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home Internet Step-by-step instructions on how to open a travel agency from scratch. Your own business: opening a travel company How to become a tour operator for foreign tourism

Step-by-step instructions on how to open a travel agency from scratch. Your own business: opening a travel company How to become a tour operator for foreign tourism

Every enterprising person sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it is more profitable for him to work for himself. At the same time, the easiest way for a beginner to start a business is in the field of mediation: this type of activity does not require special training or significant investment in equipment. Therefore, there is a trend in the market towards an increase in the number of independent specialists, including travel agents.

To figure out how to become a travel agent at home from scratch, you need to study the entire cycle of production, sale and consumption of tourism products, as well as understand the place in it of intermediaries who make money from selling tours to end customers. This will help a novice entrepreneur outline the scope of his tasks and choose the right scheme for interacting with potential clients.

Why do you need a travel agent?

Thanks to the widespread use of the Internet, travelers have the opportunity to reserve all the necessary services online - from transfers and hotel rooms to excursions and tickets to concerts in other countries. But despite the availability of various services, planning a vacation can still be a difficult task even for an experienced tourist. Therefore, most clients prefer to use the services of travel agents.

A travel agent is an intermediary working in the tourism market as an independent seller of travel packages. Unlike a travel agency, it does not need an office or hired employees. He does all the work at home and meets clients on their premises.

Taking into account this circumstance, the question becomes logical: why is it more profitable for people to cooperate with an agent than with the nearest travel agency? There are several reasons for this:

  • The manager must serve all clients who come to the office, so he works with each of them for only a few minutes. There are no time restrictions for a travel agent;
  • Trying to fulfill the sales plan, the manager sells the most expensive tours. For an agent, it is more important to organize a great vacation so that the client comes again;
  • Agencies sometimes close suddenly or disappear with clients' money. The travel agent transfers the payment directly to the operator - a reliable company with a good reputation;
  • Companies, as a rule, sell tours from only one operator, so their choice is limited. The agent has dozens of partners and hundreds of different products;
  • Rent, salaries and other costs force agencies to raise prices. A travel agent can sell a tour at a good discount if he likes the client;
  • Firms work on a schedule, with days off and lunch. A travel agent is a free specialist who can arrange a meeting at any time convenient for the client.

Features of a travel agent business

The idea of ​​transferring the retail distribution of tourism products to private intermediaries is not new. The Workle service has been operating online for several years, with the help of which freelancers earn money by selecting loans, concluding insurance contracts and selling travel vouchers. But during the crisis, tour operators had to reduce the number of branches. Many of them are faced with the need to develop new channels for selling tours. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​how to become a travel agent at home began to look quite attractive for beginning entrepreneurs.

Of course, this business format is very convenient: the agent does not need to find and rent premises, buy office equipment, or hire managers. But on the other hand, the intermediary loses the opportunity to invite clients to the office. For some businessmen, the lack of a reason to impress a guest with luxurious renovations and furniture may seem like a significant drawback, although in reality this is not the case.

After all, potential clients, as a rule, are at work during the day, and therefore can only allocate time to discuss the details of the tour in the evening or on weekends. Most often, they study different offers on the Internet, and then call agencies and find out the best price for the selected product. Thus, maintaining an office does little to help increase sales.

Unlike managers, an independent specialist is not tied to a workplace. Without any problems, he can take a laptop for presentations, an agreement form, a terminal for accepting payments and come to the place designated by the client. Since a visit to the customer is still rare among the services of travel agents, this will be an advantage: the consumer will feel obliged to the specialist who spent time and money traveling to him, and therefore will not refuse the offer so easily.

Consequently, in the absence of an office, the likelihood of a successful transaction even increases. Moreover, the potential client will appreciate the attentive attitude towards his wishes and, if the vacation goes well, he will contact the travel agent again in the future.

Advantages and disadvantages of business

Many aspiring entrepreneurs believe that business in the tourism industry is an exciting and easy way to earn money. Indeed, it has a number of positive characteristics:

  • The organization of tourism in itself is very interesting. You can learn something new every day, explore the world, communicate with people;
  • There are no restrictions on gender, education, age, or social status in this type of activity. Anyone can be puzzled by how to become a travel agent from scratch;
  • The job involves frequent travel. In this case, you can take advantage of last minute travel packages, get a partner discount from the operator, or go on a promotional tour;
  • An agent can cooperate with several operators at once, thereby expanding the range of tours available to clients to hundreds and thousands of offers;
  • The business has development potential. If you collect a large client base, you can think about;
  • A travel agent works in comfortable conditions. He does not need to engage in physical labor, constantly be on his feet, freeze or suffer from heat;
  • If you provide yourself with orders, then from May to September you can earn a lot of money. However, even in winter there is a demand for ski tours.

To be fair, it should be noted that in his work, a travel agent encounters not only positive aspects. Business also has some difficulties:

  1. The responsibility of tour operators and travel agents for the safety of the client is very high. Any trouble is a blow not only to your reputation, but also to your wallet;
  2. This work is often accompanied by force majeure: flights are delayed, natural disasters occur at resorts, problems arise at customs;
  3. The human factor cannot be ruled out. 5% of tourists are brawlers who start conflicts over any trifles and harass the agent with nagging;
  4. A specialist in demand may forget about a normal schedule. He will have to communicate with customers and solve their problems from morning to evening;
  5. Competing companies are on every corner today. If you don’t know how to become a good travel agent, then you can lose the fight for the client;
  6. Seasonality of business is not only an advantage, but also a disadvantage. For several months a year, the agent will have to work “to zero” or, in general, sit idle.

Travel agent services

The range of tourism products includes tens of thousands of tours to different countries with different durations and different programs. A novice entrepreneur without experience is unlikely to be able to work effectively in all directions. Therefore, before you start working as a travel agent, you need to choose several popular resort regions on the local market - Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, Montenegro. In general, you can offer your clients tours:
  1. Internal. Involves traveling within the country. They are usually inexpensive and are not in high demand, and therefore bring little profit;
  2. Traveling. As part of these tours, clients visit other states. Among such products there are both affordable and very expensive (India, Cuba, Hawaii);
  3. Entry. Includes organizing holidays for foreign citizens in Russia. Clients are provided with a guide and translator and booked rooms in the best hotels.

Of course, for each product sold, the entrepreneur must provide customers with full information and service support. Thus, the basic set of services of travel agents and tour operators should include:

  • Explaining to the client the characteristics of certain tours, assistance in selecting a product taking into account the wishes and financial capabilities of the customer;
  • Providing information about the selected country in terms of its social, cultural, culinary, ethnic and religious characteristics;
  • Search for the most inexpensive products from among those whose quality and level of comfort are not lower than those specified by the client;
  • Reserving a tour at all stages of its implementation - from booking hotel rooms to purchasing flight tickets and ordering a taxi;
  • Processing client documents, obtaining a visa and insurance policy, paying all related taxes and duties;
  • Accompanying the customer until he returns from travel, resolving unforeseen problems at the vacation spot and during transportation;
  • Providing maps, guides, phrase books, booklets and other materials that will help clients understand an unfamiliar country.

