A travel agency is considered a relatively easy business, even if it is run by a beginner in this field. By opening a business as a franchise () or on your own, you can grab your market share even with a superficial analysis of the competition. But advertising and thinking through a system for working with a client to return them is a significant part of the costs.
Choosing the scope of work of a travel agency
There are two areas of tourism services:
- tour operators;
- travel agents.
The work of the former is to deal with organizational issues of travel:
- Reservation of tickets in one or two directions for specific periods;
- Hotel or hotel reservations;
- Delivery of goods and escort of tourists to their destination;
- Organization of excursions;
- Additional services.
It is obvious that operators are large-scale businesses that often cannot withstand competition. Another thing is travel agents. Their work includes:
- Sale of ready-made services;
- Cooperation with tour operators;
- Communication between tourists and tour operators;
- Providing discounts to tourists.
Travel agencies may well be a one-person business, which is why the investment required is significantly less than opening a tour operator company.
Opening an independent company
The simplest agency format is an independent company. Usually this is an enterprise of two people and a visiting accountant. It is enough for a travel agency to:
- Develop a logo and corporate identity;
- Establish connections with suitable tour operators;
- Select an office;
- Hire employees;
- Run advertising.
Depending on the size of the city, you can do it on your own and periodically invite an accountant. The manager, who is also the manager of the company, receives calls, registers tours and controls the trips of tourists, being in touch with the tour operator.
Opening a franchise company
The work of a franchise organization is the registration of a company according to the template of a large-scale network business. The peculiarity of a franchise company is that the entrepreneur enters into an agreement with a travel network and acts according to the agreement. A quick start and network connections provide easier profits, but at the same time they limit independence of action - everything, right down to the design of the office and the course of advertising, is subject to the contract.
Despite the limited choice in running a business, using a franchise network is a convenient and often the right decision.
The advantages are too obvious and suitable for beginners in the field:
- The company immediately has a brand that does not need to be spent or thought through, which means that the company is easy to recognize, and it already has a certain trust among clients;
- The travel agency will immediately have promotional materials for advertising, and this is also a significant part of the costs that can be avoided by using the brand as a franchise;
- The network provides software for registering vouchers, which facilitates and automates the process;
- The company will always have online information support if questions arise.
If you choose a franchise, the chain usually has courses that you can take before registering as a business, which is useful if you need to learn about the pitfalls of the business.
The tourism sector, despite the fact that it has been experiencing certain difficulties for several years, remains quite profitable. Any person who does not have large savings can start a tourism business. In addition, such entrepreneurial activity brings a lot of positive emotions, because it becomes possible to help people organize their vacation. However, there are still some nuances that should be taken into account in order not to lose the funds invested in this business. We will tell you about all the intricacies of how to open a travel agency from scratch, so that you do everything right.
Features of the tourism business
Before opening a travel agency, you need to understand what a travel agency is and what the essence of its activities is. First of all, it is necessary to understand the meaning of certain concepts.
A travel agency is an institution that plays an intermediary role between the tourism operator and the person who wants to go on a trip. It can fulfill the following obligations:
- Tourist operator - a company that must develop and advertise through the media various tours that are in greatest demand among the population;
- A travel agent is a company that implements tourist tours: makes transfers, sells tickets, worries about accommodating clients and organizing excursions for them.
You should also know before opening a travel agency in Russia what the responsibilities of your company will be. Typically, a travel agency provides the following services:
Issue visas to clients in accordance with the requirements of the tour operator with whom the contract is concluded. If something is done incorrectly, the travel agency should be held responsible.
Provide clients with a complete package of documents necessary for the trip:
- Tickets (air and railway);
- Medical insurance;
- Accommodation voucher;
- A reminder about the country to which the tourist is traveling;
- Book all services requested by the client;
- Make timely payments for the work of the tour operator.
Advantages and disadvantages
If you have decided to open a travel agency from scratch without experience, think over and calculate what positive and negative aspects may arise along your way.The main advantages of the tourism business include:
- It is developing rapidly, which means that you will be able to provide services to people not only in Russia, but also abroad, which will also bring you great profit;
- You will have a large selection of travel operators, and you will be able to enter into cooperation agreements with not just one operator, but several at once - this is the first thing you need to open a travel company;
- The flow of people wishing to go on a trip is constantly growing, and it does not end all year round;
- The paperwork is simple, done quickly and quite cheaply.
