travel business marketing plan

Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template

Looking to take your travel agency to new heights? Look no further than ClickUp's Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template! This template is jam-packed with all the essentials you need to create a winning marketing strategy and take your business soaring to new destinations.

With ClickUp's Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template, you'll be able to:

• Craft targeted advertising campaigns to reach your ideal audience
• Forge partnerships with airlines and hotels to offer unbeatable travel packages
• Leverage the power of social media to boost brand visibility and attract more customers
• Network with industry influencers to establish credibility and gain a competitive edge

Ready to take off? Get started with ClickUp's Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template today and watch your business soar to new heights!

Benefits of Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template

A travel agency marketing plan template can provide numerous benefits for your travel business, including:

• Streamlining your marketing efforts by providing a clear roadmap and strategy to follow
• Increasing brand visibility through targeted advertising campaigns and social media promotion
• Attracting potential customers by offering competitive travel packages and partnering with airlines and hotels
• Generating leads through effective lead generation tactics and strategies
• Driving sales and revenue by implementing proven marketing techniques and strategies
• Monitoring and evaluating your marketing efforts to identify areas for improvement and optimize your campaigns.

Main Elements of Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template

ClickUp's Travel Agency Marketing Plan template is designed to help streamline your marketing efforts and keep track of all your tasks and projects in one place.

Key elements of this template include:

• Custom Statuses: Use the 6 different statuses - Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, and To Do - to easily track the progress of each task and project in your marketing plan.
• Custom Fields: Utilize the 6 custom fields - Quarter, Task Type, Impact, Progress, Percent Completion, and Effort - to add specific details and attributes to each task, such as the quarter it falls under, the type of task, its impact, progress, completion percentage, and effort required.
• Custom Views: Access 5 different views to visualize your marketing plan and track progress. These include Key Results view to focus on your marketing objectives and key results, Timeline view to create a visual timeline of your marketing activities, Getting Started Guide view to help you get started with the template, Objectives view to set and monitor your marketing objectives, and Progress Board view to track the progress of your marketing tasks and projects.

With this template, you can effectively manage your travel agency marketing plan, stay organized, and achieve your marketing goals.

How to Use Marketing Plan for Travel Agency

If you're a travel agency looking to boost your marketing efforts, follow these five steps to make the most of the Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your target audience

Before diving into your marketing plan, it's essential to identify your target audience. Determine who your ideal customers are, such as adventure travelers, luxury seekers, or budget-conscious vacationers. Understanding your audience will help you tailor your marketing strategies and messages to attract the right customers.

Use custom fields in ClickUp to categorize and track different target audience segments.

2. Set your marketing goals

Next, establish clear and measurable marketing goals for your travel agency. Do you want to increase website traffic, generate more leads, or boost bookings for a specific destination or tour package? Setting specific goals will help you stay focused and track your progress.

Create Goals in ClickUp to outline your marketing objectives and track your progress towards achieving them.

3. Plan your marketing strategies

Now it's time to brainstorm and plan out your marketing strategies. Consider utilizing social media campaigns, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, influencer partnerships, or even hosting travel webinars. Each strategy should align with your target audience and help you achieve your marketing goals.

Use the Board view in ClickUp to create cards for each marketing strategy and track their progress.

4. Create a marketing calendar

To ensure consistency and organization, create a marketing calendar that outlines your planned marketing activities for each month. This calendar will help you stay on track and ensure that you're consistently engaging with your audience through various channels.

Utilize the Calendar view in ClickUp to schedule and visualize your marketing activities and campaigns.

5. Monitor, analyze, and optimize

Once your marketing plan is in action, it's crucial to monitor the performance of your campaigns and strategies. Regularly analyze key metrics such as website traffic, social media engagement, lead generation, and bookings. Identify what's working well and what needs improvement, then optimize your marketing plan accordingly.

Use Dashboards in ClickUp to track and analyze your marketing metrics in real-time, allowing you to make data-driven decisions and continuously improve your marketing efforts.

By following these steps and utilizing the Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp, you'll be well-equipped to create and execute an effective marketing plan that helps your travel agency thrive in a competitive industry.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template

Travel agencies can use this Travel Agency Marketing Plan Template to effectively promote their services and attract potential customers.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a successful marketing plan:

• Use the Key Results View to set measurable goals and track the progress of your marketing campaigns
• The Timeline View will help you plan and visualize the different stages of your marketing initiatives
• Refer to the Getting Started Guide View to understand the template structure and get tips on how to create an effective marketing plan
• Use the Objectives View to define specific marketing objectives and align them with your overall business goals
• The Progress Board View allows you to monitor the progress of each marketing activity and ensure that they are completed on time
• Organize tasks into six different statuses: Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, To Do, to keep track of progress
• Update statuses as you work on different tasks to keep team members informed of progress
• Monitor and analyze tasks to ensure maximum productivity

Related Templates

• Roller Skating Social Media Marketing Plan Template
• Dessert Shop Social Media Marketing Plan Template
• Commercial Cleaning Business Marketing Plan Template
• Realtors Marketing Plan Template
• Audiology Social Media Marketing Plan Template

Template Includes

Expand to see 6 statuses.

• CANCELLED, COMPLETE, IN PROGRESS, NEEDS INPUT, PLANNED, TO DO

Expand to see 6 Custom Fields

• Percent Completion

Expand to see 5 View Types

• Key Results
• Getting Started Guide
• Progress Board

Sign up for FREE  and start using ClickUp in seconds!

What Is Inbound Marketing And How Can You Start Applying It To Your Travel Business 

In a survey conducted, 79% of people reported that engaging content made a significant impact on whether they purchased a product/service.

And so, when it comes to developing a marketing strategy for tourism, you simply can’t overlook the power of inbound marketing .

Inbound marketing is centered around taking a customer-centric approach and drawing people to your brand. It’s a fundamental digital marketing concept, and it can make a significant impact in helping to grow your travel business.

In this guide, we’ll cover what exactly inbound marketing is, how it works, and how your travel business can take full advantage.

What Is Inbound Marketing? 

Inbound marketing is the process of attracting customers to your business by sharing content that interests and engages them. It is a softer approach when compared to outbound marketing, which is a more direct tactic.

Inbound marketing is a useful strategy because it’s non-invasive, and helps you direct qualified traffic and prospects to your site.

Common examples of inbound marketing include publishing SEO-friendly blog posts, YouTube videos, or social media content. Basically, anything that your target audience is actively interested in.

This differs from strategies like running paid ads or cold-calling and emailing prospects - as these are approaches where you’re trying to put your brand in front of potential customers.

It’s an organic approach to marketing and, when done right, it can have many powerful benefits for your travel business.

Why Is Inbound Marketing Important? 

Running an inbound marketing strategy is an effective way to help your business attract the right target customers, build trust with them, generate engagement from your audience, and develop long-term relationships with your clients.

Inbound marketing helps you make an authentic connection. When done properly, it positions your brand as a trusted expert within your niche, and it helps you develop positive brand awareness without potentially annoying your audience.

Inbound marketing can also help you achieve excellent long-term results. With strategies like email marketing or SEO, the cost of marketing is incredibly low and it can generate loads of value for your brand over the long run. This means inbound marketing offers a fantastic ROI for travel businesses.

Understanding The Customer Journey 

Successfully executing an inbound marketing strategy is all about understanding your customers and their journey. This is because inbound marketing is focused on publishing the right content at the right stage of the buying journey to help you attract, engage, and convert your prospects.

The customer journey can be broken down into five main stages:

Awareness 

This is the stage when prospects discover your brand and learn about what you do.

Interest 

At this stage, the prospect starts showing an interest in your brand. This is when they start understanding more about what you offer and how you can solve their pain point. An important element of this stage of the journey is developing trust with the prospect

Consideration 

The prospect fully understands what you do and they are interested in making a purchase. Now they seriously consider your brand as an option.

Purchase 

This all-important stage is where a prospect decides whether to pull the trigger and make a purchase and becomes a customer.

Retention 

This is the very last stage of the funnel, where you maintain engagement with customers and try to drive repeat purchases from them.

These are the general stages of the customer journey. In order to maximize your inbound marketing efforts, you need to make sure that you publish content that matches the intent and interest of the customer at each stage of this journey.

This can be spread out across various channels such as your blog, social media, email marketing, live events, and so on.

Your goal should be to create content that helps address your customer's pain points and questions at each stage of this journey and move them further along to the conversion stage, where they will book a tour.

Understanding the Inbound Marketing Flywheel 

The flywheel model is another important concept to understand when it comes to inbound marketing. This model refers to the different aims of your content during the different stages of the customer journey. There are three main purposes to understand here:

Attract 

To generate awareness about your brand and attract new prospects. The marketing content you create here is geared toward strangers who don't know about your business and to get them interested and interacting with your brand.

Engage 

This is when you publish content that engages current prospects who now know about your brand and have shown an interest in what you offer. This content turns your prospects into customers.

Delight 

The content you publish here is aimed at maintaining and improving relationships with existing customers. Your goal should be to keep customers engaged with your business and turn them into promoters of your brand.

When each stage works together, the entire marketing flywheel is designed to grow your travel business.

In terms of content marketing, each stage of the flywheel flows seamlessly into the next. This means the marketing messages and content you produce need to align with the customer journey and help you move customers along as their interests and positions change.

How To Use An Inbound Marketing Strategy For Tourism 

When it comes to developing a marketing strategy for tourism, inbound marketing is essential. It’s a customer-centric marketing approach that helps you effectively target the right people and build the right kinds of relationships.

To help you develop a powerful inbound marketing strategy, here are some of the key steps and tactics you’ll need to follow.

1. Understand Your Target Customers 

Effective inbound marketing starts with understanding your target customers. This involves knowing what pain points, questions, and desires they have.

Your goal here is to understand what kind of content they would be searching for and engaging with online in order to book an experience with your travel business.

So, dive deep into your target customer personas and try to gain as strong of an understanding of your customers as possible. Learn about their interests, demographics, online behaviors, questions, and more. This will help give your inbound marketing strategy a clear direction.

2. Choose The Right Inbound Marketing Channels 

You’ll need to choose the right inbound marketing channels to market your brand. This could include a blog, social media channels, a YouTube account , a podcast, or more. Whatever you choose, make sure that it aligns with your target audience and their online behaviors.

Once you establish these channels, use them to direct traffic to your website. Your website is your main online asset, and it’s where you’ll generate bookings .

However, people won’t always go straight from seeing an Instagram post to converting on your booking page. As we’ve discussed, there’s a customer journey you need to align your inbound marketing efforts with.

When you establish your marketing channels, understand what part of the journey they will target and how they will achieve this. For example, you could use the following tactics:

• SEO blog content: Attract stage
• Social media: Engage stage
• Booking pages: Convert
• Email newsletter with discounts and offers: Delight stage

Once you have established what marketing channels you will use, you can start to create strategic content for them to match the different stages of the buying journey.

3. Create Valuable Content To Attract Prospects 

As we’ve already established, inbound marketing starts by attracting potential customers to your brand.

This means that you need to create valuable content that will help you drive new traffic to your website. SEO blog content is one of the most effective ways to do this.

The idea here is to create content that:

Your goal should not be to try to sell to people but rather to rope them into your business, make them aware of what you do, and potentially opt them into a mailing list. So, make your content interesting, let it answer all your prospect's questions, and ensure it's something they search for.

For example, let's say your travel business offers tours to San Diego. You could publish content like “A Guide To The Best Time To Visit San Diego” or “The Top 10 Attractions In San Diego”.

This will help you attract people who are in the early stages of researching a holiday in San Diego but have not yet started looking for a tour operator.

This is a great example of inbound marketing because the prospect has performed a search and found your business - without you reaching out to them.

4. Engage Prospects With Strategic Marketing Tactics 

Now you need to maintain the attention of people who have discovered your brand and engage them. You could achieve this by getting prospects to sign up for your mailing list or follow you on social media .

This is where you publish content focused more on what your business does, what travel offers you have, and why prospects should trust you.

Including things like testimonials, positive reviews, or videos of previous trips you’ve done are all great ways of engaging your prospects.

Did you know that WeTravel offers a Customer Review Widget ? With this feature, you are able to automatically gather reviews from previous customers and add them to your website (all within a few lines of code). This will improve your conversion rate, even when adding only a couple of reviews. 

5. Answer Questions 

When administering inbound marketing, your aim should be to develop trust and ensure prospects can move along the customer journey swiftly. To do this, they need to find all the information they're after and have all their questions answered.

A useful way to achieve this is to create informative resources for your customers - such as an FAQ page on your website or blog posts addressing communion customer questions.

This, apart from being a great customer-centric practice, can be a helpful source of information to enhance the marketing resources you’ve created around your tour or even be a source for long-format blog posts if you find an interesting and recurring question.

Did you know that Wetravel has a feature within our trip pages that allows travelers to ask questions before booking a tour? 

6. Inspire Your Audience 

When it comes to travel industry content marketing , you can generate a lot of interest by inspiring your prospects. Post content about your destinations, trips, and experiences that gets your prospects dreaming. This is a great inbound marketing tactic for moving prospects down your funnel.

You could utilize video and social media to create some innovative, inspiring posts. This will also help prospects understand more about what your business offers and why your trips would be beneficial for them.

7. Optimize The Booking Stage 

When looking at inbound marketing across the buyer's journey, it's essential to consider the booking stage. This is the final stage of the customer journey and it's where you will turn prospects into customers.

At this stage, when the customer is ready to book, you can’t afford to lose them to the competition (because their buying intent is palpable). You’d be giving the competition a fully nurtured lead.

It's important that you make the booking process as simple and streamlined as possible. Make sure that you provide enough information required in your booking system, and that your online booking pages are easy to navigate and complete.

Did you know that WeTravel offers an optimized booking system for the travel industry, where you can add booking buttons and booking pages directly to your site? It’s the ideal solution for streamlining the customer journey and converting more prospects. 

Interested to know more about what WeTravel can do for your business?

Summary 

In order to increase tour bookings, it is imperative that you attract and communicate with the right target audience and provide them with suitable marketing messages to entice them to book a tour.

Inbound marketing is an excellent way for travel businesses to achieve this.

Instead of taking a more direct approach with your audience, inbound marketing provides value to your customers and tempts them with the kind of subtle content they want to see. This helps you spread more positive brand awareness and gain more credibility with your customers, which is likely to result in more conversions .

New resources, straight to your inbox

We’re committed to your privacy. WeTravel uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe at any time.

About the author

Related Posts

7 travel marketing ideas to sell more spaces on your religious tour, travel marketing best practices: how to apply the 7p’s to make your travel business more successful, 3 retreat marketing mistakes you can’t afford to make.

THE JOURNAL

Travel Advisor Resources

How to Market Your Travel Business Like a Pro: Tips from the Experts

The Modern Travel Agency

Fora travel.

https://www.foratravel.com/the-journal/how-to-market-your-travel-business-like-a-pro

Fora Advisor Fallon Alexandria

At Fora, we're all about empowering advisors with marketing tools to level up their travel business. Advisors get everything they need to succeed — email & social media templates, trainings, office hours (the works, if we do say so ourselves). But there's something to be said about step-by-step guidance from the experts.

Well, you're in luck. At last year's Live Forum , an in-person educational event for our advisors to level up their businesses, Fora's Head of Marketing Kelley Louise shared her expertise — and we're breaking it down for you below. Read on for her playbook on launching and growing your career as a travel entrepreneur.

Like what you see? Learn more about becoming a Fora Advisor today.

Step 1: Define your dream client

You're officially a Fora Advisor. You've completed the trainings and your first booking is under your belt — congrats! Now what? How do you get clients?

The first step is to define your dream client. What does she do? What is her travel style? All of this intel will help guide your marketing strategy and give you greater clarity on how you’re shaping it. 

Deciding who you want to work with is a crucial step. From there, you can develop a framework for how you market to them day-to-day.

That strategy might mean creating a client intake form that includes some key details on who you do bookings for (such as a minimum booking budget). Or, it might mean you’re only going to focus on certain social media platforms (Instagram versus Facebook, say, or vice versa).