Most companies and agents are limited to this list. However, in a competitive environment, it is difficult to surprise customers with simply high-quality service, and therefore an entrepreneur should think about introducing additional services, which can be either paid or free. For example:

  1. Delivery of the customer from home to the airport. You can order a taxi or allocate your car: in any case, the service will increase the loyalty of tourists;
  2. Delivery of documents in person or by courier service. The service will certainly appeal to busy people and residents of remote areas who buy a tour in the city center;
  3. Assistance in obtaining a passport. Not everyone will be able to fill out the form at the Federal Migration Service on the first try, and standing in queues is not always convenient for clients;
  4. Hotel booking confirmation via SMS, Viber, WhatsApp. A fairly simple service that reassures customers before their trip;
  5. Car rent. Not every tourist is ready to stay in a hotel for the entire vacation or is able to find a car rental office in a foreign country on their own;
  6. Ticket reservation. Sometimes citizens travel abroad for concerts and sporting competitions. You can help them if you negotiate with online cash registers;
  7. Provision of foreign SIM cards. Using cellular services while roaming is expensive, especially if you need to connect to the Internet.

Strictly speaking, to sell tourism products created by an operator, no certificates or diplomas are needed: the law does not oblige entrepreneurs to have specialized education and special training. But this does not mean that it is possible to engage in such activities without obtaining additional knowledge about the rules and features of organizing citizens’ recreation. How to become a travel agent from scratch in Russia:

  • Tourism managers are trained in universities. Of course, you will have to spend several years, but you can gain a huge amount of theoretical and practical knowledge;
  • After school you can go to college. Here, in just two years, they will tell you what the work of a travel agent is and how to become a sought-after specialist;
  • Travel schools and academies often conduct distance or face-to-face courses lasting a couple of months. They tell only the most important things;
  • Finally, you can meet with the director of a travel agency and say: “I want to become a travel agent in your company.” It is easiest to study the industry in practice.

How to choose tour operators

There are two types of companies in the tourism market - travel agents and tour operators: the difference between them is that the latter are essentially manufacturers. Representatives of a tour operator come to a country and begin to develop it, checking hotels, studying transport and excursion routes. They then enter into agreements with local service providers, make prepayments, reserve rooms and flights, and receive volume discounts.

By collecting these services into packages, operators receive ready-made tourism products - tours. As a rule, they include transportation of clients, hotel rooms, meals, insurance, a certain set of excursions and entertainment. Therefore, a tourist does not need to waste time planning a trip: he simply buys a tour and goes on vacation.

But a tour operator is a wholesaler. He books entire flights and rents hotel floors without wasting money on small items. The intermediary between him and the consumer is the travel agent. Although the operator remains the service provider, it is the agent who sells the tour on his own behalf and accepts money from the customer. For this work, he receives a commission from the supplier - a certain percentage of the cost of the tour.

To start working, you need to formalize the relationship between a tour operator and a travel agent in the form of an agreement. Agents try to cooperate with different partners, which allows them to include different trips at different prices in their range. You need to choose tour operators carefully so as not to spoil your reputation and the client’s mood. The key factors in this matter are:

  • Operator pricing policy. Some manufacturers increase the cost of tours by including optional services and additional insurance;
  • Magnitude agency fee. Why would an agent sell complex, expensive tours if they bring him a pittance of profit?
  • Convenient interaction between tour operator and travel agent. It is much more convenient to work with a supplier if he has online access to a database with a booking function;
  • Brand popularity. It can be assumed that a well-known company will not book rooms in third-rate hotels for the sake of profit;
  • Product range. If the operator has a large selection of different types of tours, then it is much easier for the agent to search for a package suitable for the client in one place;
  • Duration of existence. A company that provides low-quality tours and causes dissatisfaction with customers is unlikely to last in the market for many years;
  • Organization of reception. Some operators open representative offices in the places where they send clients. This helps to quickly solve possible problems;
  • Contracts with carriers. If an operator has agreements with several airlines, it can quickly transfer customers if a flight is delayed.

The most important qualities of a travel agent

An agent's job is 90% communicating with people. Entrepreneurs who know are well aware of the complexity of such a business. As a rule, engaging in such activities easier for people having a certain set of personal qualities. Among them:

  • Ability to feel clients. Many citizens, when choosing a tour, follow fashion or do not fully understand what they need. The agent must help them figure it out;
  • Sociability, eloquence. Selecting a tour is always a sale. If an agent does not know how to establish contact and persuade, he will not achieve success;
  • Coolness. A travel agent will face various challenges. In all situations, he must remain calm and quickly make the right decisions;
  • Ability to establish connections. Without a large customer base, there will be no sales. Therefore, the agent must constantly be in society, come into contact with people;
  • Organized. Without it, the travel agent will not have time to solve all the problems - develop the business, control the situation on tours, meet new customers;
  • Good memory. It is useful for an entrepreneur to remember not only all the features of tours, but also the preferences of clients and the history of their travels.

Travel agent skills

In some materials on the topic “How I became a travel agent,” the authors claim that without certain skills and knowledge, their path to success in business would have been much more difficult. So, an entrepreneur will definitely need:

  1. Salesmanship. Without identifying needs and overcoming objections, no amount of erudition will help the client realize a tourism product;
  2. Travel experience. It is impossible to talk captivatingly about the sights of distant countries if information about them is obtained from a booklet;
  3. Foreign language skills. It is believed that in order to work, a travel agent must at least know English language to communicate with the receiving party;
  4. Legal training. Claims in the tourism business are inevitable. The agent must know the laws in order to reasonably defend his position;
  5. Knowledge of bureaucratic details. This includes a list of documents for obtaining a visa, rules for clearing customs, a list of items permitted for import;
  6. Knowledge of the rules for organizing document flow and maintaining accounting reports. Working as a travel agent involves preparing many documents and contracts;
  7. Understanding the principles of interaction between an agent and a tour operator. An entrepreneur must know how to receive a commission, how to avoid sanctions and fines;
  8. Knowledge of the basics of hotel service. These are the rules of check-in and check-out from the hotel, the procedure for providing services, catering;
  9. Knowledge of geography. It is important for the agent to know where this or that resort is located, what the climate is there, what currency is used, what language is spoken;
  10. Computer skills. In the process of work, you have to use not only standard programs, but also special software from tour operators.

