How to open a travel agency from scratch, where to start. How to open a tourism business

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Sources:

• what are the travel agency documents?

Many people dream of opening their own business. Few risk doing this. And those who have decided are faced with the question of which form of management is best to choose - individual entrepreneur or LLC. Experts advise that an LLC is more convenient and functional.

The LLC will be considered open from the moment you officially register it in government agencies. This procedure is carried out according to a certain legally defined procedure, which is prescribed in Article 2 of the Federal Law.

In order to complete the registration process, you need to complete several steps to achieve your goal. First, come up with a name. It must be complete. In some cases, an abbreviated company name is also allowed. The language is not important - it can be Russian or any foreign. The full name is defined this way because it must contain in its name the entire words “limited liability company”. If you use an abbreviated name, you can only indicate the LLC abbreviation 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 is suitable for this purpose non-residential premises for your company. 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 the residence of individuals.

You will also need authorized capital for your LLC. He make up minimum size property that will guarantee the interests of your creditors. The authorized capital cannot be equal to less than 100 times the minimum wage. At the same time, in total amount Not only money is valued, but also securities and metals and other things that can be exchanged for cash.

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. These can be absolutely any individuals or legal entities, with the exception of those who are prohibited by law from engaging in entrepreneurial activities.

Pay for all services related to registering your company. This is a registration fee, payment for copies constituent documents, notary services and 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 tax office. The review period takes on average 8-10 days. Based on the results, you will be given a complete set of documents necessary to start your business. From now on, your LLC will be considered open.

Sources:

• what documents are required to open an LLC in 2019?

The idea of ​​creating a travel company is very popular among budding entrepreneurs these days. This business is quite profitable, but not everyone can withstand the fierce competition in this market: two years after opening, only 10% of companies remain in operation.

Instructions

In order to open your own tourist company, it is necessary to conclude an agreement with us. They develop tours, set prices for them, as well as the amount of commissions for travel agencies. As a rule, the larger the volume of tours a company sells, the larger commissions it can expect.

If you decide to open a travel company, then you may have many questions that can only be answered by specialists with a sufficient level of knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, there are not so many experts in this industry. At the same time, it is very important that all issues regarding the organization of this business are resolved in as soon as possible with maximum accessibility and correctness. Otherwise, you will simply abandon your idea, since opening a travel agency from scratch is quite difficult without required quantity information.

Collecting documents

Opening a business in the field of tourism services requires certain documents. What do you need:

1. A statement that you have state registration.
2. Charter of the company in two copies.
3. Decision on establishment.
4. Original document confirming that you paid for registration. This could be a receipt.
5. The agreement on establishment, as well as a request that will allow you to receive a copy of the charter.
6. Letter of guarantee from the owner of the premises at whose address the company is registered.
7. An original document that confirms payment of the state fee for receiving a copy of the charter, as well as an agreement on establishment, for example, a payment order or receipt.

When thinking about how to open a travel agency from scratch, you should first collect all the listed papers. It must be remembered that the application for registration must be certified by a notary and signed by the applicant. After all, he is responsible for the correctness and reliability of all information.

If you open an IP...

If you decide to register as an individual entrepreneur, then you must provide:

Where is the best place to locate an agency office?

Not everyone decides to start their own business in this area. So, how to open a travel agency from scratch without high costs? You can't do without it here outside help. Of course, it's not just money that plays decisive role. It is also very important where exactly your company’s office will be located.

While all the documents are being prepared, you can start looking for premises. In order to open a travel company, you will need premises of no more than 20 square meters. There should also be a personal line for connecting phones and the Internet. So, where is the best place to locate an office:

• City center. If you want to attract more clients by providing travel agency services, then ideal place could become the main street settlement. The best option is a room located in a commercial or residential building on the ground floor. However, it should be remembered that the cost of renting such premises will be very high.
• Business center. Having an office in this building can also have a positive impact on your business. After all, in addition to outside visitors, business center employees can become your clients. The only downside is that you won't be able to place outdoor advertising and a sign.
• Shopping centers. If you decide to open your office here, then you will find a large number of clients. However, renting premises in a popular mall can cost you quite a bit of money.

