How to open a travel agency? It turned out that our project really gives hope to young people that someday they will be able to open their own business. In the end, it is not as difficult as it seems in reality, because desire and perseverance will certainly help you achieve your goal.
Today, the heroine of our article is Angela Burmistrova, who herself loves to travel and dreams of visiting the best resorts in the world in the future.
She wants to give this opportunity to other travelers and learn how to open a travel agency.
Participant profile:
- Why this particular business?
It is profitable, interesting enough, there are opportunities for travel, development, broadening one's horizons, meeting new people.
- What has already been done in this direction?
Unfortunately, I have not thought about it seriously yet, so nothing serious has been done.
- What funds do you have and where do you think you can get the missing amount?
There is no capital, but I will try to accumulate. Hope it works!
Before you start saving or borrowing, you should understand the essence of the business, understand how to open a travel agency , determine how many competitors there are and assess the considerable financial risks. But there are no unattainable goals - if Angela manages to stand out among other companies and works conscientiously, like the best travel agencies, trying to really provide customers with a decent vacation, and not just get their money, as many do, then everything will work out.
To register an individual entrepreneur, you need to come to the Federal Tax Service with a passport, fill out an application for opening an individual entrepreneur, pay the state fee (800 rubles), then contact the tax office with the following papers:
- statement;
- a copy of all pages of the passport;
- receipt of payment of the fee;
- application for the transition to the simplified tax system;
- copy of TIN.
After registration, the organization is assigned OKVED No. 53.30 “Activities of travel agencies”.
If the registration was successful, then you should be given a certificate, an extract from the unified register of individual entrepreneurs, a notification of tax registration and registration as a payer of fixed contributions, statistics codes.
Travel agencies by law fall under the Simplified Taxation System (STS), which allows you to calculate the tax in the following ways: 6% of income or 15% of the difference between income and expenses. The first option is usually chosen, but if your company's share of expenses is high enough, consider the second option.
Do you need a license?
To open a travel agency in 2017, fortunately, a mandatory license is not required - it was canceled 10 years ago. But for a travel agency, business will go much better if you have a license, because tourists will clearly trust the licensed organization. Therefore, if there is a desire and extra funds, then a license can be obtained, but such official travel agencies do not have any additional privileges.
Entrepreneurship in the tourism industry is a serious and risky business, so the tourism business must be managed wisely. You need to know all the nuances of registration, execution of contracts with travel operators, decide whether you need a license and understand whether it is worth opening an agency at all. But when you start, you will understand that all the efforts were not in vain, since all costs are tripled. Perhaps preliminary work in a travel agency as a manager or at least an operator will help to understand all the intricacies of the business, but more on that later.
Conclusion
This article describes only the legal nuances, covers the terms that entrepreneurs who decide to open a travel agency need to know. In the next article, the theme of travel agencies will continue, and we will delve into the activities of the agency from a practical point of view.
Let's talk about how to open a travel agency and what the essence of the work is. A travel agency involves the implementation of a specific product in relation to individuals. This product has two types of services - package and individual.
To open a travel agency, you need an administrative resource and basic knowledge in the chosen business area. The future agency can offer package or individual tours and combine them with each other.
Package tour - specific services: accommodation, insurance or excursions. The product is easy to sell, as it takes into account the ratio of popular tourist services. “Packets” reduce the risks associated with possible customer dissatisfaction and save time.
Package tours are formed by the tour operator and differ in content. Some include a list of services, which predetermines the cost, others are luxurious. This condition makes tours popular.
Individual tours are compiled based on the wishes of the client. The average travel agency of this type does not boast a large number of customers - it operates on other principles.
Increasing profits from tailor-made tours is generated by serving clients with a high level of solvency.
Types of tourism and choice of target audience
There are three types of tourism by geography.
- Domestic tourism. This type of activity involves the travel of residents of the country through the territory of the country itself. One of the simplest in organization - does not require visas and is carried out directly, without the participation of tour operators, as part of the organization of city tours and weekend tours.