Now let's look at a few negative points that you should know about before opening a travel company:
- Quite a high level of competition - many novice entrepreneurs are thinking about how to open a travel agency from scratch, because they understand the profitability of this business;
- If you do not pay due attention to the advertising campaign to promote your travel agency, you can completely lose clients and be left without orders (in this case, the risk of losing invested funds increases);
- In the warm season, the demand for tourist trips is much higher than in the cold season, but this is a controversial issue, because there are also winter resorts where people happily go for the New Year and Christmas holidays.
Registration of activities
If you want to open a travel agency, you need to carefully read the State Law “On Tourism”, which describes all the requirements for how to open a travel agency from scratch without work experience. We will list for you in detail what you need to open a travel agency:
A travel agency can be registered as a legal enterprise LLC or as a private institution of individual entrepreneurs.
To register a new institution in the state register, one resident is enough, who can sell tours within the country and abroad.
You will have to obtain a written commitment from any banking institution that will guarantee to pay for the services of the travel operator in the event that the travel agency cannot do this (without this guarantee, no operator will agree to cooperate with the agency). However, the bank will issue an appropriate guarantee only if the founder of the travel company provides a package of documents, which will include:
- Certificate of state registration;
- Charter;
- Current account information;
- Copies of contracts confirming the lease of the premises where the company is located (if the premises personally belong to the owner, then you must provide a document confirming ownership);
- Passport;
- A copy of the manager’s tax identification number;
- Certificate of registration with the tax service.
It is necessary to develop special client agreements that you will conclude with clients who will order tours from you. These contracts must specify everything: the date of payment, the date of issue of the tourist voucher.
It will also be necessary to develop rules for tourists: who will meet them in the country where they are going, accompany them, and conduct excursions. It is advisable to include these rules in the client agreement so that the tourist signs the document after reading them.
It is also recommended to conclude an agreement with an insurance company, however, this is not mandatory. If you want your clients to be insured, it is better to provide them with a medical policy and other types of property insurance (for example, a car).
We recommend concluding a subagency agreement with any airline through which you will purchase tickets for your clients. This is very beneficial because in such cases, airlines offer many lucrative bonuses.
Make a rough business plan on how to open a travel agency so that you know what expenses await you, how you need to act so that they are quickly reimbursed and begin to turn into consistently high income.
Criteria for choosing a location
If you do not have your own premises, then the main thing you need to open a travel agency is to find a suitable place to rent it. We've put together a few location options you can consider before opening a travel agency in 2020:
You can open a travel agency in the central area of the city. It is advisable that:
- The room had an area of at least 20 m²;
- It should be located on the ground floor of any apartment building, but it is still better to select an office building;
- You need to hang a bright advertising sign on the premises so that people passing by can see what services you provide (the fact that your travel agency is located in the city center will make them confident in your prestige and high level of customer service).
You can open a travel agency in the building of a business center. What is needed to open a travel agency in such an institution:
- The premises must have a fresh, modern renovation so that the agency looks presentable and respectable;
- You will be able to serve not only tourists who will come to you from other parts of the city, but also employees of a huge business center;
- However, you will not be able to advertise in such a territory;
- At the checkpoint in any business center there is a permit system, which will repel customers.
You can choose premises for your company in a shopping center. We will give you some basic recommendations in such an establishment:
- Choose a boutique where there are always a lot of people (it is better to consider departments that sell clothes, shoes or electronic equipment);
- You need to be prepared for the fact that in such an establishment you will have to pay a high price for rent.
You can open a travel agency in a residential area of your city:
- There is always a large concentration of people here who can become potential clients of your agency;
- You won't have to pay much for rent;
- There won't be much competition in an area like this.
Room and interior equipment
There is also a very important point that you need to know before opening a travel company from scratch - it must be decorated in a modern, fashionable style. You must understand that if you have an old premises at your disposal, then renovation is where you should definitely start opening your own travel agency. All costs for this must be provided for by you and included in the business plan.
The premises of your company should always be clean and comfortable. This is necessary so that when your clients come to the office, they can completely relax and unwind. This is especially true for situations when there is a queue of people. You need to place various magazines, catalogs, and coffee makers on the tables. Also hang interesting things on the walls that will inspire your customers to travel.
