ITS Course “Travel Office Manager”
Planned location Lecce – Biennium 2024-2026
Territorial declination: national figure 9.1.1 Higher technician for the design, development and promotion of the offer of the tourism supply chain
Context
although digital remains one of the most popular tools for booking a trip, Italians often choose to rely on travel agencies. The travel brokerage sector, after the heavy economic losses due to the arrival of the pandemic and inflation and despite the emergence of digital, bodes well. This sector continues to be important for Italians, especially for the convenience of relying on tour operators for the complete organization of the holiday.
According to statistics, in 2023 at least 11.5 million Italians relied on agencies. The 2023-2027 Strategic Tourism Plan also focuses on organized tourism, considered both in the incoming and outgoing component, identifying general policies and specific initiatives dedicated to tour operators, travel agencies, business travel and digital nomads. The ITS path, in response to the request, aims to train a figure who supports customers in the planning and organization of their trips, offering personalized and tailor-made services.
Professional profile
the “Travel Office Manager” is a sort of “collector of networks of tourism organizations” who proposes a differentiated and collaborative offer, intervenes to encourage collaboration between operators and services to build an engaging image and to make the experiences of using the tourist resources of an area emotionally attractive and narratable. He/She identifies the different components in order to propose not only a product, but an evocative image of places and paths linked to the “genius loci”. He/She supports the typical activities related to the organization of travel services and related to the management and promotion of a travel agency, thanks to skills and autonomy in the management of industry 4.0 tools. He/She also facilitates the promotion and development of relations with public and private entities and with sector associations, for an adequate and shared definition of the organization of the tourist offer of the territory, in the logic of the network, taking care of its preparation, enhancement and promotion.
Skills
Participants will be able to:
- listen to the customer’s needs and understanding their expectations for the trip
- provide the customer with information and advice on available tourist destinations, activities and services
- build and maintain relationships with suppliers such as airlines, hotels and cruise lines
- propose personalized itineraries and travel packages
- book the services you need for your trip, such as flights, accommodation, transportation, and sightseeing activities
- issue the necessary travel documents
- assist the customer during the journey, in case of need
PARTNER
- Travel agency operators and tour operators (traditional and online), incoming agencies and corporate travel agencies
- Convention Bureau and conference service agencies, wedding and event & communication agencies
- Internal departments of companies with travel office dedicated to business travel management
- Organisers of tourist itineraries and events
- Private and public companies operating in tourist information, booking and reception services
- Supply aggregators
- Operators in public and private bodies to support activities for the promotion and enhancement of territorial identities and excellences (Destination Management Organization and Consortia for the promotion of tourism and territory).
The course lasts 2000 hours in total, distributed over two years and divided as follows:
– 1200 hours dedicated to classroom laboratory teaching, case studies in the laboratory and/or in work contexts, seminar activities, educational and study visits, project work;
-800 hours of internship activities in work contexts.
The daily timetable will be determined on the basis of the operational program and may vary from 5 to 8 hours.
Attendance is mandatory for at least 80% of the training activities, under penalty of exclusion from the final exam which will be held in accordance with the methods established by the Ministry of Education.
At the end of the course, by passing the final exam, the DIPLOMA OF HIGHER TECHNICIAN issued by the Ministry of Education and Merit is obtained, corresponding to the 5th LEVEL of the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF), pursuant to art. 8, paragraph 1, of the Prime Ministerial Decree of 25 January 2008.
Where the requirements are met, and in relation to the specificity of the study program, students will acquire the skills aimed at taking the exam tests for the following certifications:
Certifications for the use of specific sector software
Foreign language certifications according to the levels of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
Certifications relating to safety in the workplace