Business documentation

Listing everything that is needed to become a travel agent, one cannot fail to mention such an important condition as legalization of activities. To regularly sell tours, you must enter into a civil contract with the tour operator or become an individual entrepreneur. The intermediary does not need any licenses, and therefore you can begin work immediately after receiving individual entrepreneur documents with the appropriate OKVED codes:

OKVED codes for travel agents

Since it is officially impossible to work as a travel agent from home without regularly paying taxes, it is necessary to consider ways to minimize such deductions. This business is characterized by high margins, so it is most profitable for an entrepreneur to use the simplified tax system at a rate of 6% of revenue;

Next, it is advisable to open two bank accounts. The first will be used for current payments, and the second - for transactions with client money and mutual settlements with the tour operator when booking tours;

Finally, the entrepreneur must develop a client agreement template. This document should list all the nuances of the transaction - the timing and procedure for making payment, the start and end dates of the tour, the list of services provided, their prices. If a travel agent enters into an agreement on his own behalf, he is obliged to identify himself in the agreement as an intermediary and indicate the contact details of the tour operator as the supplier of the product.

How can a travel agent attract clients?

The absence of an office reduces the entrepreneur’s costs, but increases the requirements for the quality and intensity of advertising. To save money on this article, at first you can work with friends and use the potential of word of mouth, but it is difficult to get a decent income from such sales. The activities of a tour operator and travel agent should involve the use of the following promotion channels:

  1. Print advertising should be given to local newspapers with advertisements, glossy magazines and other publications that are interesting to potential clients;
  2. You can distribute flyers and booklets in large shopping centers visited by people with middle and high incomes;
  3. The agent's website should be equipped with pictures and descriptions for each direction. You can put a form here for feedback or booking tours;
  4. In addition to the website, you can create selling one-page pages for popular types of tours. They work well because the client does not get lost in the variety of tours;
  5. The website and landing pages must be optimized for search engines. The higher they appear for key queries, the more clients they will bring;
  6. You can also bring clients to the site contextual advertising. It is effective because it catches the eye of a user who is already interested in the tour;
  7. You should publish articles and reviews on various websites and forums about travel and recreation, demonstrating your professionalism to readers;
  8. Communities in in social networks can be used in the same way as a website - publish photos and descriptions of tours, last minute offers here, hold competitions and promotions;
  9. Instagram deserves special mention. This network is convenient for posting colorful pictures and showing all the interesting places available for visiting;
  10. Finally, a video channel with videos about travel and attractions can bring certain benefits. Here you can use ready-made operator materials.

How much do you need to invest in your business?

Many beginners believe that independent mediation in the tourism business does not require any expenses at all, except for the fee for registering an individual entrepreneur. But this opinion is erroneous, since it is impossible to start working as a travel agent at home without purchasing a minimum set of office equipment and advertising. It is also possible that an entrepreneur will need furniture to furnish his workplace:

Investments in tourism business

As you can see, the investments are quite significant. If a beginner is not confident that he can recoup them in a reasonable time, he should consider getting passive income. Moreover, a novice travel agent will not only have to spend money at the start, but also pay monthly for travel, communications and advertising:

Travel agent monthly expenses

Travel agent profit

As noted above, tour operators and travel agents are in close communication with each other. The former develop tours, and the latter sell them to clients for a fee. The size of this commission is usually in the range of 8–11% of the transaction amount. However, in some cases, a particularly loyal or successful agent may receive 13–15%. The cost of tours in the most popular destinations is given below:

Travel agent income

Unfortunately, working as a travel agent without experience will not bring huge profits at first. To do this, you need a client base that is formed over months and even years. But if, thanks to a wide circle of acquaintances, an entrepreneur can sell at least one tour daily during the season with an average commission of 4,400 rubles, then in a month, excluding weekends, he will earn 96,800 rubles:

Profitability of travel agent business

Conclusion

It's hard to find a person who doesn't think about additional income. Therefore, for many people, the questions of an insurance broker or travel agent are pressing. In the latter case, you need to understand the psychology of clients and the specifics of tourism activities in order to avoid problems and ensure a constant flow of orders. In particular.

A travel agent is actually a tour sales manager. The latter are a ready-made travel program compiled by the operator company. The tour includes hotel reservations, excursion programs and carrier services (airplanes, buses, cruise ships). The difference between a freelance travel agent and a tourism agency is that he does not need an office or a large number of employees. He can do all the work online.

The agent's remuneration consists of a sales commission, which is paid by the operator for each attracted buyer. It can range from 5% to 10% of the cost of the trip. Thus, your future income determines the number of sales you make. A novice travel agent should not count on quick and high profits. For stable income You will need a permanent customer base, which may take several months to build. The average salary for a home-based agent is between $500 and $1,000 per month.

How to become a travel agent from scratch at home

You can start working as a travel agent without a specialized diploma, but this does not mean that you will not need knowledge. First of all, you should familiarize yourself with the legislation regarding this type of activity and tourist (foreign) trips in general. You should also study the terminology, classification of tours, features of choosing a tour operator, methods of communication with the client and, of course, geography.

Legalization of the activities of a tourism agent

Without official registration, neither tour operators nor clients will work with a travel agent. You can register as an individual entrepreneur (FOP) or LLC. In the first case, maintaining documentation and registering activities is much easier; in the second, there will be more trust in your company.

When registering, it is very important to select the correct activity codes. AND For Russia(OKVED-2), and for Ukraine(KVED 2017) these will be:

  • 11 Activities of travel agencies;
  • 90 Reservation services and related activities.

When registering, it is better to choose a simplified taxation scheme.

To work as a tour sales agent, you do not need to obtain a license, and therefore you can start working immediately after registration. But here one more point should be taken into account. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, travel agents, unlike operators, are not included in a unified register and are not required to have financial security (guarantees). If you are considering options for becoming a travel agent from scratch in Ukraine, you need security in the amount of at least 2,000 euros. Moreover, if this amount is not enough to cover losses associated with the failure to provide paid services due to the fault of the agent, as a private entrepreneur you risk not only guarantee funds, but also personal property.

As a rule, banking organizations act as guarantors. They provide security for up to 5 years. In some cases, you can conclude a deal for up to 2 years. Registration of a guarantee is expressed in the opening of a deposit account (collateral under the guarantee) and regular insurance contributions to the bank, which, in case of occurrence, will be used to pay compensation. The deposit itself will not be withdrawn and upon expiration of the contract with the bank it will be returned to the agent. Confiscation of the deposit can only occur if the travel agent did not adhere to the regular payment schedule.

In most cases, no one checks the availability of security from a travel agent, and you can start your business without it. On the other hand, large and reputable tour operators may refuse you if the guarantee is not confirmed.

