Opening a travel agency. How to start a travel agency from scratch

How to open a travel agency: market analysis + 5 steps for starting a business + detailed financial plan + calculation of business profitability.

Capital investments: from 425,000 rubles.

Payback period: from 8 months.

Do you have a good knowledge of geography and have excellent organizational skills? Or maybe you just want to give people joy and organize them an unforgettable vacation that they want to repeat? Or are you a quick learner and want to experience the joy of financial independence and start your own business?

Then the information about how to open tourist agency , will be relevant to you. Today we will find out the intricacies of doing this business, as well as how much money will be needed to start it.

Tour operator and travel agency: find out the difference

Before moving on to the answer to the question of how to open a travel agency, let's start with the fact that many of them are with a tour operator. And knowing the difference between these two categories is useful not only for those who are going on vacation, but also for those who wish in this industry.

Firstly, it is the operator who "creates" the tour from start to finish: forms, promotes and sells. Its specialists book a hotel, pay for a flight ticket, select excursions, and provide transport for tourists.

As for the implementation of the tour, he can do it on his own or through agencies. The second is to sell the ticket. The travel agency selects the necessary option for the client, informs him about all its nuances

Therefore, the number one difference: the tour operator forms the tour, and the travel agency only implements it.

Secondly, to start a tour operator, you need to register only as a legal entity with certain financial support. While a travel agent can be both an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity.

Difference number two: you can open a travel agency in any organizational and legal form, and it does not need to have financial support, since, unlike a tour operator, it does not pay insurance.

Thirdly, the tour operator is responsible for setting the price. That is, the agency sells the tour at a certain price. And his reward will be a commission, which is set by the company that provides the trip.

Difference number three: the travel agent does not affect the cost of the tour, he works for a fee from the tour operator. In addition, sometimes in order to achieve large sales volumes, specialists can reduce the price, unfortunately to the detriment of their commissions.

Fourthly, by default, the operator is responsible for the "failed" tour, and the claims from the clients will be brought against him.

The travel agency is responsible only under the contract, and most often its responsibility is related to the fact that it must fully inform the client, pay for his ticket and tell him about all his rights and obligations.

Therefore, difference number four: the tour operator is responsible for the quality of the tour, unless otherwise provided by the contract.

Typical travel agency work scheme

Having decided to open a travel agency, you need to understand the scheme of its work:

1. The current travel agent is looking for proven operators, with whom he signs a contract for further cooperation.
2. The travel agent studies the offers offered by the tour operator to the smallest details and starts looking for clients.
3. If one is found, then the travel agent concludes an agreement with him and submits an application for booking services with the operator.
4. The tour operator accepts the application and, which must subsequently be paid.
5. After that received by the travel agent cash minus the established commission (as a rule, it is 10-15%) are transferred to the account of the tour operator.
6. The tour operator transfers all the necessary documents to the agent, who subsequently issues all the information to the tourist.
7. After completing the transaction, the agency sends the report to the operator, who prepares an invoice for him.

Note: if the client refuses to travel after payment, then you will be forced to pay the operator a fine. Such a "pitfall" must be taken into account if you want to open a travel agency according to this scheme.

The situation on the Russian tourist market

Opening a travel agency and not analyzing this industry is extremely reckless. Any business should start by studying the market situation, finding out its strengths and weaknesses.

The tourist market in Russia does not stop constantly developing. Even in small towns you can find travel agencies that offer their services. Often they are approached by those who wish to travel abroad for impressions.

But at present, under the influence of many factors (exchange rate, unstable situation in a number of foreign countries, etc.), domestic tourism began to be in demand. And this is not surprising, because our country is famous for many beautiful places that also attract foreign tourists.

Therefore, deciding to open a travel agency, look for operators who are engaged in such tours.

It is also worth noting that in 2017 the situation in the tourism market has improved significantly compared to the two previous years. And by the way, Russian tourists began to prefer more exotic countries than Europe. Therefore, opening a travel agency is now quite profitable due to the development of this area.

Special attention is paid to online sales. Nowadays, people are buying more and more on the Internet, so creating your own website with the possibility of online booking and payment is mandatory.

As for the strengths of the business, everything will depend only on the quality and organization of your work.

Therefore, deciding to open a travel agency, you need to bet on:

• providing a wide range of services;
• competent employees who are focused only on the number of tours sold, but also on high-quality customer service;
• cooperation with trusted and well-known tour operators.