To open a travel agency from scratch without work experience, you need to purchase furniture and the necessary equipment. It is not necessary to choose expensive models; an economical option is also suitable, as long as it all looks decent and beautiful. You will need:
- Computers with printers and necessary software;
- Office tables, chairs;
- Soft sofas;
- Armchairs and coffee tables;
- Air conditioner;
- Coffee makers with appropriate utensils;
- Telephones;
- Wifi.
Financial investments
Of course, if you decide to get into the tourism business, you need to know exactly how much it costs to open a travel agency from scratch. Let us note right away that you will not have to make large investments. Your main expenses will be:
- When renting premises;
- For the purchase of equipment and furniture;
- During an advertising campaign;
- To pay the fee if you decide to open a franchise travel agency.
It is important to consider that the answer to the question of how much it costs to open a travel agency depends largely on the city in which you live. After all, if you live in a metropolis, then the rent for premises will be higher than in the provinces. You will only have to spend about 30–60 thousand rubles per month on rent.
In order to put the selected premises in order (it must meet certain standards), buy the necessary furniture and equipment for it and draw up all the necessary documents, you will need to have approximately 200,000 rubles at your personal disposal.
To promote your travel agency, you will need at least 100,000 rubles. However, we note that this amount is relative; it depends more on the channel that will carry out the advertising campaign.
Also, when considering the question of how much it costs to open a travel agency, you need to know that you will also have to pay wages to your employees. As a rule, it should be 15 thousand rubles stable and another 20% of the monthly profit of the travel agency.
Also keep in mind that for the next 6 months after you open the agency, it will not bring you any profit. Therefore, you need to have some financial resources in reserve with which you can build a business.
Approximate profit
Living in an economic crisis, you probably have a question about whether it is profitable to open a travel agency and whether others will use your services. There definitely will be, because, as a rule, people who could afford to travel earlier will be able to do so now. Therefore, do not hesitate to open a travel agency in 2020 if you have the desire to work in this interesting field and the required amount of savings.
If you learn to sell more than 500 trips a year, then your travel agency will make a monthly profit of 50-100 thousand rubles. This is enough to establish itself as a popular segment of the tourism business. The more tours you sell, the more you can earn. If you are satisfied with such arrangements, then do not hesitate for a long time whether it is worth opening a travel agency, and get down to business right away.
Travel agency as a business model
Business payback period
The second most important question for those who decided to open a travel agency in 2020 from scratch is how long it will take to pay for themselves. Here you need to be aware that this moment largely depends on how you start. If you create a large turnover of your tour from the first days, then in the first year of work you will earn 600-800 thousand rubles, which means that you will return your invested personal funds.
However, experienced entrepreneurs who have been in this field for a long time claim that the payback period for a travel company is at least 2 years. But we do not advise you to look up to someone else's achievements. If you are serious about the question of how to open a travel agency from scratch in Russia, then you will find a way to quickly get promoted in order to get your investment back and start making a profit.
At the end of this article on how to open a travel agency, we want to give you some useful tips on how to quickly promote your business and receive a consistently high income from it:
- If you are wondering how to open a travel agency at home, then for promotion you only need to have an official website at your disposal, through which you will carry out all the work. Opening a travel agency from scratch at home is much easier and more economical. At least you can save an extra 200,000 rubles. It is better to invest part of this money in creating a unique website. Consult with experts on how to open a travel agency at home so that your activity is official and in demand;
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People in the CIS countries, especially in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, love to fly abroad, travel around countries and relax, and you can make money on this by opening your own travel agency. But, if you are not a successful entrepreneur, how to open a travel agency from scratch? Step-by-step instructions with recommendations from established businessmen, clear advice and a financial plan in our article.
- First steps - choosing a concept
- First pitfalls
- Registration
- We prepare documentation
- We are looking for suitable premises
- We select a pleasant interior
- We select personnel
- We are looking for potential clients
- What are the expenses and income?
First steps - choosing a concept
You can find four options on the market for a long time:
- A private travel agency requires renting an office, hiring staff and concluding contracts with other companies, but you don’t have to depend on other people. This option is more suitable for those familiar not only with business, but also with the work of a tour operator.
- A home travel agency is the easiest way for a newbie in business to join this environment. You won’t need to rent an office and hire other people, but don’t expect much profit either. In this case, only a person with his own client base and skills in the marketing environment can burn out. Get ready that only the middle class of people will come to you.