A travel agent at home, in most cases, does not process travel documents (passports, visas, powers of attorney). However, in order to advise your clients, you must know the list of required papers for crossing the border, the list of items and medicines allowed for transportation, as well as the rules for staying in the country to which your client is traveling.

Choosing the direction of activity and target audience

Before becoming a travel agent, you must decide on the category of travel products (tours) that you will sell. This will determine your future target audience.

The modern tourism business offers a large variety of tours. They are divided into three large groups:

  1. Domestic- traveling within your own country. This activity is suitable for beginners. It does not require knowledge of foreign languages. The disadvantage of this direction is the relatively low level of income and relatively low demand. The main buyers are older people and families with average incomes.
  2. Visiting- travel on vacation to other countries. A traditional type of tour that is in high demand among a wide range of consumers.
  3. Entry- travel for foreign tourists to your country. Requires good knowledge of foreign languages ​​(English).

Most operators work in all areas, and therefore you can expand the scope of your activities at any time.

In addition, tours differ according to the type of organization:

  • Stationary- classic tours to one country (city) with permanent accommodation in a specific hotel. This could be a beach holiday at sea, ski resorts, holidays in forest sanatoriums, children's holiday camps. The main buyers of such tours are families with children, newlyweds and older people.
  • Mobile- tours during which several countries and regions (cities) are visited. These include boat cruises, bus tours, hiking trails and camping. This type of tour is in demand among young people (students).

How to find a tour operator for cooperation

To get started, you need to enter into an official contract with the tour operator, otherwise you will not receive a commission, even if you sell the tour. At the same time, you can choose either one operator or several as your partners, which will allow you to provide clients with a wider choice of tours.

Likewise, when considering how to become a home-based travel agent, you need to choose your travel destinations. It is very difficult to do everything at once, especially for a novice agent, and therefore, to begin with, it is better to choose several countries that are most interesting to you personally.

There are many resources on the Internet that allow you to find a suitable tour operator. Some of them themselves offer direct cooperation. For example, if you are looking for a quick way how to become a travel agent from scratch in Russia, you can register in the Workle.ru tour operator system and start earning money literally right away. To work in this system, you do not need to register with the tax office, since the company itself makes all contributions to the Pension Fund and the Federal Tax Service for you.

In addition, you can find partners in the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators on the official website of Rostourism (russiatourism.ru).

If you are a registered entrepreneur, you can also use online services selection and booking of tours (with receiving a reward). Agents from the Russian Federation can use the following resources:

  • Booking Center (ecenter.travel) - provides training opportunities and selection of tours around the world.
  • Sletat.ru (sletat.ru) - in addition to selecting tours, offers assistance and free creation of a website for the automatic sale of tourism products (vouchers).
  • 1001TUR (1001tur.ru) - selection of tours from the largest operators with increased commission and bonus accruals.

Independent travel agents from Ukraine You can search for operators and tours on IT-Tour (ittour.com.ua). The service allows you to select and compare the cost of tours from various operators. There is the possibility of selling canceled vouchers and assistance in creating your own website. As a rule, such resources allow you to conclude cooperation agreements with the operator online.

How to check the reliability of an operator

In most cases, tour operators are responsible to tourists, but if force majeure occurs, the agent who carried out the sale also falls out of favor. This means that your reputation with clients is directly related to the integrity of your chosen partners, and therefore, when considering the question of how to become a travel agent from scratch at home, it is important to learn to recognize conscientious partners.

You can find a tour operator suitable for your working conditions and evaluate its reliability in special online catalogs (turbiz.turistua.com, tursvodka.ru), which provide the opportunity to view ratings. It is also necessary to monitor reviews of users and agents on specialized sites (otzyv.ru, turpravda.ua, obnovlenie.ru).

You can draw your own conclusions by analyzing the operator according to the following criteria:

  • Availability of a partner host company in the tour country. If the operator has its own representatives in the city or country where your clients are going, this increases the reliability of service provision. You can find out this information on the operator’s official website.
  • Agreement with airlines and carriers. The more companies that are partners of the operator, the greater the opportunity to replace the service in emergency situations.
  • Partner insurance company level. If an insurance company works with an operator with a high level of trust and the percentage of payments under insurance policies, the higher the reliability of the operator.
  • Number of directions. If a tour operator operates in a narrow segment of destinations, it will not be able to quickly provide a replacement tour in the event of unforeseen situations (natural disasters, military and political conflicts).


*Calculations use average data for Russia

A fragment of the book by Yulia and Georgy Mokhov “Travel Agency: where to start, how to succeed” by the publishing house “Peter. Published with permission from the publisher

Do I have enough money to open a travel agency? Should I risk my last savings or not? How long will it take for investments in the tourism business to pay off? How much will I earn? Create your own travel agency or buy a ready-made one? Or join a franchise network? Is it difficult to make a business plan for a travel agency? What are the requirements for a travel agency office? How many employees will you have to hire? Where to look for footage? Which tour operators to work with? Which countries do you sell tours to? Limit yourself to a narrow specialization or sell everything? Should we open air and railway ticket offices immediately or later? How to attract clients? How much to spend on advertising? Do tourists have many complaints? And still…

SHOULD I OPEN A TRAVEL AGENCY OR NOT?!

We will try to dispel all your fears and support your desire to open a travel agency. But we guarantee: everything that is written here is a real reflection of the state of affairs in the tourism business, without exaggeration or omission.

Development of a business plan for a travel company.

We offer for your reference a diagram that reflects the main parameters and cost items that can be used when drawing up a business plan for a travel company (agency).

1. Travel agency concept

Kind of activity:

  • travel agent;
  • tour operator;
  • mixed activity.
Additional services:
  • sale of air and railway tickets;
  • transfer services, ordering limousines;
  • visa processing;
  • insurance;
  • preparation of documents for registration of foreign passports;
  • services of an individual guide and accompanying person;
  • translation services;
  • sale of guidebooks;
  • sale of related travel products;
  • sale of gift certificates;
  • booking and ordering tables in restaurants, tickets for events;
  • rental of tourist equipment;
  • Car rent.
Priority tourist destinations:
  • by type of tourist destination;
  • according to the cost of tours;
  • by country;
  • by type of tourism.

2. Organizational plan

Travel agency office location:

  • center;
  • outskirts;
  • distance from the metro.
Office status:
  • rent;
  • own premises;
  • other.
Office type:
  • showcase office on the first line;
  • in the business center;
  • in the administrative office building;
  • V mall;
  • on the first floor of a residential building.
Office size:
  • two jobs, three five jobs;
  • one-room, two-room, three-room, more than three rooms;
  • free layout (number of meters).
Office furniture (cost calculation):

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tables with reception places, chairs for employees, chairs for visitors, bedside tables with keys, rack for catalogues, wardrobe, hangers, hanger rack,
board for information and special offers, sofa for visitors, coffee table, safe, blinds, mirror, dishes (for employees, for receiving visitors), photo frames and permitting documents, plants.