Opening a travel agency is associated with risks that must be taken into account:

• Seasonality - it so happened that for the most part people like to travel abroad in the summer and for the new year.
• High competition- the tourism business is a fairly filled niche, new players are constantly appearing on the market who can provide customers with something new and better.
• Lack of stability- changes in the exchange rate, the political and economic situation in the country, inflation affect the work of travel agencies, since as a result of these factors, the purchasing power of customers may decrease.

Inability to accurately predict the results of work- even with a detailed study and analysis of tour sales, it is impossible to accurately calculate the estimated profit.

For this reason, you need to focus on advertising in order to attract as many customers as possible.

Step by step instructions on how to open a travel agency

When answering the question of how to open a travel agency, you need to understand that the main costs will go to the arrangement of the office, the creation of a website and, of course, promotion.

The very process of opening a "tourist" business will consist of the following stages:

Stage	1 month	2 month	3 month	4 month
Choosing the name of the travel agency	+
Business registration	+
Search for premises and its arrangement	+	+
Operator search		+
Site creation			+
Recruitment			+
Advertising				+
Business start				+

With a well-coordinated and correct organized work it will take 3-4 months to open a travel agency.

Step 1. Choosing a name for a travel agency and registering a business

So, you have analyzed the market, assessed your capabilities and are sure that this business is for you. Now you need to start taking specific actions. And the first step is for your travel agency. It should be simple, but memorable, and also evoke associations with relaxation.

You can come up with a sonorous name yourself, or you can use the services of specialists.

After that, you can proceed to registration. You can open a travel agency as an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity. It all depends on your ambitions, so if your plans include expanding your business and creating a whole network, or you want to start a business with a partner, then choose an LLC.

When applying for registration, do not forget to indicate the OKVED code. But remember that the classification is constantly changing. As of 2017, for the tourism business it looks like this:

As for the taxation system, according to the law "On the basics of tourist activity in the Russian Federation" it is allowed to use the simplified tax system: "Income" 6% or "Income-Expenses" 6-15%.

Step 2. Search and arrangement of premises for a travel agency

A well-chosen location is the key point in how to open a travel agency. If you plan to start your business in a small town, then do it only in the center.

In a large city, the choice of premises is more extensive:

• crowded places;
• sleeping areas in which competitors are not yet "operating".

The room itself should not be large, 25-35 sq.m. is enough. But at the same time, it must be carefully equipped with furniture, office equipment, decorative items.

The approximate expenses for the repair and arrangement of the premises will look like this:

Name	Quantity, pcs.	price, rub.	Total cost, rub.
Total:	-	-	RUB 147,000
Worker table	2	4 000	8 000
Chairs	4	1 000	1 000
Customer sofa	1	10 000	10 000
Rack	1	10 000	10 000
Laptops	2	30 000	60 000
IFIs	1	15 000	15 000
Electric kettle	1	1 000	1 000
Modem	1	2 000	2 000
Phone line	2	15 000	30 000
Internet	1	3 000	3 000
Decor items	1	2 000	2 000
other expenses	-	-	5 000

Step 3. Search for tour operators for cooperation

The next step in how to open a travel agency will be the search for operators. This step must be approached with all responsibility, since if any inconsistencies arise, then the client will remain dissatisfied with your work.

So, when choosing operators, pay attention to the following factors:

• time spent on the market;
• recognition;
• the size of the commission;
• terms of cooperation.

The most popular travel operators in Russia:

Step 4. Recruitment of personnel for opening a travel agency

The success of the business depends on the quality of the work of the staff. And for starters, you can only hire two sales managers who will receive a salary and a percentage of the number of completed transactions.

The responsibilities of these specialists should include:

• selection and consulting of clients;
• monitoring of attractive tours and prices for them;
• conclusion of transactions with tourists;
• booking vouchers and their registration with a tour operator;
• tracking novelties in the field of tourism.

If you decide to open a travel agency, then initially take the reins into your own hands. At the beginning of work, this will be correct and expedient, since you will be able to fully control the process and instantly identify errors in the work.

Positions such as accountant, system administrator, cleaning lady may not be on the permanent staff. For this you can.

Step 5. Promotion and advertising for opening a travel agency

You can't just open a travel agency and wait for clients ...

No one will know about your services if you do not declare yourself. And you need to engage in active promotion on an ongoing basis, especially if you want to lure tourists not only in the summer and New Year's season.

You can use advertising tools such as:

• sign at the entrance;
• distribution of leaflets on the street;
• advertising in local publications;
• radio advertising;
• advertising in social networks of the city and on the Internet.

