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TOURS

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TOURS
Revised by the P&P Committee January 2010

General Statement
The Tours Committee, as a function of AWCP, plans and implements a variety of local and international tours, to serve the AWCP membership and the community at large.

1. The Tours Committee, as a function of the AWCP, plans and implements a variety of local and international tours to serve the AWCP membership and the community at large.
2. The AWCP is not liable for loss of property, injury, accident or death to anyone participating in a tour conducted under the auspices of the AWCP Tours Committee.
3. Unless otherwise stated, AWCP Tours are open to all nationalities on a first-come, first-served basis.
4. A waiver of responsibility must be signed by each participant prior to departure on any AWCP tour.
5. Tours Committee members must be members of AWCP.
6. The tour leader will travel free of charge per the inclusions of any tour, provided the minimum number of paid travelers has been attained.
7. No member of the Tours Committee may receive payment or honoraria for arranging or leading a tour.
8. Each tour is expected to pay for itself and is costed accordingly.
9. Receipts must be issued for all tour payments. Special unofficial receipt books may be printed to facilitate collection of tour payments. The AWCP Treasurer keeps control of these books.
10. Only persons holding AWCP Tours Committee receipts issued in their names are permitted to participate in the receipted tour for purposes of insurance requirements unless otherwise previously advised to the tour leader.
11. All tour receipts must be deposited in the AWCP bank account.
12. Expenses may not be paid from receipts.
13. International tours will be arranged through professional, registered travel agents. Fees for these tours are paid directly to the agent .
14. No tour price may be advertised.
15. The tour leader will wait a maximum of ten (10) minutes for latecomers. Participants are expected to plan accordingly.
16. The tour leader is responsible for staying with the tour group at all times, even during prearranged, guided tours.
17. A fifty (50) peso non-refundable fee will be included in the individual price of all domestic tours. A twenty-five (25) dollar non-refundable fee will be included in the price of all international tours to cover tips.
18. All tours must be paid in full before departure as follows:
• Day tours - fifty (50) percent due upon publication of itinerary and the balance due two (2) weeks prior to departure. • Overnight tours - fifty (50) percent due upon publication of itinerary and the balance due one (1) month prior to departure. • International tours – one hundred (100) dollar deposit upon publication of itinerary and the balance due usually a minimum of one (1) month prior to departure.
19 The Tours Committee must be aware of and authorize all cancellations of tours.
20. The Tours Committee refund policy is as follows:
• A non-refundable fee will be retained regardless of the cancellation
date. (See Tours, # 17)
• Local day tours - A full refund will be given if cancellation is made more than one (1) week prior to departure. No refund will be given if the participant cancels less than one (1) week prior to departure unless a substitute is found.
• Local overnight tours - Refunds for local overnight tours will be treated on a case to case basis. It is the responsibility of the participant to inquire about the refund policy conditions of these tours.
• International Tours - Refunds vary from tour to tour. It is the responsibility of the participant to inquire about the refund policy conditions of these tours.

Duties
The Chairman and Co-chairman share the responsibilities for this Committee. These duties include:

1. Establishing and maintaining procedures for the committee;
2. Recruiting a committee of volunteers to plan and lead tours;
3. Coordinating and overseeing all activities of the Tours Committee;
4. Submitting a budget of projected income and expenditures for the year, as well as a final financial statement for each tour to the AWCP Treasurer;
5. Advising the Board of the activities of the Committee;
6. Preparing and submitting a Year-end Report on the activities of the Committee.

Procedures
Establishing and maintaining procedures for the Committee
The Chairman and Co-chairman are responsible for reviewing the current Tours’ procedures and advising the Board of any changes that may be made.

Recruiting volunteers to plan and lead tours
The Chairman and Co-chairman will recruit volunteers to plan and lead tours locally, domestically and internationally. Members of the Tours Committee must be AWCP members.