Office equipment (cost calculation):

computers, telephones, fax, printers (minimum 2 pieces), scanner, copier, TV, CD and DVD player for showing films about countries and resorts, air conditioning, water cooler, first aid kit, clock, stationery, wall map of the world or globe.

Office design project:

  • zoning of space;
  • design of the premises according to the concept of the travel company;
  • floor plan.

3. Competitive environment

Competitors in selected tourist destinations.
Competitors within the radius:

  • building;
  • district;
  • cities;
  • countries (if necessary).
Advantageous competitive qualities of a future travel agency.

4. Production plan

Staff:

Tour sales technology:

  • search and booking of tours;
  • scheme of interaction with partners;
  • processing payment for tours;
  • document flow;
  • delivery and issuance of documents.
Range of travel agency services:
  • by season;
  • by directions;
  • by country;
  • by price;
  • by target audience.

Travel agency pricing policy.

Features of the tours sold.

Development corporate identity:

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  • contractor;
  • list of required items;
Website creation:
  • concept and functions of the site;
  • contractor;
  • cost and timing of work.
Office design for sales.
  • signboard;
  • pillar;
  • signs;
  • a sign with operating hours and company details.
Printing products(description, circulation, contractor, production time, cost): Opening presentation.
  • budget size for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months;
  • advertising media.
Structure and rules for maintaining a client base.

6. Legal aspects of opening a travel company

    Legal form legal entity.

    Tax system.

    Drawing up a lease agreement.

    Required permits depending on the type of tourism activity.

    Trademark registration.

    Purchase and registration of cash register equipment (if necessary).

    Ordering strict reporting forms “Tourist voucher”.

    Maintaining accounting(independently, with the assistance of an accountant, consulting company).

    Legal support of activities

7. Financial plan

    Sources of funds.

    Amount and duration of investment.

    Initial expenses plan.

    Fixed expenses plan.

    Income plan.

    Payback plan.

8. Conclusion

    Long-term development plan.

9.Applications

Approximate costs for creating a travel agency in Moscow,
one-time:

    Registration of a legal entity and preparation of necessary permits for travel agency activities: 20,000–25,000

    Furniture and office preparation for sales: 50,000–100,000

    Office equipment and communications 100,000–150,000

    Development of corporate identity 15,000–25,000

    Website development and registration 20,000–45,000

    Trademark registration 50,000-100,000

    Employee training 5,000–30,000

Additional possible costs

Ready ideas for your business

  • Buying ready-made tourism business, payment legal services for transaction support
  • Payment for premises selection services
  • Payment for recruitment services
  • Payment for connection services
  • Internet and additional telephone lines
  • Payment for services of a consulting company

The cost of tours even in the same hotel category is different, and the choice of tourists does not always fall on the 3* level of accommodation. Therefore, in order to make an income plan, it is necessary to analyze season prices for selected destinations with data from 3*, 4*, 5* hotels and compare them with the expected amount of income

Approximate plan of monthly expenses of a travel company in Moscow (rub.)

Office and infrastructure

    Rent of premises 25 m2 - 50,000

    Communication services 3000

    Internet 5000

    Water (cooler) 500

    Stationery 2500

    Other administrative expenses 6000 Staff salaries

Wage
  • Director 35,000 +%
  • Manager 19,000 +%
  • Manager 16,000 +%
  • Secretary-manager 12,000 +%
  • Courier 16,000
  • Accountant (outsourcing) 10,000
  • Cleaning lady 3000
Advertising budget
  • Legal subscription service RUB 7,000. months
  • Payment for the online booking and tour search system is 1200 rubles/month.
  • Refilling cartridges 400 rub./month.
Unforeseen expenses RUB 10,000.

Total 241,500 rub. + percentage of salary

Selecting the status of a travel company. Tour operator or travel agent?

After the abolition of licensing for tour operator and travel agency activities in 2007, a mandatory state procedure was established only for tour operator activities. Any legal entity or individual entrepreneur can engage in travel agency activities. The only thing that determines the status of a travel agent today is the existence of an agreement with the tour operator, according to which the travel agent, on behalf of and at the expense of the tour operator, sells the tourism product generated by the tour operator. At the same time, the travel agent is obliged to comply with a number of requirements established by law, which we will discuss below.

But first of all, it is necessary to find out why it is so important to understand the difference between travel agency activities and tour operators and take the necessary legal actions in a timely manner. The fact is that the law establishes a mandatory requirement - all tour operators registered in the territory Russian Federation, are required to have financial security. Financial support is a guarantee of the tour operator in case of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the contract for the sale of a tour product, insurance of its civil liability to consumer tourists.

From financial support, injured tourists are compensated for the actual damage they suffered, for example, the cost of the tour if it did not take place, or the difference in cost if the vacation time was shortened. Financial support is provided Insurance Company or banker. The law establishes the minimum amount for which an insurance contract or contract must be concluded bank guarantee; today it is 10,000,000 rubles. For international tourism(entry and exit) and 500,000 rubles. for domestic tourism.

The cost of servicing financial security averages 1–1.5% per year of the amount of security.

Ready ideas for your business

For example, from minimum size financial support for international tourism in the amount of 10,000,000 rubles. the cost of insurance compensation will be 100,000–150,000 rubles. This is the amount that will need to be paid annually to the insurance company for the tour operator’s civil liability insurance contract.

The contractual scheme of a travel agent’s work when selling tours looks something like this:

  1. the tour operator enters into an agency (commission) agreement with the travel agent, according to which the agent is instructed to implement (sell) tours generated by the tour operator for a fee;
  2. a travel agent attracts a client (tourist) and enters into a sales agreement with him tourism product, receives the documents necessary for registration of the tour;
  3. the travel agent sends a request to the tour operator to book specific travel services for the client (tourist), indicating the dates, number and details of tourists, hotel, level of transportation, excursions and other components of the tour;
  4. the tour operator confirms the travel agent’s request and issues an invoice for payment;
  5. the travel agent provides the tour operator with the documents (or information) necessary to process the tour (for example, for a visa);
  6. The travel agent accepts the final payment from the tourist (if paying in cash, he issues cash receipt or strict reporting form);
  7. the travel agent makes payment to the tour operator minus the remuneration due to him (non-cash Bank transaction or in cash at the tour operator's cash desk);
  8. the tour operator issues the travel agent with tour documents necessary for the tourist to travel;
  9. the travel agent issues the tourist documents for the tour and all the necessary information to the tourist;
  10. the travel agent reports to the tour operator - sends the agent’s report (act) indicating the amount of the tour sale and the amount of remuneration;
  11. the tour operator signs the agent's report and issues an invoice for the services provided under the agency agreement.

