How to Become a Travel Agent: Starting Your Business
If you’re someone who loves travel, meticulous planning, and helping others have great experiences, consider becoming a travel agent and starting your own business.
Becoming a travel agent can be fairly inexpensive, as business ventures go, and you can often get away with limited staff and little upfront cost.
That being said, success largely depends on finding the right niche in a fiercely competitive market, given the rise in online direct to consumer travel booking sites. So, if you want to be successful, you’ll want to focus a lot of your effort into your market research , branding, and marketing. You’ll need to know who needs your services—your target market—and what they’ll be willing to pay.
If this sounds right up your alley, keep reading. I’ve interviewed several founders of successful travel agencies for their advice on everything you need to get started, and I’ve also included plenty of links and resources to help you work through the process of starting your own travel business.
Step 1: Create a plan for your travel business
Make no mistake: No matter what industry you’re in, a business plan is essential. You may not need a formal business plan if you’re not seeking a loan or investment funding for your business, but don’t skip it. Write a Lean Business Plan instead. You can do it in less than an hour. Writing a business plan is scientifically proven to help you grow faster , so don’t skip this step.
What kind of travel agent are you interested in becoming? If you’re planning to be a home-based travel agent, you’ll want to look into finding a host travel agency where you’ll essentially be an independent contractor. If this is the type of travel business you’d like to start, the business planning process should be fairly straightforward.
However, if you’re looking into starting your own travel business from the ground up, you’ll be looking at a much more lengthy planning process—but you’ll also have more flexibility to build a business that’s all your own.
A case for starting early
“In starting ADDISON Yacht Charters , we began market analysis and business planning efforts a full year before we launched the company in November 2013,” says owner Scott Bessette.
“During that period, we attended industry events such as regional yacht shows in the Virgin Islands, Antigua, Florida, and Monaco to acquire as full an understanding as possible with regards to what products and services were being delivered to the market, who was delivering those products and services, and who was purchasing those products and services,” he explains.
Starting the planning process early helped Scott hone in on his vision for his business. “In this manner, we determined what our market niche could be, and established whether or not we could compete in the existing market, and what it would take to succeed,” he says.
Scott was able to get a clear sense of where he wanted to take it, and how to tailor his business to best suit the market needs.
What kind of plan will you need?
The kind of business plan you’ll need will vary depending on what kind of funding you’re looking for.
Are you hoping to eventually run a large travel agency, and interested in seeking a loan, or maybe investment from angel investors? You’ll want a formal business plan that contains all the necessary information on your business. Are you more interested in becoming a travel agent using your own savings, without seeking outside investment or loans? A more lightweight Lean Business Plan might be a perfect fit for your business.
Even if you do intend to pitch your business idea to lenders and investors, you can start with a Lean Plan, and flesh out the rest of the info later on. Or, you can turn to LivePlan , which will help you simplify the planning process and give you options.
Whatever your specific reason for writing a business plan for your travel business, the most important thing is that you write one, period. The travel industry is fragmented , and having a clearly defined niche and a plan will help you stand out. Writing a business plan will help you narrow in on what your goals are, and establish a clear, focused vision going forward.
We’ve covered nearly every aspect of writing a business plan here on Bplans, so be sure to check out the links below when you’re ready to get started. We also have several travel industry business sample plans, which will give you an idea of what your business plan should look like.
Resources to help you create a plan for your travel business:
Step 2: Conduct market research and find your niche
What kind of travel agency do you plan on starting? Moreover, what kind of travel business does the industry or your local community actually need?
“When you launch a travel business, the most important thing to do is to provide a valuable service,” says Jacquie Whitt, owner of Adios Adventure Travel .
This means doing some market research to find out what kind of travel agent or travel business the market really needs. Is there a niche you can fill? Maybe there’s an opening in the travel market to provide destination adventure honeymoons for young couples who would rather go backpacking than relax on the beach. Think about the people in your local community too—do they need something specific?
“In a saturated luxury travel market, Urbane Nomads had to distinguish itself from more seasoned players from the get-go,” says founder Hajar Ali. “The dual elements of adventure and luxury was an unexplored niche which we filled very well.”
Hajar says of Urbane Nomads: “It was conceived as the kind of travel company that would remain relevant in the age where most travel-related bookings are made online. We specialize in the sort of experiences that can’t be booked online—adventurous trips to non-mainstream destinations, lodges which can’t be booked online—or indeed, by non-travel professionals—and special experiences and access to personalities that would have been impossible without the personal connections.”