- Entry. This aspect implies a focus on foreign clients entering Russia for tourism purposes. It also does without the participation of tour operators and minimizes the cost of paperwork. But clients will need help in obtaining visas and entry documents.
- Visiting. Tourism with the design of foreign tours for residents of Russia. A minimum of travel arrangements and provides a large fee in the form of an agency fee from the tour operator.
This separation does not mean that the agency is obliged to specialize in one type of activity. Choosing a priority direction will allow you to better understand its essence and adapt the business to a specific consumer.
People go on trips for various purposes. Cultural direction of tourism:
- business
- ethnic
- recreational
- medicinal
- transit
- religious
The organization of tours for pilgrims is more successful when the agency has religious attributes and a name. But for recreational and business areas, such attributes are a definite minus.
The essence of the workflow of a travel agency
The basis of the work of a travel agency is intermediary services that connect the client and the operator. Income is generated from receiving commissions for the sale of a tourist product. The duties of the tour operator are the organization of services: resolving issues of interaction with, insurance companies and embassies.
Compliance with the correct execution of documents required for visas is the responsibility of the agency. The travel agency is engaged in the issuance of documents coming from the tour operator: travel tickets; medical insurance; voucher for accommodation; a memo telling about the country of visit.
The travel agency transfers money to the operator for the provided tours on time and controls the correct booking of services by tourists. When the client refuses the tour, he is subject to penalties, which are prescribed in the contract.
How to start a travel agency
From the legal form of business organization. Customers are distrustful of individual entrepreneurs in the field of tourism, so choose an LLC.
Tourism activities fall under, but in a simplified form. The value is calculated in two ways. The first in the form of 6% of income. The second takes into account the difference, which is formed according to the formula: income minus expenses, from which 15% is taken to pay tax.
Obtaining a license has lost its obligation to perform. In 2007, the licensing of the tourism business was terminated. But the document has a beneficial effect on increasing the level of trust on the part of customers.
The franchisor solves many problems.
Choice of tour operator
When the travel agency has been registered, the next step is to conclude contracts with tour operators. That will require some effort and ultimate responsibility.
Newcomers to the tourism industry work with low-priced companies. And they do not think about the possible consequences of the unscrupulous work of such companies that are engaged in price dumping. Clients sometimes find themselves with a broken trough - due to non-receipt of the booked services in full.
- period of stay in the market of tourist services;
- priority of directions in activity;
- financial security.
Work with operators that have a representative office in your city.
Whether to work with the tour operator directly
Establish business relationships not with a tour operator, but with an intermediary. These are travel agencies that offer to conclude a subagent agreement with the right to issue and sell travel services.
This type of cooperation has advantages: commissions are high compared to the remuneration offered by the tour operator. The increase in the commission from the tour operator is related to the number of customers. And the intermediary will offer a high reward, which does not depend on how many tours are booked.
When a travel agency works with a tour operator, and its head office is in another city, sending documents is accompanied by certain monetary costs. This problem does not arise when working with an intermediary company, incorrect paperwork implies that the intermediary contacts the tour operator to resolve the issue. This condition saves the agency costs.
When a travel agency has problems with tourists, solving them with the help of an intermediary is problematic. It is easier to find direct contact with the supplier of the tourism product. This negative point adversely affects cooperation through third parties, but this form of interaction is popular.
"Dead season": ways to solve the problem
The tourism business depends on seasonality, which determines the demand curve for services throughout the year. The demanded period is summer, when the flow of tourists increases. Winter is a calm time, it is animated during school holidays and during the New Year holidays.
The "off season" causes difficulties for travel companies, they are making efforts to maintain control over the situation. There are agencies that prepare a "safety cushion" in advance - set aside part of the funds in reserve.
During this period tours to rest houses are realized. In the "hot season" companies prefer domestic tourism. But he has less income.
Business development at the initial stage
At the heart of the tourist business in the first months of activity is such a principle as creating a customer base with a subsequent increase. A modern tourist chooses companies with a wide range of various discounts.
