How to Send Travel Documents, Tickets and Vouchers to Clients (A Checklist for Travel Agents)

Updated October 2026.

Why document delivery goes wrong

Travel documents arrive in a trickle: a flight ticket from one supplier, a hotel voucher from another, a transfer confirmation from a third. The agent forwards each one as it comes. By departure day the client has twelve emails with names like "Confirmation 4832.pdf," and no idea which one matters at the airport. Most travel-day problems do not come from bad bookings. They come from a traveller who cannot find the right paper.

The document pack checklist

Document	Why the traveller needs it	Notes
Final itinerary	The plan, day by day, with times and addresses	Keep it consistent with the vouchers
Flight, train or ferry tickets	To board	Include booking reference and check-in links
Hotel vouchers or confirmations	To check in	Include address, phone and check-in time
Transfer vouchers	To be met at arrival	Add the meeting point and a contact number
Activity and ticket confirmations	Entry to tours, museums and experiences	Include meeting time and place
Insurance details	To claim and to call for help	Policy number and emergency line
Visa and entry information	To avoid refusal at the border	Link to official sources
Emergency contacts	If something goes wrong	Your number, the supplier's local number

How to prepare the pack, step by step

1. Collect everything as it is confirmed. Create one place for each trip and add documents as they arrive, not at the end.
2. Name every file in plain language. "Flight to Lisbon, 12 May" beats "ETKT_2837463.pdf." The label should tell the traveller what it is and when.
3. Check against the itinerary. Dates, names and times should match. A mismatch is far easier to fix now than at the airport.
4. Order them by journey. Outbound travel, then each stop in order, then return.
5. Add what only you know. The best restaurant near the hotel, the trick to the metro, what to do if a flight is cancelled.
6. Release it once. Send the whole pack together with a short message that explains where everything is.

When to send what

• At booking: confirmation of what is booked and what is still pending.
• As soon as the pack is complete: the full document pack.
• About a week before departure: a reminder with the pack link and a prompt to download for offline use.
• The day before: a short "last check" message with the first day's meeting point and emergency number.

Format: one link, one PDF, or both?

Format	Strengths	Weaknesses
Many email attachments	Simple to send	Easy to lose, hard to search, no structure
One combined PDF	Works offline, easy to print, one file	Goes out of date if something changes
One live link	Always current, mobile-friendly	Needs a connection unless downloaded

The best arrangement is both: a live page that is always current, and a combined PDF the traveller can save. In Story of a Trip, the downloadable PDF contains the full itinerary and then the trip's tickets and vouchers attached at the end, with an index page listing each file. Files that cannot be placed inside a PDF are listed so the traveller knows where to find them.

Keeping sensitive documents safe

• Do not email passport scans as ordinary attachments. Use a secure link with access control.
• Keep identity documents out of any pack that might be forwarded. Each person should only get what they need.
• Set expiry on documents that are no longer needed after the trip.
• Remind travellers not to post booking references on social media.

Collect passport details only after acceptance, not at enquiry. See what to ask new travel clients, and what to hold back.

Common mistakes

• Sending documents one at a time with unclear names.
• Sending tickets that do not match the itinerary.
• Assuming the traveller has data abroad.
• Forgetting to include your own emergency contact.
• Never confirming that the client received everything.

To keep the offer itself clean, read quote vs proposal vs itinerary.

What goes in the pack, by trip type

Trip type	Core documents	Easy-to-forget extras
City break	Flights, hotel voucher, airport transfer	Museum or attraction tickets with entry times; transport pass details
Multi-stop trip	All flights and trains, every hotel voucher, transfer vouchers	A one-page "journey at a glance" with every move in order
Safari or remote travel	Flights including internal flights, lodge vouchers, transfer details	Baggage restrictions, vaccination or health information, emergency evacuation cover
Cruise	Cruise documents, boarding passes, pre-cruise hotel	Check-in deadlines, embarkation time, port information
Group trip	Group itinerary and each person's tickets	Rooming list, meeting points, a group contact

Naming files so travellers can find them

A good name answers three questions: what is it, for where, and for when. Examples:

• Flight London to Lisbon, 12 May
• Hotel voucher, Lisbon, 12 to 15 May
• Airport transfer, Lisbon arrival, 12 May
• Tour confirmation, Sintra day trip, 14 May
• Travel insurance policy

Avoid supplier reference codes as file names. The reference belongs inside the document and in your itinerary, not in the title.

A message to send with the pack

"Everything for your trip is now in one place: [link]. It has your day-by-day plan, tickets, hotel and transfer vouchers, and emergency numbers, including mine. Please download it before you leave so it works without a connection. I will send a reminder a week before you go, and you can message me any time during the trip."

What to do when a document arrives late

• Tell the client early. "The e-ticket for your train is issued 48 hours before departure. I will send it the moment it arrives."
• Add a placeholder. List the document in the pack as "pending," so the traveller knows it is expected.
• Send as soon as it arrives. And confirm they received it.

Offline access and the airport test

Before you finish, imagine the traveller at an airport with no signal. Can they open their flight booking? Their hotel address? A way to contact you? If not, ask them to download the pack in advance, keep the key references in their phone notes, and save the PDF. A combined PDF works offline, and a live page covers last-minute changes.

Group trips

• Give each traveller only the documents they need. A group leader may hold the full pack.
• Keep a rooming list and a single point of contact.
• Send reminders to the group leader, who can then pass them on.
• Be especially careful with identity documents.

See group travel proposals for multi-family trips.

Checklist before you send

• Names on every document match the passports.
• Dates and times match the itinerary.
• Each file has a clear name.
• Emergency contacts are included.
• Sensitive documents are shared securely.
• The client has been told how to get the pack and use it offline.

Key takeaways

• Give each traveller one organised pack, not a stream of forwarded emails.
• Name files plainly and match them to the itinerary.
• Send once confirmed, then remind a week and a day before.
• Use a secure link for anything sensitive and keep identity documents out of the shared pack.