Travel Agent Proficiency Test Final
Review Questions & Answers
Fixed Expenses - -costs that remain unchanged during a specific period
despite changes in the volume of business.
- Variable Expenses - -are costs that increase and decrease directly and
proportionately with changes in business volume.
- Semi-Variable or Mixed Expenses - -are costs that change in response to a
change in business volume, but they change by less than a proportional
amount.
- Income Statement - -summarizes revenues earned and expenses incurred
for a particular period
- Balance Sheet - -it shows the financial position of a business at a
particular time and may compare it to the business's position at the same
time of a previous year. This includes assets, liability and equity
- Suppliers receive payment in four ways - -Directly from client
CC company
In the form of checks from agencies
Through ARC (Airline Reporting Corporation)
- Agents Receive Payments in 3 Ways - -Through ARC
By deducting commission prior to sending to supplier
By check from supplier
- ARC (AIRLINE REPORTING CORP) - -an organization owned by major
airlines that regulates the sale of airline tickets by appointing those who may
sell them.
- Accountable Documents - -issues standardized numbered forms that serve
as tickets, and it operates a centralized system for processing sales.
- Area Bank Settlement Plan - -the system set up by ARC through which
participating suppliers receive payments for sales by travel agencies
- ARC Report - -Each travel agency pays the ARC suppliers weekly by
electronically filing a mandatory report of sales
- base fare - -the fare shorn of all taxes
, - Escrow Account - -An account held by a third party or a bank that holds on
to funds until all requirements are fulfilled for them to be released
- overrides - -bonus commissions to agencies that meet various sales goals
or move clients to the supplier's products
- Income for Travel Agencies - -Commission on sales of transportation,
accommodation, cruises, tours and other services
Override commissions
Fees and service charges
Markups on net charges
- Cost Benefit Analysis - -A tool entrepreneurs use to hold down expenses
and ensure profits (ex. Buying flowers or gifts for a client)
- Consortium - -which is an association of agencies that retain their
independent identities but pool their resources for certain purposes
- Miscellaneous Charges Order (MCO) - -It records deposits and full
prepayments for transportation, tour packages, supplemental charges,
accommodations, or additional collections. A clear description of the type of
service for which it is issued must be indicated on the MCO.
- Voucher - -Any document used to confirm arrangements, identify clients,
or indicate payments made
- Invoice - -Indicates the amount due from a client and constitutes an
implied contract between the agency and the client for services rendered in
exchange for payment
- Receipt - -Invoices that indicate an amount paid and the method of
payment.
- ARC's Industry Handbook - -lists the forms of payment accepted by
specific airlines, and CRSs indicate if a particular credit card payment is not
acceptable to the airline being used.
- Travel Agency Service Fee (TASF) program - -allows agencies to accept
credit card purchases for non-ARC items, such as service charges, and to
process them through the Area Bank Settlement Plan for a 3.5 percent fee
- Protocol with checks and travelers checks - -Do not accept checks from
anyone unless they are trustworthy, or if you can hold on to the tickets until
the check clears
Do not accept checks from someone else who is not the person booking
Do not accept checks that are over the amount that they are charged
,Some agencies use a check verification service to ensure that the funds will
clear, although it is not necessary
Write clients name, proof of identity, address, phone number, Drivers License
on the back of the check
Never accept pre signed travelers checks
Only accept travelers checks from reputable companies
- Geography - -The study of relationships between people and their
environment
- Physical Geography - -Focuses on people and their patterns of settlement
and activity
- Travel Geography - -Application of knowledge to travel, tourism and
hospitality agency
- Longitude - -Horizontal Lines
- Latitude - -Vertical Lines (Lateral!)
- prime meridian - -through Greenwich, England and the 180 degree
meridian through the pacific ocean
- Globe - -Scale model of the earth
- Cartography - -Map Making
- Geographic Information System (GIS) - -Can retrieve, record, analyze and
manipulate information gathered by satellites
- Interactive Mapping - -When a user asks for information and the computer
guides the user to the answer
- Projection - -Transfer of information from a round surface to a flat area
- Great Circle Route - -A phrase used by airlines to determine the shortest
distance between to destinations
- Compass Rose - -Symbol in the maps corner indicating the map's
orientation
- Key or Legend - -Explains symbols on the map
- Scale - -Indicates maps distances and the actual distances on earth
, - 24 Hour Clock - -Eliminates am and pm distinction and has one number for
each hour of the day
- International Date Line - -180 degrees from GMT
- Local Time - -Time at any particular place
- Elapsed Time Traveled - -How long it takes to get to a destination
- Daylights Saving - -The changing of the clocks to maximize daylight
- Crust - -The earth's outermost layer
- Continents from Largest to Smallest - -Asia, Africa, North America, South
America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia
- The Ural Mountains - -divide Europe and Asia
- Coast, seacoast, shore - -The edge of land that borders the ocean
- Continental Shelf - -The area where the land meets the sea. Countries who
own the shelf can regulate fishing, oil etc
- Island - -Body of land completely surrounded by water
- Archipelago - -A group of small islands clustered together
- Continental Island - -Land broken away from a continent
- Barrier Island - -One built from settlement along the coastline
- Coral Island - -A long, flat island formed by coral polyps
- Atoll - -A circular ring of coral found in the open sea in the Pacific ocean
- Volcanic Island - -An island formed by volcanic eruptions on the ocean
floor
- Isthmus - -A narrow bridge that connects two large landmasses
- Peninsula - -Land that extends from the continent and is almost all
surrounded by water
- Reef - -A ridge of rocks or sand at or near the edge of the water along the
coast
Review Questions & Answers
Fixed Expenses - -costs that remain unchanged during a specific period
despite changes in the volume of business.