Tours do not have a fixed cost, and price fluctuations occur frequently. This leads to painstaking work on the search for proposals. Ask customers for their email address, which will help you quickly send new offers for profitable tours. The selection is offered without the name of the tour operator, so if you lose a client, he will go to another agency.
Constantly improve the quality of customer service. A satisfied tourist will definitely tell friends and acquaintances about a wonderful vacation, as well as mention a travel company that provided an unforgettable experience.
Ask customers about the quality of the rest. This raises the efficiency of work, you will know about all the shortcomings, which will allow you to correct them in time.
How to open a travel agency: market analysis + 5 steps to start a business + detailed financial plan + calculation of business profitability.
Capital investments: from 425,000 rubles.
Payback period: from 8 months.
Do you have a good knowledge of geography and excellent organizational skills? Or maybe you just want to give people joy and organize an unforgettable vacation for them that they want to repeat? Or are you a fast learner and want to experience the joys of financial independence and start your own business?
Then information about how to open a travel agency, will be relevant to you. Today we will find out the intricacies of doing this business, as well as how much money will be needed to start it.
Tour operator and travel agency: find out the difference
Before proceeding to the answer to the question of how to open a travel agency, let's start with the fact that many of them are still with a tour operator. And knowing the difference between these two categories is useful not only for those who are going on vacation, but also for those who wish in this industry.
Firstly, it is the operator who “creates” the tour from beginning to end: it forms, promotes and sells. Its specialists book a hotel, pay for a flight ticket, select excursions, and provide transport for tourists.
As for the implementation of the tour, he can do it on his own or through agencies. The duty of the second is to sell the ticket. The travel agency selects the necessary option for the client, informs him about all its nuances
Therefore, the number one difference: the tour operator forms a tour, and the travel agency only implements it.
Secondly, to start the activity of a tour operator, it is necessary to register only as a legal entity with a certain financial security. While a travel agent can be both an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity.
Difference number two: you can open a travel agency in any organizational and legal form, and it does not need to have financial security, since, unlike a tour operator, it does not pay insurance.
Thirdly, the tour operator is responsible for pricing. That is, the agency sells the tour at a certain price. And his reward will be a commission, which is set by the company that provides the ticket.
Difference number three: the travel agent does not affect the cost of the tour, he works for a fee from the tour operator. In addition, sometimes, in order to achieve large sales volumes, specialists can reduce the price, unfortunately at the expense of their commissions.
Fourthly, by default, it is the operator who is responsible for the "failed" tour, to whom claims from customers will be made.
The travel agency is responsible only under the contract, and most often its responsibility is related to the fact that it must fully inform the client, pay for his ticket and tell him about all his rights and obligations.
Therefore, difference number four: it is the tour operator who is responsible for the quality of the tour, unless otherwise provided by the contract.
Typical scheme of work of a travel agency
Having decided to open a travel agency, you need to understand the scheme of its work:
- The current travel agent is looking for trusted operators with whom he concludes a contract for further cooperation.
- The travel agent studies the proposals offered by the tour operator to the smallest detail and begins to look for customers.
- If one is found, then the travel agent concludes an agreement with him and submits an application for booking services with the operator.
- The tour operator accepts the application and, which must subsequently be paid.
- After that, the funds received by the travel agent, minus the established commission (as a rule, it is 10-15%), are transferred to the account of the tour operator.
- The tour operator transfers all the necessary documents to the agent, who subsequently issues all the information to the tourist.
- After the transaction, the agency sends the report to the operator, who prepares an invoice for it.
Note: if the client refuses to travel after payment, then you will be forced to pay the fine to the operator. Such a "pitfall" must be taken into account if you want to open a travel agency according to this scheme.
The situation in the Russian tourist market
Opening a travel agency and not analyzing this industry is extremely reckless. Any business should start with studying the situation on the market, finding out its strengths and weaknesses.
The tourist market of Russia does not cease to develop constantly. Even in small towns, you can find travel agencies that offer their services. Often they are approached by those who wish to travel abroad for impressions.