Step 2: Market to your dream client, not the world

Now you know who your dream client is. How do you reach them? This is where content marketing comes in.

Start thinking about the type of content (emails, Instagram posts, guides, newsletters...) you want to make based on what content would resonate with your dream audience. This pointed planning will be a key shift from talking about travel and your experiences in general, and honing in on curating content geared toward your clientele.

As far as creating content that will resonate with your clients, the sky is the limit. This strategy might mean incorporating content like room tours, or “just booked” posts onto your Instagram stories and / or email campaigns. 

Your plan might include: 

Choosing one social media platform you know your dream client is on , and only focusing on that one.

Curating an email with content specific to the types of hotels you want to book.

Creating specific, niche guides that are useful for your dream clients.

Step 3: Build a realistic plan of action, and stay consistent

You’ve got your dream client, an idea of the type of content you want to make and a plan for how you’re going to reach your client.

Now it's time to decide how much time you want to spend on marketing per week. Then, analyze what's working, and throw out what's not.

Consistency is key. You need to consistently create content and put yourself out there (otherwise, clients will forget you’re there to plan and book their trips!).

Step 4: Make word-of-mouth your best friend

Put your clients to 'work' for you. They are your biggest cheerleaders.

You likely will have around five clients who are your star cheerleaders. It’s a lot less daunting to think about identifying your five dream clients than it is to think about building your entire book of business. Prioritize your efforts around those dream clients. 

Prioritizing your efforts might look like:

Asking your clients if they wouldn’t mind tagging you in a post about their travels.

Looking for opportunities to reach your clients' travel companions. 

Reaching out to your favorite client and letting her know how much you love booking her trips. Does she know anyone else who’s currently planning a trip and could use help? 

Like what you see? If you want to build an incredible career (or side hustle, or extra source of income...) as a travel entrepreneur, we can help. Fora provides advisors with everything they need — including resources like this — to build their business. Learn more about becoming a Fora Advisor today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

We empower anyone with a passion for travel to transform it into meaningful revenue. Sign up to become a travel advisor today.

On This Page

1. Create a plan for your travel business

2. conduct market research and find your niche, 3. develop a brand as a travel agent, 4. deal with the legal side, 5. determine your funding strategy, 6. choose a location and hire employees, 7. market and launch your travel business, words of advice: final tips from entrepreneurs who have started successful travel businesses.

• Business plan template and travel agency resources 

Starting a Travel Business: How to Become a Travel Agent

Briana Morgaine

17 min. read

Updated November 1, 2023

If you’re someone who loves travel, meticulous planning, and helping others have great experiences, consider starting a travel business and becoming a travel agent.

After a sharp drop in international and domestic travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, air travel demand has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Pent-up demand from families who put off trips is driving tourism activity even as fewer travelers cite the pandemic as a major concern. Those tourists are forecast to drive solid long-term growth in the worldwide travel and tourism industry – and plenty of business opportunities for those who can make vacation planning less stressful.

Becoming a travel agent can be fairly inexpensive, as business ventures go, and you can often get away with limited staff and little upfront cost.

That being said, success largely depends on finding the right niche in a fiercely competitive market, given the rise in online direct-to-consumer travel booking sites. So, if you want to be successful, you’ll want to focus a lot of your effort on your market research , branding, and marketing. You’ll need to know who needs your services—your target market—and what they’ll be willing to pay. 

If this sounds right up your alley, keep reading. I’ve interviewed several founders of successful travel agencies for their advice on everything you need to get started, and I’ve also included plenty of links and resources to help you work through the process of starting your own travel business.

Free Download:  Sample Travel Agency Business Plan Templates

Make no mistake: No matter what industry you’re in, a business plan is essential. You may not need a formal business plan if you’re not seeking a loan or investment funding for your business, but don’t skip it. Write a Lean Business Plan instead. You can do it in less than an hour. Writing a business plan is scientifically proven to help you grow faster , so don’t skip this step. 

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

What kind of travel agent are you interested in becoming? If you’re planning to be a home-based travel agent, you’ll want to look into finding a host travel agency where you’ll essentially be an independent contractor. If this is the type of travel business you’d like to start, the business planning process should be fairly straightforward.

However, if you’re looking into starting your own travel business from the ground up, you’ll be looking at a much more lengthy planning process—but you’ll also have more flexibility to build a business that’s all your own.

A case for starting early

“In starting ADDISON Yacht Charters , we began market analysis and business planning efforts a full year before we launched the company in November 2013,” says owner Scott Bessette.

“During that period, we attended industry events such as regional yacht shows in the Virgin Islands, Antigua, Florida, and Monaco to acquire as full an understanding as possible with regards to what products and services were being delivered to the market, who was delivering those products and services, and who was purchasing those products and services,” he explains.

Starting the planning process early helped Scott hone in on his vision for his business. “In this manner, we determined what our market niche could be, and established whether or not we could compete in the existing market, and what it would take to succeed,” he says.

Scott was able to get a clear sense of where he wanted to take it, and how to tailor his business to best suit the market needs.

What kind of travel agent business plan will you need?

The kind of travel agency business plan you’ll need will vary depending on what kind of funding you’re looking for.

Are you hoping to eventually run a large travel agency, and interested in seeking a loan, or maybe investment from angel investors? You’ll want a formal business plan for a travel agency that contains all the necessary information on your business. Are you more interested in becoming a travel agent using your own savings, without seeking outside investment or loans? A more lightweight one-page plan might be a perfect fit for your business.

Even if you do intend to pitch your business idea to lenders and investors, you can start with a Lean Plan, and flesh out the rest of the info later on. Or, you can turn to LivePlan , which will help you simplify the planning process and give you options.

Whatever your specific reason for writing a business plan for your travel business, the most important thing is that you write one, period. The travel industry is fragmented , and having a clearly defined niche and a plan will help you stand out. Writing a business plan for your travel agency will help you narrow in on what your goals are, and establish a clear, focused vision going forward.

We’ve covered nearly every aspect of writing a business plan here on Bplans, so be sure to check out the links below when you’re ready to get started. We also have several travel industry business sample plans, which will give you an idea of what your business plan should look like.

Resources to help you create a business plan for a travel agency:

• How to Write a Business Plan
• Travel Agency Sample Business Plan

What kind of travel agency do you plan on starting? Moreover, what kind of travel business does the industry or your local community actually need?

“When you launch a travel business, the most important thing to do is to provide a valuable service,” says Jacquie Whitt, owner of Adios Adventure Travel .

This means doing some market research to find out what kind of travel agent or travel business the market really needs. Is there a niche you can fill? Maybe there’s an opening in the travel market to provide destination adventure honeymoons for young couples who would rather go backpacking than relax on the beach. Think about the people in your local community too—do they need something specific?

“In a saturated luxury travel market, Urbane Nomads had to distinguish itself from more seasoned players from the get-go,” says founder Hajar Ali. “The dual elements of adventure and luxury was an unexplored niche which we filled very well.”

Hajar says of Urbane Nomads: “It was conceived as the kind of travel company that would remain relevant in the age where most travel-related bookings are made online. We specialize in the sort of experiences that can’t be booked online—adventurous trips to non-mainstream destinations, lodges that can’t be booked online—or indeed, by non-travel professionals—and special experiences and access to personalities that would have been impossible without the personal connections.”

What niche are you filling? Start by researching the travel market in general. Find out who the major players are that you’ll be competing against, determine who your ideal customer is, and define what they want.

Resources to help you do market research and determine your niche:

• Practical Market Research Resources for Entrepreneurs
• How to Do Market Research
• How to Create a Unique Value Proposition
• How a Buyer (or User) Persona Can Improve Your Business
• What Is Target Marketing?

Once you’ve determined what the market looks like and what specific niche you’ll be filling, it’s important to get down to the nitty-gritty of creating a strong brand image .

As the travel industry is so competitive, having a well-developed brand will help your business stand out. How do you want your customers to feel when they visit your website, view your advertising, or use your services?

Lorne Blyth, Founder and Director of Flavours Holidays , had a very specific vision for her brand. “[At Flavours Holidays], we have been specializing in cooking, Pilates, painting, photography, and language holidays in Italy since 1998,” she says. Lorne’s vision was to create a brand that “gave guests a true taste of Italy.”

“I use that as part of my branding, as we would like to perceive ourselves as being experts on all things Italy,” says Lorne. “That is why our tagline is ‘Passionate, Inspiring, Authentic.’”

Why should customers use your services, rather than just book a trip themselves? What experience can you provide that others can’t?

Do you offer unique services, such as partnerships with the locals of your travel destinations, that customers wouldn’t have access to otherwise? Is your selling point the ease of having someone else plan your trip for you, down to the last detail? Are you all about personal touches and a great customer service experience?

This is the first step to determining your travel business’s brand strategy— determining who you are. We’ve gone in-depth on how to build a memorable brand for your business, so check out the articles below for more information on branding.

Resources to help you brand your travel business:

• The Definitive Guide to Building a Brand
• 4 Reasons to Brand Your Business
• Want Customer Loyalty? Build Your Brand.
• Your Brand’s Tone of Voice: Why It Matters and How to Craft It

A travel business is, for the most part, a fairly simple one to set up. Unlike starting a brewery or starting a dispensary , there isn’t a lot of legal red tape when it comes to becoming a travel agent and starting a travel business. 

Determining if you’ll require licensing

In most locations, you won’t need any specific licenses or certifications, but licensing requirements will vary by state and country.

For the U.S. in general, there is no specific license needed to start a travel business; however, state laws vary . In California, Washington, Hawaii, Iowa, and Florida, you’ll need a Seller of Travel license. Canada also has licensing requirements that vary by location , and in the U.K., you’ll need an Air Travel Organiser’s License .

Choosing the structure of your travel business

Beyond specific licenses, there are general licenses that you’ll need before you start any type of business.

First off, choose your business structure . Scott Bessette, owner of ADDISON Yacht Charters, started his travel agency as an LLC , which he says suited his business needs. “Before we considered starting our agency, we determined that a Limited Liability Company was the appropriate structure for what we were trying to achieve.”

Why was an LLC the best choice? “We had no intention of going public, or having to secure formal investment,” he says. “Further, we had a very simple organization structure, so ease of governance and compliance drove our choice of corporate structure.”

However, the business structure you choose will depend largely on your plans for your business, and how you intend to fund it. If for example, you plan to seek outside investment, you may want to look into starting your business as a corporation .

Naming your business and applying for a Federal Tax ID number

You’ll also want to formally name your business (even if it’s just you, becoming a travel agent!), which involves filing a DBA , or a “doing business as.” You’ll also need to apply for a Federal Tax ID number , otherwise known as a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN or FEIN). We’ve covered these topics in plenty of detail, so be sure to check out the links.

Scott also adds that setting up the legal end of things was fairly simple.

“Establishing the legal and licensing requirements was one of the easiest aspects of starting the business,” he explains. “All said, conception and gestation of ADDISON Yacht Charters was long-term, but she was born after only two days of hard labor.”

Resources to help you determine the legal structure and name for your business, as well as other legal considerations:

• Do You Need a Travel Agent License?
• The Complete Guide to Choosing Your Business Structure
• The Complete Guide to Registering Your Business Name
• Resources and Tools to Help You Name Your Business
• How to Apply for a Federal Tax ID Number
• How and Where to Obtain Business Licenses and Permits
• Keep Your Startup Safe from Legal Trouble

How do you plan to fund your new travel business?

Luckily, your starting costs should be fairly low: You won’t have expensive equipment to buy, and you probably won’t need extensive space in the beginning. If you’re hoping to become a travel agent working out of your own home, you may not even need office space at all. 

However, be sure to have a plan in place for how you will obtain funding. You’ll need funds for marketing materials at the very least; both online, such as your business website , and offline, such as flyers, posters, business cards, and more . Your initial funding budget will also likely go toward any branding or advertising, and you may eventually also decide to rent office space and hire employees, which is a fairly large expense.

Unlike many businesses, there isn’t one tried-and-true path for funding a travel business. From personal funds to venture capital funding, it’s all a possibility.

Many travel agencies are self-funded since they have low initial overhead and can be started fairly easily (though face stiff competition to stand out). “I didn’t get any funding at all, apart from $2,000 borrowed from my dad for the website,” says Brady Hedlund, founder of Life Before Work .

Looking into loans and a line of credit is also a good first move. “We developed banking and relationships with firm lines of credit and support, to ensure that as we started to deliver, funds were available to spend before the client paid the bill,” says Scott of ADDISON Yacht Charters. “ Cash flow is critical to the appearance of a business’s success.”

However, when it comes to financing your travel business, angel investment, and even venture capital funding isn’t completely out of the question. “We formed an LLC to start Project Expedition and closed a $300k seed round in January 2015 to help drive the development of our MVP (minimum viable product),” explains founder Jeremy Clement.

Don Halbert, owner of Costa Rica Vacations , also funded his travel agency through venture capital. “Funding for this venture came from a venture capital company which would later become one of our primary partners,” he explains.

Resources to help you with the funding process:

• How to Get Your Business Funded
• 35 Great Ways to Fund A Small Business
• Angel Investment Guide
• What Do Venture Capital Firms Want?
• 10 Tips for Finding Venture Funding

Next, you’ll want to make a plan for the logistics of opening your travel business to the public. If you’re starting a travel agency and require office space, this section will likely be more relevant than if you plan to work as a travel agent out of your home. 

How many employees will you need to hire? You may not need any to start, until you decide to expand your operations.

You might also want to look into remote employees , suggests Mike Liverton, CEO and founder of Leavetown Vacations . “While many company employees live and work as home-based ‘Destination Experts,’ our main headquarters are downtown Vancouver,” he says.

Additionally, you’ll want to determine your business location . While foot traffic will likely not be a primary motivator in choosing a business location, you’ll want to pick somewhere that accommodates your space needs as well as reflects your desired brand image.

However, as with employees, you’ll find that a physical location isn’t always an absolute necessity. “We have never booked a client from our hometown,” says Scott.

“We’re a 24/7 business, that cannot be limited to when I am in the office, or more importantly, marginalized when I am not,” he explains. “The ADDISON staff has families, conflicts, and important events in their lives. We constructed and positioned our business to be virtual in nature; to be operational anywhere, anytime. I’ve conducted business from Europe, the Caribbean, from multiple states, and during my children’s sporting events.”

“We didn’t choose our business location, we chose a virtual location,” he adds. Whether or not you choose to go this route will depend on your specific niche and brand; however, it’s certainly an option to consider.

Resources to help you set up your travel business and hire employees:

• How to Choose a Business Location
• 13 Out of the Ordinary Ways to Find the Perfect Business Location
• How to Hire Your First Employee
• 13 Tips for Hiring Your First Employee
• A Comprehensive Guide to Creating a Business Website

Marketing will likely be where the majority of your initial funding budget goes, as it’s an important area to focus on when becoming a travel agent and starting a travel business. In fact, it’s a good idea to come up with a marketing plan as soon as possible.

For Don, the idea that you must spend money to make money drove the marketing strategy behind Costa Rica Vacations.

“Our ‘lesson learned’ in starting up our agency was primarily the realization that your Google Adwords budget can single-handedly determine your success when starting out in this normally competitive market,” he says.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all your advertising efforts should revolve around paid advertising, however. Plenty of your focus should go into social media marketing and guerrilla marketing tactics.

“I started out eight years ago running backpacking trips to Thailand, advertising using only lean, guerrilla marketing tactics,” says Brady Hedlund of Life Before Work. “I created an itinerary and website and hit the streets of western Canada to promote my new company.” Since his target demographic was 18-30-year-olds looking for an ‘adventure party tour,’ he went to university campuses and handed out flyers and posted signs advertising his travel agency.

“I didn’t get a single call for over a year,” he explains. “I honestly had no idea what I was doing at the time, but eventually, the business picked up and began to grow at an exponential rate. Flash forward eight years, and we now have a team of 35 full-time staff operating in 18 countries.”

Your marketing strategy will, as with all aspects of starting a travel business, be largely dependent on your specific niche, the demographic you are after, your budget, and your bandwidth as a business. That being said, combining both paid advertising with other guerrilla tactics (both online and offline) will likely serve you well.