How much does it cost to open a travel agency?

And now we have come to the culmination of the answer to the question of how to open a travel agency - the financial component.

So, capital investments will consist of the following items of expenditure:

Expenditure item	Amount, rub.
Total:	RUB 425,000
Business registration	25 000
Payment for the first month of renting the premises	20 000
Indoor renovation	50 000
Room equipment	147 000
Website development	30 000
Payroll for the first month of work	40 000
Outsourcing	40 000
Advertising costs	60 000
other expenses	13 000

But opening a travel agency is not all. You need to constantly invest in it.

Therefore, the approximate monthly costs of opening a travel agency will look like this:

Calculation of the profitability of the business and the payback period of investments in a travel agency

Having in hand the approximate costs of opening and maintaining a travel agency, you can predict the level of profitability of the business.

Successful agencies with two managers can conclude up to 300 deals per month. But more often than not, such indicators are characteristic of an already established business in the market.

We will imagine that average cost one sold tour is 28,000 rubles (we take into account the current dollar rate). The commission from the transaction is 10%. And in order for income to exceed expenses, you need to conclude at least 70 transactions per month (2-3 transactions per day):

70 * 28,000 * 10% = 196,000 rubles. (at an expense of 175,000 rubles)

And with this course of business, the profit will be penny:

196,000 - 175,000 = 21,000 rubles.

Profit after tax:

21,000 - 3,150 = 17,850 rubles.

But let's suppose that such indicators will be only in the first 3-4 months, while you declare yourself. And soon you will bring them to 120-140 transactions per month.

Then your projected income for the same expenses will be:

130 * 28,000 * 10% = 364,000 rubles.

With such work, the profit will be: RUB 160 650

Based on such financial calculations, it can be assumed that investments in starting a business will pay off in 8-10 months.

The main focus is how to open a travel agency, you need to do on advertising and, of course, cooperation only with trusted operators. Also, do not discount the motivation of specialists. Come up with rewards for a job well done. The simplest thing is to pay a percentage of tour sales.

How to start a travel agency from scratch?

From idea to first profit - in one video:

The tourism business itself is constantly evolving, so be sure to keep an eye on the novelties in this area and fully devote yourself to the business, and then success will not be long in coming.

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The travel business is dominated by those businessmen who are sociable, resilient to stress, have the ability to convince people and are able to take risks. Additional benefits is knowledge of languages, as well as interest in foreign countries... This does not require specialized knowledge, although it can also be an effective starting point. Nevertheless, in the tourism business, a sincere interest in the very process of work and the ability to learn quickly are more important.

How to start opening a travel agency?

First, we recommend that you pay attention to our other article, which will tell you, this article will help you understand the plan for future actions.

You can start a travel business at home, having only a computer with Internet access and a telephone. The composition of the initial customer base can be formed from your immediate environment. However, this kind of activity will not bring high income and can only be considered as a form of additional earnings, which has a seasonal character. In order to make the tourism business the main source of income, it is important to bring it to the level of the entire country. Otherwise, it is better not to start this kind of business.

For a wide coverage of the tourist services market, it is important to observe several rules of success:

1. A tourist business should be opened in those areas where competitors have not yet made their way;


2. It is better to develop a small travel agency within the framework of a separate line of services, since it will be difficult for a wide-profile small company to compete with large competitors;


3. It is necessary to identify which segments of the tourist services market are not fully covered by other firms, that is, where there is still unsatisfied demand.

Preliminary cost estimate
Office. Premises for a travel agency is one of the most expensive items in this business. The office of a travel company should be located closer to the center or in the very center of the city, however, in this light, two problems arise: the cost of real estate and the availability a large number competitors. In this light, for the first time, you can confine yourself to premises in more remote parts of the city, but preferably in places with a large flow of people: stops, avenues, squares, etc.

Staff. According to experts, when organizing a travel agency, you should remember a simple rule: office costs are approximately equal to total staff costs. However, on average, salaries in this industry are very low, so staff should be motivated by providing additional services: benefits for the purchase of vouchers, internships and training at the expense of the company and other benefits. It will not be difficult to find the main body of personnel, since it is easy to learn how to work in the tourism sector on the spot. Nevertheless, it is necessary to involve in the work several professionals with excellent knowledge of foreign languages.