What niche are you filling? Start by researching the travel market in general. Find out who the major players are that you’ll be competing against, determine who your ideal customer is, and define what they want.
Resources to help you do market research and determine your niche:
Step 3: Develop a brand as a travel agent
Once you’ve determined what the market looks like and what specific niche you’ll be filling, it’s important to get down to the nitty-gritty of creating a strong brand image .
As the travel industry is so competitive, having a well-developed brand will help your business stand out. How do you want your customers to feel when they visit your website, view your advertising, or use your services?
Lorne Blyth, Founder and Director of Flavours Holidays , had a very specific vision for her brand. “[At Flavours Holidays], we have been specializing in cooking, Pilates, painting, photography, and language holidays in Italy since 1998,” she says. Lorne’s vision was to create a brand that “gave guests a true taste of Italy.”
“I use that as part of my branding, as we would like to perceive ourselves as being experts on all things Italy,” says Lorne. “That is why our tagline is ‘Passionate, Inspiring, Authentic.’”
Why should customers use your services, rather than just book a trip themselves? What experience can you provide that others can’t?
Do you offer unique services, such as partnerships with the locals of your travel destinations, that customers wouldn’t have access to otherwise? Is your selling point the ease of having someone else plan your trip for you, down to the last detail? Are you all about personal touches and a great customer service experience?
This is the first step to determining your travel business’s brand strategy— determining who you are. We’ve gone in-depth on how to build a memorable brand for your business, so check out the articles below for more information on branding.
Resources to help you brand your travel business:
Step 4: Deal with the legal side
A travel business is, for the most part, a fairly simple one to set up. Unlike starting a brewery or starting a dispensary , there isn’t a lot of legal red tape when it comes to becoming a travel agent and starting a travel business.
Determining if you’ll require licensing
In most locations, you won’t need any specific licenses or certifications, but licensing requirements will vary by state and country.
For the U.S. in general, there is no specific license needed to start a travel business; however, state laws vary . In California, Washington, Hawaii, Iowa, and Florida, you’ll need a Seller of Travel license. Canada also has licensing requirements that vary by location , and in the U.K., you’ll need an Air Travel Organiser’s License .
Choosing your business structure
Beyond specific licenses, there are general licenses that you’ll need before you start any type of business.
First off, choose your business structure . Scott Bessette, owner of ADDISON Yacht Charters, started his travel agency as an LLC , which he says suited his business needs. “Before we considered starting our agency, we determined that a Limited Liability Company was the appropriate structure for what we were trying to achieve.”
Why was an LLC the best choice? “We had no intention of going public, or having to secure formal investment,” he says. “Further, we had a very simple organization structure, so ease of governance and compliance drove our choice of corporate structure.”
However, the business structure you choose will depend largely on your plans for your business, and how you intend to fund it. If for example, you plan to seek outside investment, you may want to look into starting your business as a corporation .
Naming your business and applying for a Federal Tax ID number
You’ll also want to formally name your business (even if it’s just you, becoming a travel agent!), which involves filing a DBA , or a “doing business as.” You’ll also need to apply for a Federal Tax ID number , otherwise known as a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN or FEIN). We’ve covered these topics in plenty of detail, so be sure to check out the links.
Scott also adds that setting up the legal end of things was fairly simple.
“Establishing the legal and licensing requirements was one of the easiest aspects of starting the business,” he explains. “All said, conception and gestation of ADDISON Yacht Charters was long-term, but she was born after only two days of hard labor.”
Resources to help you determine the legal structure and name for your business, as well as other legal considerations:
Step 5: Determine your funding strategy
How do you plan to fund your new travel business?
Luckily, your starting costs should be fairly low: You won’t have expensive equipment to buy, and you probably won’t need extensive space in the beginning. If you’re hoping to become a travel agent working out of your own home, you may not even need office space at all.
However, be sure to have a plan in place for how you will obtain funding. You’ll need funds for marketing materials at the very least; both online, such as your business website , and offline, such as flyers, posters, business cards, and more . Your initial funding budget will also likely go toward any branding or advertising, and you may eventually also decide to rent office space and hire employees, which is a fairly large expense.
Unlike many businesses, there isn’t one tried-and-true path for funding a travel business. From personal funds to venture capital funding, it’s all a possibility.