Resources to help you market and launch your travel business:

• How to Write an Effective Marketing Plan
• 20 Marketing Tools Every Small Business Owner Should Try
• A Beginner’s Guide to Google AdWords for Small Business
• How to Have the Best Opening Day Ever
• Use These 16 Sites to Create Winning Marketing Materials
• Help! My Business Needs a Marketing Plan and I Don’t Know Where to Start
• “We searched for quite some time to find an underwriter that would provide us with general liability insurance, due to the amount of risks involved in adventure travel…This is a tricky product when it comes to insurance, but it’s obviously a very important piece of the pie.” – Brady Hedlund, Life Before Work
• “From the beginning, I have built up relationships with various individuals in Italy to help recruit staff for the villas used during our vacations. This varies from local cooks to tour guides to drivers. The little touches along the way, from booking flights for guests to getting the transport back to the airport, all adds up as every little bit helps to create the perfect experience for my guests.” – Lorne Blyth, Flavours Holidays
• “It’s important that your business partners share your values. I work with people in South America who are now my friends. We’re not in it for the money; we enjoy our jobs and if we can ‘eke’ out a living, all the better.” – Jacquie Whitt, Adios Adventure Travel

Business plan template and travel agency resources 

By now it should be clear that starting a travel agency requires a strategic approach and lots of planning. But don’t worry if it feels overwhelming. At Bplans, we have a full library of business planning resources to help you get started. You can browse through our free collection of over 500 real business plan examples , or download our free business plan template to help your travel business take flight. 

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Related Articles

8 Min. Read

3 Ways to Measure the Brand Awareness of Your Small Business

9 Min. Read

How to Legally Register for Your Business Name

3 Min. Read

How to Price a Product

5 Min. Read

When Should a Small Business Hire an Executive Team?

Flash Sale. 40% Off the #1 rated business plan builder

Travel and Tourism Marketing: Your Ultimate Guide to Promoting Your Travel Business

Marketing your tourism business doesn't need to be a chore. This comprehensive marketing guide for brands in the travel sector contains everything you need to know to start seeing results.

FREE DOWNLOAD:

Travel Marketing Program Brochure

Take a look at our customizable marketing solutions for businesses in the travel space and find out which channels can help you grow your brand.

The travel and tourism industry is one of the most potent worldwide.

But it's one of the most volatile and unpredictable industries as well, making it susceptible to things like political or social shifts, government regulations, economic changes, or, more recently, a global pandemic.

As a marketer, it's your responsibility to highlight and promote your company's services and offerings in new, captivating ways that entice both local visitors and tourists from all over the world.

That is no easy feat, so that's why we've created this guide to help you navigate the waters of a tumultuous industry and how you can stay strong amidst the shifting tides.

Let's get to it.

(Click the links below to navigate to specific sections of this article)

• Overview of the Hospitality Industry
• Importance of Marketing in the Hospitality Industry
• 7 Marketing Channels to Consider
• What Makes a Successful Hospitality Marketing Campaign?
• Branding and Website Tips for Brands in Hospitality
• Hospitality Marketing Trends
• When to Hire a Hospitality Marketing Agency

Overview of the Travel Industry

Steps to Create a Tourism Marketing Plan

Travel Marketing Channels to Consider

Travel Marketing Examples

Signs You Should Outsource Your Travel Marketing

The Future of Tourism and Travel Marketing

Travel and Tourism Marketing 101

The travel and tourism industry is one of the biggest and fastest-growing industries in the world.

Yet, defining it isn't clear-cut because, like many other industries, there isn't one clear product. In a broad sense, tourism is when people travel and stay in places different from their usual environment, generally for a short time, for leisure, business, health, or other reasons.

Below is a quick overview of the different sectors within the travel and tourism industry.

• Transportation (including cruises )
• Accommodation (hotels and resorts)
• Food & Beverage
• Entertainment (including casinos and live gaming )

But there’s also some overlap with other industries that form components of the travel and tourism industry:

• Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
• Travel Agents
• Tour Operators
• Tourism Organizations
• Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO)
• Financial Institutions
• Educational Sectors

An Overview of Today’s Travel Industry

Marketing for travel and tourism has drastically changed in recent years.

Post-pandemic, the travel industry is on the rebound. According to a Mastercard report , "Leisure and business travel are now growing at the same rate, up 33% from the same month in 2019 by the end of March 2023, a 42% year-over-year-to-date change from 2022 to 2023."

The challenges tourism marketers faced at that time are much different now post-COVID-19.

Currently, challenges stem from tourism protection and safety, government regulations and protocols, and a shifting consumer. Despite the unique challenges marketers face today, one common challenge has always persisted in the industry: getting more customers through your doors.

After a prolonged global shutdown, people everywhere are dying to get out of isolation and back into the world.

And even though new COVID-19 variants pose a threat, consumers are ready to reconnect, explore new destinations, and revisit familiar places - According to data from Scarborough, 88% of consumers plan to travel in the future regardless of the pandemic.

With vaccines readily available and high safety due diligence in practice, people are ready to explore the world.

5 Steps to Create Your Tourism Marketing Plan

The travel and tourism industry is, by nature, a physical industry - tourists move from one place to another.

However, the buyer's journey begins online.

So if you're looking to create or revamp your tourism marketing plan, the digital world is the most important place to start.

Having a plan to market your tourism business is crucial for success.

But how do you go about creating a roadmap?

What's all included?

Below are the five steps you need to take to build a foolproof tourism marketing plan.

Step 1. Reflect and Review

Take a moment to look back at your past year's business - all aspects of your business: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

List out the campaigns and tactics you implemented, why you chose those initiatives, their results, and other vital details like financial investments, resources, etc. It's also helpful to review the goals you had from a high-level standpoint.

Take it a notch further and create in-house benchmark figures from this review.

Some statistics you may want to focus on include customer attraction, satisfaction, and loyalty.

Step 2. Get a Good Lay of the Land

It's equally important to know who the other players are and what they're doing.

Understanding competitors' successes can help shorten your learning curve, and understanding their failures can help you avoid repeating any mistakes made.

Do a SWOT analysis of your competitors to help you identify gaps in the market that need filling, develop new or better products and services, uncover previously unknown opportunities and trends, and market and sell more efficiently. It's also imperative to research the industry as a whole.

Given it's your business, you probably feel you have a good sense of what the industry is like, what it's lacking, what it needs, and so on, but you'd be surprised by how misleading your hunches may be.

Take the time to research current market trends and actual data figures in tourism.

It would help if you had a solid understanding of travel habits, demographics, geographic trends, etc.

This understanding will help paint the ecosystem in which you are operating.

Step 3. Get Real Specific on Your Ideal Buyer

And by real specific, we mean really specific .

Who are you marketing to?

As the saying goes, if you're selling to everyone, you're selling to no one.

This step is crucial, yet most tour companies either forget to do it or do it sub-par, missing out on critical ingredients needed for success.

It's not just listing out the demographics of your audience - you want to get so specific it's as if you know the individual personally. This includes their hobbies, interests, challenges, struggles, setbacks, frustrations, goals, where they like eating, shopping, hanging out, and wants and needs.

Because these details are so specific, it's often helpful to start your persona with an actual person in mind. If you're already an established business with customers, look through your list, identify the customers you'd like more of, and use their demographics and attributes to create your ideal persona.

Step 4. Define Your "Why"

This step is another one that often gets missed but is so critical for several reasons.

Also known as your mission statement, your why is your business's backbone, the foundation.

It not only shapes the culture of your business but also gives light on why your business even exists.

This, in turn, helps develop your goals. Every business decision made, a  content piece created , and service offered should be rooted in your mission statement.

Step 5. Get SMART

With your purpose in mind, you can now specify the goals you want to achieve.

The types of goals you can create vary, and it's always best to have different ones in your plan, including growth goals over the short and the long term, financial goals, marketing goals, etc.

These high-level objectives should then be broken down into specific strategies and initiatives - aka SMART Goals:

“If it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed” is a quote from Peter Ducker that exemplifies the importance of having SMART goals.

So get real specific and take one action step at a time.

Top Travel Marketing Channels to Test

Whether you're a small mom-and-pop tour operator or a full-blown travel agency, reaching new customers is vital to remain afloat.

Below is a quick overview of marketing channels you need to test and incorporate into your marketing strategy.

Display Advertising

Even if you don't know what it is, chances are, you've seen display advertising . In a nutshell, it's advertising on third-party websites. How Display Ads Apply to Travel Brands:  Many brands took a major hit as a globally mandated pandemic halted everything their business relied on. Still, the travel industry is rebounding now that we've entered a post-pandemic phase.

Display advertising is a great way to begin recovering from the hit, as it doesn't require that many resources, and you can get started with a low budget.

How To Use Them Successfully: Focus on data to uniquely identify your target audience and anonymous users.

As you collect data across multiple external websites, you can combine this information to create a holistic overview of your user's interests and deliver an even more targeted and personalized ad.

Video Marketing

Video viewing has surged over the past few years: YouTube reported that its users view more than 1 billion hours of video daily on the platform!

With 78% of internet users watching online videos every week and 54% watching videos every day , no business can afford to skip out on this marketing channel. How Video Applies to Travel Brands: Video marketing is uniquely situated for travel companies.

Travel brands can visually present the travel destination , the transportation means, the food, services, and other accommodation before tourists even begin their journey.

This helps existing customers by giving them peace of mind about what to expect. But it also helps would-be customers become customers since certain types of videos can directly impact purchase decisions. How To Use Them Successfully: Studies have shown that it takes 10 seconds to grab a viewer’s attention , so make sure you start with a bang!

This is a chance to stretch your creativity, explore different ways to capture your audience's attention and take them into an immersive experience.

Native Advertising

Native advertising is similar to display advertising in that they're both paid.

But unlike display advertising, native advertising doesn't look or feel like ads.

They match the look, feel, and tone of the media format in which they appear, making it seamlessly flow and integrate with the rest of the content on the page. How Native Ads Apply to Travel Brands: Native advertising has produced impressive results for travel brands. A high of 78% of travelers say that informative content provided by travel brands influences their purchase decisions.

In an arena of endless options, travel, and tourism brands can clearly present a message to their audience and invite visitors to engage with them. How To Use Them Successfully: The key to native advertising is that it is non-disruptive. It showcases ads to the viewer without being glaringly obvious it's an ad.

To use them successfully, make sure to research the platforms that you are thinking about advertising on. There must be a cohesive synergy between the third-party platform/publisher and you, the brand/advertiser.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a basic communication channel between your subscribers - contacts who have signed up to your email list and given permission to receive email communications from you - and you.

Because it is one of the most profitable marketing channels, generating an average ROI of $38 for every $1 spent , every business needs to have this tool in its toolbox . How Emails Apply to Travel Brands: Email marketing is used to inform, build credibility, and drive sales, but in the post-covid environment, emails should also be used to provide critical information for tourists regarding health, social distancing, comfort, and services offered to provide comfort and safety.

You can use email marketing to reassure customers you have it handled. 

For hotel email marketing tips, view our blog on Hotel Email Marketing: 9 Awesome Campaign Ideas to Drive ROI.

How To Use Them Successfully: Email marketing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It would be best to focus on segmentation and personalization , uniquely catering to your audience on an individualized level.

SEO & SEM

SEO and SEM are strategies that drive traffic to your website and improve your overall search performance in search engines.

SEO focuses on improving your organic search rankings, whereas SEM is based on paid website displays in the search results. When used together, brands have reaped tremendous results in website visits and conversions. How They Apply to Travel Brands: There is no shortage of travel and tourism content - from destination magazines to travel influencers and everything in between; standing out in a sea of travel noise can be a challenge for travel brands of all sizes.

This makes it much more critical to have an SEO and SEM strategy. How To Use Them Successfully: A lot goes into SEO and SEM. If you're new to this, hiring an expert is best because it's a wasted effort if not done well.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing leverages social media platforms to connect with audiences to build brand awareness, increase sales, drive website traffic, and engage with customers on different levels. How Social Media Applies to Travel Brands: By publishing great content on your social media profiles like Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , and Facebook, travel brands can increase brand awareness, captivate existing followers, and engage directly with customers. How To Use Social Channels Successfully : Don't just use social media to post content and then go radio silent. Listen to your customers and respond and react to them. This builds credibility and trust. Lastly, don't be too quick to dispel other marketing channels and ideas . Some ideas are so timeless they don't need to be mentioned because they're conventional wisdom in outstanding hospitality.

3 Creative Travel Marketing Examples

Let’s take everything we just learned above and see it in action.

Visit Portugal

Portugal does a phenomenal job creating mini-series of videos that follow under a particular theme or message.

Their 'Can't Skip Portugal' campaign videos began in 2017 to inspire people to not skip out on life - to get out into the world and see all it has to offer, including Portugal.

Not only are their videos inspiring , but they’ve also backed it up with data and figures . And to take it a notch further, they created an interactive Emotion Travel Guide for users.

It's a brilliant campaign in many facets. And when the pandemic hit, they revisited this campaign from another clever angle: Can't Skip Hope.

What makes this video so great is the calming voiceover telling us everything is going to be alright.

We wouldn't expect a travel company to tell us to stop traveling, but that's exactly what this message is. It reminds us that, although we are forced to stop traveling, that's okay - there is peace and beauty in solitude, and though we may be apart, we stand united.

It's a perfect balance of inspiration and insight.

Interactive Travel Hub by The StoryStudio

This travel content hub is an exciting way for travel brands to align with the stories their audience cares most about through sponsored content hosted on the SFGATE domain. The hub attracts hundreds of thousands of local impressions and is the perfect way to raise awareness without disrupting the reader experience.

Contact us if you'd like to learn more about how your brand can be featured.

MGM Grand, already well established as an adult playground filled with slot machines and card tables, had a bigger vision to bring gaming to adults.

And to promote their new gaming center, LEVEL UP, they leveraged a custom story promoted through native advertising.

There are a couple of things that make this a great example.

For starters, it naturally fits in the context of the website.

Users may know it's an advertisement, but they're not bothered by it because it fits the tone and feel of the site.

Second, the content itself is fun!

Nobody wants to read boring articles - this story is creatively unique and exciting. And as a bonus, they've included a video for more visual context and amusement.

When to Hire a Travel Marketing Agency

Now that you know everything it takes to promote your travel business successfully and you've seen it in action, you might be wondering if you can pull it off.

Although it takes a lot to promote your business well, you can definitely make it happen.

If you feel you're better off with some assistance, consider hiring a travel marketing agency to help you.

• You've been at a standstill for a while, and you're not sure how to push it over
• You just launched a brand new business (congrats!), and you want to do it right the first time
• You've tried (and failed) at marketing and growth strategy too many times to mention
• You've tried (and succeeded), but now you're inundated with other more pressing business matters
• You're staying afloat and maintaining steady business but need help to take it to a whole new level

The Future of Travel and Tourism Marketing: Final Thoughts

Now that we are in year three of the pandemic, there is an increased demand for travel.

Are you prepared to capture these eager travelers and deliver an experience they'll speak about for years to come?

If not, what are you waiting for? Get started on your travel and tourism marketing strategy , and have the best year yet!

Get More Travel Marketing Best Practices

6 native advertising tips for travel & hospitality brands.

Hospitality and travel brands operate under cutthroat competition. According to data, over 84,000 travel agencies are in the U.S., increasing by 6.8% between 2021 and 2022. Therefore, marketing plays a massive role in how much market share your...

The Top Tourism and Travel Marketing Trends for 2023

Travel and tourism have experienced significant disruption over the past three years, from closing down during the early pandemic to a slow rebound that includes more domestic destinations. Still, 2023 is predicted to be a big year for the travel...

12 Captivating Marketing Ideas to Promote Your Cruise Line

After two turbulent years, travel is back, and cruises are setting sail. As the pandemic haze clears and travel continues to boom, cruise lines are working tirelessly to rebuild their customer base across multiple demographics, targeting past guests...

HAVE A QUESTION?

