"Voucher" is literally translated from English as "receipt". Today it is actually a written guarantee of the receipt of any goods, benefits or services. The tourism industry also has such a document.
Travel Services Terminology: Minimal Dictionary
In order to accurately understand what it is about, you should understand the terminology adopted in the tourism business.
- A tour operator is the same company that completes individual offers for flights, hotels, transfer into a single whole - a tour package. She can sell the product created in this way both independently and through intermediary organizations. It is the representatives of the tour operator who will accompany the tourist on his journey.
- A travel agent is an intermediary implementing a ready-made tour package of services collected by a tour operator. Companies of this kind do not independently assemble the proposal. In private, they can only make hotel reservations and plane tickets for regular customers who wish to travel without the patronage of a tour operator.
- Tour package - a product compiled by a tour operator. Most often, it includes tickets for transport to the place of rest and back, transfer to the selected hotel or tourist center, as well as accommodation in it for a certain period.
If a tourist on vacation finds himself in an unpleasant situation, he will seek help from a tour operator first and foremost. Since it is he who is responsible for the tour product, and the travel agent is only for the selection of the optimal tour package in accordance with the wishes of the client.
Package tour: the composition of the documents issued to the tourist
Regardless of whether the tour was bought directly from a tour operator or through an intermediary, this action will be accompanied by the issuance of a standard package of documents to the tourist. Most often, the composition of the package is as follows:
- the contract;
- travel documents;
- tourist voucher;
- insurance policy;
- tourist voucher or documents for payment of the cost of services;
- memo and other supporting documentation.
If visa support was provided, then relevant documents can also be obtained. The entire package received must be taken on a trip, as the staff of the company selling the tour warns of without fail. At the same time, the most important of them is given special attention when familiarizing the tourist with the papers.
Voucher role
A tourist voucher carries all the information on the purchased services, it is impossible to throw it out before the successful end of the trip. It is evidence that the tourist purchased and paid the relevant points of the tour package. Therefore, after receiving it in your hands, you need to carefully check all the available data.
In case of discrepancy between the information in the tourist voucher and what has been paid, it is necessary to make changes. Otherwise, the traveler risks spending the night not where he planned, or not in the conditions that he dreamed about.
One copy of the document always remains with the tourist in his arms. When leaving Russia, the second copy is handed over to the hotel staff upon check-in. In international travel the rules are the same, but 1 coupon is issued more. It will need to be returned upon arrival to the representative of the receiving party from the tour operator for the transfer.
In countries where visa-free entry for Russians is carried out, or for simplified visa obtaining, a voucher coupon will need to be presented in the process of passing through border control. In this case, it will only be necessary to show it, since it is evidence of a temporary stay in the country corresponding to the period of a standard tourist visa.
What is a travel voucher form?
The form of the form is not strictly established, therefore, each of the tour operators develops its own model of a tourist voucher. Most often, the document consists of several coupons that are identical to each other, where there is information about the company that collected the tour package and the meeting party. For travel around Russia, a tourist voucher is issued in two coupons, for international travel - in three.
The voucher has a serial number. Most often, the seal of the tour operator or travel agent is also present. Upon receipt of this document, special attention should be paid to the information contained in it. The standard tourist voucher items are as follows:
- Travel info. Surnames and initials, gender, date of birth are entered here. If there are several tourists in the same group, or the trip is carried out by the family, then the data of all participants is indicated.
- Country of arrival.
- Name and star of the hotel, type of room and accommodation.
- The period of stay at the hotel.
- Type of food.
- Information on flight numbers in both directions.
- The type of transport that will transport from the airport / train station to the hotel and back. In addition, it is indicated how the traveler will be delivered - as part of a group or individually.
Any discrepancies between the specified information and what was allegedly paid for, must be eliminated at the time of receipt of the document on hand. Because during the trip, finding out any inaccuracies or errors is fraught with a spoiled vacation. In order to understand some of the nuances, you should study the typical abbreviations used in vouchers.
Abbreviations Used in the Document
It is customary to print information in a voucher in the language of the country where the tourist is going. Most often it is English. In some cases, a document is printed that has not only the main language of writing, but also duplicates. This is done so that the employees of the passport control, airport and hotel can easily parse all the information presented.
All abbreviations used in the document are generally accepted and used throughout the world:
- MR or MRS - an adult, this is also an indication of the gender of the tourist male / female.
- CHD - a child under 12 years of age, INF - a child under 2 years old.
- SNGL, DBL, TRPL, QDPL (4 PAX) - types of settlement in 1, 2, 3 and 4-bed rooms, respectively, and EXB is used if an extra bed is required in the room. In addition, there are designations of the view from the room, individual buildings, apartments, bungalows and so on.
- Standart, Studio, Superior, Suite, De luxe, Duplex, Family room - types of rooms depending on area and comfort.
- BB, HB, FB, ALL / AI, ULTRA ALL - varieties of food in the hotel, lack of food is indicated by RO.
The information in the voucher most fully reflects all the paid services, it is only necessary to carefully monitor the correctness of filling in the corresponding columns. Have a nice trip.