But at present, under the influence of many factors (exchange rates, the unstable situation in a number of foreign countries, etc.), domestic tourism has begun to be in demand. And this is not surprising, because our country is famous for its many beautiful places, which also attract foreign tourists.
Therefore, having decided to open a travel agency, look for operators who deal with such tours.
It is also worth noting that in 2017 the situation in the tourism market has improved significantly compared to the previous two years. And by the way, Russian tourists began to prefer more exotic countries than Europe. Therefore, opening a travel agency is now quite profitable due to the development of this area.
Special attention is paid to online sales. Nowadays, people are buying more and more on the Internet, so creating your own website with the possibility of online booking and payment is a must.
As for the strengths of the business, everything will depend only on the quality and organization of your work.
Therefore, deciding to open a travel agency, you need to bet on:
- providing a wide range of services;
- competent employees who focus not only on the number of sold tours, but also on quality customer service;
- cooperation with trusted and well-known tour operators.
Opening a travel agency is associated with risks that must be taken into account:
- Seasonality - it so happened that for the most part people love foreign holidays in the summer and for the new year.
- High competition- the tourism business is a fairly filled niche, new players are constantly appearing on the market who can provide customers with something new and better.
- Lack of stability- exchange rate changes, the political and economic situation in the country, inflation affect the work of travel agencies, as these factors may reduce the purchasing power of customers.
Inability to accurately predict performance- even with a detailed study and analysis of tour sales, it is impossible to accurately calculate the expected profit.
For this reason, you need to focus on advertising in order to attract as many customers as possible.
Step-by-step instructions on how to open a travel agency
When answering the question of how to open a travel agency, you need to understand that the main expenses will go to equipping the office, creating a website and, of course, promotion.
The very process of opening a "tourist" business will consist of the following stages:
| Stage | 1 month | 2 month | 3 month | 4 month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choosing the name of the travel agency | + | |||
| Business registration | + | |||
| Search for premises and its arrangement | + | + | ||
| Search for operators | + | |||
| Site creation | + | |||
| Recruitment | + | |||
| Advertising | + | |||
| Starting a business | + |
With well-coordinated and properly organized work, it will be possible to open a travel agency in 3-4 months.
Step 1. Choosing a name for a travel agency and registering a business
So, you have analyzed the market, assessed your capabilities and are sure that this business is for you. Now we need to take concrete action. And the first step is for your travel agency. It should be simple, but memorable, and also evoke associations with relaxation.
You can come up with a sonorous name yourself, or you can use the services of specialists.
After that, you can start registering. You can open a travel agency as an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity. It all depends on your ambitions, so if your plans include expanding your business and creating an entire network, or you want to start a business with a partner, then choose an LLC.
When applying for registration, do not forget to indicate the OKVED code. But remember that the classification is constantly changing. As of 2017, for the tourism business it looks like this:
As for the taxation system, according to the law "On the Fundamentals of Tourism in the Russian Federation", it is allowed to use the simplified tax system: "Income" 6% or "Income-Expenses" 6-15%.
Step 2. Search and arrangement of premises for a travel agency
A well-chosen location is a key point in how to open a travel agency. If you plan to start your business in a small town, then do it only in the center.
In a big city, the choice of premises is more extensive:
- crowded places;
- sleeping areas in which competitors are not yet "operating".
The room itself should not be large, 25-35 sq.m. is enough. But at the same time, it should be carefully equipped with furniture, office equipment, decor items.