- An online travel agency is a format of online shopping that is extremely popular with people, which can allow them to travel to different cities and countries, so the travel agency must not go under. The main thing is that the company’s website contains complete information about the company itself, about tours and offers, and is also really convenient for the average ordinary visitor. Include the ability to communicate with the operator, select changes to the trip and pay through online wallets for the convenience of the buyer.
- Franchising is the best format for a first-time entrepreneur, because a beginner is not yet ready to solve some problems on his own. The advantage of this option is that your new agency is opened under the leadership of a well-known network like “World of Discovery”; you do not remain without the attention and trust of potential buyers. You will also receive some equipment, free business training, a marketing campaign and the necessary connections at the very beginning.
First pitfalls
The least popular period for tourism is the off-season periods - several months winter-summer + several months autumn-winter. Of course, some bursts of activity are guaranteed, because someone has holidays, vacations or personal circumstances, but such periods must be taken care of in advance.
In the first year, it is important to intensively prepare to expand the customer base through discounts for the May holidays, unusual ideas for summer vacations and promotions for trips during non-vacation months.
Take care of planning your expenses in unprofitable months, and, most importantly, you should open a travel agency in early spring, so that you have time to increase your client base before the fall. During the “dead” seasons, your travel agency should offer the sale of air tickets, the services of a lawyer for obtaining a visa, as well as special domestic tours to the cities of the country.
Download a sample travel agency business plan as a template for your own.
Registration
There are two regulatory forms; you should choose based on your desires and aspirations, as well as initial capabilities.
- The first option is an LLC (legal entity). Registration of a legal entity requires a large financial investment, but makes it possible to open a whole network of travel agencies.
- The second option is an individual entrepreneur (individual). A beginner should start with this form, because the investment is quite small, and it’s easier for many to collect the documentation. True, situations arise when tour operators require mandatory registration of an LLC, but do not work with individual entrepreneurs.
We prepare documentation
Step-by-step instruction:
- Start by choosing the name of the travel agency. Think of something sonorous, memorable, appropriate in meaning, but quite serious. For example, “World of Discovery” is suitable.
- Choose a room. This is important for determining the company's registered address.
- It is important to choose the right type of activity in a travel agency according to the classifier.
- Pay the state fee.
- Notarize the signature of the application for company registration.
For a legal entity, it is also necessary to perform two more actions - to determine the authorized capital in the amount of at least 10 thousand rubles, and also for each of several founders to create a model of its share with its nominal value.
We are looking for suitable premises
You will need a small area located in an area with the highest traffic of potential buyers. This is why travel agencies like to open in business centers.
Be guided by the name, because, for example, “Business Ocean” clearly says that there are many entrepreneurs and office workers in the building, and everyone has a vacation. Undoubtedly, it is important that the premises are located in the city center, even if these are small regional cities like Omsk or Samara.
We select a pleasant interior
Design a decent and comfortable client corner, where there will be a coffee table and a comfortable small sofa for several people. If you want your customers not to get bored, organize a small number of travel-themed magazines, preferably with a lot of photographs. The tourist model should be read throughout the office design - paintings, straw hats, photo wallpapers and other things reminiscent of tourism.
Don’t be afraid to express your own “wants” and creativity in design. Be original! Employees also need their own area. To ensure efficient work processes, organize desks, comfortable computer chairs and shelving with everything you need to work. You will also need space for a printer, copier and other important devices.
We select personnel
A travel agency as a business does not tolerate fraternization and forgiveness of mistakes, so never agree to hire relatives and friends.
Only hire those who show professionalism and the ability to accept criticism. It is very profitable to hire people with experience in tourism, but some personnel can show excellent work even without experience. Browse job candidates in the following categories:
- way and manner of speaking:
- competent construction of sentences and pleasant presentation of thoughts;
- the ability to identify what needs to be put in the foreground;
- ability to persevere, focus on a specific task;
- how seriously a person takes the tourism industry;
- the ability to present your personality to another person;
- relaxed, worry-free communication with strangers;
- what things interest him, breadth of outlook;
- proposed ways to resolve various conflict situations.
Therefore, the candidate must become an example of a person who is able to interest others in a purchase, who is able to work with people with money.
Are you planning a small project? Two or three customer service employees and a cleaner are enough for stable office operation. Later, it is worth hiring an accountant and programmer, with the expectation of expanding the business. As a salary for managers, offer a minimum payment, supplemented by a percentage of revenue, in order to motivate them to work more efficiently.