Click to see the FAQ page for publishers

Using Content to Drive Awareness/ Branding

• Tailoring Your Content to Keep Up With Summer Travel Trends
• [Beginner] Tips for Managing Brand Online Presence and Protecting Brand Digital Reputation
• [Beginner] Online Presence Management for SMBs and Freelancers
• [Beginner] How Marketers Should React to the Changes in Online Consumer Behavior in Recent Years
• [Advanced - 112] Marketing Tools to Spy on Your Competitors
• [Intermediate - 109] Engage Your Employees in Content Creation to Increase Brand Awareness
• [Intermediate - 107] How To Build Your First Content Marketing Plan
• [Intermediate - 106] what is the role of public relations in marketing
• [Intermediate - 106] The 5 Best New Digital Marketing Tools and Techniques
• [Beginner - 105] How to Create a Killer Press Release for Your Business
• [Beginner - 105] How to Write Your First Blog Post
• [Beginner - 104] 3 Templates for Writing the Best Press Release
• [Beginner - 104] Mobile Website vs. Mobile App: Which is Best for Your Business?
• [Beginner - 104] Find the Perfect Free Blog Template for Your Site
• [Beginner - 104] Our Guide to Content Marketing for Brand Awareness
• [Beginner - 103] Meet the Best Marketing Channels for Your Content Distribution Strategy
• [Beginner - 103] The Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Marketing
• [Beginner - 102] 9 Critical Steps to Making Money for Your Business Using Online Content Marketing
• [Beginner - 101] What Is Earned Media and How Can It Be Used Wisely?
• [Beginner - 101] Banner Advertising: What Types of Banner Ads Exist?
• Branding vs. Marketing: Finding the Difference
• What Does a Digital Marketing Company Do?
• [Beginner - 101] Why Every Startup Needs a Content Marketing Plan and Strategy
• [Beginner - 101] A Digital Marketing Glossary for Marketers Just Going Online

[Beginner – 105] Creating Your Travel Agency’s Online Marketing Plan

With the emergence of the digital age and the switch from traditional marketing means to online marketing, the travel industry has been forced to compete fiercely for online booking opportunities. However, because attracting customers using a great online travel agency marketing strategy can yield profits and build customer relationships, a marketing strategy is well worth the time and costs.

In order to create a travel agency marketing plan that appeals to customers and increases a travel agency’s return on investment (ROI), a travel agency needs to know its niche and target market, and how to plan around that. For help on putting together a great marketing plan for your travel agency, refer to the following tips:

Personalize Your Website, Content, and Services

If you want to draw attention to your travel agency, then creating a unique persona is essential. Doing something different than what’s already being done, and creating a website, content, and services that are unique and personalized is the first step. You can make your travel agency stand out by offering personalized services, one-on-one customer interaction, and unique recommendations.

Use Social Media

It today’s digital world, the importance of social media should never be underestimated. If you’re not already using Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, you need to start today. Social media can give you a huge business advantage by connecting you to more people than ever before. Plus, social media provides you with a forum to share content, promotions, information, and more about your travel agency.

Create Great Content

The truth is, if your website isn’t loaded with great content, then it’s not going to generate the traffic that it needs to make your travel agency successful. Not only does content need to be interesting, original, creative, informative, personal, and engaging to be great, but it also needs to be well-written. If you’re not comfortable in your writing skills, consider hiring a copywriter to create high-quality content for you, or take some time to improve your writing skills.

Rely on Reviews

Review websites, like Yelp or Google+ Local, are great for building up your reputation online. If you’re not on a review site, it’s time to be. As you start out, make an effort to reply to both negative and positive reviews – showing your customers that you’re willing to listen and care about what they’re saying can greatly improve your customer relationships, and can be monumental in growing your customer base.

Have an Awesome Website

While content is king, a great website on which the content is featured is pretty important, too. A great website will be easy on the eyes, simple to navigate, provide a unique and interesting design, and will load text/images/videos quickly. A great website – and great formatting – will also make use of different fonts and text styles, headers, great graphics, and an interesting layout.

As part of your website, make sure that your business information is listed on each and every page. At the bottom of each website page, contact information – including a phone number, email address, and address – should be listed.

With more and more people relying on smartphones and tablets rather than desktop or laptop computers to access websites, having a site that’s mobile friendly is extremely important. Your travel agency has two options for going mobile. First, you can create a mobile-optimized site, which means that when your site is loaded on a smartphone or tablet, a smaller, simpler version of your regular website will appear. Or, you can consider creating an app for your business. An app usually provides a more personalized user experience, and can be beneficial in that regard. However, creating an app takes a lot of work, and is more expensive that creating a mobile-optimized version of your site.

Blog, Blog, Blog

You’re a travel agency, which means that people want to hear about your experiencing traveling, planning trips, the ins and outs of finding the best deals, and more. As such, your field of business has an obligation to the consumer to share knowledge and insights. The best way to do so? Blogging. Through blogging, you can highlight personal experiences, talk about different customer interactions, tell stories, make lists of great places, provide tips for traveling in comfort, and more. A blog serves as a great way to hook in your audience, as well as advertise your own personal skills and travel know-how. Again, if you’re not comfortable in your writing, make sure to practice, and always have someone edit for you before posting.

Use Images and Videos

While you may be able to tell a great story about your hike to Ushguli, the highest inhabited village in all of Europe where you were exposed to a language that’s known by less than 80,000 people in the world and milked a cow, nothing tells it quite like a photo. Or, better yet, a video. People love to see pictures and often skip the text in a blog to focus on images alone. As such, make sure you don’t deny your audience the value of photography, and always choose great photos or videos to accompany your blogs and other pieces of website content.

Set Goals, Monitor, and Improve Your Travel Agency Marketing Plan

As you begin to put in place your online travel agency marketing plan, you’ll probably start to notice a change in your business. After some time has passed, you’ll begin to start collecting data on what really makes your audience tick. Are the blogs that tell a story receiving the most attention? Do people prefer “top five…” style lists? Is your app getting a lot of downloads? Are you getting very little response to your social media efforts? Have you received any negative reviews – if so, what about? All of these things are aspects of your travel agency marketing plan that should be assessed and analyzed. After doing so, appropriate changes should be implemented. For example, if one style of blog is completely dominating over the other, then you should be considering adding another similar post type each week. Or, if your followers on Twitter are numerous, but Facebook hasn’t been nearly as advantageous, you should think about re adjusting your social media strategy.

Need Further Help?

Speak to an Outbrain expert

For advertisers.

• Advertise with Outbrain
• Native Advertising
• Contextual Advertising
• Demo Outbrain
• How to Buy Outbrain
• Outbrain Academy
• Advertiser Guidelines
• Advertising FAQ
• Advertising Glossary
• Vertical Insights
• Vertical Hub
• Affiliate Marketing
• Affiliate Hub
• High-Conversion Content
• Repurpose Social Campaigns

About Outbrain

• Company Overview
• Cultural Manifesto
• Trust & Transparency
• For Publishers
• Thought Leadership
• Outbrain Blog
• Resources Hub
• Case Studies
• Performance Marketing
• Advertising Academy
• Publisher's Directory
• Help Center

Ready to start?

Try Outbrain for Advertisers today

• Interest-Based Ads (Opt Out)
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

A guide to a successful travel agency marketing plan

• November 24, 2022

Marketing is essential to any business, but marketing your own travel agency can feel daunting. There are many options and ways to reach your target audience. We’re here to help you understand how to promote your business in our guide to creating a successful marketing plan for your travel agency.

Why a travel agency needs a marketing plan

The travel industry is highly competitive, and a well-developed marketing plan can give you the edge you need to succeed. There are many facets to marketing, and a good marketing plan will consider them all. For example, you must consider your target market, including who your clients are and what kind of trips they’re looking for. You should also consider the unique selling points of your business and the most effective way to reach potential customers. For example, you might utilise influencers via Instagram to target the luxury market. Still, a newspaper ad might be more effective if you wanted to target an older demographic. 

A well-crafted marketing plan can make all the difference to a travel agency’s success. Without a plan, you could waste time and money on marketing activities that don’t generate any new business. So, if you’re serious about growing your travel agency, take the time to develop a comprehensive marketing plan. It will be well worth the effort in the long run.

How much does creating a successful travel agency marketing plan cost?

It takes time to create a travel agency marketing plan and it can become quite complex to tackle by yourself.  While there are businesses offering to design a plan for you, it’s very expensive to go down this route. The Travel Franchise focuses on helping its members start successful travel agency businesses. Franchisees receive marketing materials, ready-made social media posts, training in marketing and a Business Development Manager offering support and guidance.

With access to Shout Out, a video marketing tool, over 450 main tour operators at your fingertips, your own ready-made website, and lots more besides, this is a great option to consider. 

What should a marketing plan for a travel agency business include?

There are some things which you absolutely must include in your marketing plan to ensure it is successful. Including the points we’ve listed below will set you up on the right track for growth and save you from wasting valuable time and resources on misdirected marketing. 

• Who is your target market?

Your target market is the group of clients that you want to reach with your marketing message. The target market should be carefully selected, and your plan designed to appeal to them. As a travel agency, it can be easy to fall into the trap of wanting to appeal to everyone. You’ll need to narrow your focus and refine your brand to stand out in a crowded market. Choosing a niche can help to define your target audience. For example, you could target cruise holidaymakers, luxury travellers or adventure seekers. Your target market will be influenced by the type of travel agency you want to create. Once the target market is selected, the marketing plan can be created and tailored to your audience.  

• Establish your budget

You’ll next need to set a budget. In marketing, you have to spend money to make money, but good marketing doesn’t have to break the bank. Once you have a budget, you can think about which marketing activities will be most effective for your business. Suppose you’re targeting a local market, for example. In that case, newspaper ads and leaflets could be a good option and are much cheaper than large-scale ad campaigns. You should expect to spend more for a national or international market, and digital marketing may be more appropriate. By carefully planning your spending, you can ensure that your marketing efforts are effective and affordable.

• Where to focus your marketing efforts

You can use various marketing channels, from social media and influencers to content marketing through blogs. The key is to choose the channels that will reach your target audience and help you achieve your goals. If you need help figuring out where to start, consider using a mix of paid and organic channels for maximum reach and impact. You could run a Google PPC ad campaign , where Google places you at the top of search results to generate traffic to your website.

You can craft a slick Instagram campaign using reels to show the destinations you offer, or post live videos on Facebook. Many people starting a business use their cars as a way to advertise – logos along the side of a car draw attention and can stick in someone’s mind. It’s also worth approaching your local gym or sports club to ask if they’re open to partnering up with you.  

Whatever channels you choose, the key to success is creating great content that resonates with your target audience. Whether it’s a blog or social media posts, or even email newsletters, ensure everything you create is engaging and relevant to the audience you’re trying to reach. 

• Why digital marketing is easier 

To reach the broadest possible audience, you need to have a solid digital or social media marketing plan for travel agency success. And there are several reasons why digital marketing is more manageable than traditional methods. Firstly, it’s cheaper to produce digital content than to create a TV or print ad. Social media is simple and cost-effective, meaning you won’t need to employ marketing wizards to reap the benefits. You can target your audience in a more focused way with digital marketing by using digital analytics to find what your audience is searching for and clicking on. Overall, digital marketing is more engaging and interactive than other forms of marketing, making it more likely to convert leads into customers. So digital marketing is the way to go if you want to reach many people efficiently and cost-effectively.

Craft a digital marketing plan for your travel agency 

Now you know what you need to include in your marketing plan, it’s time to implement it! As we’ve discussed, digital marketing is one of the best tools to market a travel agency, so we’ll guide you through 5 steps for creating your digital marketing plan. 

• Research Your Target Audience

By now, you probably have a good idea of your desired audience, but knowing you want to target these people isn’t enough. You should find out who your clients are, what they want, what they search for online, and what will likely win them over to your business. There are various digital tools available online that you can use to research your market , so it’s worth playing around with some to see what works best. Personalised content is a great way to attract your target audience. For example, a sleek website with high-quality destination photos will likely appeal to high-end, luxury travellers.

On the other hand, to target young gap-year travellers employing an Instagram influencer could be the way to go, as fast-paced reels with popular music are likely to resonate better with a younger audience. However, travel agencies can also be destination specific, meaning your audience may be more varied. This can be a boon for your business, as it allows you to tap into a niche market of people interested in your particular location. It also means that the marketing content you produce needs to be comprehensive and appealing enough to reach a wide range of potential clients. 

• Organise Your Assets 

As a travel business, you’ll likely utilise several marketing platforms, from your website and social media to blogs and emails. Therefore, it pays to be as organised as possible. A specific marketing plan for a travel agency allows you to manage all these different channels and keep track of which performs best. Keeping track of engagement numbers and conversions is essential to judge how your target market engages with your business. When you can pinpoint where you’re getting the most engagement, you can further tailor your marketing strategy, allowing you to spend more time and resources on the platforms which generate more business. 

Ultimately, you want to maximise conversions while minimising costs, so you’ll need to keep track of a few key metrics. First, track each activity’s price and the number of leads and sales generated. This helps you determine which activities are most efficient in cost-per-lead and cost-per-sale. Additionally, keep track of the products you’re marketing, and calculate the internal yield per sale. You can then determine which products are most profitable and have the lowest cost per sale as a yield percentage. By monitoring these metrics, you’ll be able to fine-tune your marketing strategy. 

• Check Out Your Competition 

To stand out in a competitive market, agencies must keep up with the latest trends and find creative ways to reach their target customers. One way to stay ahead of the curve is to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. By tracking their marketing campaigns, you can quickly adapt and improve upon their strategies. Additionally, monitoring your competitors’ performance can give you valuable insights into what works and doesn’t in the travel industry. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, keep an eye on their marketing efforts.

• Establishing the Right Partnerships 

For a travel agency to be successful, it’s essential to establish the right partnerships for marketing. Working with other businesses in the industry will give you access to a broader range of potential customers, and you can share resources and ideas. For example, you could partner with a local hotel or car rental company and offer package deals. You could also join forces with a tour operator to promote your services in their brochures and website. By partnering with other businesses, you’ll be able to reach a larger audience and make your travel agency more successful.

• Set Goals to Track Your Success

Setting targets and goals will allow you to grow your business over time. If you need clarification on your goals, then it’s worth considering what you want to achieve with your marketing. Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Drive more traffic to your website? Convert more leads into customers? Once you’ve decided on your goals, you can start planning how best to achieve them. Remember to analyse the results of your marketing efforts and make adjustments as needed. With a little trial and error, you can fine-tune your marketing plan and ensure it’s as effective as possible. 

As you continue, you’ll come across some new strategies and be able to gain deeper insights into how your marketing strategy is performing. For example, how well is the blog catching on with readers vs lists or apps (which also require more maintenance)? Do people prefer short “top five” style articles over long-form blogging? Combining both could work better for your business. However, you won’t know unless you set goals and track the success of your marketing plan. 

The Key Takeaways

Your marketing plan will become more refined but knowing your target audience and establishing a budget is key. By creating partnerships, organising assets, setting goals, and tracking your success, you can create a successful marketing strategy for your travel agency. These tips will help increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your business.

You might also like...

Is it possible to become a travel agent without any experience?

Get a free, exotic ‘Elite Experience’ abroad with your franchise – like our consultants now jetting off to Jamaica!

Ride the wave of high cruise commission – just like Andy and Nikki

Useful links

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions

Get in touch

Our friendly team are on live chat if you have any questions..

• [email protected]
• 0800 084 8128

© The Travel Franchise. We reserve right to change our packages at any time.

Learn how it works instantly!

Your instant access to all our presentations is one e-mail away!

• Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

You can read our Privacy Policy here .

Hey there, future Rockstar! Give us a call now to get started: 1-800-730-6392

• Compare Host Travel Agencies
• Luxury Travel Agency Host
• Success Stories

Travel News

Key Components of an Effective Marketing Plan for Travel Agents

You’re working your business and gaining new clients, and people say they like working with you, but you’re not getting the results you want. Your phone rings but it’s not non-stop. And traffic to your website is coming in at a trickle.

And yet you wonder…

Do you need to be patient, waiting for clients and sales to increase?

