Plan and prepare a travel and tourism event
Turn a feasible idea into a business plan with contingencies, SMART objectives, monitoring, communications, accounts, safety, marketing and itinerary detail.
Section Paper 2 · Planning and Managing a Travel and Tourism Event · Topic 5
Exam scope and assessment notes
This original lesson maps Cambridge International AS & A Level Travel & Tourism 9395 syllabus sections 5.3, 5.4 for exams in 2027, 2028 and 2029. Build AO1 knowledge, AO2 application, AO3 analysis and research, and AO4 evaluation. Examples and practice are original StudyForA material, not Cambridge questions, mark schemes or official grades. Use current, reliable local evidence; tourism effects and customer needs depend on context. Paper 2 requires learners to plan and manage a real event as a team, then present their project individually. This site can teach and simulate the planning process, but cannot conduct the event, verify participation or evidence, replace centre approval and supervision, award a coursework mark, or provide Cambridge moderation.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Before you start: Which goal is most measurable?
What you will learn
- Produce a business plan with contingency arrangements, timescales, SMART goals and methods to monitor and evaluate the event.
- Plan communication, financial accounts and payment handling, safety, data protection and online security.
- Select suitable marketing and design a realistic itinerary with timings, transfers, customer care and alternatives.
Use a plan that can be checked
A business plan sets the purpose, audience, roles, resources, costs, timeline and contingencies. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Monitoring measures progress against those goals before, during and after the event.
Contingency planning identifies what could change and what the team will do: weather, low turnout, transport disruption, cost variation or staff absence. Assign an owner and decision point to each response.
Preparation links operations and communication
Agree who communicates what, to whom and when. Prepare accounts and payment records under centre procedures; plan safety checks, emergency contacts and data protection. Online security includes access control and approved tools.
Marketing should accurately describe the offer and audience. An itinerary should include realistic timings, travel links, venue arrangements, access details, breaks, customer information and contingency options.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
What makes a contingency useful?
Worked example
A team plans a city heritage day with a fixed bus booking. Give one SMART objective and one contingency that fits the event.
Show the worked solution
- A measurable goal might be: 'Confirm at least 24 paid places by the centre's approved deadline two weeks before departure.'
- A contingency could define a minimum attendance threshold, authorised cancellation decision and refund process.
- The plan should also monitor transport, access, safety and cost, not just sign-ups.
Answer The objective is specific and time-bound, while the contingency defines a trigger and action. Approval and policy determine whether the threshold is appropriate.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Create two SMART goals for a one-day guided city tour: one about readiness and one about visitor feedback.
Give me a hint
Specify a result, measure and deadline for each goal.
Compare my reasoning
- Readiness: confirm transport, venue and approved access details by a stated date before the event.
- Feedback: collect a defined number or proportion of participant responses by a set time after the event.
- Check that each target is achievable, relevant to the event and supported by an assigned owner.
A readiness goal might require written confirmation of all services seven days before departure; an evaluation goal might target responses from at least 70% of attendees within two days. Adapt figures to a feasible plan.
Look for these in your work
- Makes each goal measurable
- Includes a deadline
- Connects targets to the event
The coach company may cancel at short notice. Develop a contingency and communication sequence that keeps visitors informed.
Give me a hint
Set a trigger, decision owner, alternatives and the approved contact process.
Compare my reasoning
- Name who verifies the cancellation and who can authorise a change or cancellation.
- Compare a backup provider, alternative date or refund route against safety, cost and centre policy.
- Use the approved contact list to issue a clear update, collect acknowledgements and record the decision.
A workable contingency names the verification and approval steps, feasible alternatives and a timely, accessible visitor update. Do not promise a replacement until confirmed.
Look for these in your work
- Defines trigger and owner
- Checks alternatives and policy
- Communicates a verified action
Review a draft itinerary that allows 10 minutes to cross a busy city between stations and a museum booking. Identify improvements for reliability and access.
Give me a hint
Use realistic buffers and verify transfers, routes and the needs of the participants.
Compare my reasoning
- Check the actual transfer route, distance, service frequency and museum entry time.
- Add a realistic buffer and an alternate route or later booking where possible.
- Confirm step-free access, meeting points, contact details and arrangements if the group is delayed.
The itinerary should use verified transfer times, a realistic buffer and an agreed delay response, with access and meeting-point details confirmed across the route.
Look for these in your work
- Verifies live travel details
- Adds a workable buffer
- Includes access and delay arrangements
Common mistakes
- Writing goals that cannot be measured
- Making a contingency plan without a decision owner or trigger
- Using marketing or itinerary details that have not been verified
What can you explain now?
What makes a contingency useful?
Compare with the explanation
A defined trigger, responsible person and feasible response
A strong response applies the concept to the evidence, explains the effect and qualifies its conclusion where conditions matter.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Write a SMART objective for confirming a venue and name one event risk with a planned response.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.