Estimated costs for the repair and arrangement of the premises will look like this:
| Name | Quantity, pcs. | price, rub. | Total cost, rub. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total: | - | - | RUB 147,000 |
| Table for workers | 2 | 4 000 | 8 000 |
| Chairs | 4 | 1 000 | 1 000 |
| Sofa for clients | 1 | 10 000 | 10 000 |
| Rack | 1 | 10 000 | 10 000 |
| laptops | 2 | 30 000 | 60 000 |
| MFP | 1 | 15 000 | 15 000 |
| Electric kettle | 1 | 1 000 | 1 000 |
| Modem | 1 | 2 000 | 2 000 |
| Phone line | 2 | 15 000 | 30 000 |
| Internet | 1 | 3 000 | 3 000 |
| Decor items | 1 | 2 000 | 2 000 |
| other expenses | - | - | 5 000 |
Step 3. Search for travel operators for cooperation
The next step in how to open a travel agency is to find operators. This step must be approached with all responsibility, because if there are any inconsistencies, then the client will remain dissatisfied with your work.
So, when choosing operators, pay attention to such factors:
- time spent on the market;
- recognition;
- the size of the commission;
- terms of cooperation.
The most popular tour operators in Russia:
Step 4. Recruitment for opening a travel agency
The success of the business depends on the quality of the work of the staff. And for starters, you can hire only two sales managers who will receive a salary and a percentage of the number of transactions made.
The responsibilities of these professionals should include:
- selection and consulting of clients;
- monitoring of attractive tours and their prices;
- making deals with tourists;
- reservation of vouchers and their registration with the tour operator;
- keeping up to date with the latest developments in tourism.
If you decide to open a travel agency, then at the initial stages, take the reins of government into your own hands. At the beginning of work, this will be correct and expedient, since you will be able to fully control the process and instantly identify errors in the work.
Positions such as an accountant, system administrator, cleaning lady may not be on a permanent staff. For this you can.
Step 5. Promotion and advertising for opening a travel agency
Just opening a travel agency and waiting for clients will not work ...
No one will know about your services if you do not declare yourself. And you need to engage in active promotion on an ongoing basis, especially if you want to attract tourists not only in the summer and New Year seasons.
You can use advertising tools such as:
- sign at the entrance;
- distribution of leaflets on the street;
- advertising in local publications;
- radio advertising;
- advertising in social networks of the city and on the Internet.
How much does it cost to open a travel agency?
And here we come to the culmination of the answer to the question of how to open a travel agency - the financial component.
So, capital investments will consist of the following items of expenditure:
| Item of expenses | Amount, rub. |
|---|---|
| Total: | RUB 425,000 |
| Business registration | 25 000 |
| First month's rent payment | 20 000 |
| Indoor repair | 50 000 |
| Room equipment | 147 000 |
| Site development | 30 000 |
| Payroll for the first month of work | 40 000 |
| Outsourcing | 40 000 |
| Advertising expenses | 60 000 |
| other expenses | 13 000 |
But opening a travel agency is not all. You need to constantly invest in it.
Therefore, the approximate monthly costs of opening a travel agency will look like this:
Calculation of business profitability and payback period of investments in a travel agency
Having on hand the approximate costs of opening and maintaining a travel agency, you can predict the level of profitability of the business.
Successful agencies with two managers can close up to 300 deals per month. But most often, such indicators are typical for a business that is already established in the market.
Let's imagine that the average cost of one sold tour is 28,000 rubles (we take into account the current dollar exchange rate). The transaction fee is 10%. And in order for income to exceed expenses, you need to conclude at least 70 transactions per month (2-3 transactions per day):
70 * 28,000 * 10% = 196,000 rubles. (with expenses of 175,000 rubles)
And with this course of business, the profit will be penny:
196,000 - 175,000 \u003d 21,000 rubles.
Profit after tax:
21,000 - 3,150 = 17,850 rubles
But suppose that such indicators will be only in the first 3-4 months, while you declare yourself. And soon you will bring them to 120-140 transactions per month.
Then your projected income with the same expenses will be:
130 * 28,000 * 10% = 364,000 rubles.
With this work, the profit will be: RUB 160,650
Based on such financial calculations, it can be assumed that investments in opening a business will pay off in 8-10 months.
The main emphasis is how to open a travel agency, you need to do for advertising and, of course, cooperation only with trusted operators. Also, do not discount the motivation of specialists. Think of rewards for a job well done. The simplest is the payment of a percentage of the sales of tours.
