Tour Planner


TOUR PLANNER - TRAVEL SPECIALIST
Job Duties
Travel planners help their clients make the best decisions about travel arrangements. They make suggestions on where to go, methods of transportation, car rentals, hotel accommodations, tours to take and attractions to see. They advise clients about their chosen destinations, including weather conditions, local customs, attractions, necessary documents and currency exchange rates. Travel planners sometimes visit resorts, hotels and restaurants to evaluate the quality and make informed recommendations. A travel planner's job also includes marketing travel packages and services offered by her travel office.
Make reservations for planned travel, including hotels and airlines
Follow up with clients about travel plans and make adjustments as needed
Coordinate the use of bonus miles and other rewards that clients want to use
Organise large-scale events, including conferences and retreats, with up to 200 attendees
Resolve scheduling conflicts and other issues as they come up
Advise current and prospective clients about destination options, including pros and cons of each
Coordinate with client’s point-of-contact in days leading up to event or arrangement
KEY OUTPUTS:
Calm and professional interaction with both suppliers and travel planners, telephonically & via email
Creative and out of the box planning and designing of itineraries
Handling reservation requests either email or telephonic
Processing of reservations from quote to finalising, including reservations, invoicing and travel documents
Professional servicing of our dynamic direct guests
Proactive selling of our products and services ensuring the best possible safari for the guest
Saturday duty and cell phone duty on a rotation basis
Public holiday duty and cell phone duty on a rotation basis
Working hours – shift work required (07:00 – 15:30 & 09:30 – 18:00) on rotation basis
Backup for colleagues when they are away from the office
Expanding product knowledge by attending training sessions
An independent, curious and “can do it” nature
Upholding the cornerstones of &Beyond ... Care of the people, Care of land, Care of the wildlife
KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED:
Good knowledge on any of the destinations that &Beyond promote – Tanzania, Kenya, Zanzibar, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Seychelles
Good knowledge of FIT and Groups policies and procedures
Good knowledge of &Beyond Safari Offers
Communication skills and a good command of the English language Tourplan reservations system added advantage
SKILLS REQUIRED:
· Time & desk management
· Computer aptitude
· Understanding of travel industry
· Attention to detail
· Elaborating in writing explanations or descriptions
· Exceptionally customer focused
· Creativeness, flexibility, high energy and patience
· Saturday duty and cell phone duty on a rotation basis
· Public holiday duty and cell phone duty on a rotation basis
· Working hours – shift work required (07:00 – 15:30 & 09:30 – 18:00) on rotation basis
· An independent, curious and “can do it” nature
· Good knowledge on any of the destinations Tanzania, Kenya, Zanzibar, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Seychelles
· Tourplan reservations system
· Creativeness, flexibility, high energy and patience
· Must have at least 3 years reservation experience preferably in a tour operating environment, no hotel, car rental reservations
EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
· Must have at least 3 years reservations experience preferably in a tour operating environment