But it should be borne in mind that the presented scheme reflects only the ideal version of document flow.

In practice, a travel agent may face various surprises; firstly, the tour operator may refuse to enter into an agency agreement with you and will offer a purchase and sale agreement, as a result your legal status, it will be necessary to adapt accounting and document flow;

secondly, when making a payment under a tour operator agreement, you suddenly discover that the invoice has been issued for payment to
another company or, making payment through the tour operator’s cash desk, you will be given a cash receipt order for a physical
a person with a “paid” stamp without the organization’s seal.

Travel company staff

The optimal staff for a small travel company looks something like this:

  • ¦ leader;
  • ¦ manager1;
  • ¦ manager2;
  • ¦ secretary with an expanded range of responsibilities;
  • ¦ courier;
  • ¦ accountant and cashier;
  • ¦ cleaning lady.

Director.

The head of a travel company is a key figure and resolves a large number of issues, both economic and strategic, but in addition to him, it is advisable to have at least two sales managers.

The manager can also be the chief accountant, cashier, sign documents and register the receipt of funds.
If the head of a travel agency is a hired employee, he must have at least two years of work experience; this is the minimum time during which a specialist can go through all the “seasons” of a travel agency’s work - high, low, “dead” - and learn how to manage a company. If the head - founder of a travel agency has no experience in tourism, this is not a tragedy. It is necessary to invite managers with work experience and, together with them, develop the strategy, assortment, and advertising policy of the company.

Travel company manager.

His responsibilities include: negotiating with clients and partners by phone and in the office, arranging tours with tourists, booking tours and processing documents with tour operators, monitoring the fulfillment of orders, price changes, requirements for documents provided, terms of cooperation, special offers.

A universal manager must maintain and improve his skills (master classes, seminars, promotional tours), work at exhibitions and workshops. Requirements for managers: higher education, experience in tourism, absence of bad habits, presentable appearance, competent Russian speech, communication skills, initiative, ability to make decisions conflict situations, responsibility.

A manager without work experience should at least strive to work in tourism and have a specialized secondary or higher (incomplete higher) education, since this significantly affects the general level of culture. On
teaching someone who strives for knowledge is a rewarding task, but find out the long-term plans of this candidate so that
the invested effort and money were not wasted - perhaps he will use the knowledge gained in another travel agency.

Travel agency secretary

receives incoming calls, distributes them according to the specialization of managers, answers questions of a general nature (“How can I get to you?”, “What time do you work until?”), ensures timely ordering of the necessary office supplies, household goods, and monitors the courier’s work schedule , carries out instructions from the manager, receives visitors and guests of the office. You must understand that sometimes it is very difficult to do without the help of a secretary, especially in the high season - in the summer, when the phone is ringing at the same time and the client is sitting in the chair.

Secretaries are also tasked with filling out questionnaires, recording and registering incoming and outgoing mail, and responding to corporate emails, ICQ, and Skype.

As a rule, a secretary is hired after several months of starting a travel company, when the phone is constantly ringing and clients demanding attention come to the office.

Courier

A very important and responsible position. With the strength (legs) of this person, money, passports, documents must get to the tour operator. Therefore, when choosing a candidate for this position, follow a simple rule: the person must be checked in all possible ways - call the previous place of work, confirm the correspondence of the place of registration and place of residence, call the home phone and communicate with relatives, ask for recommendations. These measures are not unnecessary. The problems that may arise due to the actions of the courier are, without exaggeration, catastrophic - loss of foreign passports and documents, theft of funds that the courier transports daily. Most the best option- this is a relative or acquaintance, but, unfortunately, such candidates are not always found.

Accountant-cashier,

certainly a necessary specialist, but the cost of his services is too high for a small travel agency (in Moscow from 30,000 rubles). Therefore, most travel agencies use the services of law firms or an external accountant. Such a personnel solution allows you to reduce accounting costs by at least three times.

Remuneration and bonus schemes in the tourism business

In the tourism business there is a general trend towards increasing wages. This is due to the existing personnel “hunger”. Specialists with experience move to another company, where they offer a slightly higher salary for the same full-time position, and this can happen every six months.

Options for calculating salaries for a tourism manager

The tour is considered sold when 100% payment is made.

1. Interest-free system: salary 22,000–30,000 rub.

2. Salary + interest:
Salary 10,000–15,000 rub. + 10% of tours sold by the manager.
Salary 15,000 + 10% after the implementation of tours for more than 150,000 rubles.
Salary 15,000 + 10% of revenue from sold tours, divided among all managers.
Salary 18,000–20,000 rub. + 5% of tours sold by the manager.
Salary 18,000–20,000 rub. + 10% of all tours sold, divided between all managers.

3. Planned system: fixed salary is paid when the plan is fulfilled; for example, from 50,000 rub. (this refers to the company's income, not the total cost of the tours). If the plan is exceeded by more than 50,000 rubles. + 10%, more than 100,000 rub. + 15%, over 250,000 + 20%.

During the low season (January, February, May, June) the plan is 50%. In this case, the previous fixed salary is paid.

If the plan is not met, with the exception of the low season, there is a system of fines:

  • ¦ the first month - no penalties, an analysis of the reasons associated with the decrease in sales is required;
  • ¦ second month and beyond: 40,000–49,000 rubles. – 10% is withheld from fixed payment(30,000–39,000 rubles – 20%; 20,000–29,000 rubles – 30%).

In the first months after the opening of a travel agency office, a planned payroll system, as a rule, is not used.

Options for calculating wages for a travel company courier

1. Salary 12,000–15,000 rubles, payment for a travel ticket, mobile phone, working hours: Monday-Friday.

2. Salary 15,000–20,000 rubles, payment for a travel ticket, mobile phone, working hours: Monday - Saturday.

During the high season and increased sales volumes, it is customary to give couriers a bonus of 20–30% of their salary. Courier - important employee travel agency, so it’s better to pay extra on time, write out bonuses and work calmly.

On the market you can find offers from courier companies that deliver documents anywhere
cities, they enter into a formal agreement and bear full financial responsibility for cash and documents in the parcel.

Options for calculating the salary of a director of a travel company

1. Salary from 40,000 rubles.
2. Salary 18,000–20,000 rub. + 1–5% of monthly income
agency after deducting expenses.
3. 12,000–15,000 rub. + 5–10% of monthly income after deducting expenses.