• Sleeping areas. Here, a new travel company may be one of a kind. Plus, you can save on rent. The only downside is that you will have to put in a lot of effort to get your agency noticed. You can use any marketing strategy for this.

We select the right personnel

Many entrepreneurs who decide to start their own business in this area often do not fully realize that personnel for such work must be carefully selected. After all, the human factor plays an important role in this matter.

The agency is based precisely on the well-coordinated work of the team. And for success, personnel must be selected with special attention.

Who do you need

1. System Administrator.
2. Accountant.
3. Sales Manager.

It is worth noting that the staff must gradually increase if the travel agency grows. Experts recommend hiring two sales managers. After all, they are the driving force of your activities. Managers promote your tourism product on the market. In addition, sales managers must be able to communicate with people. You should not hope that employment exchanges will offer you real masters. It is better to start searching for an available candidate on your own.

First steps on the path to success

So, the opening. A travel agency ideally requires a thorough study of the entire algorithm for creating a business plan. You don't have to be a professional in a particular industry. To begin with, you should carefully study the structure of this activity from the inside and analyze the real situation of organizations that have been providing similar services for many years.

To make everything clear to you, let's look at a diagram that contains all the components necessary to create a business plan and open a travel agency. It can be divided into several points that are interconnected. Moreover, each stage plays an important role at the very beginning of the activity. That is why you simply cannot skip any of the points.

Company concept

The business plan of a travel company begins precisely from this point. The company's concept must fully reflect the type of activity. For example, an organization may be or provide mixed services.

In addition, all documents must fully reflect all possible types company activities. For example, the sale of tickets for railway and air transport, insurance for clients traveling on travel, visa processing, limousine booking, and transfer services.

We determine in advance the list of services

Before opening a travel agency from scratch, you need to decide on the list of services. At the request of clients, the company must provide an interpreter and a guide. Perfect option- an employee who speaks several foreign languages ​​fluently and is able to serve as a tour guide. In this case, the guide must know everything interesting places, which are worth visiting for vacationers.

A travel agency can purchase everything you need for your trip. In this case, travel for tourists will be even more enjoyable. After all, they won’t have to think about purchases and try to predict all the little troubles. It is worth noting that representatives of travel companies very often practice such a service as booking tables in a restaurant. Vacationers can visit it immediately upon arrival.

Why is this necessary?

Those who have already started a tourism and hotel business are required to formalize all Required documents, if their client receives a foreign passport. In addition, they readily provide an accompanying person or a personal guide.

Very often a person who travels abroad does not know a foreign language. As a result, this can greatly complicate the vacationer’s communication with the local population. To prevent this from happening, many turn to a travel agency for help and hire a translator. It is worth noting that the company must provide a specialist in the field foreign languages at the first request of vacationers.

Scheme of all main stages

Before you open a travel agency from scratch, you need to clearly understand how it operates. Many did not fully work out their plan and, as a result, simply could not engage in this type of activity. Let's figure out how the technology for implementing, promoting and developing a tourism product is built using the example of a specific trip:

1. To begin with, it is worth determining the supply and demand in the tourism services market.
2. Create detailed description services that the agency will offer to its clients.
3. It is necessary to develop and design the content of all company service processes.
4. Work out the route in detail.
5. Form general scheme movements.
6. It is imperative to draw up a list of services that the client can use immediately upon arriving at his vacation spot.
7. A full survey of the route the tour will take should be carried out.
8. After this, an analysis of the designed tour should be carried out.
9. Then prepare all the documentation.
10. Don't forget about control. It is better to choose the most effective method.
11. After completing the development of the route itself and preparing all the documentation, you should start advertising, various marketing moves and promotion methods. This will make your product popular.
12. It is important to choose the right sales method, as well as methods for receiving payment from clients.
13. Of course, before selling, you should calculate the cost and final price of the tourism product.
14. Only after all this does sales begin, and then control over the quality of services provided and the customer service process.