Advertising. Advertising is the main factor of survival in the market, as well as the initial opportunity to show customers about yourself. In the tourism sector, such types of it as television, press, outdoor advertising are especially popular. These areas of advertising are associated with high costs, which are inevitable. In the future, the reputation of the travel company among its clients will play a significant role. However, this kind of popularity can be gained in at least a year of responsible and persistent and meticulous work.

Stages of creating a travel agency

1. Developing a plan. When starting a business in the tourism sector, it is advisable to develop a business plan. Particular attention should be paid in it to the issue of evaluating competitors, which include not only other travel companies, but also sites that sell air tickets, book hotel rooms and other similar services for distance basis... In addition, you need to carefully work out a financial plan in order to determine the payback period and the level of profitability of the business.


2. Determination of the market niche. When opening a travel agency, you should not strive to cover everything at once. It is important to be able to focus efforts on those areas in which there are knowledge, connections and partners. At first, it is most effective to use the tactics of one-way activity. For example, organize tours exclusively to Europe or work with corporate travel abroad. As part of further activities, it is possible to expand the coverage of the market and enter other market niches.


3. Formation of connections. When creating promotional messages for potential customers, it is extremely important to emphasize distinctive features travel agency: its specialization, reliable partners abroad, specific services. In addition, it should be mentioned that it is much more convenient and profitable for clients to contact a travel company than to independently organize trips abroad. Initially, you should work out a system of discounts based on the factor of seasonality, as well as customer loyalty.

[b] Travel agency profit generation
The main source of profit for a travel agency is the difference between the purchase price of travel packages from tour operators and the cost of selling them to customers.

Additional income is also provided by customer consulting and ticket sales. If we consider the commissions from travel vouchers, then they are about 10-15% of the cost for start-up companies, and for well-known companies - 18-20%. Thus, the rate of return is very significant from the standpoint of covering the agency's fixed and variable costs. For example, if the price of a voucher is 20,000 rubles, and the commission is 10%, then selling three vouchers per day can earn up to 150,000 rubles a month.

How to start a travel agency franchise?

The tourism industry is fraught with serious risks, so more than half of the newcomer firms go bankrupt in the first months of activity. This situation is due to the lack of clients, contacts abroad, experience and reliable tour operators. However, it is possible to avoid the impact of such unfavorable factors for business by acquiring a franchise for opening a travel agency.

A franchise essentially implies the right of a young firm to use the brand, connections, management model and methods of doing business of an established company in the market for a fee. According to experts, the cost of a franchise for travel companies is cheaper than covering losses from the implementation of activities on an independent basis.

Features of work in the tourism business

The tourism business is a very broad field of activity. It includes organizing the travel of citizens abroad for recreation, education, business meetings, excursions, booking hotel rooms, purchasing air tickets, ensuring security, etc. However, the entire range of travel services can be divided into two areas:

1. Organization of departure of citizens of a given country abroad;


2. Reception of tourists from abroad.

The first direction is less costly and is associated with more low level risk. It does not imply the creation of an infrastructure industry, since it is completely focused on the foreign market. Nevertheless, competition in this sector is many times higher than in the second direction.

In the tourism business, it is important to distinguish between the activities of tour operators and travel agencies. The former are involved in organizing tours, and the latter are selling them. Activity as a travel agency involves working with ready-made travel products. Therefore, the main thing is to find clients and reliable tour operators. The level of profitability of such a business is on average about 15-17% per year.

The tour operator organizes tours independently, that is, purchases air tickets, reservations hotel rooms, organizes excursions with guides, provides multiple flights, and guarantees the safety of tourists. This kind of business requires significant financial investments, but its profitability is much higher - about 30-40% per year.

Travel agencies often work in conjunction with travel companies on the basis of long-term cooperation agreements.

In order to organize a business as a travel agency, it is advisable to implement the following activities:

• If possible, purchase a franchise;


• Conduct active advertising, in particular place advertisements in the press, on the Internet, on radio and television;


• Form a permanent array of clients, attracting them with discounts and additional services;


• Define areas of activity: leisure, business travel, training, sports, etc.


• Determine the geographical scope of the business: trips to Europe, tours to Egypt or exotic travel;


• Find relevant tour operators and conclude cooperation agreements with them.

After achieving certain success in the form of a travel agency, you can move on to activities as a tour operator, since it requires serious financial investments. Experts do not recommend starting a business immediately in the form of a tour operator due to the fact that at the first stage there is no accumulated client base and experience.

How to open a travel company from scratch (in the absence of start-up capital)?