Many travel agencies are self-funded, since they have low initial overhead and can be started fairly easily (though face stiff competition to stand out). “I didn’t get any funding at all, apart from $2,000 borrowed from my dad for the website,” says Brady Hedlund, founder of Life Before Work .
Looking into loans and a line of credit is also a good first move. “We developed banking and relationships with firm lines of credit and support, to ensure that as we started to deliver, funds were available to spend before the client paid the bill,” says Scott of ADDISON Yacht Charters. “ Cash flow is critical to the appearance of a business’s success.”
However, when it comes to financing your travel business, angel investment, and even venture capital funding isn’t completely out of the question. “We formed an LLC to start Project Expedition and closed a $300k seed round in January 2015 to help drive the development of our MVP (minimum viable product),” explains founder Jeremy Clement.
Don Halbert, owner of Costa Rica Vacations , also funded his travel agency through venture capital. “Funding for this venture came from a venture capital company which would later become one of our primary partners,” he explains.
Resources to help you with the funding process:
Step 6: Choose a location and hire employees
Next, you’ll want to make a plan for the logistics of opening your travel business to the public. If you’re starting a travel agency and require office space, this section will likely be more relevant than if you plan to work as a travel agent out of your home.
How many employees will you need to hire? You may not need any to start, until you decide to expand your operations.
You might also want to look into remote employees , suggests Mike Liverton, CEO and founder of Leavetown Vacations . “While many company employees live and work as home-based ‘Destination Experts,’ our main headquarters are downtown Vancouver,” he says.
Additionally, you’ll want to determine your business location . While foot traffic will likely not be a primary motivator in choosing a business location, you’ll want to pick somewhere that accommodates your space needs as well as reflects your desired brand image.
However, as with employees, you’ll find that a physical location isn’t always an absolute necessity. “We have never booked a client from our hometown,” says Scott.
“We’re a 24/7 business, that cannot be limited to when I am in the office, or more importantly, marginalized when I am not,” he explains. “The ADDISON staff has families, conflicts, and important events in their lives. We constructed and positioned our business to be virtual in nature; to be operational anywhere, anytime. I’ve conducted business from Europe, the Caribbean, from multiple states, and during my children’s sporting events.”
“We didn’t choose our business location, we chose a virtual location,” he adds. Whether or not you choose to go this route will depend on your specific niche and brand; however, it’s certainly an option to consider.
Resources to help you set up your travel business and hire employees:
Step 7: Market and launch your travel business
Marketing will likely be where the majority of your initial funding budget goes, as it’s an important area to focus on when becoming a travel agent and starting a travel business. In fact, it’s a good idea to come up with a marketing plan as soon as possible.
For Don, the idea that you must spend money to make money drove the marketing strategy behind Costa Rica Vacations.
“Our ‘lesson learned’ in starting up our agency was primarily the realization that your Google Adwords budget can single-handedly determine your success when starting out in this normally competitive market,” he says.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all your advertising efforts should revolve around paid advertising, however. Plenty of your focus should go into social media marketing and guerrilla marketing tactics.
“I started out eight years ago running backpacking trips to Thailand, advertising using only lean, guerrilla marketing tactics,” says Brady Hedlund of Life Before Work. “I created an itinerary and website and hit the streets of western Canada to promote my new company.” Since his target demographic was 18-30-year-olds looking for an ‘adventure party tour,’ he went to university campuses and handed out flyers and posted signs advertising his travel agency.
“I didn’t get a single call for over a year,” he explains. “I honestly had no idea what I was doing at the time, but eventually, the business picked up and began to grow at an exponential rate. Flash forward eight years, and we now have a team of 35 full-time staff operating in 18 countries.”
Your marketing strategy will, as with all aspects of starting a travel business, be largely dependent on your specific niche, the demographic you are after, your budget, and your bandwidth as a business. That being said, combining both paid advertising with other guerrilla tactics (both online and offline) will likely serve you well.
