The Travel Information Manual is issued by IATA in the form of a manual which contains practical and useful information to the air travellers with regard to entry regulations or conditions of various countries.
Since 1963, TIM (Travel Information Manual) has been a trusted name in the air travel industry, providing up-to-date country destination information on entry and health requirements, as well as customs and currency regulations. The TIM booklet, which is issued on a monthly basis, offers a complete package for airline offices, travel agents, multinationals, tour operators, and government agencies to help travellers save time and avoid fines and delays.
Published by IATA, TIM is a practical and handy manual containing up-to-date entry regulations for air travellers.
TIM is the world's leading source for information on air travel requirements reliable and comprehensive information for people serving the travel industry.
An extensive network of sources from the travel industry, immigration authorities, and the World Health Organization ensures the publication's dependability and continuity.
TIM lists information on subjects such as:
1. Passports: exemptions, validity, admission and transit restrictions, and rules for minors, crew, and the military.
2. Visas: exemptions, issues, re-entry permits, transit without visa, merchant seaman requirements.
3. Health Information: required vaccinations; malaria and yellow fever risk areas; HIV/AIDS and other diseases; World Health Organization recommendations; and useful information regarding passengers health care.
4. Airport Tax: amount, place of payment, and possible exemptions for departure tax
5. Customs and Currency: Import and Export Regulations; Pets; Wild Flora and Fauna
6. Duty-free allowances, baggage clearance
Timatic or Travel Information Manual Automatic maintains a database of travel requirements for international air passengers. First established by IATA in 1963, Timatic currently stores travel documentation rules and recommendations for over 220 countries, collected from over 2,000 sources and updated up to 200 times a day. This includes such details as:
Passport requirements and recommendations,Visa requirements and recommendations, health requirements and recommendations,airport tax information,Customs regulations concerning the import and export of goods and small pets, currency regulations, and news on regulation changes.
The Travel Information Manual (TIM) provides Timatic content in paper form. The subscribing process is simple you just have to fill out the order form on the Timatic website and then pay an electronic invoice you receive via email. There are three available payment methods: by credit card, by bank transfer, or through the IATA Clearing House.
The TIM subscription period lasts from January until December, and it cannot be cancelled during the year. Note that IATA automatically prolongs the subscription unless you send a written notice of cancellation at least two months in advance.
Timatic is a web solution that allows airlines and travel agencies to access concise travel document information online. It's almost as if the Main frame has been made more user-friendly and accessible to everyone, including passengers.
There are two options for working with Timatic
The first is for travel agents on the Timatic website. An agent fills out a form with passenger information (destination and nationality, duration of stay and visa expiry date, etc.) and receives commentary on document validity. They can then send this information to a customer via a link, where they can re-enter details and run the check once more.
Another option is for travellers to book on an airline’s or agent’s website. With the co-branding version of Timatic, you can put the custom page on your own website, allowing passengers to use it for checking their documents. You can select what fields and elements to include and which attributes to set as defaults.
Moving from paper to digital documents is an overall new trend that touches all industries, and the travel sector is no exception. Imagine that happy day when you don’t have to worry about the passport being left at home, lost, or stolen.
At Guiders Education, our faculty are able to guide our students on the TIM and Timatic which are very important aspects in a Travel agents work.