Travel agency from scratch: pros and cons

Anyone who wants to work in the field of tourism services is faced with a choice: start everything from scratch or purchase a ready-made business. At the same time, many people forget that both the first and second options have their drawbacks.

A travel agency created from scratch has great advantages than the acquired company. You won't have to fight the old order and win your respect from your subordinates. In addition, many travel agencies for sale are unprofitable. Statistics show that 90% of those organizations that are put up for sale can be considered completely bankrupt. However, a business started from scratch also has disadvantages. First of all, you will have to spend a lot of effort and, of course, time to develop routes, settle into the new premises and develop a client base. In addition, you will need investors to open a business in this area.

How much do you need to invest?

Opening a travel agency from scratch is a business that requires large investments. So how much money will it cost? Let's calculate:

1. First of all, you need to register as entity- from 25 thousand rubles.
2. To renovate the premises and purchase furniture - from 75 thousand rubles.
3. Install computers and office equipment - from 60 thousand rubles.
4. Develop your own corporate style and solve the issue of printing - from 10 thousand rubles.
5. Create a company website - from 35 thousand rubles.
6. For other expenses, as well as for connecting phones and the Internet - from 50 thousand rubles.

The result is a decent amount: about 255 thousand rubles. This is an approximate cost estimate for a travel company with three employees and an office in Moscow. In other regions the cost will be significantly lower. It is worth remembering that the specified amount will only be needed to get started. Starting a business in this area requires a lot of expenses. In addition, you will have to spend about 150 thousand rubles monthly. Therefore, initially you should have from 500 to 700 thousand rubles in reserve. The travel agency will begin to make a profit only after three months. If there is no such amount, then investors will help. To open a business in this area, it is imperative to have initial capital.

The Most Important Thing: Going to Market

The success of your company depends not only on a well-located office and professional employees, but also on advertising. You should invest a lot of money in this part. Only good publicity can attract you potential clients. You need everyone to know about your travel agency. So, everything is ready and you celebrated the opening. The travel agency is ready for normal work. But where can you get clients?

Don’t expect a large flow of people wanting to relax right away. To develop a small tourist base, you need to spend a little time. If you approach the matter correctly, then they will soon start talking about you. As you know, people are more willing to believe their friends and acquaintances than advertising. That is why it is very important for you to at this stage treat your clients with care.

There is another option. You can open an agency based on franchising. An already well-known brand does not require promotion, and it will be much easier for you. After all, he doesn't require special effort in terms of advertising. How to proceed? You decide.

Living from paycheck to paycheck, spending your own time enriching another person and hoping for a meager pension is a dubious prospect. An alternative is to open your own business. A successful business idea first brings money, and then time with family and friends, travel and sports. Perhaps you need to take risks to live life to the fullest? A great idea for a business is to open a travel agency from scratch. The following advantages are in its favor:

• Minimum initial investment. Salaries of employees, purchase of office equipment and office rental.
• Operational cost coverage. With proper planning, a travel agency will be profitable within the first high season after opening. Due to fierce competition, management miscalculations, lack of stable effective demand and dozens of other factors, a business pays back its costs 1-2 years after the organization enters the market.
• Stable price of goods. The cost of a tourist package depends little on economic factors. Is it stable for a long time or costs even more.
• Easy to get started. You can plunge into the world of business on your own or seek help from an experienced organization.

When you decide to open a travel agency from scratch, decide what services you will provide. They are divided into two groups:

1. planning travel routes and solving other organizational issues (tour operator);
2. selling operator tours and receiving commissions for this (travel agency).

For now, let's focus on the second option. Decide what kind of trips you will provide: abroad or within the country. Open and occupy your business niche and select a key category of clients.