Resources to help you market and launch your travel business:
Words of advice: Final tips from entrepreneurs who have started successful travel businesses
- “We searched for quite some time to find an underwriter that would provide us with general liability insurance, due to the amount of risks involved in adventure travel…This is a tricky product when it comes to insurance, but it’s obviously a very important piece of the pie.” – Brady Hedlund, Life Before Work
- “From the beginning, I have built up relationships with various individuals in Italy to help recruit staff for the villas used during our vacations. This varies from local cooks to tour guides to drivers. The little touches along the way, from booking flights for guests to getting the transport back to the airport, all adds up as every little bit helps to create the perfect experience for my guests.” – Lorne Blyth, Flavours Holidays
- “It’s important that your business partners share your values. I work with people in South America who are now my friends. We’re not in it for the money; we enjoy our jobs and if we can ‘eke’ out a living, all the better.” – Jacquie Whitt, Adios Adventure Travel
Additional resources:
Books and ebooks:
Articles:
-
: This article from Startup Jungle is great further reading. : This article is U.K. specific, but still worth a read even if you are starting a travel business outside the U.K. : Delves into the process of becoming a travel agent through a host agency. : Details how to find the best host agency for you, if you determine that you’d like to go this route.
Briana Morgaine
Briana is a content and digital marketing specialist, editor, and writer. She enjoys discussing business, marketing, and social media, and is a big fan of the Oxford comma. Bri is a resident of Portland, Oregon, and she can be found, infrequently, on Twitter.
How to Become a Travel Agent: Starting Your Business
If you’re someone who loves travel, meticulous planning, and helping others have great experiences, consider becoming a travel agent and starting your own business.
Becoming a travel agent can be fairly inexpensive, as business ventures go, and you can often get away with limited staff and little upfront cost.
That being said, success largely depends on finding the right niche in a fiercely competitive market, given the rise in online direct to consumer travel booking sites. So, if you want to be successful, you’ll want to focus a lot of your effort into your market research , branding, and marketing. You’ll need to know who needs your services—your target market—and what they’ll be willing to pay.
If this sounds right up your alley, keep reading. I’ve interviewed several founders of successful travel agencies for their advice on everything you need to get started, and I’ve also included plenty of links and resources to help you work through the process of starting your own travel business.
Step 1: Create a plan for your travel business
Make no mistake: No matter what industry you’re in, a business plan is essential. You may not need a formal business plan if you’re not seeking a loan or investment funding for your business, but don’t skip it. Write a Lean Business Plan instead. You can do it in less than an hour. Writing a business plan is scientifically proven to help you grow faster , so don’t skip this step.
What kind of travel agent are you interested in becoming? If you’re planning to be a home-based travel agent, you’ll want to look into finding a host travel agency where you’ll essentially be an independent contractor. If this is the type of travel business you’d like to start, the business planning process should be fairly straightforward.
However, if you’re looking into starting your own travel business from the ground up, you’ll be looking at a much more lengthy planning process—but you’ll also have more flexibility to build a business that’s all your own.
A case for starting early
“In starting ADDISON Yacht Charters , we began market analysis and business planning efforts a full year before we launched the company in November 2013,” says owner Scott Bessette.
“During that period, we attended industry events such as regional yacht shows in the Virgin Islands, Antigua, Florida, and Monaco to acquire as full an understanding as possible with regards to what products and services were being delivered to the market, who was delivering those products and services, and who was purchasing those products and services,” he explains.
Starting the planning process early helped Scott hone in on his vision for his business. “In this manner, we determined what our market niche could be, and established whether or not we could compete in the existing market, and what it would take to succeed,” he says.
Scott was able to get a clear sense of where he wanted to take it, and how to tailor his business to best suit the market needs.
What kind of plan will you need?
The kind of business plan you’ll need will vary depending on what kind of funding you’re looking for.
Are you hoping to eventually run a large travel agency, and interested in seeking a loan, or maybe investment from angel investors? You’ll want a formal business plan that contains all the necessary information on your business. Are you more interested in becoming a travel agent using your own savings, without seeking outside investment or loans? A more lightweight Lean Business Plan might be a perfect fit for your business.
Even if you do intend to pitch your business idea to lenders and investors, you can start with a Lean Plan, and flesh out the rest of the info later on. Or, you can turn to LivePlan , which will help you simplify the planning process and give you options.
Whatever your specific reason for writing a business plan for your travel business, the most important thing is that you write one, period. The travel industry is fragmented , and having a clearly defined niche and a plan will help you stand out. Writing a business plan will help you narrow in on what your goals are, and establish a clear, focused vision going forward.
We’ve covered nearly every aspect of writing a business plan here on Bplans, so be sure to check out the links below when you’re ready to get started. We also have several travel industry business sample plans, which will give you an idea of what your business plan should look like.