Choosing a reliable tour operator
In order not to make a mistake and reduce risks, enter into contracts with ten different operators at once, half of which must specialize in a particular area.
Choose a direction that is calculated by other companies as the most popular in your city or entire region, but do not forget about unusual options.
At first, you will not begin to receive much profit, but after the first tourists the percentage will begin to increase. If you start showing an excellent example of a business project with successful sales, more offers will come from more successful operators.
There is also a ready-made example of a search database for online tours and operators, which can slightly simplify the work of your travel company. The most popular database is the site tourindex.ru, where access to the database is obtained for a significant fee. For a year of service you will have to pay 26 thousand rubles, but whether it is profitable to remain without such reliable support is up to you to decide.
We are looking for potential clients
In order not to be left without clients, open your own company website so that its design and content are handled by a professional web designer and system administrator rolled into one.
You can still use other advertising methods:
- Making announcements in the media, including radio.
- Advertising the company on billboards and banners.
- By broadcasting advertising on TV in ad blocks.
- Hiring people to hand out leaflets.
- Motivating clients to write reviews about the agency to launch word of mouth.
Sometimes clients come to the office from an unknown source, so it is important to constantly adjust even a ready-made business plan, as well as keep a special journal about the channels of client receipt in electronic form. This will help you do regular analytics of statistics on attracting people to a travel agency. Don’t forget about discounts, promotions and bonuses that perfectly motivate people not only to make purchases, but also to attract their friends and family.
Video: how to open a travel agency?
What are the expenses and income?
The profitability indicator is individual and depends on a variety of factors.
| Expense line | Amount of costs, thousand rubles. | |
| 1 | Initial rent for two months | 100 |
| 2 | Repair | 80 |
| 3 | Furniture | 50 |
| 4 | Public utilities | 10 |
| 5 | Paperwork | 5 |
| 6 | Manager's salary | 15 x 2 |
| 7 | Cleaner's salary | 10 |
| 8 | Marketing campaign | 15 |
| 9 | Taxes | 30 |
| 10 | Unexpected expenses | 10 |
| Total: | 340 | |
The opening of a travel agency itself will cost about 300 thousand rubles or more, but you will also have to pay monthly rent for premises, taxes, employee wages, utilities, and much more.
The average payback is almost one and a half, or even two years. In the first year, it is important for a travel agency to simply survive and stay afloat in a sea of competition. This can be achieved through pleasant service, quality services, good service and competent advertising. Only after achieving a sales level of 500 trips annually, the project becomes an established business.
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Creating a travel agency involves providing travel services to individuals. It is divided into two types: services that are provided in the form of a package tour or are individually selected. In the article we will look at how to open a travel agency from scratch, what documents are needed, what is the payback and profitability. Let's start with the advantages and disadvantages of the business.
Advantages and disadvantages of opening a travel agency
Let's list the main difficulties and advantages that you may encounter in this business.
Registration of a travel agency: documents
Registration of a travel agency consists of three parts:
- Registration of a legal entity.
- Registration of a tourist license.
- Obtaining a certificate of conformity.
To register with the tax authorities, select the main activity code (OKVED) - 63.30 Activities of travel agencies(the group includes: the activities of tour operators, the activities of travel agents, the activities of tour guides).
| Form of business organization | Benefits of use | Documents for registration |
| IP ( individual entrepreneur) | Used to open a small travel agency |
|
| OOO ( limited liability company) | LLC is more profitable for attracting additional financing/loans, partners and scaling. This is also mandatory if you register as a tour operator. |
According to the law, the authorized capital of an LLC cannot be less than 10,000 rubles! |
Due to greater responsibility, a tour operator can only register an LLC, while a travel agency is given a choice between an LLC and an individual entrepreneur.
In most cases, the legal form chosen is LLC. This is explained by the fact that clients do not particularly trust individual entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, so they prefer LLCs. Travel agency activities falls under the simplified taxation system (STS). In this case, the tax rate is calculated in one of two ways:
- The tax is defined as 6% of income.
- The difference between income and expenses is taken into account, from which 15% is taken towards tax payments ( the method is preferable if the costs are high).
When opening a travel agency, there is no need to obtain a license. In 2007, licensing of the tourism industry ceased. Now the entrepreneur voluntarily decides whether to obtain a license or not. If you have available funds, then purchasing a license will be a positive factor in your business, since this document has a positive effect on increasing the degree of trust from clients.