The Tours Committee will elect/select committee members to fill the following leadership positions:
• Committee Treasurer - who will collect and file all financial reports and vouchers, keep a log of the Tours' receipt books and maintain the unused ones which will be turned over to the AWCP Treasurer at the end of the year.
• Recording Secretary - who will prepare the minutes of Tours Committee meetings and distribute them to the members within ten (10) days of the meeting.
• Publicity - who will be responsible for providing AWCP members and the larger community with information on planned tours through timely submissions to Inklings as well as to the newsletters of other organizations. Individual tour leaders are responsible for providing all tour information to the Tours’ publicity person.

Any AWCP member may be asked to join the Tours Committee; however, a training period for new members is required. Newcomers to the Tours Committee will start out as "tour assistants". They must work with more experienced tour leaders to learn the procedures. After this period, a newcomer may lead a day tour. Prior to leading an international tour, one must successfully lead an overnight tour or several day trips.

Coordinating and overseeing all activities of the Tours Committee
The Tours Committee Chairman will preside over Committee meetings, oversee the scheduling of tour itineraries and programs and authorize all vouchers for payment of expenses for individual tours. She will review all financial reports of individual tours and be the sole holder of the Tours’ filing cabinet key and the only member who may authorize removal of any file from the AWCP office.

The Tours Committee with the assistance of the Chairman and Co-chairman will:
1. Prepare a yearly budget for the Committee. Any expenses generated in researching possible tours, securing reservations, preparing handouts and/or producing publicity will be added into the cost of the tours. These costs should be covered by funds collected from the tour participants. When expenses are not known in advance (e.g., telephone call costs) or cannot be charged to any particular tour (e.g., advertising flyers), these expenses may be charged to the Tours’ admin account. Each tour will be budgeted so it will pay for itself. A small service charge will be assessed each participant to offset AWCP administrative costs. Excess funds, depending on the type of tour, may be returned to the participants with the prior approval of the Tours’ Committee Chairman.
2. Plan a schedule of domestic and international tours. Day excursions and overnight trips within the Philippines are planned throughout the year. The schedule of international tours is discussed at the Tours Committee meeting of the year, usually in March. A schedule of tours will be prepared and made available on a regular basis for the AWCP members and the community at large.
3. Meet regularly to plan, discuss and coordinate the activities of the Committee. All members of the Committee are expected to be present. Repeated absences from these meetings will be grounds for dismissal from the Committee.
4. Establish and maintain guidelines for Committee procedures in the planning, organizing and conducting of tours. These guidelines will be written and may be reviewed upon request.
5. Assign the proposed tours among the committee members. Each tour will have a tour leader and an assistant leader, or back-up. The tour leader is responsible for scheduling and organizing the trip, as well as completing all financial requirements and preparing the written report at the end of the tour. The assistant leader helps the tour leader as needed. In the event that the tour leader is unable to travel with the tour, the assistant leader will substitute; however, assistant leaders working on international tours need not expect to travel with the tour. In the event that a leader or co-leader is unable to travel, another Tours Committee member may be asked to go with the tour.
6. Issue AWCP Tours Committee receipts for all payments from tour participants.
7. Provide the office staff with all the information needed (once a new tour is advertised), including dates, cost, reservation procedures and refund policy if necessary. All other questions will be directed to the tour leader.
8. Present written reports both evaluative and financial for each completed tour at the next scheduled Committee meeting. A copy of this report will be kept in the Tours’ file and a copy of the financial report is to be given to the AWCP Treasurer who keeps records of all Tours financial transactions.
9. Provide the AWCP office staff with a list of all participants per tour, including the participants’ emergency contact telephone numbers, an itinerary and a schedule of the tour with telephone numbers when possible in case of emergencies.

Advising the AWCP Board on the activities of the Committee
The Chairman and Co-chairman will keep the Board advised of the activities of the Committee through regular reports at Board meetings.

Preparing and submitting a Year-end Report on the activities of the Committee
The Chairman will prepare a Year-end Report of the activities of the Committee during the year and supply copies to the President, Historian and her successor.

Submitting a budget of projected income and expenditures for the year, as well as a final financial statement for each tour to the AWCP Treasurer
The Chairman and Co-chairman will meet with the President and the Treasurers to plan a budget for the year of projected income and expenditures. Additionally, tour leaders will submit final, itemized financial reports of individual tours to the AWCP Treasurer.