Resources to help you create a plan for your travel business:
Step 2: Conduct market research and find your niche
What kind of travel agency do you plan on starting? Moreover, what kind of travel business does the industry or your local community actually need?
“When you launch a travel business, the most important thing to do is to provide a valuable service,” says Jacquie Whitt, owner of Adios Adventure Travel .
This means doing some market research to find out what kind of travel agent or travel business the market really needs. Is there a niche you can fill? Maybe there’s an opening in the travel market to provide destination adventure honeymoons for young couples who would rather go backpacking than relax on the beach. Think about the people in your local community too—do they need something specific?
“In a saturated luxury travel market, Urbane Nomads had to distinguish itself from more seasoned players from the get-go,” says founder Hajar Ali. “The dual elements of adventure and luxury was an unexplored niche which we filled very well.”
Hajar says of Urbane Nomads: “It was conceived as the kind of travel company that would remain relevant in the age where most travel-related bookings are made online. We specialize in the sort of experiences that can’t be booked online—adventurous trips to non-mainstream destinations, lodges which can’t be booked online—or indeed, by non-travel professionals—and special experiences and access to personalities that would have been impossible without the personal connections.”
What niche are you filling? Start by researching the travel market in general. Find out who the major players are that you’ll be competing against, determine who your ideal customer is, and define what they want.
Resources to help you do market research and determine your niche:
Step 3: Develop a brand as a travel agent
Once you’ve determined what the market looks like and what specific niche you’ll be filling, it’s important to get down to the nitty-gritty of creating a strong brand image .
As the travel industry is so competitive, having a well-developed brand will help your business stand out. How do you want your customers to feel when they visit your website, view your advertising, or use your services?
Lorne Blyth, Founder and Director of Flavours Holidays , had a very specific vision for her brand. “[At Flavours Holidays], we have been specializing in cooking, Pilates, painting, photography, and language holidays in Italy since 1998,” she says. Lorne’s vision was to create a brand that “gave guests a true taste of Italy.”
“I use that as part of my branding, as we would like to perceive ourselves as being experts on all things Italy,” says Lorne. “That is why our tagline is ‘Passionate, Inspiring, Authentic.’”
Why should customers use your services, rather than just book a trip themselves? What experience can you provide that others can’t?
Do you offer unique services, such as partnerships with the locals of your travel destinations, that customers wouldn’t have access to otherwise? Is your selling point the ease of having someone else plan your trip for you, down to the last detail? Are you all about personal touches and a great customer service experience?
This is the first step to determining your travel business’s brand strategy— determining who you are. We’ve gone in-depth on how to build a memorable brand for your business, so check out the articles below for more information on branding.
Resources to help you brand your travel business:
Step 4: Deal with the legal side
A travel business is, for the most part, a fairly simple one to set up. Unlike starting a brewery or starting a dispensary , there isn’t a lot of legal red tape when it comes to becoming a travel agent and starting a travel business.
Determining if you’ll require licensing
In most locations, you won’t need any specific licenses or certifications, but licensing requirements will vary by state and country.
For the U.S. in general, there is no specific license needed to start a travel business; however, state laws vary . In California, Washington, Hawaii, Iowa, and Florida, you’ll need a Seller of Travel license. Canada also has licensing requirements that vary by location , and in the U.K., you’ll need an Air Travel Organiser’s License .
Choosing your business structure
Beyond specific licenses, there are general licenses that you’ll need before you start any type of business.
First off, choose your business structure . Scott Bessette, owner of ADDISON Yacht Charters, started his travel agency as an LLC , which he says suited his business needs. “Before we considered starting our agency, we determined that a Limited Liability Company was the appropriate structure for what we were trying to achieve.”
Why was an LLC the best choice? “We had no intention of going public, or having to secure formal investment,” he says. “Further, we had a very simple organization structure, so ease of governance and compliance drove our choice of corporate structure.”
However, the business structure you choose will depend largely on your plans for your business, and how you intend to fund it. If for example, you plan to seek outside investment, you may want to look into starting your business as a corporation .
Naming your business and applying for a Federal Tax ID number
You’ll also want to formally name your business (even if it’s just you, becoming a travel agent!), which involves filing a DBA , or a “doing business as.” You’ll also need to apply for a Federal Tax ID number , otherwise known as a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN or FEIN). We’ve covered these topics in plenty of detail, so be sure to check out the links.
Scott also adds that setting up the legal end of things was fairly simple.