Obtaining a license (optional)
Let's consider the next point - obtaining a license in accordance with the Federal Law “On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities”, which stipulates the licensing of tour operator and travel agency activities. The license is issued by the Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia ( regional tourism committees can issue licenses only for travel agency activities).
The license is issued for a period of 5 years
List of documents for obtaining a travel agency license
The following notarized copies and/or documents are provided to the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia:
- Inventory of all documents in two copies.
- A document confirming payment of the license fee.
- Statement.
- Registration card.
- A copy of the certificate of state registration of the enterprise.
- A copy of the certificate of registration of the license applicant with the tax authority.
- Copies of constituent documents regulating the activities of a legal entity.
- A copy of the agency's staffing level, certified by the seal and signature of the head of the organization.
- A copy of the work record book and the corresponding diploma of the head of the organization.
- Copies of work books or relevant diplomas confirming that 30% (for tour operators) or 20% (for travel agents) of employees (according to the staffing table) have higher, secondary specialized or additional education in the field of tourism, or work experience in tourism for at least 5 years (for tour operators) or at least 3 years (for travel agents).
- Information certificate about the objects and premises used to carry out the licensed type of activity.
The cost of payment for consideration of one application is 300 rubles, the license form costs 1000 rubles. Payment is made after the applicant receives a letter of a positive decision on issuing a license to operate.
Requirements for obtaining a tour operator and travel agent license
To obtain a license for tour operator activities you must:
- The organization has at least 7 employees, while 30% of employees must have higher, secondary specialized or additional education in the field of tourism, or work experience in the field of tourism for at least 5 years.
To obtain a travel agency license you need:
- the travel agent has at least 20% of employees (according to the staffing table) with higher, secondary specialized or additional education in the field of tourism or work experience in the field of tourism of at least 3 years.
- The head of a travel agency must have a higher, specialized secondary or additional education, and his work experience in the field of tourism must be at least 3 years.
How to open a travel agency from scratch. Lesson 1
Watch the first lesson on opening a travel agency from Alena Ulitskaya, where she talks about opening her own travel agency from scratch and what a tourism business is. And special attention is paid to creating a tourism product.
Tourism product
Opening a travel agency from scratch is not an easy procedure, since it requires administrative resources and basic knowledge in the tourism business. Before developing this market segment, its specifics should be clearly defined. The opening agency will offer individual and package tours separately or combine them.
A package tour is a set of specific services that include insurance, accommodation or excursions. Such a product is easy to sell, since it takes into account the optimal balance of popular tourist services. It is the “packagers” who are able to reduce risks due to possible client dissatisfaction and save time.
Tour operators create package tours that vary in content. Thus, some include a minimum list of services, which predetermines their low cost, while others are distinguished by their unique luxury. This condition makes such tours popular among clients.
Individual tours are compiled based on the client’s wishes and preferences. Some agencies choose to specialize only in individual work with VIP clients. The average travel agency of this type does not have a very large number of clients, since it operates based on different principles.
Increased profits from individual tours arise from servicing clients with a high level of solvency. Therefore, offer them a more expensive range of services, allowing the tour operator to extract more income.
How does a travel agency work?
The basis of the work of a travel agency is intermediary services that connect the client and the tour operator. Income is generated by receiving commissions for the sale of a tourism product. The responsibilities of the tour operator include the direct organization of services. These include resolving issues related to interaction with hotels, embassies and insurance companies.
The duty of the travel agency is to ensure that the documents for visas are properly completed. Tour operators have individual requirements for the preparation of such documents, so the agency strictly complies with them. The travel agency also issues a package of documents received from the tour operator:
- medical insurance;
- voucher for hotel accommodation;
- travel tickets;
- a memo with information about the country you are visiting.
The agency promptly transfers money to the tour operator for the tours provided and monitors the correct booking of the services chosen by tourists. If a client refuses a pre-booked tour, he is subject to penalties specified in the contract.
Opening a travel agency: choosing a tour operator
After registering a travel agency, the next step is to conclude contracts with tour operators. At this stage, you will need some effort and increased responsibility. Today's market for the provision of tourism services is characterized by diversity and a huge selection of tour operators.
Newbies in the tourism industry choose to cooperate with companies that offer low prices. At the same time, they do not think about the likely consequences associated with the dishonest work of such companies that engage in price dumping. As a result, clients will find themselves broke, for example, due to non-receipt of the booked services in full.