Registration of activities

The first thing you need to open a travel agency is registration. Select the organizational and legal form of activity. According to the tax code, a travel agency is registered as an LLC or individual entrepreneur. In the first case, operators are willing to cooperate and you will gain more trust from customers. The disadvantage is the creation of authorized capital. Funds that you could spend on advertising or employee salaries are frozen.

Opening an organization in the form of a sole proprietorship is more profitable from a financial point of view. No authorized capital is needed, you do not pay most taxes and you submit a minimum package for registration.

Other organizational issues

You have decided on the form of activity. Now, for both individual entrepreneurs and LLCs, solve the following questions:

• select the name of the travel agency;
• decide on the registration address;
• indicate the types of activities, taking into account those declared in the classifier;
• pay the state registration fee;
• Contact a notary (if necessary) and fill out a registration application.

To open a travel agency in the form of an LLC you also need:

1. form authorized capital(minimum - 10,000 rubles);
2. if there are several founders, determine the nominal share of each of them and reflect it in the statutory documents.

To open a business, a premises of approximately 20 square meters is sufficient. m. It should be located in public places with developed infrastructure and availability of parking spaces. Optimally - in the central part of the city.

Don't waste money on your sign. It should be different from competitors’ inscriptions and not merge with neighboring inscriptions. At night, lighting is required. The working day is over, and the sign invites potential clients to relax and your business is working.

Travel agency office interior

Don't waste money on renovations. These expenses are more of an investment. From interior design premises depends on the attitude of clients towards the travel agency.

A comfortable sofa, soft chairs and a table are essential prerequisites for customer comfort. Decorate the interior in a unique corporate style. Don't forget about bright maps, souvenirs, exotic plants and animals.

Don't skimp on workplaces for employees either. Need to purchase:

• work tables and chairs;
• telephones;
• pens, notebooks and other stationery;
• office shelving;
• office equipment: printer, scanner and copier.

Choose a reliable Internet service provider. Let your clients enjoy fast WiFi. And workers quickly search for the necessary information about weather conditions or changes in tour conditions. Let Slow internet or its regular outages do not prevent you from opening a travel agency and successfully developing your business in the future.

Select staff for a travel agency

The universal rule of any business is not to hire friends and relatives. Neither they nor other employees will perceive you as a leader. Close relationships almost never develop into business relationships.

Your ideal candidate will have relevant successful work experience. If not, then pay attention to the following personal qualities:

• positive attitude towards life;
• openness to communication;
• responsible execution of tasks;
• consistent and correct formulation of thoughts;
• the ability to focus on the main thing;
• determination;
• ability to find mutual language with strangers;
• conflict resolution skills.

Working in a travel agency requires communication skills. Sometimes sociable, goal-oriented and responsible workers with no experience are better than unmotivated people with 10 years in the field.

To open a travel agency and ensure its activities, 2-3 employees will be enough, responsible for selling tours, increasing and retaining a client base. However, after a few weeks of starting work, you need to hire an accountant and a cleaner.

Wages should motivate employees. Set a fixed salary and percentages from tour sales. Don't skimp on bonuses for completing your plan.

Selecting a tour operator

To minimize risks when opening a travel agency, collaborate with at least 10 operators. At least half of them should specialize in your main line of business.

Consider the popularity, reliability and length of time the operator has been in the market. On average, travel agencies receive from 5 to 16% of the cost of sold vouchers. For the first tours sold there is a minimum commission. However, as travel sales increase, so does your reward. Operators are interested in increasing sales volumes, so they are willing to pay more to promising travel agencies.

Look for clients

Immediately after opening a travel agency, create your own website. Do not spare money on its design, filling it with text content and unique photographs. Update information regularly, remembering to notify clients about new tours and promotions.

Don't lose relevance and classical approaches to attract clients:

• advertising in newspapers and magazines;
• radio messages;
• television videos;
• advertising on billboards;
• distribution of leaflets by promoters.

In a special journal, write down how visitors learned about your organization and why they decided to use its services. Invest in effective ways to attract customers and open up other options.