Despite the fact that a travel agency, like any other business, is based on start-up capital, you can start even without it. However, in this case, the achievement of a stable position in the market, as well as high profits, will proceed more slowly. In addition, the main costs associated with the tourism industry will have to be abandoned, in particular, to negate the costs of personnel, office and advertising.

As for personnel costs, at first, with a small volume of orders, all the work can be done independently. It should be noted that in the absence of experience in this area, you can work for several months in any travel agency before opening your business.

The office problem is also unimportant, since most of the work can be done at home, and meetings with clients can be organized in other places, for example, in a cafe.

The central issue is advertising, as the new travel agent needs to build an initial customer base. For this purpose, you can use your own connections, advertising in social networks and on free classifieds sites on the Internet. If you managed to create a website on your own, then with the help of it you can noticeably. The main thing here is not to give up, because high-quality services will always find their customer base, even if not as quickly as we would like!

Creation of a travel agency to work with corporate clients

One of the promising segments of the tourist services market is the corporate clientele sector, which is distinguished by its constancy and significant orders. It should be noted that the direction of the tourism business associated with servicing corporate clients is characterized by increased demand, which attracts novice travel agents. However, it is extremely difficult to penetrate into this segment. Firstly, large companies have internal departments for organizing trips abroad and do not use the services of third-party travel agencies. Secondly, those firms that do not have such departments have long established contacts with specific large travel agencies and constantly use their services. Nevertheless, one should not abandon the corporate sector at all, since new firms appear in the economy every now and then, looking for partners in the tourism industry. In addition, already established firms are often looking for new travel agents, being dissatisfied with the services of the previous ones. These are the customers you can include in your initial customer lists.

It should be remembered that corporate clients are customers of a whole range of services, for which the travel agency must be ready. These include:

1. Registration of documents, in particular passports and visas;


2. Purchase of air tickets and delivery of clients to the airport;


3. Hotel reservations and delivery of items needed by customers (for example, drugs, exercise equipment);


4. Fulfillment of all requirements related to the participation of clients in conferences, negotiations, symposia, round tables and their organization;


5. Creation of conditions for holding business meetings of clients;


6. Overseas customer cost planning and security.

Another significant difficulty for a travel agent in working with the corporate sector is urgency. Indeed, often for the provision of the above services, only a few hours are provided, and sometimes orders have to be fulfilled on weekends. However, this also has its advantage - commissions are usually higher for urgent orders. However, this approach is best not used in relation to regular customers. Which rarely provide urgent orders.

As part of the activities for servicing corporate clients, it is advisable to consider high-ranking officials, artists and athletes who often travel abroad and need a reliable travel agency as potential customers. In this light, by providing them with reliable and quality service, tour operator can get them into the ranks of regular customers, which seems to be very profitable. In addition, within the initial period of activity, it is possible to provide assistance to large travel agencies that cannot cope with their work or to serve medium-sized companies that do not have specialized departments for organizing foreign trips.

However, if you still have unclear points, then feel free to voice them in the comments to this post, we will be happy to share our opinion on solving this or that issue.

Tourism is a profitable and promising business sector, which you will definitely not regret taking up. This case will allow you to find out a lot of useful and important information, get to know a lot of interesting and useful people, as well as inexpensive travel around the world on "hot" tours. Consider how to open a travel agency from scratch and what you need to do this.

Introduction

If you decide to enter the tourist business, then you should distinguish between the concepts of a tour operator and a travel agency.

1. The tour operator draws up its own route, reservations for transport, hotels and solves all organizational issues.
2. The travel agency sells tours from tour operators, receiving a percentage for this.

Travel company is a great and profitable business

You will start your business exactly as a tour operator - this is the easiest and most inexpensive way... The travel agency can implement various tours from different tour operators - usually there are no restrictions on this. Tours can be both international and domestic.

How to open a travel agency

Not sure where to start the opening procedure? With registration in the tax office. You can register as an individual entrepreneur and as an LLC. IP allows you to save time and simplify the reporting system, but LLC opens up more opportunities for the client.

Then you will need to come up with a name, preferably directly or indirectly related to travel. Of course, you can name a travel agency after your wife or your favorite dog, but this is unlikely to bring him popularity. Better to choose something themed. You will also need to choose a room, hire staff and run advertising campaign.

Premises

As an office, a small room with an area of ​​about 20 squares with 2-3 employees is suitable for you - this is quite enough in most cases. It is better to choose an office in a crowded, passable place in the city center. Be sure to make good repairs in the room, install comfortable furniture, order a high-quality sign. Wealthy people who value comfort and coziness order travels, so you shouldn't save on comfortable chairs and sofas.