“Establishing the legal and licensing requirements was one of the easiest aspects of starting the business,” he explains. “All said, conception and gestation of ADDISON Yacht Charters was long-term, but she was born after only two days of hard labor.”
Resources to help you determine the legal structure and name for your business, as well as other legal considerations:
Step 5: Determine your funding strategy
How do you plan to fund your new travel business?
Luckily, your starting costs should be fairly low: You won’t have expensive equipment to buy, and you probably won’t need extensive space in the beginning. If you’re hoping to become a travel agent working out of your own home, you may not even need office space at all.
However, be sure to have a plan in place for how you will obtain funding. You’ll need funds for marketing materials at the very least; both online, such as your business website , and offline, such as flyers, posters, business cards, and more . Your initial funding budget will also likely go toward any branding or advertising, and you may eventually also decide to rent office space and hire employees, which is a fairly large expense.
Unlike many businesses, there isn’t one tried-and-true path for funding a travel business. From personal funds to venture capital funding, it’s all a possibility.
Many travel agencies are self-funded, since they have low initial overhead and can be started fairly easily (though face stiff competition to stand out). “I didn’t get any funding at all, apart from $2,000 borrowed from my dad for the website,” says Brady Hedlund, founder of Life Before Work .
Looking into loans and a line of credit is also a good first move. “We developed banking and relationships with firm lines of credit and support, to ensure that as we started to deliver, funds were available to spend before the client paid the bill,” says Scott of ADDISON Yacht Charters. “ Cash flow is critical to the appearance of a business’s success.”
However, when it comes to financing your travel business, angel investment, and even venture capital funding isn’t completely out of the question. “We formed an LLC to start Project Expedition and closed a $300k seed round in January 2015 to help drive the development of our MVP (minimum viable product),” explains founder Jeremy Clement.
Don Halbert, owner of Costa Rica Vacations , also funded his travel agency through venture capital. “Funding for this venture came from a venture capital company which would later become one of our primary partners,” he explains.
Resources to help you with the funding process:
Step 6: Choose a location and hire employees
Next, you’ll want to make a plan for the logistics of opening your travel business to the public. If you’re starting a travel agency and require office space, this section will likely be more relevant than if you plan to work as a travel agent out of your home.
How many employees will you need to hire? You may not need any to start, until you decide to expand your operations.
You might also want to look into remote employees , suggests Mike Liverton, CEO and founder of Leavetown Vacations . “While many company employees live and work as home-based ‘Destination Experts,’ our main headquarters are downtown Vancouver,” he says.
Additionally, you’ll want to determine your business location . While foot traffic will likely not be a primary motivator in choosing a business location, you’ll want to pick somewhere that accommodates your space needs as well as reflects your desired brand image.
However, as with employees, you’ll find that a physical location isn’t always an absolute necessity. “We have never booked a client from our hometown,” says Scott.
“We’re a 24/7 business, that cannot be limited to when I am in the office, or more importantly, marginalized when I am not,” he explains. “The ADDISON staff has families, conflicts, and important events in their lives. We constructed and positioned our business to be virtual in nature; to be operational anywhere, anytime. I’ve conducted business from Europe, the Caribbean, from multiple states, and during my children’s sporting events.”
“We didn’t choose our business location, we chose a virtual location,” he adds. Whether or not you choose to go this route will depend on your specific niche and brand; however, it’s certainly an option to consider.
Resources to help you set up your travel business and hire employees:
Step 7: Market and launch your travel business
Marketing will likely be where the majority of your initial funding budget goes, as it’s an important area to focus on when becoming a travel agent and starting a travel business. In fact, it’s a good idea to come up with a marketing plan as soon as possible.
For Don, the idea that you must spend money to make money drove the marketing strategy behind Costa Rica Vacations.
“Our ‘lesson learned’ in starting up our agency was primarily the realization that your Google Adwords budget can single-handedly determine your success when starting out in this normally competitive market,” he says.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all your advertising efforts should revolve around paid advertising, however. Plenty of your focus should go into social media marketing and guerrilla marketing tactics.
“I started out eight years ago running backpacking trips to Thailand, advertising using only lean, guerrilla marketing tactics,” says Brady Hedlund of Life Before Work. “I created an itinerary and website and hit the streets of western Canada to promote my new company.” Since his target demographic was 18-30-year-olds looking for an ‘adventure party tour,’ he went to university campuses and handed out flyers and posted signs advertising his travel agency.