An unreliable tour operator tries by any means to maintain profit, so you will not be informed about the occurrence of critical situations. To avoid this, pay attention to the following points in the work of a tour operator:
- period of work in the tourism services market;
- financial support;
- priority of areas of activity.
In addition, it is preferable to cooperate with operators who have a representative office in your city. This circumstance will simplify the work with documents, since you will be able to submit them not to the main office of the company, but to the representative office, which is very convenient.
Direct cooperation with the tour operator
In your work, establish business relationships not with the tour operator, but with the intermediary. There are a lot of companies acting as intermediaries on the market. They are travel agencies that offer to conclude a subagent agreement granting the right to arrange and sell travel services.
Such cooperation has some advantages. Thus, the commission amount is higher compared to the remuneration that the tour operator is ready to offer. The increase in the operator’s commission is related to the number of attracted clients. The intermediary is able to immediately offer a high reward, which does not depend on the number of tours booked.
A positive aspect is that transactions with documents are carried out directly at the intermediary’s office. If your travel agency cooperates with a tour operator whose head office is located in another city, then certain monetary costs will be incurred for sending out documents. This problem does not exist when working with an intermediary company, since incorrect documentation entails that the intermediary himself contacts the operator to resolve the problems that have arisen. This condition will save the agency time costs.
If your travel agency has problems with tourists, then solving them through an intermediary will become problematic. It is easier to find a way out of such a situation by direct contact with the travel service provider. This negative point has an unfavorable effect on cooperation with the help of third parties, but this method of interaction is popular.
Ways to solve problems during the low season
The tourism business is highly dependent on the seasons, which determines the demand for these services throughout the year. The most popular period of the year is summer, when the flow of tourists increases many times over. Winter is a quiet time, which becomes a little livelier during the New Year holidays and during the school holidays.
This part of the year is known as the "low season" and it causes some difficulties for tourism companies as they try to maintain control over the situation. Some travel agencies prefer to insure themselves in advance. For example, they put aside a certain amount of money in reserve, since at this time a decline in the flow of tourists is inevitable. Other companies increase the number of employees in the summer months and reduce them during the off season.
The off-season period for most travel agencies is the time when they begin to intensively sell tours to Russian holiday homes. But during the “hot times”, companies do not focus on domestic tourism. This is due to receiving less revenue from this area of activity, in contrast to the sale of tours related to holidays abroad.
Development of a travel agency at the initial stage
Each travel company in the first months of operation begins to create a client base with its subsequent increase. Modern tourists prefer to choose companies with a wide range of various discounts. Therefore, pay attention to tour operators who offer profitable tours, provided with an adequate amount of agent commission.
Vacation packages do not have a fixed price, so price fluctuations occur frequently. This requires painstaking work aimed at finding the best offer. Ask your clients for their email address - this will help you quickly send out new offers regarding profitable tours.
Regularly improve the quality of your customer service. A satisfied tourist will certainly tell his friends about his unforgettable vacation and mention the travel company that provided him with a pleasant experience.
Travel agency franchise
If you do not have experience in developing a travel agency, then purchasing a ready-made business system (franchise) would be a good start. For example, a TezTour franchise will cost you the following costs:
- lump sum payment - $5000
- costs of renting premises (room on the 1st floor, corporate style design, area from 20 sq.m., parking available, 2 or more places for workers)
- monthly royalty 1% of net profit
The TezTour franchise pays for itself in an average of 15-20 months.
Top 5 travel agency franchises
We list five main franchises that you can take to open your own tourism business.
- Beach holiday travel agency franchise "Vell" ( included in the top 25 franchises according to Forbes)
- Travel Club "Wings" ( part of the Ural Airlines holding company)
- "1001 round"
- "Chain of Last Minute Travel Stores" ( included in the top 25 franchises according to Forbes)
- "Satellite" ( the oldest travel agency in Russia)
⊕ Download 100% unique travel agency business plan from scratch (51 pages in word)
Assessment of the attractiveness of a business by the magazine website
| Business profitability | (3.8 out of 5) |
Business attractiveness
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| Project payback | (4.0 out of 5) | |
| Ease of starting a business | (3.5 out of 5) | |
| Opening a travel agency is a profitable and profitable business providing services to the public. One of the options for opening a travel agency is to take a franchise from well-known franchisees. This will allow you to avoid additional costs. Business profitability is about 10-20%, payback up to 2 years. | ||