How to open a travel agency from scratch?
From idea to first profit - in one video:
The tourism business itself is constantly evolving, so be sure to keep up with the latest in this area and fully devote yourself to the business, and then success will not be long in coming.
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How to start opening a travel agency?
First, we recommend that you pay attention to our other article, which will tell you, this article will help you understand the plan for future actions.You can start a travel business at home with only a computer with Internet access and a telephone. The composition of the initial client base can be formed from your immediate environment. However, this kind of activity will not bring high income and can only be considered as a form of additional income, which, at the same time, has a seasonal character. In order to make the tourism business the main source of income, it is important to bring it to the level of the whole country. Otherwise, this kind of business is better not to start.
For a wide coverage of the tourism services market, it is important to follow a few rules of success:
- Tourism business should be opened in those areas where competitors have not yet made their way;
- It is better to develop a small travel agency as part of a separate line of services, since it will be difficult for a broad-based small firm to compete with large competitors;
- It should be identified which segments of the tourism services market are not fully covered by other firms, that is, where there is still unsatisfied demand.
Preliminary cost estimate
Office. The premises for a travel agency is one of the most expensive items in this business. The office of the travel company should be located closer to the center or in the very center of the city, however, in this light, two problems arise: the cost of real estate and the presence of a large number of competitors. In this light, for the first time, you can limit yourself to premises in more remote parts of the city, but preferably in places with a large flow of people: bus stops, avenues, squares, etc.
Staff. According to experts, when organizing a travel agency, one should remember a simple rule: office costs are approximately equal to total staff costs. However, on average, salaries in this industry are very low, so staff should be motivated by providing additional services: benefits for purchasing vouchers, internships and training at the expense of the company, and other benefits. It will not be difficult to recruit the bulk of the staff, since it is easy to learn work in the tourism sector on the spot. Nevertheless, it is necessary to attract to work and several professionals with excellent knowledge of foreign languages.
Advertising. The main factor of survival in the market, as well as the initial opportunity to express yourself to customers, is advertising. In the tourism sector, such types of tourism as: television, press, outdoor advertising are especially popular. These areas of advertising activity are associated with high costs, which are inevitable. In the future, the reputation of the travel company among customers will play a significant role. However, this kind of popularity can be acquired after at least a year of responsible, hard and scrupulous work.
Stages of creating a travel agency
- Plan development. When opening a business in the tourism sector, it is advisable to develop a business plan. Particular attention should be paid to the issue of evaluating competitors, among which it is important to include not only other travel companies, but also sites selling air tickets, booking hotels and other similar services on a remote basis. In addition, it is necessary to carefully work out a financial plan in order to determine the payback period and the level of profitability of the business.
- Definition of a market niche. When opening a travel agency, one should not strive to cover everything at once. It is important to be able to focus efforts on those areas in which there are knowledge, connections and partners. At first, it is most effective to use the tactics of unidirectional activity. For example, organize tours exclusively to Europe or work with corporate trips abroad. As part of further activities, it is possible to expand market coverage and enter other market niches.
- Formation of connections. When creating advertising messages for potential clients, it is extremely important to emphasize the distinctive features of a travel agency: its specialization, reliable partners abroad, and specific services. In addition, it should be mentioned that it is much more convenient and more profitable for customers to contact a travel company than to organize trips abroad on their own. Initially, you should work out a system of discounts based on the seasonality factor, as well as customer loyalty.
[b]Travel agency profit generation
The main source of income for a travel agency is the difference between the price of buying travel packages from tour operators and the cost of selling them to customers.
Additional profit is also provided by client consultations and the sale of air tickets. If we consider commissions from tourist vouchers, then for start-up companies they amount to about 10-15% of the cost, and for well-known ones - 18-20%. Thus, the rate of return is very significant in terms of covering the fixed and variable costs of the agency. For example, if the price of a voucher is 20,000 rubles, and the commission is 10%, then by selling three vouchers per day, you can earn up to 150,000 rubles per month.