Or could it be that, you don’t have a solid marketing plan, or any plan [thus breaking a rule of business], and everyone who booked travel with you did so because it was fluke that they found you.

Don’t worry. There’s hope. Read on to learn the seven key components of a marketing plan and start growing your travel agency today.

Key Components of a Marketing Plan for Travel Agents

Choose Your Niche

It’s important to understand the power of specializing and choosing a niche. The more focused you are on who you want to serve, the easier it will be for you to brand yourself and serve your clients with various partner product offerings. If you focus on too many travel niches, you won’t be able to market effectively to your customer. In fact, you may confuse them because they won’t know who you are as a travel agent.

Select Your Target Market

Conduct Market Research

Even if you think you know your niche and target market inside and out, you’ll want to conduct market research. You may create Google Alerts such as ‘travel and travel industry’ or even in your niche, for example, ‘family travel’. You may also subscribe to Travel Agent Central, Vacation Agent, Travel Industry Weekly, and any other publications that will provide you with the necessary marketing research for the travel industry.

Identify Competitors

Competitors are everywhere – never assume they do not exist. However, Travel Planners International is a top host travel agency and offers travel agents a variety of product offerings and education. From the agent’s perspective, it is smart to know who the competitors are in your space or niche and learn their competitive advantage. What is travel products do they offer? What is the price point? What segment are they targeting? Knowing your competitors will help you to position your travel agency and stand out from the competition.

Create a Budget

Create a month-to-month budget using a spreadsheet. Label the horizontal rows January-December. Underneath, label the rows with Budget and Actual. Label the vertical rows with marketing items such as direct mail, email marketing, etc. For each month, enter a Budget and Actual value. Get a total and compare the difference to see the variance – are you under or over budget? If a marketing item is not generating a sufficient ROI (return on investment), you’ll want to analyze why and determine if it’s worth the money to continue.

4,000+ Rockstars Have Partnered With Us

Determine which path is right for you

Define and Track Metrics

Tracking metrics can make the difference in growing your travel agency. You can use Google Analytics or website conversions and a simple spreadsheet to compare budget vs. actual ROI (see above). However, you want specifics that relate to your marketing message, social media updates, reviews, etc. Test marketing programs up to a 60-day period and analyze results. Use programs that deliver results and stop using those that don’t.

Marketing and Differentiation Strategy

Travel agents who want to get on the path to sales goals need to know how to attract their most likely clients. You’ll want to look at the whole marketplace and breakdown specifics such as email marketing, social media, direct mail, events, webinars, content strategy, partnerships, and other activities that will help you gain access to clientele. Keep in mind that your marketing plan must outline what differentiates you and your agency. Pricing is one differentiation. Technology and customer service are others. It’s up to you to find and deliver your USP (unique selling point).

Working your travel business without getting results is disappointing.

Particularly when you’re passionate about what you do.

But creating a marketing plan can have dramatic effects on your travel agency.

Imagine having an inbox filled with confirmations from current and new clients.

Picture earning commissions up to 90% and feeling satisfied, not frustrated, and earning a living that you desire.

Imagine yourself waking up every day smiling, not frowning.

To start, sit down and think about your marketing plan and outline it.

Consider your niche and choose the one that excites you. Keep those that have potential but don’t focus on them.

Do this and you could take your business to the next level in a short few months.

Call us today to find out more about getting started with Travel Planners International.

Share Content

Related posts.

Have you been asking yourself, “will my business survive this pandemic?" It’s no surprise that…

How do you get yourself noticed?  Can you create graphics?  What should you say or…

4,500+ Rockstars Have Partnered With Us

Orlando Web Design and Digital Marketing by ROAR! Internet Marketing

Travel Agency Marketing (11 Proven strategies & Tips)

Travel Agency marketing is something that I’m passionate about, and I’m pretty good at it too. It’s also how I really started in marketing in 2009, working on my mom’s niche travel agencies.

In this guide, I’m going to explain some tactics I use. I hope you can implement some of the ideas below.

Have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

• Find what works

Links and PR

Social media, social advertising.

• Set up a website
• List yourself in all the local directories

Customer Relationship Software

Word of mouth, search engine marketing.

It wasn’t easy to start; I had to learn quite a lot and didn’t have someone to really help me, and the internet was very different back then. But I practised, learned, and tested. I grew to love it. It’s kinda why Travel Tractions Marketing was born 🙂

This guide details how I helped my mom to market her sites 10 years ago and what I do to market my own and client sites today.

My mom had one main business called Webtours, and then she decided to make niche websites for each service offering.

I thought this very silly at the time, but little did I know this was one of the smartest things we did.

It enabled me to learn much quicker than normal (because she had 3+ sites – I could test, try and dabble).

Not only did it allow me to test, but the agency position was also so niche; it gave access to different markets and appeared as a “specialist”.

Becoming or positioning herself as the “specialist” was a no-brainer and her niche agencies grew so much faster (in traffic and clients) than the general brand.

In this article, you will get:

• The best way to stand out
• Travel marketing ideas
• A travel marketing plan
• Travel agency ad examples

And leave a marketing ninja, not really. But you will be wiser. 😉

Marketing for Travel Agents Tips

Know where you differentiate and sell that. This could be customer service, affordability, quality, or speed. Anything that sets you even more apart.

I know it seems like laser focus, but sometimes that’s key. Especially with data-based digital marketing today. If you can zero down on your perfect customer, your cost of Return On Marketing Investment is much lower.

Find What Works

Different things worked for different businesses. Bridal conferences worked well for honeymooners while ranking for school holiday specials worked for the beach holiday agency website. Ranking for “all-inclusive ski holidays” worked great for selling Club Med ski holidays.

When you find out what channel, gap or method of marketing works for you, double down on it! But don’t give up on the other channels – consistency is key.

When she first started her business, it was general travel, but when she specialised, things really took off. Being known as an expert and having more experience/knowledge sets you apart from most of the competition.

Travel Agency Advertising Ideas

There are many methods to market your travel agency. below you will find the ones that actually worked.

Search Engine traffic accounts for 68% of the traffic , and COVID has drastically changed how consumers spend money online. So if you are not investing more than 50% of your marketing budget into SEO, you are doing yourself a disservice.

SEO does involve many different aspects that assist other channels

Creating long-tail content is KEY to surviving in the travel industry!

Google your area and “hotel” or “tour” it’s probably taken up by one of the big 5 behemoth sites like Viator, GetYourGuide, Booking, Agoda, Trip Advisor or some other monster…. You might find your site/page somewhere on the bottom or maybe on the next page, but no one will know because no one goes to the second page of Google.

By creating content that is more long tail and niche, like “best family resorts in Europe for a ski holiday”, you’ll find a lot of blogs and sites that you compete with, and beat.

My calculations for an average ski holiday for an average family (4 people) costs start at 10k USD. Sell one holiday from this piece of content, and you’ve paid for it 3 times over. The best part? It stays on top of Google until someone outranks you. Another win, you can use this content for social over and over again.

Content is king. Even 10 years ago, when backlinks were the bee’s knees in SEO, I got the majority of my wins/leads, if not all, by great content.

Invest in SEO. Ok, I’m biased here, but I wasn’t taught SEO in my marketing degree, but it isn’t rocket science to figure out where most of our enquiries and new customers were coming from. That’s why I specialised.

Links (other websites linking to your website) is one of the top 3 ranking factors. A few years ago, it was undoubtedly the number one ranking factor.

Links serve two purposes:

#1 They help you get higher in Search Engines.

#2 If you get a link in a good publication to the right audience, you could get referral traffic and maybe a booking.

So do what you can to acquire publicity, exposure and links as much as you can.

It’s important to build credibility, especially in the travel market, so building a brand and appearing to be a trustable business is key here. If you don’t, you will lose many customers.

Putting money behind average campaigns is how I see most business owners lose faith in online marketing.

Use your social media to remind and be top of mind.

Set up your social media so that you are continuously in your PROSPECTIVE clients’ faces as often as you can. It is important that you spend money only on people who have shown interest in your business.

My view (and many others since Apple gave less targeting data to Facebook ) is that social is a branding tool more than anything else, and only when you drill down into your customer insights and have amazing targeting.  During the Cambridge Analytica scandal they also limited some targeting (like targeting people who recently got engaged with honeymoon ads).

But if you can get in front of your potential clients at the right time, this is gold. But branding, attention, and social proof has the ability to convert customers and keep you top of mind.

Touchpoints and a well-created email funnel is one of the most powerful items in your arsenal.

A monthly newsletter goes a long way but keeping in touch with your customers is key to this. Again, consistency wins here.

Travel Agent Marketing Plan

This is how I had to market a website in 2020+ It includes small steps on creating different avenues for getting customers and then tracking them and managing your leads effectively.

Set Up a Website

This can be done on almost any platform, and I will always recommend for hundreds of reasons I won’t list here. If you are going to spend money on a website, you might as well make it SEO friendly and hire a professional before you make it live. I see sooooo many businesses make this mistake, so please get an external SEO to check out your development agencies website.

List Yourself in All the Local Directories

Once you have a website or somewhere to direct your potential customers, you need to start listing with all the directories in your local area and online. To be honest, you won’t get many leads from here, if any, but if you could rank in your area, it would be the easiest route to go from the start.

Attend Conferences

It’s important to build connections. I know in the 2020s, even passed COVID days, trade shows and conferences are a great way to make connections and learn about new developments in the industry,

Often the main pages of the website are not targeting long tail keywords. Your blog is where you get to write about the “best family resorts in Europe for a ski holiday” and many, many, many other opportunities. This also feeds into your social media and media strategy if done correctly.

I think this is really a place where businesses can excel. Make sure that you are pixeling all users (tracking who they are) that come to your site and marketing to them effectively.

If you have a CRM system, you will know their past consumer history and will appear more as a friend than some stranger off the street. Also, if tied in with email is gold in the holiday season.

How to Promote Your Travel Agency

There are various ways to promote your agency, and some work better than others. You can often ask your clients how they found you and then double down on that channel. All I know is that customer service and delivering what you promised is the best way to promote yourself, but below are some of the best ways that can be amplified.

Word of mouth or friends’ referrals is still the best way to get new customers – this is INCREDIBLY difficult when you are just starting out. So let any and everyone know what you are starting.

Have great service, I’m in the online game, but word of mouth is still one of the best ways to ensure your agency has some longevity increase your marketing falls flat.

Send an email to your friends. Nothing like a personalised email to a friend letting them know what offers you could have and if they would be interested. Try capturing emails on your website, an email list is an extremely powerful thing.

Don’t just start it and then invite all your friends to like the page – if you do this often enough; it’s one way to reduce your Facebook friends without unfriending anyone.

Write about offers and news, and try to write about evergreen topics with SEO in mind.

Make specials for particular times of year like school holidays, Christmas, New Year, and Easter. Promote those holiday times the most and try to have a special running.

There are two disciplines here: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) advertising, often called organic, or PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising, often called paid ads.

It is imperative that when someone is searching for you, your business, or the problem your business solves, they find you! If not perhaps the most important thing.

SEO is more long-term. It’s an investment to be placed higher in Google or search engines naturally – think about it as buying a house (website) on Google pages; it takes a lot of time but is there for a very, very long time if done correctly.

I hope these ideas and plans help you with your marketing, and if you ever fall a little flat or are struggling to get real traction, give us a try . It’s what I’ve done for a decade, and we’d love to save you time.

More to explorer

Travel Posts Ideas | 24 Amazing Blog Topics to Write About

How to Detect AI-Generated Content & What AI Writing Means for SEO (2024)

How To Start A Travel Blog (And Earn $10,000 A Month)

Book a call with an digital strategist.

• slot server thailand
• https://classroom.iainkudus.ac.id/file/thailand/
• https://broku777.shop/
• https://heylink.me/broku77/
• slot mahjong
• slot terbaik
• https://classroom.iainkudus.ac.id/file/slot-bonus/
• slot maxwin
• slot server luar
• slot gacor 4d
• https://sikadu.iainkudus.ac.id/foto_ktm/slot-gacor-4d/
• https://sikadu.iainkudus.ac.id/foto_ktm/rtp-slot/
• https://sikadu.iainkudus.ac.id/foto_ktm/togel-hongkong/
• https://ebphtb.magelangkab.go.id/-/slot-thailand/
• https://ebphtb.magelangkab.go.id/-/situs-toto/
• https://epbb.magelangkab.go.id/public/slot-gacor/
• https://e-sppd.bpkad.jatengprov.go.id/assets/
• https://e-sppd.bpkad.jatengprov.go.id/slot-gacor-malam-ini/
• https://chuguevrda.gov.ua/
• https://sikadu.iainkudus.ac.id/foto_ktm/gacor/
• https://skm.jabarprov.go.id/situs-toto/
• https://chuguevrda.gov.ua/broku777/
• https://heylink.me/ahtoto/
• slot thailand
• slot gacor thailand
• https://classroom.iainkudus.ac.id/file/products/broku777-pragmatic/
• http://siakad.billfath.ac.id/products/slot777-gacor/
• http://siakad.billfath.ac.id/products/thailand-gacor/
• https://www.softlay.com/apk/ahtoto/
• https://classroom.iainkudus.ac.id/file/ahtoto/
• https://scld.sucofindo.co.id/theme/products/join-now/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/pages/toto-slot/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/pages/slot-gacor-4d/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/pages/situs-toto-4d/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/pages/toto-togel/
• https://classroom.iainkudus.ac.id/file/bandar-togel/
• https://sikadu.iainkudus.ac.id/v3/img/pages/situs-togel/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/products/
• https://classroom.iainkudus.ac.id/file/pages/broku777/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/pages/slot-server-thailand/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/pages/slot-thailand/
• https://lldikti13.kemdikbud.go.id/pages/slot88/
• https://classroom.iainkudus.ac.id/file/pages/slot88/
• https://scld.sucofindo.co.id/pages/slot-thailand/
• https://dosen.billfath.ac.id/fonts/products/gacor/
• https://siakad.billfath.ac.id/tinymce/content/situs-toto/
• https://pmb.billfath.ac.id/theme/js/slotresmi-gacor/
• https://pmb.billfath.ac.id/file/slot4d-gacor/
• http://siakad.billfath.ac.id/report/slotbonus-gacor/
• https://siakad.billfath.ac.id/master/file/slot5000/
• slot gacor 777
• https://scld.sucofindo.co.id/blog/slot2024-gacor/
• https://siakad.billfath.ac.id/excel/slot-hari-ini-gacor/

• Host Agencies
• Accelerator Course
• Travel Jobs
• Travel Agent Chatter
• Etiquette & Rules
• Privacy Policy

Free Travel Agency Business Plan Template

Okay, okay. I know you’re crazy thrilled that you’ve found a free travel agency business plan template for your agency! I promise we’ve got a super razzly-dazzly one that will help you craft THE BEST travel agency business plan out there. So we’ll have you download your free travel agency business plan template in just a second, and then we’ll walk you through the different pieces of the business plan in the article.

Sound like a (business) plan?! (Ahem, sorry, couldn’t help it.)

What Is the Purpose of a Travel Agency Business Plan?

Business plans got their start as a way for banks to vet new businesses before deciding to give them a loan. After all, people that have thought long and hard about their business and taken the time to painstakingly write down all the steps and intricacies have a higher likelihood of success.

Now when it comes to travel agencies, you may think having a business plan is overkill or outdated. Sure, if you’re opening a storefront agency or a franchise you may need some capital from the bank/investor so a business plan may be a necessity. But now that most agencies are home-based, the median start-up cost for a non-franchise travel agency is $1,500 . If you’re not getting a loan, do you really need a business plan?

If you’re starting a travel agency, here’s a few reasons why creating a travel agency business plan might be helpful to you:

• Practical: it will help you feel prepared and confident as you make important business decisions.
• Inspirational: it will help remind you what it is that inspired you to start a travel agency and what kind of impact you hope to have on your clients. The kinds of things that will remind you why you started all these shenanigans when logistical tasks like taxes get boring or complicated.