- Variable Expenses - -are costs that increase and decrease directly and
proportionately with changes in business volume.
- Semi-Variable or Mixed Expenses - -are costs that change in response to a
change in business volume, but they change by less than a proportional
amount.
- Income Statement - -summarizes revenues earned and expenses incurred
for a particular period
- Balance Sheet - -it shows the financial position of a business at a
particular time and may compare it to the business's position at the same
time of a previous year. This includes assets, liability and equity
- Suppliers receive payment in four ways - -Directly from client
CC company
In the form of checks from agencies
Through ARC (Airline Reporting Corporation)
- Agents Receive Payments in 3 Ways - -Through ARC
By deducting commission prior to sending to supplier
By check from supplier
- ARC (AIRLINE REPORTING CORP) - -an organization owned by major
airlines that regulates the sale of airline tickets by appointing those who may
sell them.
- Accountable Documents - -issues standardized numbered forms that serve
as tickets, and it operates a centralized system for processing sales.
- Area Bank Settlement Plan - -the system set up by ARC through which
participating suppliers receive payments for sales by travel agencies
- ARC Report - -Each travel agency pays the ARC suppliers weekly by
electronically filing a mandatory report of sales
- base fare - -the fare shorn of all taxes
, - Escrow Account - -An account held by a third party or a bank that holds on
to funds until all requirements are fulfilled for them to be released
- overrides - -bonus commissions to agencies that meet various sales goals
or move clients to the supplier's products
- Income for Travel Agencies - -Commission on sales of transportation,
accommodation, cruises, tours and other services
Override commissions
Fees and service charges
Markups on net charges
- Cost Benefit Analysis - -A tool entrepreneurs use to hold down expenses
and ensure profits (ex. Buying flowers or gifts for a client)
- Consortium - -which is an association of agencies that retain their
independent identities but pool their resources for certain purposes
- Miscellaneous Charges Order (MCO) - -It records deposits and full
prepayments for transportation, tour packages, supplemental charges,
accommodations, or additional collections. A clear description of the type of
service for which it is issued must be indicated on the MCO.
- Voucher - -Any document used to confirm arrangements, identify clients,
or indicate payments made
- Invoice - -Indicates the amount due from a client and constitutes an
implied contract between the agency and the client for services rendered in
exchange for payment
- Receipt - -Invoices that indicate an amount paid and the method of
payment.
- ARC's Industry Handbook - -lists the forms of payment accepted by
specific airlines, and CRSs indicate if a particular credit card payment is not
acceptable to the airline being used.
- Travel Agency Service Fee (TASF) program - -allows agencies to accept
credit card purchases for non-ARC items, such as service charges, and to
process them through the Area Bank Settlement Plan for a 3.5 percent fee
- Protocol with checks and travelers checks - -Do not accept checks from
anyone unless they are trustworthy, or if you can hold on to the tickets until
the check clears
Do not accept checks from someone else who is not the person booking
Do not accept checks that are over the amount that they are charged
,Some agencies use a check verification service to ensure that the funds will
clear, although it is not necessary
Write clients name, proof of identity, address, phone number, Drivers License
on the back of the check
Never accept pre signed travelers checks
Only accept travelers checks from reputable companies
- Geography - -The study of relationships between people and their
environment
- Physical Geography - -Focuses on people and their patterns of settlement
and activity
- Travel Geography - -Application of knowledge to travel, tourism and
hospitality agency
- Longitude - -Horizontal Lines
- Latitude - -Vertical Lines (Lateral!)
- prime meridian - -through Greenwich, England and the 180 degree
meridian through the pacific ocean
- Globe - -Scale model of the earth
- Cartography - -Map Making
- Geographic Information System (GIS) - -Can retrieve, record, analyze and
manipulate information gathered by satellites
- Interactive Mapping - -When a user asks for information and the computer
guides the user to the answer
- Projection - -Transfer of information from a round surface to a flat area
- Great Circle Route - -A phrase used by airlines to determine the shortest
distance between to destinations
- Compass Rose - -Symbol in the maps corner indicating the map's
orientation
- Key or Legend - -Explains symbols on the map
- Scale - -Indicates maps distances and the actual distances on earth
, - 24 Hour Clock - -Eliminates am and pm distinction and has one number for
each hour of the day
- International Date Line - -180 degrees from GMT
- Local Time - -Time at any particular place
- Elapsed Time Traveled - -How long it takes to get to a destination
- Daylights Saving - -The changing of the clocks to maximize daylight
- Crust - -The earth's outermost layer
- Continents from Largest to Smallest - -Asia, Africa, North America, South
America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia
- The Ural Mountains - -divide Europe and Asia
- Coast, seacoast, shore - -The edge of land that borders the ocean
- Continental Shelf - -The area where the land meets the sea. Countries who
own the shelf can regulate fishing, oil etc
- Island - -Body of land completely surrounded by water
- Archipelago - -A group of small islands clustered together
- Continental Island - -Land broken away from a continent
- Barrier Island - -One built from settlement along the coastline
- Coral Island - -A long, flat island formed by coral polyps
- Atoll - -A circular ring of coral found in the open sea in the Pacific ocean
- Volcanic Island - -An island formed by volcanic eruptions on the ocean
floor
- Isthmus - -A narrow bridge that connects two large landmasses
- Peninsula - -Land that extends from the continent and is almost all
surrounded by water
- Reef - -A ridge of rocks or sand at or near the edge of the water along the
coast
