries of exchange rates, inflation, fuel prices, etc. For someone taking a holiday in August 2004 the principal tour operator's events are as follows :

LATE 2002 Planning which countries and resorts to use, and broadly how many holidays to offer

• Jan/Feb 2003 - Contracting with hoteliers and airlines
  
• May/April - 2003 Preparing brochures - prices, photographs, descriptions etc
  
• May 2003 - Brochure launch
  
• November 2003 - Airline scheduling meetings to avoid congested flight timings
  
• February 2004 - Bookings received and forecasts for programmes reviewed. Early adjustments made if necessary
  
• March/April 2004 - Employ overseas staff, update training, finalise arrangements with hoteliers, coach operators etc
  
• May 2004 - Issue tickets and final invoice
  
• July 2004 - Confirm names of customers to airlines, hotels, overseas staff
  
• August 2004 - Welcome holidaymakers.

Most tour operators offer winter and summer programmes. The milestones for winter programmes which run from 1 November, will be similar to those for the summer, but with six month's difference on all the dates.

Holiday Seasonality and Peak Season