The other thing a travel agency business plan can do? It will help you describe your agency—the service you provide (do you have a niche?), the market in which you’re operating, the money you need to get started and keep going, and the people you need to help you get there (accountants? Sub agents? Bookkeeper? Web Developer?) In short, it can help you feel prepared and confident, and our free travel agency business plan is going to help you with that!

Download HAR’s Free Travel Agency Business Plan Template

We have a handy dandy (and free) travel agency business plan template for YOU, dear reader! Yay, it is the companion to this article.

We’re offering our travel agency business plan template free (no catch) because we want your new business to be off to the best start possible!

Alright, now you’ve downloaded our free travel agency business plan template, great! We’ve already filled it out for our fictional travel agency, Corona Travels , and now we need to work on personalizing this business plan to your travel agency.

To update your personal business plan template with your brilliant ideas, all you'll need to do is delete the sample description provided in the template and add in your own material! In the next section, we walk you through each part of the business plan. I recommend that as you read through the article, you compare the sections of the travel agency business plan template. That way, you'll have an explanation for each part with an example.

Let’s jump in and start tailoring the business plan template to your travel agency!

Hold up. Still need to get your agency set up? We have just the thing.

Now, a business plan template may feel like you're getting ahead of yourself if you haven't named and/or registered your business yet! If you still need to take strides to get your agency off the ground (your agency, name, niche, registration, host affiliation etc.) we have a course that will fast-forward that process.

Check out HAR's 7 Day Set Up Accelerator course to get your agency set up faster so you can start monetizing sooner! The course is written and taught by HAR Founder, Steph Lee, and professional Educator, Bridget Lee. It includes nine chapters with 70+ instructional videos, course quizzes, peer accountability, and monthly meet-ups with HAR members and industry experts.

Now, let's go over the business plan!

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 1: Overview

The overview is like an executive summary that briefly summarizes all aspects of your travel agency business plan. You can think of this as the “elevator pitch” of your travel agency business plan. Oddly enough, I like to do these summaries last, since then you’ll have all the info at your fingertips that you'll need to summarize.

So what details are you filling out in this first part of the travel agency business plan?

• Name of Your Business: Not sure what your travel agency name is yet? We can help you with that .
• Location: Is it your house? A PO box? A storefront? Your sister’s basement?
• Your Travel Niche: Specializing as a travel agent is more important than ever. Selling travel is about much more than booking. It’s also about bringing knowledge, expertise, access, and resourcefulness to the table—all the qualities that help separate you from an OTA (online travel agency).
• Your Target Client: Luxury? Families? LGBTQ? Cruisers? Boomers or Millennials? Honeymooners? Foodies? Who do you imagine your client to be and how will this shape the way you develop your travel agency?
• Your Competition: Another way to look at this is, who are your industry peers? What might your customers consider if they don’t use you as a travel agent? (Try to think beyond OTAs like Expedia.)
• The expertise of Management Team: Okay, so your management team might be you and the office dog (we know who’s the alpha in the office!). But even if that’s the case, this section is an opportunity to reflect on your strengths as a travel agency owner.
• Financial Projections: Unless you’re coming into the industry with a book of business, this might seem intimidating. It’s hard to know what to expect right? But the good thing is we have an amazing resource for you: “ Travel Agency Startup Costs and Earnings: What to Expect ” Wow! Who knew?!
• Travel Agency Mission Statement: This will help you remember why you did this in the first place, and remind you what kind of impact you hope your business will have on others! Warm fuzzies, right?!

And hey, we’re done with Part 1!! Just like that. ;)

I know you can barely contain your excitement to start reading about our next section, business foundations !

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 2: Business Foundations

This section of your travel agency business plan provides background information on your agency. If you’re brand-spanking new, much of this information will be provided in the overview. If your business has roots, it may be a little more complex.

This section can include:

• Legal Structure : What type of business is your agency? LLC? Sole Prop? S Corp? Has it changed over time?
• Agency Founders and Their Role in the Formation of Your Travel Agency : Who are the founders and what are their roles?

Ah, that was a nice and easy section, wasn’t it? Now we need to start getting real. Yes, folks, the well-loved travel agency business plan template goes OCD in the next section!

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 3: Product or Service

This section is where the rubber hits the road with your niche and will help you begin to think about developing preferred supplier relationships with your travel agency.

• Products/ Services Provided: This may seem obvious—you sell travel! But if you’re considering providing other services (even if it’s a future goal), it will be important to consider that too. In addition to planning and booking travel, this may include: Coaching clients to book their own trips; trip consultations; wedding planning; providing education, training or mentorship to other agents; facilitating educational webinars (etc.); speaking at industry events.
• Sales Projections: This is hard if you haven’t booked any travel yet. But consider what kind of travel you want to sell. How many clients are you booking? How many trips do you aim to sell weekly/monthly/annually?

This is a good opportunity to make financial goals for your travel agency. What kind of annual income are you aiming for? How much would you have to sell in one year to reach that?

If you are providing multiple services as a part of your travel agency business, what is the breakdown among those different services?

• Industry Projections for Your Travel Services: We’ve done a lot of legwork for you on this one in our travel agency business plan template. But, if you want to add more, imagine this as describing the industry viability to someone who is not within the industry. What influences demand for your travel services? How is the health of the travel industry overall? Check out HAR's latest income survey results !

Now that you’ve dug into the details in this section, let’s move into the next section of your travel agency business plan that doesn’t tax your brain. It’s about management structures and it’s equal parts easy and boring (#honest).

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 3: Management Structures

This will be a very fast exercise if you are opening your agency alone :). If you’re working for yourself, you may also want to consider outside organizations that influence your business:

• If applicable, which host agency/franchise do you belong to?
• If you or your host belongs to a consortium, which one?
• What travel organizations are you a part of? (i.e. ASTA, IGLTA, PATH, CCRA etc.)
• Since you are an independent agent, these outside organizations won’t have a direct stake in your business, but they may influence your day-to-day operations in some way.

If you're flying solo, you can probably stop here! But if you have or want to take on sub agents or employees you’ll want to do the above, and you’ll also need to go into more depth with your travel agency management structure below:

• If applicable, create an organizational chart of your travel agency. You can think of this as a business version of a family tree. This will help you visualize who the players are and what roles they serve to your agency.
• What value do the different management positions add to your travel agency?
• What are the responsibilities of their positions?
• Describe other ICs or employees/ positions and their responsibilities. How will they complement what you do for your agency? (i.e. Sell a different type of travel under your brand? Work on sales? Bookings only? Administrative assistant?)
• If you have sub agents or employees, break down overall payroll expenses. What is their compensation? A commission split? A base salary? A combination of the two? Will you provide any bonuses or benefits if you have employees?
• Do you anticipate future additions to your staff?

Phew! That was a long one. Well, you certainly nailed it. Kudos!

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 3.2: Who Is Your Office Mascot?

This is probably the most important factor in building a business plan. How the heck are you going to get up and work every morning without a dog pushing its cold nose into your face, or without a cat trying to use your neck as their personal radiator?

Still with me? Okay, no more goofing off. Just wanted to throw in a fun interlude . . . I’ll get back to business now.

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 4: Marketing Strategy

This section of your travel agency’s business plan will help you clarify some of your marketing goals in the long term.

• Who are your major clients? Include names, location, and what kind of travel they prefer. What was the sales volume for each customer? Have they provided referrals for your business?
• Who are prospective clients? Who might be other potential travel clients for you? Parenting class members? Your yoga class? Regulars at your favorite bookstore? Do you have a way to informally see how they might respond to your travel services?

Marketing Plan

What is your marketing plan? Consider things such as:

• Your pricing. For example, if you want to charge fees.
• How do you want to market to clients? Online, at wedding expos, in line at the grocery store?
• What region do you want to target and if you want to target clients outside your locale, how do you plan to do so?
• What is the flow of your services during planning, travel and post-trip? How do you plan on getting feedback from your customer once the travel is complete?
• What are your marketing priorities ? Networking? Referral? Online? Social media?
• Sales Strategy: Now that you have a list of potential clients and a marketing plan, how will you reach out to prospective clients? Host a cocktail hour? Send a mailing? Go to networking meetings? Do you need to outsource or delegate any tasks to help you with your sales efforts?

Are you ready to head on over to that travel agency business plan template you have a love-hate relationship with? Good, because you’re gonna read all about Corona Travels marketing strategy and how they plan on closing the leads they get . . . and maybe you can steal some of Sol’s ideas for your agency. :)

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 5: Technology

What kind of tech do you need to help your agency get up and running, and what technology will you need to keep your travel agency machine humming? You don’t need everything at once, but you’ll want to have an idea of what you need to reach some travel agency milestones you’re going for.

You might want to consider things like:

• Travel Agency Website
• Read up on different website options for agencies
• Customer Relations Management (CRM):
• ClientBase Online
• Online Scheduling Tools:
• Itinerary Builders:
• Axus Travel App
• IT Explorer
• Payment Processing (for fees)
• Quickbooks Payments (use this link for 50% off first SIX months -- normally it's 3 months)
• TESS (built into CRM)
• Travel Joy (built into CRM)
• WixPayments
• Bookkeeping and Accounting
• Google Sheets ( part of Google Workspace )
• Mac Numbers
• Quickbooks Online / Quicken (use this link for 50% off first SIX months -- normally it's 3 months)
• Quickbooks Online (use this link for 50% off first SIX months -- normally it's 3 months)
• Booking tools
• Google Workspace : We have an exclusive 10% off promo code for Google Workspace! Just fill out the form and we'll send you the code.
• Office equipment
• Fax: FaxZero
• Scanner: Scanner Pro ($3.99 in Apple App Store)
• Scanner: Tiny Scanner (Google Play Store)
• Business Card Scanner: CamCard (Free on Apple App Store | .99 on Google Play Store )
• Forms / E-signatures*
• JotForm (free plan allows e-signatures)
• RightSignature
• Email Automation
• Sendinblue (that's what we currently use)
• Active Campaign
• Constant Contact
• Online Meetings / Video Conferencing
• Google Meet (part of Google Workspace )
• Secure Password Manager (also known as The Handiest Thing Ever )
• Mileage Tracking
• MileIQ (Free but if you ever decided to upgrade, use this link for 10% off paid plans)

Just because it’s technology, it doesn’t mean it has to be state of the art or über fancy. You can pick and choose where you want to allocate your financial resources on tech: I’ve spoken with several travel agents who swear by a combination of sticky notes, physical calendars, and Excel spreadsheets.

Think about which of these technologies you really need. If you go with a host agency or consortium, which of these technologies do they provide? Looking forward as your business grows, which technologies do you anticipate you’ll want to phase in?

Choosing those technologies was fun, wasn’t it? But now we need to iron out how you’re going to run the agency. So let’s move into the next section of your travel agency’s business plan template and make sure you’re running a tight ship!

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 6: Operations

Developing a plan for travel agency operations will help you understand how to ensure your business runs smoothly, in addition to understanding the capacity of your travel agency. For this section of your travel agency business plan you’ll want to consider:

• What is your sales volume compared to your sales capacity? How much travel can you actually sell in the time you want to spend working to sell travel?
• Who are your preferred suppliers? Who are your host or consortium’s, preferred suppliers? How do these suppliers (and your host) disburse commissions and on what timeline? How does this impact your bookkeeping and workflow?
• If you are booking groups, plan ahead. Are there any special cruise sailings or new ships you want to block space for? Is a resort opening a new property that you’re excited about and might be in high demand? Is there a new exciting product coming up that you want to get ahead of?
• In order to find out about some of these opportunities, what travel publications do you want/ need to subscribe to? (*Ahem* Make sure HAR is one of them!!) How are you utilizing your host or consortium resources to stay ahead?

OMG. OMG!!! That’s right, keep that grin plastered on your face because we’re entering the final leg. You did it!

Travel Agency Business Plan, Part 7: Administrative Support

As a business owner, there will be a lot of external organizational support as you go. First, we’ll focus on financial logistics. What are the business names (or contacts) and addresses of some of your administrative support? This may include:

• Your bank/ banker
• Accountant and/or Bookkeeper
• Host agency or consortium
• Legal counsel/ lawyer

Congratulations. You Have a Travel Agency Business Plan!

Seriously, that was INTENSE. Give yourself a huge pat on the back. Creating a business plan for your travel agency ain’t for the faint of heart, but you did it.

Go ahead and tell us about your process. Was our free travel agency business plan template helpful? Did it help to think things through and write a business plan for your agency? Was it a waste of time? Most importantly, what kind of office pet do you have and what sort of moral support do they provide?

Comment below!

*Editor's Note: This article was originally published on April 16th, 2019. We updated it on the publish date listed on the article!

About the Author

Mary Stein has been working as a writer and editor for Host Agency Reviews since 2016. She loves supporting travel advisors on their entrepreneurial journey and is inspired by their passion, tenacity, and creativity. Mary is also a mom, dog lover, fiction writer, hiker, and a Great British Bake Off superfan.

• Business Development
• Resource Downloads
• Starting Up
• Travel Agent Basics

Travel Agency Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their travel agencies. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a travel agency business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your travel agency as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a travel agency or grow your existing travel agency you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your travel agency in order to improve your chances of success. Your travel agency business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Source of Funding for Travel Agencies

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a travel agency are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a travel agency is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan.

Your travel agency business plan should include 10 sections as follows:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of travel agency business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a travel agency that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of travel agencies.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the travel agency industry. Discuss the type of travel agency you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of travel agency you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types:

• Commercial Travel Agencies : this type of travel agency caters to business travelers. These agencies specialize in tracking down deals for business travelers to help companies manage travel costs.
• Online Travel Agencies : this type of travel agency exists only in cyberspace. They provide clients with the convenience of online booking and discounts that are available only to professional travel agencies.
• Niche Travel Agencies : this type of travel agency provides clients with specialized knowledge of a region.
• Membership Associations : Memberships associations give travelers access to the organization’s travel planning services for the cost of an annual membership rather than charging per transaction. This type of agency offers the most benefit to frequent travelers.

In addition to explaining the type of travel agency you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new location openings, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the travel agency business.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the travel agency industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards glamping, it would be helpful to ensure your plan calls for plenty of luxury camping packages.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your travel agency business plan:

• How big is the travel agency business (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your travel agency. You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your travel agency business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: sports enthusiasts, soccer moms, baby boomers, businesses, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of travel agency you operate. Clearly baby boomers would want a different atmosphere, pricing and product options, and would respond to different marketing promotions than businesses.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most travel agencies primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other travel agencies.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes customers making travel arrangements themselves at home. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone who travels uses travel agency services.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other travel agencies with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be travel agencies located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What products do they offer?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide better travel packages?
• Will you provide products or services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you make it easier or faster for customers to book your offerings?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a travel agency business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : in the product section you should reiterate the type of travel agency that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to regular accommodation and transportation booking, will you offer items such as tour packages and excursions?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the packages you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your travel agency. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your travel agency located next to a heavily populated office building, or highly trafficked retail area, etc. Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of customers.

Promotions : the final part of your travel agency marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Making your travel agency’s storefront extra appealing to attract passing customers
• Distributing travel brochures outside the travel agency
• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local bloggers and websites
• Social media advertising
• Local radio advertising
• Banner ads at local venues

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your travel agency such as serving customers, procuring supplies, keeping the office clean, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 1,000th customer, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch a new location.

Management Team

To demonstrate your travel agency’s ability to succeed as a business, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in the travel agency business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in travel agencies and/or successfully running retail and small businesses.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you serve 50 customers per week or 100? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your travel agency, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a travel agency:

• Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
• Cost of equipment like computers, website/platform, and software
• Cost of marketing materials and maintaining an adequate amount of supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your store design blueprint or location lease.

Travel Agency Business Plan Summary

Putting together a business plan for your travel agency is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the travel agency business, your competition and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful travel agency.

Finish Your Travel Agency Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your travel agency business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.

Click here to see how Growthink’s business plan consulting services can create your business plan for you.  

Travel Agency Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my travel agency business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Travel Agency Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

Other helpful business plan articles & templates.