Try to make your clients permanent. Immediately after opening, the travel agency should be associated with promotions and bonuses.

Cost of opening a travel agency

It’s impossible to give a definitive answer on how much it costs to open a travel agency. This is determined individually. Minimum amount to start a business - 300,000 rubles. This includes costs for:

• rental of premises (minimum - 30 thousand rubles per month, from 60 thousand in the capital);
• staff remuneration (salaries and interest);
• office equipment and software(from 100 thousand rubles);
• communications and Internet (depending on provider tariffs);
• advertising (according to your financial capabilities).

The efficiency indicator of the average travel agency is the sale of 500 trips during the calendar year. Then the monthly net profit of the business is up to 100 thousand rubles.

How to extend activities

The most important thing for a new travel agency is to open a niche and stay in the market. Unfortunately, after a year of operation, 5 out of 10 such organizations close.

The tourism business is seasonal. The new organization must plan losses for the spring and autumn months.

When the number of people wishing to relax decreases, the travel agency is obliged to attract them using a system of discounts. It is worth reporting about profitable offers even during the sale of vouchers during the season.

It is also necessary to diversify the sources of business income. In particular, you can open Additional services: help obtain visas or sell air tickets.

Don't forget about your main job. During the off-season, offer regular clients a weekend at one of the local recreation centers.

From travel agency to operator

After several years of successful activity, a travel agency can switch to next stage business development, becoming an operator. The organization will continue to be responsible for the sale of travel packages and will begin organizing vacations. In fact, the amount of work and responsibility will increase. You need to compete with former partners and dozens of other organizations. However, all income will remain in the company's account.

To become an operator, a travel agency needs:

1. buy a liability insurance policy;
2. enter the organization into the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators.

To begin with, continue to work with regular clients of the travel agency. Take their wishes into account and open individual tours. It is better to set the cost of travel a little lower than the market average. The main task for initial stage- gain experience. However, no one has canceled the minimum profitability.

Opening a travel agency is an interesting opportunity to run your own business. In any case, such an activity will be an interesting experience in your life. And proper planning, hard work and a bit of luck will allow you to realize your business idea, doing what you love for many years.

Related Posts

Of course, if you don’t have the necessary funds and you can’t open a travel agency, then you have a great chance to try your hand at tourism. Moreover, regardless of whether you are a beginner or an experienced tourism manager. In this article we'll talk About, .

At the time when I opened my travel agency, I had a competitor who worked from his home. He had his own base of regular clients (history is silent about where he acquired them), and he worked quite successfully with his clients. When I asked how he concludes his contracts, I was told that he almost “walks out into the entrance in slippers” and gives the contracts to tourists. Nevertheless, he still managed to intercept some clients.

But still, he needed to open an individual entrepreneur, enter into agreements with a numerous list of tour operators, pay taxes and pension contributions, keep accounts, etc. And all this requires, as you understand, additional resources - time and money. Do you need this red tape? Another option is to work “under the table”, as some do. Which I strongly DO NOT recommend to you (there are many serious reasons for this, one of them is the article “tax evasion,” but this is not even the worst thing). But I have a much better, simpler, more profitable offer for you, and this is what it is.

How to open a travel agency at home

What do you even need to open a travel agency at home? Everything is very simple - you need a computer, a phone, a printer and an Internet connection.

Fortunately for us, today a unique service has appeared, which was approved by our President V.V. Putin. And now in the field of tourism services and legal advice, you can be officially employed. They will make contributions to the pension fund for you, pay taxes, and, at any time, you can get yourself a 2NDFL certificate.

What kind of service is this anyway?

I'm talking about a service like workle (link to resource https://www.workle.ru). After registration, you will be given a short presentation in which they will tell you how to work at workle.

