For those who plan to open a travel agency: important moments and secrets of success

In recent decades, the tourism industry is developing at an unprecedented pace. That's why there are a lot of people who want to open a travel agency. Surely you also had to see and hear advertisements from previously unknown organizations more than once. However, this sphere is considered highly competitive, and therefore, if you do not think it through carefully, you can very quickly "burn out" and lose all your invested funds.

First of all, you need to realize the global nature of one of the most common myths about how to open your travel company simply. Many believe that all that is needed for this is to rent an office, put people there, take orders from customers and swim in the money received. However, while wanting to open a travel agency does not take into account one fact at all. The matter is that 99% of people are ready to pay more expensively, but to take advantage of services of for a long time known and having authority of the company.

Let's find out what it takes to open a travel agency.

License

You can not start a job without it at all. And the requirements for obtaining a license are quite serious - at least 20% of your employees must have a higher, additional or at least secondary specialized education in this field. Another option is to have a minimum of 3 years of experience in this business. For tour agency executives, these two requirements are combined. The license is issued by the Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Economic Development. And you should already have an office and all the relevant documents. All other expenses should be supplemented by the cost of the lease (about 60 days, when the Department of Tourism will consider your application).

Other certificates

In addition to the license, you will need a certificate that proves that the services provided to your agencies comply with the current quality standards. And a hygienic certificate confirming that you passed the course, where you were told in detail what tropical diseases tourists might be waiting for.

Office

If you set out to open a travel agency, carefully consider the interior of the office - it will largely depend on the impression of your customers. In the room must be present several phones and dedicated Internet. On the walls of the office, you should hang up as many diplomas and certificates as possible. They will contribute to the growth of confidence in you from the clients.

Seasonality

If you want to open a travel agency at the height of the season, it is better to start preparing for 2-3 months. The second half of April, June-September and the end of November-December are the most profitable in tourism periods. But "stagnant" can be called October, January, February and to some extent March.

Advertising campaign

You will need to deploy a large-scale marketing campaign in the network, as well as describe your services in the printed publications of the city. Allow ads on TV or on the radio can only individual agencies.

Difficulties of a budding agency

In the first year it is very difficult. At least due to the fact that a full-fledged client base has not been formed . Constant clients begin to appear only in the 2-3rd year. On the 3rd, in addition, many entrepreneurs generally refuse the idea of engaging in an agency, as there is a feeling of a certain stagnation in business. At this stage more than 40% of agencies are being screened out. However, the remaining are finally fixed in their niche.

Costs and profits

If you are thinking about how to open a travel agency in Russia, you should consider such expenses as office rent, advertising campaign, employee salary and various taxes. Beginning firms rarely cross the bar in 50 permits per month, although larger and well-known competitors at the height of the season can serve both 200 and 300 customers. The profit comes at the expense of the contract with the tour operator (with which the agency's share, commissions are also stipulated in advance). The average cost of the tour is $ 400. And the percentage of commission is usually about 10%. Having carried out simple calculations, we receive a monthly profit in the amount of 2 to 8 thousand USD.