This was just a small fragment of the book by Yulia and Georgy Mokhov, “Travel Agency: Where to Start, How to Succeed,” published by Peter Publishing House.

In the guide itself you will find detailed advice on choosing a tour operator, organizing document flow, taxation, recommendations for promotion, working with the client base and many valuable links to specialized Internet resources for tourism industry practitioners.

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Travel agent- a person involved in the selection and sale of ready-made tours, focusing on the client’s requirements and budget. Essentially he is an intermediary between the client and the tour operator, he must be sociable and friendly. The work is both technical and creative. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in foreign languages, geography, social studies and have no interests (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).

Short description

The tour operator completes the tours, and travel agents sell the prepared offers without being responsible for their quality. Travel agents are individual entrepreneurs or employees of an organization; there are 2 forms of work:

  • purchasing a package of tours for further implementation;
  • mediation between clients and the operator (does not require initial financial investments).

You can cooperate with different tour operators, which allows you to attract a larger number of potential buyers. The work is predominantly office work, it is more related to communication rather than travel.

Features of the profession

The tourism business is gaining increasing popularity in Russia; routes to exotic countries, gastronomic and extreme trips are in particular demand. Representatives of tour operators are involved in developing destinations, and they sell ready-made offers through various channels, including through travel agents. The latter's responsibilities include the following types of work:

  • searching for clients interested in travel;
  • conducting small advertising campaigns;
  • providing assistance in choosing a tour taking into account the individual wishes of the customer: number of people, presence/absence of children, specified budget, requirements for the level of comfort and type of transport, others;
  • solution financial issues with clients and operators, booking;
  • providing reliable information about tours and the selected region: ethnic, socio-demographic, cultural, culinary and other characteristics;
  • concluding an agreement for the provision of services;
  • provision of maps, booklets and other types of printed products that will help customers navigate well in the chosen country;
  • sending to the tour operator the documents and information necessary for obtaining visas, vouchers, insurance, etc. In some cases, he independently prepares all the necessary documentation.

The agent’s responsibilities depend on the specifics of his activities, the conditions of the travel operator with whom he interacts, and other factors. He must have an excellent knowledge of geography, the basics of management and economics, and conflict management.

Pros and cons of the profession

pros

  1. An interesting job suitable for people with communication skills.
  2. The activity brings good profits provided that the agent is active and interested.
  3. In the future, after collecting start-up capital or finding an investor, you can open your own travel agency.
  4. In the future, you can combine work with travel, promotional tours are available, but in this case, the agent devotes most of his time to solving business issues.
  5. There are many training programs available at universities, colleges, and courses.

Minuses

  1. Very high competition in the segment.
  2. Lack of legislation clearly regulating the work of travel agents.
  3. Clients who often don’t know what they want.
  4. An agent who sold a bad tour often receives complaints from clients, although he is not responsible for the quality.
  5. Seasonality of demand for tourism products.
  6. Unstable income.

Important personal qualities

A travel agent spends the lion's share of his time communicating with clients. Of course, a silent or withdrawn person will not be able to work in sales. Therefore, communication skills, politeness, and basic knowledge of psychology are extremely important. Gently be able to win over the client, having the ability to convince. Eloquence and charm, accuracy and good memory play an important role. This sector needs agents who are fluent in 1-2 foreign languages.

Travel agent training

Every graduate of grades 9-11 can become a travel agent, choosing one of the ways to obtain a specialized education:

  • university after 11th grade. The priority area of ​​training is “Tourism” ( code: 43.02.10), where full-time (4 years) and part-time (4.5 years) forms of study, as well as external studies, are available. Profile Unified State Exam - history, additional (1-3 at the choice of university) - geography, society, biology, foreign language or mathematics (profile);
  • college after 9th and 11th grades. When entering college, pay attention to the field of “Tourism” or “Hotel Services”, where you will have to study from 22 to 46 months, which depends on your initial school preparation. Exam - competition of matriculation certificates;
  • courses. Opened at tourism schools and other educational organizations. Training can be face-to-face or remote; the timing depends on the chosen program.

If you want to qualify for higher salaries and strive for career growth, then you should immediately enroll in a university or college. It is better to choose courses to improve your qualifications and develop professional skills and update your knowledge.

Best Universities for Travel Agents

  1. REU im. G. V. Plekhanov.
  2. RSUH.
  3. MPGU.
  4. RosNOU.
  5. FEFU.
  6. SevGu.
  7. USPTU.
  8. UrFU.
  9. Altai State University.

Best Colleges for a Travel Agent

  1. KTGS.
  2. RKTK.
  3. BTEX.
  4. SL them. S.I. Mosina.
  5. YATEK.

Courses

Globus Training Center

The training center implements programs distance learning, training tourism managers. There is also a course for people who want to open their own travel agency from scratch. The price of training is 8900 and 14900 rubles. respectively. Students, having completed the training, receive personalized certificates, as well as teaching aids.

Place of work

Travel agents are engaged commercial activities When registering as an individual entrepreneur, they work in specialized companies. After gaining experience, career advancement is possible.

Wage

The fee depends on the conditions of the travel operator with whom the travel agent cooperates. From each tour sold, he receives a profit, the average amount of which is 10-15% of the amount contributed by the customer. The interest rate depends on the activity of the agent, the number of tourists attracted and tours sold.

Salary as of 01/16/2020

Russia 15000—100000 ₽

Moscow 60000—150000 ₽

Professional knowledge

  1. Economics of tourism business.
  2. Rules of interaction with tourism operators.
  3. Hotel service.
  4. Foreign language.
  5. Peculiarities of pricing of a tourist product.
  6. Selection of tours using combined technologies: software, tablets, computers.
  7. Fundamentals of marketing, working with documents, economics, legal regulation relations in the field of tourism.

“Seeing the world” is one of the most persistent human desires. If we are not talking about a sofa TV show, then why not give people joy by making your own business out of it? Is it difficult to open a travel agency, where to start? Let's try to figure it out.

The good thing about tourism business is that you can open a travel agency with minimal investment and without work experience. The activity is not licensed, so you do not need to obtain any permits. At the same time, competition in the travel business is high, and the demand for travel agency services in a crisis naturally falls. The population prefers to save rather than spend. How to open a travel agency from scratch in such difficult times and make it profitable?

According to Russian Union in the tourism industry in 2015, demand for mass outbound destinations fell by 30-60%. The reason is the decline purchasing power Russians. Due to recent events in the world, experts predict a large subsidence in the following directions: Egypt, Turkey, France.

Tourism business: who is who

If the decision to open a travel agency has been made, it is first worth studying industry legislation. The legal side of the tourism business is regulated by Law No. 132-FZ of November 24, 1996 “On the fundamentals of tourism activities in the Russian Federation.”