If you already have experience in tourism, great! This means you already have your own customer base. Then you can earn a good commission from the tours you sell. And it will be more than what they offer you at the travel agency (about 8%). If you do not have experience in tourism, then do not despair! Workle has you covered and has created free materials and courses to help you master this craft quickly. And to test your knowledge, you will be given special tests, after which you will no longer doubt your knowledge and will be able to start practicing.

Moreover, you will have career. The more tours you sell, the higher your commission will become. Plus, workle has its own system of rewarding users and bonuses for the “best user”. Just think how many advantages you get from such a service:

1. you don’t have any paperwork, you don’t need to “reconcile debit with credit”, everyone does it for you;
2. you are officially employed, payments to the pension fund and taxes are deducted for you, you can receive a 2NDFL certificate (for example, for a loan or visa);
3. you do not depend on anyone, you work for yourself and at the same time you do not need to go to work in the morning, you can work where you want or where it is convenient for you;
4. you don’t need to rent your office and pay employees for work, this significantly reduces your costs;
5. you receive a larger commission than working for an agency;
6. you have career growth, thanks to which you increase your income, you don’t need to be someone’s relative, flatter your boss, etc., everything depends only on you;
7. you do not have any risks, you do not risk your funds and property (in the case of an individual entrepreneur);
8. you have the opportunity to improve your skills thanks to the courses that you will find on the service;
9. you don’t need to fulfill your sales plan, you earn and work as much as you need;
10. you can use this service, as additional income, etc.

And many other advantages that you can get by working in the workle system. Plus, I will give you several Skype consultations that will help you: negotiate correctly, attract tourists from the Internet, and many others useful tools that will make you good manager on tourism. I will do all this completely free of charge if you join my team at workle.

To do this you need to click on the link https://www.workle.ru/?code=ACADA5D3 and register on the website. After registration, you need to write to info@site, and indicate in the subject line “I joined your team at workle”, and write your skype username. After verification, I will send you a Skype invitation and we will discuss a time convenient for you.

I hope we answered your question how to open a travel agency at home.

Wish you have a great day and big sales!

Creating a travel agency involves providing individuals travel services. It is divided into two types: services that are provided in the form of a package tour or are individually selected. In the article we will look at how to open a travel agency from scratch, what documents are needed, what is the payback and profitability. Let's start with the advantages and disadvantages of the business.

Advantages and disadvantages of opening a travel agency

Let's list the main difficulties and advantages that you may encounter in this business.

Registration of a travel agency: documents

Registration of a travel agency consists of three parts:

1. Registration of a legal entity.
2. Registration of a tourist license.
3. Obtaining a certificate of conformity.

To register with the tax authorities, select the main activity code (OKVED) - 63.30 Activities of travel agencies(the group includes: the activities of tour operators, the activities of travel agents, the activities of tour guides).

Due to greater responsibility, a tour operator can only register an LLC, while a travel agency is given a choice between an LLC and an individual entrepreneur.

In most cases, the legal form chosen is LLC. This is explained by individual entrepreneurs in the tourism industry, clients do not have much trust, so they prefer LLCs. Travel agency activities falls under the simplified taxation system (STS). In this case, the tax rate is calculated in one of two ways:

1. The tax is defined as 6% of income.
2. The difference between income and expenses is taken into account, from which 15% is taken towards tax payments ( the method is preferable if the costs are high).

When opening a travel agency, there is no need to obtain a license. In 2007, licensing of the tourism industry ceased. Now the entrepreneur voluntarily decides whether to obtain a license or not.

If you have available funds, then purchasing a license will be a positive factor in your business, since this document has a positive effect on increasing the degree of trust from clients.