“I didn’t get a single call for over a year,” he explains. “I honestly had no idea what I was doing at the time, but eventually, the business picked up and began to grow at an exponential rate. Flash forward eight years, and we now have a team of 35 full-time staff operating in 18 countries.”
Your marketing strategy will, as with all aspects of starting a travel business, be largely dependent on your specific niche, the demographic you are after, your budget, and your bandwidth as a business. That being said, combining both paid advertising with other guerrilla tactics (both online and offline) will likely serve you well.
Resources to help you market and launch your travel business:
Words of advice: Final tips from entrepreneurs who have started successful travel businesses
- “We searched for quite some time to find an underwriter that would provide us with general liability insurance, due to the amount of risks involved in adventure travel…This is a tricky product when it comes to insurance, but it’s obviously a very important piece of the pie.” – Brady Hedlund, Life Before Work
- “From the beginning, I have built up relationships with various individuals in Italy to help recruit staff for the villas used during our vacations. This varies from local cooks to tour guides to drivers. The little touches along the way, from booking flights for guests to getting the transport back to the airport, all adds up as every little bit helps to create the perfect experience for my guests.” – Lorne Blyth, Flavours Holidays
- “It’s important that your business partners share your values. I work with people in South America who are now my friends. We’re not in it for the money; we enjoy our jobs and if we can ‘eke’ out a living, all the better.” – Jacquie Whitt, Adios Adventure Travel
Additional resources:
Books and ebooks:
Articles:
-
: This article from Startup Jungle is great further reading. : This article is U.K. specific, but still worth a read even if you are starting a travel business outside the U.K. : Delves into the process of becoming a travel agent through a host agency. : Details how to find the best host agency for you, if you determine that you’d like to go this route.
Briana Morgaine
Briana is a content and digital marketing specialist, editor, and writer. She enjoys discussing business, marketing, and social media, and is a big fan of the Oxford comma. Bri is a resident of Portland, Oregon, and she can be found, infrequently, on Twitter.
How do I start a travel agency?
A guide to starting out in the travel agency sector.
by ExpertHub Staff
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World-wide, tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries; Looking back to 1950 approximately 25 million people travelled abroad worldwide. That figure grew to 700 million by 2001. The World Tourism Organisation predicts that this will increase to over one billion by 2010.
The local travel industry has been boosted by a growing number of foreign tourists coming to South Africa each year and the FIFA 2010 World Cup is expected to boost the industry even more.
The retail travel agency business offers a variety of options. There are three sectors to this industry: retailers (travel agency), wholesalers (selling bulk product to retailers) and tour operators (handle group travel).
A retail travel agency sells everything from airline bookings, accommodation, guided tours, cruises, adventure holidays, car hire reservations and more to the public. One can also operate a home based agency or buy a franchise.
Traditional retail travel agencies
Traditional retail travel agencies are still an option but recent changes in the industry (airlines no longer pay commission to travel agents for booking flights) have seen a growth in home-based travel businesses mushrooming all over South Africa.
Many successful small agencies or home bases businesses focus on a particular area of the industry. Here are just some of the many sectors a small business can focus on:
- Cruise holidays
- Honeymoon packages
- Snow skiing tours
- Adventure trips
- Eco tourism
- Golfing holidays
- Medical recuperation holidays
- Spa Getaways
- Luxury holidays
- Business travel
- Sports events
- Airport/hotel transfers
- Travel guides
Passport and visa services
“We are seeing more and more retailers opening, especially BEE agencies in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga and they are running good sound businesses,” says Robyn Christie, CEO of ASATA.
“From a travel prospective securing corporate business is very lucrative, but it is imperative that your business is seen as credible.”
What training is required?
If you plan to sell air tickets through a retail travel agency, then you will need the International Air Travel Association (IATA) Diploma. This has become the benchmark for the travel industry, and provides credibility to deal with airlines and other partners in the travel sector.
The diploma will give you a broad understanding of travel agency and airline operations, equip you to advise clients, make travel arrangements and reservations, calculate airfares, and complete international travel documents so that they comply with IATA rules and procedures.
The best route to take is to get the correct qualification to operate in this industry:
- You will need to do the diploma at a recognised educational institution; have completed Grade 12 to be admitted to the course.
- Tourism (N4 to N6) diploma and certificate courses are offered at a number of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. Contact the FET College in your area and ask about their courses.