How To Write a Travel Agent Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for travel agency businesses who want to improve their strategy and/or raise funding.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines the vision for your company, but also documents a step-by-step roadmap of how you are going to accomplish it. In order to create an effective business plan, you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article provides an overview of the key elements that every travel agency business owner should include in their business plan.

Download the Ultimate Business Plan Template

What is a Travel Agency Business Plan?

A travel agency business plan is a formal written document that describes your company’s business strategy and its feasibility. It documents the reasons you will be successful, your areas of competitive advantage, and includes information about your team members. Your business plan is a key document that will convince investors and lenders (if needed) that you are positioned to become a successful venture.

Why Write a Travel Agency Business Plan?

A travel agency business plan is required for banks and investors. The document is a clear and concise guide of your business idea and the steps you will take to make it profitable.

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting their new company or venture, especially if they are inexperienced in starting a business.

Writing an Effective Travel Agency Business Plan

The following are the key components of a successful travel agency business plan.

Executive Summary

The executive summary of a travel agency business plan is a one to two-page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your travel agency
• Provide a short summary of the key points in each section of your business plan, which includes information about your company’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast among others.

Company Description

This section should include a brief history of your company. Include a short description of how your company started, and provide a timeline of milestones your company has achieved.

If you are just starting your travel agency, you may not have a long company history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in this industry and how and why you conceived your new venture. If you have worked for a similar company before or have been involved in an entrepreneurial venture before starting your travel agency firm, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen travel agency business model and how, if applicable, it is different from other companies in your industry.

Industry Analysis

The industry or market analysis is an important component of a travel agency business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends and document the size of your market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the travel agency industry are you targeting?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now and, if applicable, how do these trends support the success of your company?

You should also include sources for the information you provide, such as published research reports and expert opinions.

Customer Analysis

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, and interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, a travel agency’s customers may include individuals, families, or corporate clients.

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy from you as well as what keeps them buying from you.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to buy from you, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or travel agency services with the right marketing.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis helps you determine how your product or service will be different from competitors, and what your unique selling proposition (USP) might be that will set you apart in this industry.

For each competitor, list their strengths and weaknesses. Next, determine your areas of competitive differentiation and/or advantage; that is, in what ways are you different from and ideally better than your competitors?

Marketing Plan

This part of the business plan is where you determine and document your marketing plan. Your plan should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service : Detail your product/service offerings here. Document their features and benefits.
• Price : Document your pricing strategy here. In addition to stating the prices for your products/services, mention how your pricing compares to your competition.
• Place : Where will your customers find you? What channels of distribution (e.g., partnerships) will you use to reach them if applicable?
• Promotion : How will you reach your target customers? For example, you may use social media, write blog posts, create an email marketing campaign, use pay-per-click advertising, launch a direct mail campaign. Or you may promote your travel agency via word of mouth or PR.

Operations Plan

This part of your travel agency business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your product/service to customers? For example, will you do it in person or over the phone only?
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is where you also need to include your company’s business policies. You will want to establish policies related to everything from customer service to pricing, to the overall brand image you are trying to present.

Finally, and most importantly, in your Operations Plan, you will lay out the milestones your company hopes to achieve within the next five years. Create a chart that shows the key milestone(s) you hope to achieve each quarter for the next four quarters, and then each year for the following four years. Examples of milestones for a travel agency include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include adding new products/services, hiring new employees, and so on.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific travel agency industry. Include brief biography sketches for each team member.

Particularly if you are seeking funding, the goal of this section is to convince investors and lenders that your team has the expertise and experience to execute on your plan. If you are missing key team members, document the roles and responsibilities you plan to hire for in the future.

Financial Plan

Here you will include a summary of your complete and detailed financial plan (your full financial projections go in the Appendix). 

This includes the following three financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue : how much revenue you generate.
• Cost of Goods Sold : These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss) : Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, this is the net income or loss

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Travel Agency

Balance sheet.

Include a balance sheet that shows your assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Travel Agency

Cash flow statement.

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include:

• Cash Flow From Operations
• Cash Flow From Investments
• Cash Flow From Financing

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup travel agency.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Travel Agency

You will also want to include an appendix section which will include:

• Your complete financial projections.
• A complete list of your company’s business policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.).
• Any other documentation which supports what you included in the body of your business plan.

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your travel agency. It not only outlines your business vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it. This will give you a much better chance at success than going into business blindly.

While it may seem like a daunting task, if you take it step-by-step and include all of the necessary information, you will be well on your way to having a successful travel agency.  

Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With our Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Home » Travel & Tourism

A Sample Travel Agency Business Plan Template

A travel agency is a company that provides travel and tourism-related services to individuals, families, groups, and corporate organizations. A travel agency can also provide outdoor recreation activities, airline booking, car rentals, cruise trips, hotels, travel insurance, package tours, guide books, VIP airport lounge access, arranging logistics for luggage and medical items delivery, public transport timetables, car rentals, and bureau de change services.

Available statistics show that the market size of the travel agency sector in the United States fell to 20.69 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, down from the previous year’s total of 56.96 billion U.S. dollars. But the market size of the industry is expected to increase by 38.3 percent in 2023. in 2023, the market size of this sector was forecast to reach 34.64 billion, and $407.7 billion in 2023.

Steps on How to Write a Travel Agency Business Plan

Executive summary.

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. is a registered travel agency that will be located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. We have been able to secure all the necessary permits for our facility.

At Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc., our client’s best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professionals who are experienced in the travel and tours industry . Mason Gray is the founder and CEO of Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc.

Company Profile

A. our products and services.

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will handle all aspects of travel and tours such as booking flight tickets, securing transit visas, booking shuttle buses or taxi cabs, car rentals, hotel and cruise line bookings, insurance policy cover, sale of travel guide books, and sale of foreign currencies.

b. Nature of the Business

Our travel agency will operate both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer business models.

c. The Industry

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will operate in the travel and tourism services industry.

d. Mission Statement

Our mission is to establish a world-class travel agency that will provide professional travel and tourism services to a wide range of clientele both in the United States of America and other parts of the world.

e. Vision Statement

Our vision is to be among the top 3 travel agencies in the whole of the United States of America.

f. Our Tagline (Slogan)

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. – Your Most Reliable Travel Agency!

g. Legal Structure of the Business (LLC, C Corp, S Corp, LLP)

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will be formed as a Limited Liability Company (LLC). The reason why we are forming an LLC is to protect our assets by limiting the liability to the resources of the business itself. The LLC will protect our CEOs’ assets from claims against the business, including lawsuits.

h. Our Organizational Structure

• Chief Executive Officer
• Admin and HR Manager
• Travels and Tours Consultant
• Marketing and Sales Executive
• Customer Care Executive/Front Desk Officer

i. Ownership/Shareholder Structure and Board Members

• Mason Gray (Owner and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer) 56 Percent Shares
• Matt Romel (Board Member) 14 Percent Shares
• Daniel Jota (Board Member) 10 Percent Shares
• Verone Lamp (Board Member) 10 Percent Shares
• Cloe Alpha (Board Member and Sectary) 10 Percent Shares.

SWOT Analysis

A. strength.

• Ideal Location for travel agency
• Highly Experienced and Qualified Employees and Management
• Availability of all kinds of travel and tours services
• Excellent membership package

b. Weakness

• Budget limitations
• Inability to properly manage off-peak seasons such as bad winter and pandemics influenced lockdown
• A new business that will be competing with well-established travel agencies
• Inability to retain our highly experienced and qualified employees longer than we want

c. Opportunities

• Excellent location – Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida is a thriving market for travel and tour service.
• Increase in the inflow of tourists to our location
• Online market, new services, new technology, and of course the starting of new markets

i. How Big is the Industry?

The travel agencies industry is worth over $407.7 billion in the United States.

ii. Is the Industry Growing or Declining?

The travel agencies industry is growing. Available data shows that the market size of the Travel Agencies industry is expected to increase by 38.3 percent in 2023.

iii. What are the Future Trends in the Industry

The travel and tour industry is changing, and players in the industry are improvising. No doubt, technology, and social media will change the landscape of the industry going forward.

iv. Are There Existing Niches in the Industry? If YES, List them

No, there are no niche ideas in the travel agency business.

v. Can You Sell a Franchise of your Business in the Future?

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. has plans to sell franchises in the nearest future and we will target the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

• The arrival of new travel agencies within our market space
• Low demand during the pandemic will reduce industry profitability.
• Economic uncertainty
• Liability problems
• The government could change its regulatory status and decide to enforce strict regulations that can strangulate new businesses like ours.

i. Who are the Major Competitors?

• The American Automobile Association (AAA)
• American Express
• Avenues of the World Travel
• Beachfronts Travel
• Frosch Travel
• En Route Travel
• MK All Around Travel, Inc.
• TravelStore
• CruiseOne, Hargarther, Thaler & Associates LLC
• Independent Agency of Avoya Travel
• Cary Travel Express
• CWT Vacations
• Connie Lemmon Travel, an Independent Agency of Avoya Travel
• LoBracco Travel, LLC, an Independent Agency of Avoya Travel
• World Travel
• First in Service
• Bluegreen Travel Services
• CruiseOne – Gary E. Smith & Associates
• My Paradise Planner.

ii. Is There a Franchise for Travel Agency Business? If YES, List them

• The American Express Company
• Cruise Planners
• Dream Vacations
• Travel Leaders
• Expedia Cruises
• Results! Travel
• Tix Travel & Ticket Agency
• Expedia CruiseShipCenters.

iii. Are There Policies, Regulations, or Zoning Laws Affecting Travel Agency Business?

There are no county or state regulations and zoning laws for travel agencies. Players in this industry are expected to work with the existing regulations governing such business in the county or state where their business is domiciled.

Marketing Plan

A. who is your target audience.

i. Age Range

Our target market age range covers people that are 18 years and above.

ii. Level of Educational

We don’t have any basic educational qualifications for those who we are targeting; everyone is welcome to do business with us.

iii. Income Level

Anyone who can afford our service fee will be welcome to make use of our travel agency.

iv. Ethnicity

There is no restriction when it comes to the ethnicity of the people that will patronize our travel agency.

v. Language

There is no restriction when it comes to the language spoken by the people that will patronize our travel agency.

vi. Geographical Location

Anybody from any geographical location is free to do business with us.

vii. Lifestyle

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will not restrict any customer based on their lifestyle, culture, or race from doing business with us.

b. Advertising and Promotion Strategies

• Host Themed Events That Catch Attention.
• Tap Into Text Marketing.
• Use FOMO to Run Photo Promotions.
• Share Your Events in Local Groups and Pages.
• Turn Your Social Media Channels into a Resource
• Develop Your Business Directory Profiles
• Build Relationships with Other Businesses in Your Area

i. Traditional Marketing Strategies

• Marketing through Direct Mail.
• Print Media Marketing – Newspapers & Magazines.
• Broadcast Marketing -Television & Radio Channels.
• OOH, Marketing – Public Transits like Buses and Trains, Billboards, Street Furniture, and Cabs.
• Including direct sales, direct mail (postcards, brochures, letters, fliers), print advertising (magazines, newspapers, coupon books, billboards), referral (also known as word-of-mouth marketing), radio, and television.

ii. Digital Marketing Strategies

• Social Media Marketing Platforms.
• Influencer Marketing.
• Email Marketing.
• Content Marketing.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Marketing.
• Pay-per-click (PPC).
• Affiliate Marketing
• Mobile Marketing.

iii. Social Media Marketing Plan

• Start using chatbots.
• Create a personalized experience for our customers.
• Create an efficient content marketing strategy.
• Create a community for our target demography.
• Gear up our profiles with a diverse content strategy.
• Use brand advocates.
• Create profiles on the relevant social media channels.
• Run cross-channel campaigns.

c. Pricing Strategy

When working out our pricing strategy, Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will make sure it covers premium, skimming, economy or value, and penetration. All our pricing strategies will reflect;

• Cost-Based Pricing
• Value-Based Pricing
• Competition-Based Pricing.

Sales and Distribution Plan

A. sales channels.

Our channel sales strategy will involve using partners and third parties—such as referral partners, affiliate partners, managed service providers, marketplaces, or value-added resellers—to market our travel agency.

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will also leverage the 4 Ps of marketing which are place, price, product, and promotion. By carefully integrating all these marketing strategies into a marketing mix, we can have a visible, in-demand product or service that is competitively priced.

b. Inventory Strategy

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will operate an inventory strategy that is based on a day-to-day methodology for ordering, maintaining, and processing items in our warehouse. We will develop our strategy with the same thoroughness and attention to detail as we would if we were creating an overall strategy for the business.

c. Payment Options for Customers

Here are the payment options that Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc.  will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via credit cards
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via mobile money transfer

d. Return Policy, Incentives, and Guarantees

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will operate a refund policy but it will be dependent on the service providers we are working with. Please note that service providers such as hotels, airline companies and taxi companies et al will determine the kind of return policy we will operate. Aside from the above, we will be committed to giving out incentives to our loyal customers.

e. Customer Support Strategy

Our customer support strategy will involve seeking customer feedback. This will help us to provide excellent customer service, and understand the needs, experiences, and pain points of our customers. We will make use of effective CRM software to be able to achieve this.

Operational Plan

We plan to expand our revenue by 50 percent in the second year and the plan will include a marketing, sales, and operations component. The operations component of the plan would include organizing regular giveaways and other incentives. These strategies will enable the firm to boost our service offerings and support revenue growth.

a. What Happens During a Typical Day at a Travel Agency Business?

• The office is open for the day’s work
• The walk-in areas, chairs, and tables are properly arranged
• Walk-in customers are attended to
• Deliveries of visas, flight tickets, and hotel bookings are made
• Reports are written and submitted to superior officers
• The facility is administratively closed for the day.

b. Production Process (If Any)

There is no production process when it comes to the travel agency business.

c. Service Procedure (If Any)

When a travel agency is opened and everything is in place, customers either come in to request the services they want or they call or email the travel agency. Once the request is gotten and the service fee is agreed upon, the travel consultant goes to work to deliver on all agreements.

Please note that the travel agency will handle all aspects of travel and tour-related businesses such as booking flight tickets, securing transit visas, booking shuttle buses/taxi cabs, car rentals, hotel bookings, and cruise line bookings amongst many other services.

d. The Supply Chain

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will rely on trusted agents to supply some of the needed supplies (foreign currencies) and we have been able to establish business relationships with key stakeholders in the industry.

e. Sources of Income

• Travels and Tours consulting and advisory services
• Selling traveling-related insurance policy cover, guide books, and foreign currencies
• Booking for flight tickets
• Securing transit visas
• Booking for shuttle buses/taxi cabs
• Car rental services
• Hotel bookings
• Cruise line bookings

Financial Plan

A. amount needed to start your travel agency business.

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. would need an estimate of $150,000 to successfully set up our travel agency in the United States of America.

b. What are the Cost Involved?

• Business Registration Fees – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $7,300.
• Marketing, Branding and Promotions – $5,000.
• Business Consultant Fee – $2,500.
• Insurance – $5,400.
• Rent/Lease – $70,000.
• Other start-up expenses like commercial satellite TV subscriptions, stationery, phone, and utility deposits ($2,800).
• Operational Cost (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $30,000
• Store Equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $4,750
• Website: $600
• Opening party: $3,000
• Miscellaneous: $2,000

c. Do You Need to Build a Facility? If YES, How Much Will it Cost?

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will not build a new facility for our administrative office; we intend to start with a long-term lease and after 5 years, we will start the process of acquiring our own facility.

d. What are the Ongoing Expenses for Running a Travel agency Business?

• Utility bills (gas, internet, phone bills, signage and sewage et al)
• Maintenance of facility
• Salaries of employees

e. What is the Average Salary of your Staff? 

• Chief Executive Officer – $62,000 Per Year
• Admin and HR Manager – $42,000 Per Year
• Travels and Tours Consultant – $40,000 Per Year
• Marketing and Sales Executive $40,000 Per Year
• Accountant – $38,000 Per Year
• Customer Care Executive / Front Desk Officer – $32,000 Per Year.

f. How Do You Get Funding to Start a Travel Agency Business

• Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
• Raising money from investors and business partners
• Sell shares to interested investors
• Applying for a loan from your bank/banks
• Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from the government, donor organizations, and angel investors
• Source for soft loans from your family members and friends.