Obtaining a license (optional) Let's consider the next point - obtaining a license in accordance with Federal law “On licensing of certain types of activities”, which stipulates the licensing of tour operator and travel agency activities. The license is issued by the Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia ().

regional tourism committees can issue licenses only for travel agency activities

The license is issued for a period of 5 years

List of documents for obtaining a travel agency license

1. The following notarized copies and/or documents are provided to the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia:
2. Inventory of all documents in two copies.
3. A document confirming payment of the license fee.
4. Statement.
5. Registration card. Copy of certificate of state registration
6. enterprises.
7. A copy of the certificate of registration of the license applicant with the tax authority.
8. Copies of constituent documents regulating the activities of a legal entity.
9. A copy of the agency's staffing level, certified by the seal and signature of the head of the organization.
10. A copy of the work record book and the corresponding diploma of the head of the organization. Copies of work books or relevant diplomas confirming that 30% (for tour operators) or 20% (for travel agents) of employees (according to staffing table ) have a higher education, secondary specialized education or additional education
11. in the field of tourism, or work experience in tourism of at least 5 years (for tour operators) or at least 3 years (for travel agents).

Information certificate about the objects and premises used to carry out the licensed type of activity.

The cost of payment for consideration of one application is 300 rubles, the license form costs 1000 rubles. Payment is made after the applicant receives a letter of a positive decision on issuing a license to operate.

Requirements for obtaining a tour operator and travel agent license

• The organization has at least 7 employees, while 30% of employees must have higher, secondary specialized or additional education in the field of tourism, or work experience in the field of tourism for at least 5 years.

To obtain a travel agency license you need:

• the travel agent has at least 20% of employees (according to the staffing table) with higher, secondary specialized or additional education in the field of tourism or work experience in the field of tourism of at least 3 years.
• The head of a travel agency must have a higher, specialized secondary or additional education, and his work experience in the field of tourism must be at least 3 years.

How to open a travel agency from scratch. Lesson 1

Watch the first lesson on opening a travel agency from Alena Ulitskaya, where she talks about opening her own travel agency from scratch and what a tourism business is. And Special attention is focused on creating a tourism product.

Tourism product

Opening a travel agency from scratch is not an easy procedure, since it requires administrative resources and basic knowledge in the tourism business. Before developing this market segment, its specifics should be clearly defined. The opening agency will offer individual and package tours separately or combine them.

A package tour is a set of specific services that include insurance, accommodation or excursions. Such a product is easy to sell, since it takes into account the optimal balance of popular tourist services. It is the “packagers” who are able to reduce risks due to possible client dissatisfaction and save time.

Tour operators create package tours that vary in content. Thus, some include a minimum list of services, which predetermines their low cost, while others are distinguished by their unique luxury. This condition makes such tours popular among clients.

Individual tours are compiled based on the client’s wishes and preferences. Some agencies choose to specialize only in individual work with VIP clients. The average travel agency of this type does not have a very large number of clients, since it operates based on different principles.

Increased profits from individual tours arise from serving clients with different high level solvency. Therefore, offer them a more expensive range of services, allowing the tour operator to extract more income.

How does a travel agency work?

The basis of the work of a travel agency is intermediary services that connect the client and the tour operator. Income is generated by receiving commissions for the sale of a tourism product. The responsibilities of the tour operator include the direct organization of services. These include resolving issues related to interaction with hotels, embassies and insurance companies.

The duty of the travel agency is to ensure that the documents for visas are properly completed. Tour operators have individual requirements for the preparation of such documents, so the agency strictly complies with them. The travel agency also issues a package of documents received from the tour operator:

• medical insurance;
• voucher for hotel accommodation;
• travel tickets;
• a memo with information about the country you are visiting.

The agency promptly transfers money to the tour operator for the tours provided and monitors the correct booking of the services chosen by tourists. If a client refuses a pre-booked tour, he is subject to penalties specified in the contract.

Opening a travel agency: choosing a tour operator

After registering a travel agency, the next step is to conclude contracts with tour operators. At this stage, you will need some effort and increased responsibility. Today's market for the provision of tourism services is characterized by diversity and a huge selection of tour operators.

Newbies in the tourism industry choose to cooperate with companies that provide low prices. At the same time, they do not think about the likely consequences associated with the dishonest work of such companies that engage in price dumping. As a result, clients will find themselves broke, for example, due to non-receipt of the booked services in full.

