Everyone likes traveling — new horizons, beautiful destinations and unique experiences mean we love packing our bags and spending time away from work and home. That’s why travel agents are so important: they help bring our vacation dreams to life and build memories that will stay with us forever.
Even with the rise of online travel booking, many vacationers want the reassurance of a travel expert to talk them through countries, destinations, hotels, flights, tours and more. If you have the expertise to understand travel itineraries and match the right people with the ideal experience, then opening a travel agency could be a great business move.
We know it can be daunting to start a travel agency, and we’re here to help. We’ve helped over 100,000 people form their business and provided answers, guidance and support to transform them into entrepreneurs. We’ll guide you through what you need to know to start your travel agency business and get it off the ground.
To get you started on the right foot, here’s our simple guide on how to become a travel agent. From highlighting important facts to validating your ideas, and from choosing the right structure to managing and running your business, you’ll find the answers you need.
Read on for some insight into creating your own travel business and becoming an entrepreneur. In this guide we will cover:
Before deciding to start a travel agency, it’s important to understand the skills and approach you’re likely to need.
Here are some of the typical tasks you’ll be performing for your travel agency business on a daily basis:
The following skills will be very useful in your role as a travel agency small business owner:
Customers come to a travel agent because they want a really great experience, and they want a travel agent to help them achieve that. Some customers simply don’t want to deal with all the administration themselves and use a travel agent to take away that burden. Other customers have specialized needs that a dedicated travel agent can help them to meet.
If you want to start a successful travel agency business, it’s important to know what your options are. Here are some of the more popular business ideas:
Some travel agents have deep expertise in a particular part of the world. For example, some travelers may want to go to Japan and will need an experienced guide who can explain all of the cultural differences and idiosyncrasies. Other travelers may want a specialized trip to the Baltics and Scandinavia.
Some vacationers will seek out a travel agent that can help with their particular needs. For example, some travel agents may provide specialized services to people with disabilities, choosing locations and activities that can be enjoyed from a wheelchair.
Other travelers may have preferences when it comes to diet, culture, religion or other aspects. A travel agent may choose to specialize in vegan or artisanal food and tours, while another may focus on all-female tour groups.
There’s another niche for catering to vacationers who want to experience specific activities. For example, some tourists may want high-adrenaline activities, while others will want a deeply artistic experience.
You will also want to decide if you want to be a work-from-home travel agent, or if you have other options for where to locate your business.
The travel and tourism ideas above are all great starting points, but you will need to build on them to make the business your own. You have unique skills and insight that you can use to create a travel agency business that will really stand out. Your travel agency business will have dozens or hundreds of competitors, and you need to deliver superior travel and tourism services and excel in your chosen travel niche.
Profit margins in travel agency businesses can be tight (between 6 and 12 percent), so you need to stay on top of your finances and business planning.
A business plan will help you decide and define how you’re going to run your travel agency business, where you will get money, how you will market your tourism services, how you will create your sales plan and what you envision for your profitability and future growth.
All travel agencies need a solid business model, which is how you will generate sales, provide services and make money. Think about your travel and tourism business model now, because it’s better to have that in place so you can start acquiring customers and generating revenue from day one.
Business plans do vary slightly, but they should all cover the following areas:
There are five main business structures you can have in the U.S., and it’s important to choose the right one. We’ve shared your options below. They are:
This is the "default" business structure and is what your travel agency business will be if you decide not to create a more formal structure. We don't recommend this type of business as it doesn't give you the legal protections you need.
Similar to a sole proprietorship, if you go into business with someone else without forming a legal business entity, you will be treated as a partnership. This doesn’t give you limited liability protections, so we don’t recommend it for your travel agency business.
The most common type of business entity. An LLC is fast, simple and inexpensive to set up and maintain. It protects your personal finances and assets and is a great way to start your travel agency business.
This is a more complex type of business and isn't generally recommended for smaller organizations, like a travel agency business.
These are the largest and most complex types of businesses and are typically far more than the average entrepreneur or travel agency business owner will need.
Once you've legally created your travel agency business, you’ll need to get some other things in place.
Many new tourism entrepreneurs choose to be work-from-home travel agents. In almost all cases this is the right choice, as you will be able to prove out your travel agent business model before investing in separate or shared office space. Don't forget that if you work from home, you can write off part of your utility and housing costs against your taxes.
The equipment needed to run a travel agency business is likely to just be a computer and a smartphone. Of course, you will also need to invest in good travel agency software that will make administering your tourism business that much easier.
Marketing is everything to a travel agent, and you will want the right mix of marketing channels to target your specific niche. Email, social media and your travel agency website are the most popular channels for travel agents, although newsletters, community events and local networking are also useful ways to reach new customers.
The right software and processes will make running your travel agency business much easier. See our list of the best apps and software at the end of this guide. You may also want to look into specialized travel agency software that can integrate with major tourism providers and make planning your itineraries and bookings that much easier.
To begin with, you probably won’t need to hire anyone else for your travel agency business, especially if you’re a good administrator.
You will need a separate business bank account for your travel agency business. You might also want to consider a business credit card. Additionally, you will also need to keep careful bookkeeping records and file business and personal taxes. Here at Incfile we can even help you file your taxes.