Financial Projection

A. how much should you charge for your service.

The amount traveling agencies charge their clients depends on the type of services rendered and the commission that the third-party provider is willing to give.

b. Sales Forecast?

• First Fiscal Year (FY1): $250,000
• Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $750,000
• Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $1.2 million

c. Estimated Profit You Will Make a Year?

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. is projecting to make;

• First Fiscal Year (FY1): (50% of revenue generated)
• Second Fiscal Year (FY2): (45% of revenue generated)
• Third Fiscal Year (FY3): (45% of revenue generated)

d. Profit Margin of a Travel Agency Business 

Travel agents’ commissions used to be the bulk of their income but that has shifted. Most travel agents who earn commission by booking tickets on airlines earn 5 percent on domestic flights and 10 to 20 percent on international flights. The commission rates are similar for booking hotels.

Growth Plan

A. how do you intend to grow and expand by opening more retail outlets/offices or selling a franchise.

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. will grow by first opening other offices in key tourist cities in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Australia within the first five years of establishing the business and then will start selling franchises from the sixth year.

b. Where do you intend to expand to and why? (Geographical Locations)

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. plans to expand to:

• Los Angeles, California
• Long Beach, Washington
• Newport, Rhode Island
• Chicago, Illinois
• Clearwater, Florida
• Portland, Maine
• Orange Beach, Alabama
• Ocracoke, North Carolina
• Block Island, Rhode Island
• New York City, New York.

Internationally, we plan to expand to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Mason Gray™ Travel Agency, Inc. intends to build a family business hence our exit plan will be family succession. For that reason, the founder Mason Gray is already grooming his son Merrick Gray to take over from him. Merrick Gray is at the moment being groomed to go through the company’s employment process without any bias.

More on Travel & Tourism

Travel Agency Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Whether you are looking to start a travel agency from the ground up or simply update your current business plan, the #1 Travel Agency Business Plan Template & Guidebook provides a comprehensive resource for entrepreneurs. The intuitive step-by-step guidebook walks through the process of creating and organizing a business plan that will make launching and running a successful travel agency easier than ever before. With expert tips, financial analysis templates, and more, this Travel Agency Business Plan Template & Guidebook provides all the tools necessary to create the perfect business plan.

Get worry-free services and support to launch your business starting at $0 plus state fees.

• How to Start a Profitable Travel Agency Business [11+ Steps]
• 10+ Best & Profitable Travel Agency Business Ideas [2023]

How to Write a Travel Agency Business Plan in 7 Steps:

1. describe the purpose of your travel agency business..

The first step to writing your business plan is to describe the purpose of your travel agency business. This includes describing why you are starting this type of business, and what problems it will solve for customers. This is a quick way to get your mind thinking about the customers’ problems. It also helps you identify what makes your business different from others in its industry.

It also helps to include a vision statement so that readers can understand what type of company you want to build.

Here is an example of a purpose mission statement for a travel agency business:

Our mission at [Travel Agency] is to provide customers with the hassle-free and cost-effective travel experience that best meets their individual needs and exceeds their expectations. We strive to make travel an enjoyable and memorable experience for each and every one of our customers.

2. Products & Services Offered by Your Travel Agency Business.

The next step is to outline your products and services for your travel agency business. 

When you think about the products and services that you offer, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my business?
• What are the products and/or services that I offer?
• Why am I offering these particular products and/or services?
• How do I differentiate myself from competitors with similar offerings?
• How will I market my products and services?

You may want to do a comparison of your business plan against those of other competitors in the area, or even with online reviews. This way, you can find out what people like about them and what they don’t like, so that you can either improve upon their offerings or avoid doing so altogether.

3. Build a Creative Marketing Stratgey.

If you don't have a marketing plan for your travel agency business, it's time to write one. Your marketing plan should be part of your business plan and be a roadmap to your goals. 

A good marketing plan for your travel agency business includes the following elements:

Target market

• Who is your target market?
• What do these customers have in common?
• How many of them are there?
• How can you best reach them with your message or product?

Customer base 

• Who are your current customers? 
• Where did they come from (i.e., referrals)?
• How can their experience with your travel agency business help make them repeat customers, consumers, visitors, subscribers, or advocates for other people in their network or industry who might also benefit from using this service, product, or brand?

Product or service description

• How does it work, what features does it have, and what are its benefits?
• Can anyone use this product or service regardless of age or gender?
• Can anyone visually see themselves using this product or service?
• How will they feel when they do so? If so, how long will the feeling last after purchasing (or trying) the product/service for the first time?

Competitive analysis

• Which companies are competing with yours today (and why)? 
• Which ones may enter into competition with yours tomorrow if they find out about it now through word-of-mouth advertising; social media networks; friends' recommendations; etc.)
• What specific advantages does each competitor offer over yours currently?

Marketing channels

• Which marketing channel do you intend to leverage to attract new customers?
• What is your estimated marketing budget needed?
• What is the projected cost to acquire a new customer?
• How many of your customers do you instead will return?

Form an LLC in your state!

4. Write Your Operational Plan.

Next, you'll need to build your operational plan. This section describes the type of business you'll be running, and includes the steps involved in your operations. 

In it, you should list:

• The equipment and facilities needed
• Who will be involved in the business (employees, contractors)
• Financial requirements for each step
• Milestones & KPIs
• Location of your business
• Zoning & permits required for the business

What equipment, supplies, or permits are needed to run a travel agency business?

To run a Travel Agency business, you will need the following equipment, supplies, and permits:

• Computer and/or laptop with internet access
• Printer/copier/scanner
• Travel Agency Software
• Stationery Supplies (envelopes, notepads, pens, etc.)
• Business cards
• Business License/Permit from your local government
• Travel Accreditation (IATA / CLIA)

5. Management & Organization of Your Travel Agency Business.

The second part of your travel agency business plan is to develop a management and organization section.

This section will cover all of the following:

• How many employees you need in order to run your travel agency business. This should include the roles they will play (for example, one person may be responsible for managing administrative duties while another might be in charge of customer service).
• The structure of your management team. The higher-ups like yourself should be able to delegate tasks through lower-level managers who are directly responsible for their given department (inventory and sales, etc.).
• How you’re going to make sure that everyone on board is doing their job well. You’ll want check-ins with employees regularly so they have time to ask questions or voice concerns if needed; this also gives you time to offer support where necessary while staying informed on how things are going within individual departments too!

6. Travel Agency Business Startup Expenses & Captial Needed.

This section should be broken down by month and year. If you are still in the planning stage of your business, it may be helpful to estimate how much money will be needed each month until you reach profitability.

Typically, expenses for your business can be broken into a few basic categories:

Startup Costs

Startup costs are typically the first expenses you will incur when beginning an enterprise. These include legal fees, accounting expenses, and other costs associated with getting your business off the ground. The amount of money needed to start a travel agency business varies based on many different variables, but below are a few different types of startup costs for a travel agency business.

Running & Operating Costs

Running costs refer to ongoing expenses related directly with operating your business over time like electricity bills or salaries paid out each month. These types of expenses will vary greatly depending on multiple variables such as location, team size, utility costs, etc.

Marketing & Sales Expenses

You should include any costs associated with marketing and sales, such as advertising and promotions, website design or maintenance. Also, consider any additional expenses that may be incurred if you decide to launch a new product or service line. For example, if your travel agency business has an existing website that needs an upgrade in order to sell more products or services, then this should be listed here.

7. Financial Plan & Projections

A financial plan is an important part of any business plan, as it outlines how the business will generate revenue and profit, and how it will use that profit to grow and sustain itself. To devise a financial plan for your travel agency business, you will need to consider a number of factors, including your start-up costs, operating costs, projected revenue, and expenses. 

Here are some steps you can follow to devise a financial plan for your travel agency business plan:

• Determine your start-up costs: This will include the cost of purchasing or leasing the space where you will operate your business, as well as the cost of buying or leasing any equipment or supplies that you need to start the business.
• Estimate your operating costs: Operating costs will include utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water, as well as labor costs for employees, if any, and the cost of purchasing any materials or supplies that you will need to run your business.
• Project your revenue: To project your revenue, you will need to consider the number of customers you expect to have and the average amount they will spend on each visit. You can use this information to estimate how much money you will make from selling your products or services.
• Estimate your expenses: In addition to your operating costs, you will need to consider other expenses, such as insurance, marketing, and maintenance. You will also need to set aside money for taxes and other fees.
• Create a budget: Once you have estimated your start-up costs, operating costs, revenue, and expenses, you can use this information to create a budget for your business. This will help you to see how much money you will need to start the business, and how much profit you can expect to make.
• Develop a plan for using your profit: Finally, you will need to decide how you will use your profit to grow and sustain your business. This might include investing in new equipment, expanding the business, or saving for a rainy day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Travel Agency Business Plans:

Why do you need a business plan for a travel agency business.

A business plan for a travel agency is essential for a number of reasons. It will help you to define your objectives and strategies, identify your target market, and assess the potential profitability of your business. It also serves as a roadmap for establishing key relationships with vendors, creating operational structures, and setting budgets. A business plan can also be used to demonstrate your commitment to potential investors or lenders, showing them that you have taken the time to understand the industry and create a realistic plan for success.

Who should you ask for help with your travel agency business plan?

You should ask a professional business consultant or accountant for help with your travel agency business plan. They will be able to provide the knowledge and experience necessary to develop a successful plan that meets your goals and objectives.

Can you write a travel agency business plan yourself?

Yes, it is possible to write a travel agency business plan yourself. Writing a business plan requires in-depth research, a clear understanding of your industry and the ability to articulate your strategies and objectives. This includes creating an executive summary, market analysis, details on the services you offer and a financial forecast. Additionally, you need to clearly define your travel agency’s mission statement and list out any unique features or goals. Once you have researched your industry and developed these key elements of the plan, you may be able to create an effective business plan on your own. However, it may be beneficial to consult with an expert in the field or hire someone to assist in the process.

Related Business Plans

Home Inventory Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Home Inspection Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Home Decor Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Health And Wellness Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Hauling Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Hardware Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Handyman Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Hair Extension Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Handbag Business Plan Template & Guidebook

I'm Nick, co-founder of newfoundr.com, dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs succeed. As a small business owner with over five years of experience, I have garnered valuable knowledge and insights across a diverse range of industries. My passion for entrepreneurship drives me to share my expertise with aspiring entrepreneurs, empowering them to turn their business dreams into reality.

Through meticulous research and firsthand experience, I uncover the essential steps, software, tools, and costs associated with launching and maintaining a successful business. By demystifying the complexities of entrepreneurship, I provide the guidance and support needed for others to embark on their journey with confidence.

From assessing market viability and formulating business plans to selecting the right technology and navigating the financial landscape, I am dedicated to helping fellow entrepreneurs overcome challenges and unlock their full potential. As a steadfast advocate for small business success, my mission is to pave the way for a new generation of innovative and driven entrepreneurs who are ready to make their mark on the world.

Travel Agency Business Plans

Did you know each of these plans was created in LivePlan? Learn More

International Travel Agency Business Plan

Adventure Travel International (ATI) is a start-up travel agency that specializes in adventure tourism and travel.

Tourism Website Services Business Plan

Spanish Resources will use its marketing resources to provide website design and overall Web strategy for resort operators and other tourist destinations in Mexico.

Travel Agency - Upscale Business Plan

Panache Travel Group is a travel agency providing exclusive travel experiences to discerning wealthy, and corporate clients.

Travel Agency Business Plan

Adventure Excursions Unlimited provides upscale hard-adventure sport/travel arrangements and packages to wealthy clients.

Travel Tour Agency Business Plan

Sephats Tours intends to provide individual and group travel to leisure clients.

Travel and tourism is a fun and rewarding industry. Starting with a good business plan will help you succeed in this exciting field. To get started, check out a sample business plan for an upscale travel agency, international travel agency, sightseeing tours business, and other travel related business.

If you’re looking to develop a more modern business plan, we recommend you try LivePlan . It contains the same templates and information you see here, but with additional guidance to help you develop the perfect plan.

The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Flash Sale. 40% Off the #1 rated business plan builder

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• Explore sell to government
• Ways you can sell to government
• How to access contract opportunities
• Conduct market research
• Register your business
• Certify as a small business
• Become a schedule holder
• Market your business
• Research active solicitations
• Respond to a solicitation
• What to expect during the award process
• Comply with contractual requirements
• Handle contract modifications
• Monitor past performance evaluations
• Explore real estate
• 3D-4D building information modeling
• Art in architecture | Fine arts
• Computer-aided design standards
• Commissioning
• Design excellence
• Engineering
• Project management information system
• Spatial data management
• Facilities operations
• Smart buildings
• Tenant services
• Utility services
• Explore historic buildings
• Heritage tourism
• Historic preservation policy, tools and resources
• Historic building stewardship
• Videos, pictures, posters and more
• NEPA implementation
• Courthouse program
• Land ports of entry
• Prospectus library
• Regional buildings
• Renting property
• Visiting public buildings
• Real property disposal
• Reimbursable services (RWA)
• Rental policy and procedures
• Site selection and relocation
• For businesses seeking opportunities
• For federal customers
• For workers in federal buildings
• Workplace innovation
• Explore policy and regulations
• Acquisition management policy
• Aviation management policy
• Information technology policy
• Real property management policy
• Relocation management policy
• Travel management policy
• Vehicle management policy
• Federal acquisition regulations
• Federal management regulations
• Federal travel regulations
• GSA acquisition manual
• Managing the federal rulemaking process
• Explore small business
• Explore business models
• Research the federal market
• Forecast of contracting opportunities
• Events and contacts
• Explore travel
• Per diem rates
• Transportation (airfare rates, POV rates, etc.)
• State tax exemption
• Travel charge card
• Conferences and meetings
• E-gov travel service (ETS)
• Travel category schedule
• Federal travel regulation
• Travel policy
• Explore technology
• Cloud computing services
• Cybersecurity products and services
• Data center services
• Hardware products and services
• Professional IT services
• Software products and services
• Telecommunications and network services
• Work with small businesses
• Governmentwide acquisition contracts
• MAS information technology
• Software purchase agreements
• Cybersecurity
• Digital strategy
• Emerging citizen technology
• Federal identity, credentials, and access management
• Mobile government
• Technology modernization fund
• Explore about us
• Annual reports
• Mission and strategic goals
• Role in presidential transitions
• Why work at GSA
• Who we are seeking
• Where our jobs are
• How to apply
• Hiring process
• Events and training
• Agency blog
• Congressional testimony
• GSA does that podcast
• News releases
• Leadership directory
• Staff directory
• Office of the administrator
• Federal Acquisition Service
• Public Buildings Service
• Staff offices
• Board of Contract Appeals
• Office of Inspector General
• Region 1 | New England
• Region 2 | Northeast and Caribbean
• Region 3 | Mid-Atlantic
• Region 4 | Southeast Sunbelt
• Region 5 | Great Lakes
• Region 6 | Heartland
• Region 7 | Greater Southwest
• Region 8 | Rocky Mountain
• Region 9 | Pacific Rim
• Region 10 | Northwest/Arctic
• Region 11 | National Capital Region
• Per Diem Lookup

Privately owned vehicle (POV) mileage reimbursement rates

GSA has adjusted all POV mileage reimbursement rates effective January 1, 2023.

Airplane nautical miles (NMs) should be converted into statute miles (SMs) or regular miles when submitting a voucher using the formula (1 NM equals 1.15077945 SMs).

For calculating the mileage difference between airports, please visit the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inter-Airport Distance website.

QUESTIONS: For all travel policy questions, email [email protected]

The shortcut to this page is gsa.gov/mileage.

Have travel policy questions? Use our ' Have a Question? ' site

PER DIEM LOOK-UP

1 choose a location.

Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later.

No results could be found for the location you've entered.

Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories and Possessions are set by the Department of Defense .

Rates for foreign countries are set by the State Department .

2 Choose a date

Rates are available between 10/1/2021 and 09/30/2024.

The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.