An unreliable tour operator tries to maintain profit by any means, so you will not be informed about the occurrence critical situations. To avoid this, pay attention to the following points in the work of a tour operator:

• period of work in the tourism services market;
• financial support;
• priority of areas of activity.

In addition, it is preferable to cooperate with operators who have a representative office in your city. This circumstance will simplify the work with documents, since you will be able to submit them not to the main office of the company, but to the representative office, which is very convenient.

Direct cooperation with the tour operator

In your work, establish business relationships not with the tour operator, but with the intermediary. There are a lot of companies acting as intermediaries on the market. They are travel agencies that offer to conclude a subagent agreement granting the right to arrange and sell travel services.

Such cooperation has some advantages. Thus, the commission amount is higher compared to the remuneration that the tour operator is ready to offer. The increase in the operator’s commission is related to the number of attracted clients. The intermediary is able to immediately offer a high reward, which does not depend on the number of tours booked.

A positive aspect is that transactions with documents are carried out directly at the intermediary’s office. If your travel agency cooperates with a tour operator whose head office is located in another city, then certain monetary costs will be incurred for sending out documents. This problem does not exist when working with an intermediary company, since incorrect documentation entails that the intermediary himself contacts the operator to resolve the problems that have arisen. This condition will save the agency time costs.

If your travel agency has problems with tourists, then solving them through an intermediary will become problematic. It is easier to find a way out of such a situation by direct contact with the travel service provider. This negative point has an unfavorable effect on cooperation with the help of third parties, but this method of interaction is popular.

Ways to solve problems during the low season

The tourism business is highly dependent on the seasons, which determines the demand for these services throughout the year. The most popular period of the year is summer, when the flow of tourists increases many times over. Winter is a time of calm, which becomes a little livelier in new year holidays and during school holidays.

This part of the year is known as the "low season" and it causes some difficulties for tourism companies as they try to maintain control over the situation. Some travel agencies prefer to insure themselves in advance. For example, they put aside a certain amount of money in reserve, since at this time a decline in the flow of tourists is inevitable. Other companies increase the number of employees in the summer months and reduce them during the off season.

The off-season period for most travel agencies is the time when they begin to intensively sell tours to Russian holiday homes. But during the “hot times”, companies do not focus on domestic tourism. This is due to receiving less revenue from this area of ​​activity, in contrast to the sale of tours related to holidays abroad.

Development of a travel agency at the initial stage

Each Travel Company In the first months of work, it begins to create a client base with its subsequent increase. Modern tourists prefer to choose companies with wide range all kinds of discounts. Therefore, pay attention to tour operators who offer profitable tours, provided with an adequate amount of agent commission.

Vacation packages do not have a fixed price, so price fluctuations occur frequently. This requires painstaking work aimed at finding the best offer. Ask clients for address Email– this will help to quickly send out new offers regarding profitable tours.

Regularly improve the quality of your customer service. A satisfied tourist will certainly tell his friends about his unforgettable vacation and mention the travel company that provided him with a pleasant experience.

Travel agency franchise

If you do not have experience in developing a travel agency, then a good start would be to purchase a ready-made business system (franchise). For example, a TezTour franchise will cost you the following costs:

• lump sum payment - $5000
• costs for renting premises (room on the 1st floor, corporate style design, area from 20 sq.m., parking available, 2 or more places for workers)
• monthly royalty 1% of net profit

The TezTour franchise pays for itself in an average of 15-20 months.

Top 5 travel agency franchises

We list five main franchises that you can take to open your own tourism business.

1. Travel agency franchise beach holiday"Vell" ( included in the top 25 franchises according to Forbes)
2. Travel Club "Wings" ( part of the Ural Airlines holding company)
3. "1001 round"
4. "Chain of Last Minute Travel Stores" ( included in the top 25 franchises according to Forbes)
5. "Satellite" ( the oldest travel agency in Russia)

⊕ Download 100% unique travel agency business plan from scratch (51 pages in word)

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