Starting your own travel agency business is an exciting prospect. Before you go ahead and get the ball rolling, it definitely pays to consider the wider picture.
There are dozens of different areas to consider, but I’ve picked out five of the most important below.
* Where are your customers going to come from?
This is a fundamental question any business needs to be able to answer before starting up. Your travel agency business will struggle to get off the ground unless you have a clear plan of who your target market are, and how you’re going to attract them.
There are a number of different ways to bring in business as a travel agent. You may decide to focus solely online, or perhaps use a mixture of SEO and going to local networking meetings.
* Will you be a general travel agency or a niche one?
Competition is fierce among High Street travel agents. Your travel agency business may have the best chance of success by choosing a specific niche market.
For example, you might focus on skiing holidays in America, or Scandinavian cruises. By choosing a niche, you stand a better chance of getting recognised by your target market and becoming known as a specialist travel agent.
* Should you be completely independent or part of a franchise?
Running a completely independent travel agency business is not for everyone. Many people like the security of a travel agent franchise instead.
Weighing up whether or not to go it alone, or have some support in place is an important decision. If you choose to go down the franchise route for your travel agency business, make sure you ask plenty of questions before signing up, and choose a well known travel agent as your franchisor.
* What’s your USP?
Why are people going to book their holidays with you rather than another travel agent? You may be unique by targeting a very niche market, or your prices may be lower than your rivals for example.
You need to be able to communicate a strong reason or unique selling point (USP) to make your travel agency business stand out from day one.
* Is it feasible to earn what you need to?
You may have always wanted to work as a home based travel agent, but is it financially viable? Before you think about starting, you need to be clear as to what amount of money you have to earn each month to live on, and develop a plan to reach that target.
The Freedom Travel Group provides people with a travel agent franchise backed by the Co-operative Travel. Starting your own travel agency business with the backing of a household name can help you avoid many common mistakes.