Familiarization tourism

Familiarization tourism is often called just FAM tourism. It means that a business company sends its staff on educational tours to its branches or other business companies in other cities and countries.

If a travel agency sends its travel clerks on FAM tours, it means that they will have educational visits to a tourist destination. There they will get familiar with local facilities, hotels, restaurants, and attractions. They will study a tour operator’s or a local travel agency’s practice.

The main purpose of travel clerks on a FAM tour is to get necessary knowledge from personal experience. When the clerks return home, they will know what to offer and to explain to their customers about the destination.

Some experts say that FAM tourism is a part of incentive tourism. On the one hand, such a tour is an incentive to the travel agency staff selling holidays. On the other, it is a benefit to the tour operator which arrangeS them.

_FAM tourism is very popular and will become even more popular in future.

Types of restaurants

There are five different types of places where people can eat and drink. They are luxury restaurants, informal restaurants serving national dishes, coffee shops, bar and night clubs.

At luxury restaurants dinner is a la carte. Such restaurants are usually famous for their haute cuisine. Luxury restaurants have elegant surroundings and sophisticated atmosphere.

Informal national restaurants serve typical local dishes. They offer a lot of home-made dishes. They make bread and pasta themselves. These restaurants have two sorts of dinner menu: a la carte and a three-course fixed price menu.

At coffee shops customers can have quick snacks, with drinks. These places serve sandwiches, salad, cakes and beverages. They have very relaxed atmosphere.

Bars offer different kinds of drinks, mixed drinks, beer, juices, soda. They can also serve nuts and crisp biscuits to go with the drinks.

At night clubs the customers can have excellent wine and delicious dishes and dance to a band. Such places have a floor show. The customers can gamble if they like.

The inexpensive hotel

The inexpensive hotel is also called the 1-star hotel according to the European classification.

These are plain hotels and inns of small scale. Inexpensive hotels are modestly furnished. However, rather good facilities are provided for the guests. Bath and lavatory arrangements are offered, but they are not provided in every bedroom. Washbasins are provided in every bedroom.

As a rule the inexpensive hotels have got a lounge area. There are no phones in bedrooms, but the use of telephone is arranged. Not every room is fitted with a radio ad a TV-set.

Meals are provided for residents but are usually limited to non-residents. In some inexpensive hotels meals are not served to non-residents.

Inexpensive hotels offer low prices. So they are used by the guests who cannot afford to pay much.

Some inexpensive hotels may be old enough with rather small rooms. But the main thing is that they are neat and clean and the service is friendly.

The inexpensive hotels are situated away from the city center and far from convenient means of transportation. It means that the location is not convenient.