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A travel agency is a retail
business, that sells travel related products and services, particularly
package tours, to end-user customers, on behalf of third party travel
suppliers, such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels,
railways, sightseeing tours and tour companies. Most travel agencies
operate on a commission-basis, meaning that the compensation from the
airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing
tours and tour companies is expected in form of a commission from their
bookings. Most often, the commission consists of a set percentage of
the sale.
In addition to dealing with ordinary tourists, most travel agencies
have a separate department devoted to making travel arrangements for
business travelers, and some travel agencies specialize in commercial
and business travel only. There are also travel agencies that serve as
general sales agents for foreign travel companies, allowing them to
have offices in countries other than where their headquarters are
located.
In Malaysia, the travel and
tour agents initiated an association to represent their interests. The
association, aptly named Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel
Agents or MATTA for short. It is also the national umbrella
representative body for the entire travel industry in the country. With
a full time secretariat in Kuala Lumpur, its headquarters, MATTA has
state chapters in Kedah, Penang, Perak, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang,
Terengganu, Kelantan, Selangor, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.
MATTA's objective is to promote the interests of the travel and tour
industry in Malaysia. MATTA works closely with the Ministry of Tourism
(Motour) as well as Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB), help
organise fairs, seminars, convention and workshops both to create
public awareness of the tourism industry as well as to benefit its
members.
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