According to the document, tourism can be international (inbound and outbound) and domestic, and tourist services provided by tour operators and travel agents.

Tour operators- legal entities that independently develop tourism products (tours), promote and sell them. The mission of the operators is for the tourist to see Paris and... return home safely. Therefore, the law obliges them to have financial security in the form of a bank guarantee or insurance. All tour operators operating in accordance with the law are included in the Unified Federal Register, and those working to organize outbound travel must also be members of the relevant associations.

Travel agents- legal entities or individual entrepreneurs who are the link between the tourist and the tour operator. This party sells tours designed by tour operators and earns commissions. Relations between tour operators and travel agents are regulated by agency agreements, which stipulate the amount of remuneration - 5-16% of the cost of the sold tour.

The responsibilities of a travel agent are listed in the agency agreement and typically include:

  • informing about tourism products and selecting tours according to the wishes of clients;
  • preparation and issuance of tour documents to tourists (tickets, accommodation voucher, insurance, memo about the specifics of the route, visas);
  • guarantee of reservation of all services.

We open a travel agency from scratch: we take into account experience and financial capabilities

A travel agency can exist in different forms. It all depends on the start-up capital and the ambition of the aspiring entrepreneur. Be realistic about your capabilities, but be optimistic.

You can go one of four ways:

The initial investment when opening a franchise travel agency is 150,000-450,000 rubles. depending on the size of the city, and they can be repaid in the first six months of operation. The main disadvantage is that the franchisor sets unrealistic sales plans, especially for the initial period. Therefore, you need to either choose a partner who does not assign plans, or change the terms of the contract.

How to open a travel agency: step-by-step instructions

So, what does it take to open a travel agency?

  1. Registration. A travel agency can operate both as a legal entity and as an individual entrepreneur. For an individual entrepreneur It’s easier to register, use the earnings for personal purposes and stop operating. This option is ideal for home-based travel agencies. In other cases, it is preferable to open an LLC - the level of trust in companies in Russia is traditionally higher than in individual entrepreneurs.

    When choosing a tax system, you should focus on the simplified tax system with the object “income” (6% rate).

  2. Office organization. For a travel agency, a premises (own or rented) with an area of ​​15-20 m2 is sufficient. The office should be bright and comfortable, have a telephone line and the Internet. You will need to make repairs, decorate the premises thematically, buy furniture, office equipment, and stationery. There must be space on the façade of the building to accommodate external advertising.

    The location of the travel agency is important. The preferred placement option is in a shopping center or business center, in an area with high business activity. It’s good if kindergartens, schools, beauty salons are located near the office - usually it is women who initiate the trip and collect all the information about the tours.

  3. Software. Information on tours can be searched on the websites of tour operators or in specialized search engines - Internet resources whose databases consolidate information on most tour operators. Such systems provide travel agencies with the most complete picture of current offers. The use is paid, but significantly saves time.

    The most famous are the following search engines: TOURINDEX (www.tourindex.ru), “Ehat” (www.exat.ru) and “TURY.ru” (www.tury.ru).

  4. Choosing a direction of work. This is a key point for starting, on which the further strategy when starting a business depends.

    You may prefer the following tourist destinations:

    personally known and verified;

    matching the specialization of potential employees;

    promising and fashionable types of tourism (eco-tours, beach holidays, extreme sports, etc.).

    You should choose a niche where it will be interesting to work. All subsequent organizational stages will depend on the decision made at this step: recruitment of personnel, selection of tour operators for cooperation, search for effective channels for advertising.

  5. Website creation. Before creating/ordering a website, you should decide what function it will perform: representational (a regular business card website), informational with the ability to search for tours or an online store. The optimal solution in terms of the ratio between price and efficiency is the second option.
  6. Selection of employees. This is one of the main problems when starting a tourism business. Finding a professional with his own client base who knows how to work with people is difficult. Such specialists are rare and expensive, but investing in them pays off, so you shouldn’t skimp on remuneration. Wages Tour sales managers are traditionally calculated: salary and percentage of sales.

    Employees need to be developed: thematic trainings, seminars, regular study tours to selected countries increase the effectiveness of managers.

    You can save money on an accountant, especially in the first year of work. For small sales volumes, the businessman himself can handle accounting and reporting using specialized free online services.

  7. Selecting tour operator partners. You can enter into contracts with several tour operators at the same time. For each chosen destination, it is worth concluding agreements with several operators in order to satisfy all possible requests of tourists regarding arrival dates, hotel level, etc.

    When searching for potential partners, you can use federal register, where all legally operating tour operators are listed, as well as professional ratings, reviews in specialized Internet resources, tourist directories and other sources.

    Main selection criteria:

    the tour operator operates in key tourist destinations;

    popularity of the tour operator, positive image, degree of reliability;

    conditions offered to the travel agent (amount of agency remuneration, frequency of its increase, price offers for tours, etc.).

  8. Advertising. You need to use all available channels with high efficiency.

    They work well: business cards in the checkout area of ​​supermarkets, competent promotion of your own website, useful and beautiful handouts (calendars, metro maps, brochures and books), information on forums and social networks, announcements on information stands in elevators and entrances, preparation of joint broadcasts/publications with local media (print, radio, TV channels).

How to open a profitable travel agency from scratch?

Whatever they say about the year-round demand for tours, about the replacement of beach resorts by ski resorts, the business is still seasonal - experts note a decline in the market from January to February. In addition, the crisis that the economy is going through also affects the tourism industry. Find out why you should start your own business during a crisis.

Is it profitable to open a travel agency? What techniques should you use to not only break even, but also make a profit?

Analyze the market, study demand, adapt when external conditions change. Start with interesting outbound destinations, including CIS countries where growth has been recorded: Vietnam, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Moldova. Organize custom tours.

It is also worth taking a closer look at domestic tourism, the potential of which is enormous. Already now, a competitive infrastructure has been formed in some regions of Russia: the Black Sea coast, St. Petersburg, the Golden Ring. Russian exotics are also promising in terms of tourism: Altai Mountains, Baikal, Kamchatka, Kola Peninsula, Karelia, Khakassia, ski resorts in the foothills of the Caucasus.

According to the Federal Agency for Tourism, domestic tourism grew by 30% over the past year, 2014.

Lazy relaxation is going out of fashion, so the future belongs to active tours that combine travel and hobbies: yoga tour, ecotour, photo tour, trekking, jeeping, fishing tours, etc. Agrotourism is gaining momentum.

And, of course, the ratio of price and quality decides a lot. Offer discounts, develop bonus loyalty programs. Attract clients with quality service, cooperate only with reliable tour operators - create an image that will work for you in the future.

Watch the video interview with general director company "1001 tour".

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