How to open a franchise travel agency?
The tourism industry is fraught with serious risks, so more than half of newcomers become bankrupt in the first months of operation. This situation is due to the lack of clients, connections abroad, experience and reliable tour operators. However, you can avoid the impact of such unfavorable factors for business by acquiring a franchise to open a travel agency.A franchise, in its essence, implies the right of a young company to use the brand, connections, management model and ways of doing business of an established company in the market for a certain fee. According to experts, the cost of a franchise for travel companies is cheaper than covering losses from the implementation of activities on an independent basis.
Features of work in the tourism business
The tourism business is a very broad field of activity. It includes organizing the travel of citizens abroad for recreation, training, business meetings, excursions, booking hotel rooms, purchasing air tickets, ensuring security, etc. However, the entire range of tourism services can be divided into two areas:- Organization of departure of citizens of this country abroad;
- Reception of tourists from abroad.
In the tourism business, it is important to distinguish between the activities of tour operators and travel agencies. The former organize tours, while the latter sell them. Activity as a travel agency involves working with ready-made tourism products. Therefore, the main thing is to find clients and reliable tour operators. The level of profitability of such a business averages about 15-17% per year.
The tour operator company organizes tours on its own, that is, it purchases air tickets, reserves hotel rooms, organizes excursions with guides, provides multiple flights, and guarantees the safety of tourists. This kind of business requires significant financial investments, but the yield on it is much higher - about 30-40% per year.
Often, travel agencies work together with travel companies on the basis of long-term cooperation agreements.
In order to organize a business as a travel agency, it is advisable to implement the following activities:
- If possible, purchase a franchise;
- Conduct active advertising, in particular, place ads in the press, on the Internet, on radio and television;
- Form a permanent array of customers, attracting them with discounts and additional services;
- Determine areas of activity: leisure, business trips, training, sports, etc.
- Determine the geographical scope of the business: trips to Europe, tours to Egypt or exotic travel;
- Find relevant tour operators and conclude cooperation agreements with them.
After achieving some success in the form of a travel agency, you can move on to activities as a tour operator, since it requires serious financial investments. Experts do not recommend starting a business in the form of a tour operator right away due to the fact that at the first stage there is no accumulated client base and experience.
How to open a travel company from scratch (in the absence of start-up capital)?
Despite the fact that a travel agency, like any other business, is based on start-up capital, it is possible to start without it. However, in this case, the achievement of a stable position in the market, as well as high profits, will occur more slowly. In addition, the main expenses associated with the tourism industry will have to be abandoned, in particular, the costs of staff, office and advertising will have to be eliminated.As for personnel costs, at first, with a small volume of orders, all the work can be done independently. It should be noted that in the absence of experience in this area, you can work for several months in any travel agency before opening your own business.
The problem of the office is also insignificant, since most of the work can be done at home, and meetings with clients can be organized in other places, for example, in a cafe.
Central is the issue of advertising, as the new travel agent needs to build an initial customer base. For this purpose, you can use your own connections, advertising on social networks and on free classifieds sites on the Internet. If you managed to create a site on your own, then with the help of it you can noticeably. The main thing here is not to give up, because high-quality services will always find their customer base, albeit not as quickly as we would like!
Establishment of a travel agency to work with corporate clients
One of the promising segments of the tourism services market is the corporate clientele sector, which is distinguished by its constancy and significant volumes of orders. It should be noted that the direction of the tourism business associated with servicing corporate clients is characterized by increased demand, which attracts novice travel agents. However, breaking into this segment is extremely difficult. Firstly, large companies have internal departments for organizing trips abroad and do not use the services of third-party travel agencies. Secondly, those firms that do not have such departments have long established ties with specific large travel agencies and constantly use their services. However, the corporate sector should not be abandoned at all, since new firms are constantly appearing in the economy, which are looking for partners in the tourism industry. In addition, often, already established firms are looking for new travel agents, being dissatisfied with the services of the former ones. It is these customers that can be included in the initial lists of their customers.It should be remembered that corporate clients are customers of a whole range of services that a travel agency must be ready to provide. These include:
- Registration of documents, in particular passports and visas;
- Purchase of air tickets and delivery of clients to the airport;
- Booking hotel rooms and delivering items needed by customers (for example, medicines, exercise equipment);
- Fulfillment of all requirements related to the participation of clients in conferences, negotiations, symposiums, round tables and their organization;
- Creation of conditions for holding business meetings of clients;
- Overseas customer cost planning and security.
