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Hi fellow writers

As some of you may know, I'm not American but (attempt to) write in US English. I'm writing an article about independent travel vs. package deals. However, I'm a little stuck. In the UK, someone who sells a package holiday (vacation) is called a travel agent. The person who looks after you while you're on your package holiday is called a holiday rep. Can someone please translate 'travel agent' and 'holiday rep' into US English, please? The closest I've got is 'vacation sales rep' and 'vacation package rep', respectively.

Many, many thanks in advance.

Jane

In the U.S., we call a person who sells the vacation a travel agent just as you do. For example, if I wanted to travel to Hawaii, I'd call my travel agent and she'd start showing me brochures and discussing different options.

I don't know if there's a universal American term for a local contact once we arrive at our destinations. When my plane lands in Hawaii, I may be greeted by a tour guide or a tour operator (if I had booked such a package.) If I went to a resort in Hawaii, there'd be a resort manager who might be a point of contact. At the hotel, the hotel's concierge would be the person I'd talk to about booking activities, finding a good restaurant, and so forth. If for some reason a major problem came up, I'd probably call my original travel agent for help. I may be out of the loop as far as all-inclusive packages go though as I usually book the plane, hotel, car, etc. separately rather than in one full package. Hopefully others have the word you're looking for.

Celeste

I think you may have provided me with enough - that's excellent, thank you very much.

Jane