Travel and Tourism diploma courses are offered by universities.
Are there formal bodies that a travel agency must register with?
Airlines have moved away from a commission system, so travel agencies are essentially retail service providers who charge a mark-up fee for their professional services. Credibility is therefore become very important.
Credibility
Christie explains that The South African Association of Travel Agents (ASATA) is the regulator of the industry.
“Members are bound by the ASATA constitution. The national and international airlines and ASATA enjoy excellent co-operation and we are also very involved with the environmental aspect of the travel industry.”
Being part of the industry association such as ASATA will give your customers more confidence in your skills and your reliability.
And because of the strong influence ASATA has over the industry, potential customers will not consider you as a fly-by-night operation.
ASATA Members are engaged in travel business as either a retail travel agent or as a tour operator or wholesaler. Full ASATA Membership may only be obtained if your business has been operating for a period of one year or more.
In order to encourage membership of new travel businesses, Provisional
Membership may be obtained by start-up companies
Within the travel and tourism industry there are a number of organisations and associations that support small business to establish themselves.
They also regulate the industry and ensure that local tourism offers a professional and world-class service to tourists visiting South Africa.
When applying for finance, it’s advisable to have training or experience in the tourism industry or have a partner who does have the necessary experience. These organisations provide funding or funding advice to start-ups in the tourism industry.
Funding
1. Tourism Enterprise Programme (TEP)
The TEP is a partnership between the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Business Trust. This programme supports the growth of tourism SMMEs, often by establishing links between SMMEs and customers.
2. Business Partners
Business Partners supports entrepreneurs with regard to the buying of hotels, guesthouses, game lodges, starting or expanding a travel agency, tour operating business, tourist information centre, a curio shop or entertainment facilities for tourists.
3. IDC Tourism Fund
The IDC Tourism Fund aim is to establish good quality hotels in South Africa and the rest of Africa. It also covers other sectors such as cultural and heritage products, arts & crafts and business tourism.
It supports BEE projects with significant development impact in townships and rural areas while adhering to the Tourism BEE Charter requirements.
It also aims to increase participation in projects related to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.
4. Khula Credit Indemnity Scheme
The Khula Credit Indemnity Scheme fund helps entrepreneurs who wish to start or expand small to medium sized businesses but do not have collateral/security qualify through traditional financing institutions such as banks.
The Scheme is open to all race groups; however the fund focuses on Black (African, Indian and Coloured) and female entrepreneurs. All the major banks, such as FNB, Standard Bank, Absa and Nedbank can provide more information.
Is a website necessary for a travel agency?
Consumers are using the Internet more and more to search for travel options and to make bookings. It’s vital that you have a website that attracts customers.
It might be too expensive to build and maintain a site where visitors can make bookings and payments online, but you can at least develop a site with information about what travel options you offer and what special deals are available.
This information can prompt a consumer to contact you by phone or email to make a booking. Beware the virtual world of travel is a highly contested one and ensuring that your website has an online presence will require a large investment.
Search Engine Optimization and online advertising using a medium such as Google Adwords will pay off, but do your research first to ascertain whether you are willing to invest the time and money.
Travel Agency Franchises
If you go the franchise route you will be your own boss and own your own business, but have the professional support of one of an experienced and respected franchisor, such as Harvey World Travel, not just for travel knowledge, but with business practice and financing. FASA is the Franchise Association of Southern Africa.
Franchising is universally accepted as one of the most successful business formats. FASA, therefore, defines how to franchise and ensures that all parties follow internationally accepted franchise business principles
Tourism support and resources
These associations can provide useful information with regard to marketing and promoting an enterprise in the tourism industry
1. Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA)
Their aim is to facilitate access to tourism markets for disadvantaged tourism enterprises.
Visit FTTSA’s website for more information.
2. Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA)
SATSA represents major role players including airlines, coach operators, tour operators, accommodation establishments, car-hire companies and more.
3. Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA)
TGCSA is responsible for the star grading system to ensure improvement and high standards across all areas of the tourism industry. If you wish to get your B&B graded, you would have to contact the TGCSA.
Source https://articles.bplans.com/how-to-start-a-travel-agency/
Source https://articles.bplans.com/how-to-start-a-travel-agency/
Source https://www.experthub.info/launch/start-up-industry-specific-qas/how-do-i-start-a-travel-agency/
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