Another significant difficulty of working with the corporate sector for a travel agent is urgency. After all, often only a few hours are provided to provide the services listed above, and sometimes orders have to be fulfilled even on weekends. However, this also has its advantage - commissions are usually higher for urgent orders. However, this approach is better not to use in relation to regular customers. Which rarely provide urgent orders.
As part of the corporate client service activities, it is advisable to consider as potential customers high-ranking officials, artists and athletes who often travel abroad and need a reliable travel agency. In this light, by providing them with reliable and quality service, a travel company can get them into the ranks of regular customers, which seems to be very beneficial. In addition, during the initial period of activity, it is possible to provide assistance to large travel agencies that cannot cope with their work or serve medium-sized companies that do not have specialized departments for organizing foreign trips.
However, if you still have unclear points, then feel free to voice them in the comments to this post, we will be happy to share our opinion on resolving this or that issue.
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Sources:
- what documents travel agency
Many people dream of starting their own business. Few take the risk. And before those who have decided, the question arises of which form of management is best to choose - IP or LLC. Experts advise that LLC is more convenient and functional.
An LLC will be considered open from the moment you officially register it with the state authorities. This procedure is carried out according to a certain legislatively defined procedure, which is prescribed in Article 2 of the Federal Law.
In order to complete the registration procedure, you need to complete several steps to achieve your goal. First, come up with a name. It must be complete. In some cases, the abbreviated name of the company is also allowed. The language is unprincipled - it can be Russian or any foreign language. The full name is defined in this way because it must contain the words "limited liability company" in its entirety in its name. In the case when you use the abbreviated name, then only the abbreviation LLC can be indicated in the name. It is not recommended to use words that characterize statehood (for example, Russia) or a link to someone else's brand. You can only do this if you have permits.
Determine the location of your LLC. This must necessarily be the place of its registration (requirement of paragraph 2, article 4 of the Federal Law). This address must be confirmed with relevant documents. For example, a lease agreement for non-residential premises for your company is suitable for this purpose. It is easier to register your place of residence as a legal address. True, this solution is only suitable for small businesses. Otherwise, you risk violating the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which states that residential premises are intended only for individuals to live in it.
You will also need a share capital for your LLC. It is the minimum amount of property that will guarantee the interests of your creditors. The authorized capital cannot be equal to less than 100 minimum wages. At the same time, not only money is evaluated in the total amount, but also securities and metals and other things that you can get cash for them.
Before submitting all documents for registration, you also need to indicate those persons who will be listed as the owner or founder of this company. It can be absolutely any individual or legal entity, with the exception of those who are prohibited by law from engaging in entrepreneurial activities.
Pay for all services related to the registration of your company. This is a registration fee, payment for copies of constituent documents, notary services and a bank commission for opening a current account. In general, the amount will be about 10,000 rubles.
Now all prepared documents can be submitted to the tax office. The review period takes an average of 8-10 days. Based on the results, you will be given a complete set of documents necessary to start activities. From that moment on, your LLC will be considered open.
Sources:
- what documents to open LLC in 2019
The idea of creating a travel company in our time is very popular among start-up entrepreneurs. This business is quite profitable, but not everyone can withstand fierce competition in this market: two years after the opening, only 10% of companies remain active.
Instruction
In order to open your tourist firm, it is necessary to conclude an agreement with mi. They are engaged in the development of tours, form prices for them, as well as the size of commissions for travel agencies. As a rule, the larger the volume of tours a firm sells, the higher the commission it can expect.