For office equipment, you only need computer equipment

Equip comfortable desks for your employees, buy computers, armchairs, various stationery, shelves, etc. You will also need a copier, printer and fax. Pay special attention to the Internet - the channel must be of high quality and stable.

Read also: How to open a recreation center (camp site)

Staff

In order to open a travel agency from scratch, you need qualified personnel who understand the specifics and know how to convince people. It is best to recruit people with work experience with pleasant voice, external data and goodwill. Typically, tour managers receive a minimum wage + a percentage of sales from each tour, which encourages them to work harder and better. For a start, two or three managers will be enough for you, capable of covering the main directions of tourism.

Where to get tours

Now let's move on to the question of where to actually look for tours. To begin with, you will need to conclude an agreement with 6-8 tour operators, of which 3-4 must work in key areas. Usually the agency gets itself 5-15 percent of the cost of the tour. In the first stages, earnings are minimal, but after you sell 10-20 vouchers, your commissions will increase significantly. All operators want to sell more, so it is profitable for them to work with permanent agencies that implement their programs.

You will need computers in order to access the databases of operators' tours. The most common are tour-box and tourindex. Access to them is paid, but you can easily recoup the annual subscription by selling 3-5 vouchers.

Client search

All means are good for finding clients. Be sure to create your own website - nowadays most tourists are looking for travel deals on the Internet. Indicate on it your contact information, main routes, price range. Create a mailing list for registered users via Viber or mail, use the services of website promotion and contextual advertising.

1. In the media (local radio, television, newspapers, magazines).
2. On the social networks of your city.
3. Classic outdoor advertising (banners, boxes, leaflets, billboards).

The travel agency sells tours that the tour operator comes up with and provides

Do not forget about the classic marketing techniques: arrange discounts, promise the best conditions for attracting customers, create a discount program. You can launch an advertising campaign several weeks before the opening - this will only stir up interest in your company.

Profitability

Unfortunately, ready business We cannot provide a travel agency plan - in this business everything is quite individual and depends on a particular city. But you can still give approximate figures.

To open an office, you will need about 400 thousand rubles. This amount includes furniture and office equipment. Renting premises for a year will cost you about another 400,000. Add advertising, other expenses and taxes - another 100,000 per year. Staff salary per 2 managers - 250 thousand per year (excluding interest, net rate). In total, you will need about 1.15 million rubles to open it.

How to start a travel agency from scratch? You can open your own travel agency. To do this, if you wish, is not difficult. However, then opposing your agency to thousands of other competing agencies and constantly in the fight against competitors for the first place to study and control the frantic rhythm of the tourist market niche is a rather difficult task.

The tourist niche of business attracts many entrepreneurs, small and large. This is due to the fact that opening such a business does not imply large investments. In addition, there is always a demand for tours - not a single travel agency is left without orders today. That is, this business is quite attractive for businessmen. But there are also "pitfalls" in it, which not everyone can get around.

Due to the growing number of tourists, the number of travel agencies is also growing. Businessmen are building more and more new restaurants, hotels, airports - the infrastructure of the tourism business niche is developing at a frantic pace. Today, there is an upsurge in the tourism business, because entrepreneurs in recent times there is a wonderful opportunity to try yourself in this interesting work activity.

This article provides step-by-step instruction how to open a travel agency from scratch.

Analysis of the tourism market: "pitfalls".

In opening a travel agency, you must understand the state of affairs in the field of travel business. If you are planning to try yourself in this business, then first analyze this market and study the issues of stumbling blocks. Thus, you will be able to understand what characteristics this business has.

Let's list the features that an entrepreneur who wants to open his own travel agency simply must know.

First, of these issues, the dynamics of the growth of the tourism market should be singled out. Its growth today is 5.8% per year.

Retail travel agents are not sufficiently consolidated. There are quite a few independent agencies in this market. Therefore, large agencies account for only about 10% of the volume of this market.

Many new travel agencies are closing today, not having time to work in this area even for a year. Rotation at the lowest echelon of this market is approximately 30% per year. This suggests that out of hundreds of such travel agencies, they keep "afloat" more than a year only 70%.

Dumping issues today have a strong impact on the tourism business. That is, prices for tours often drop dramatically, because small agencies, in pursuit of clients, tend to lower prices. Thus, even in any season, there are always vouchers, tours, at a fairly low price - noticeably lower than the market.

The prosperity of this type of work is greatly influenced by weather conditions. Any whim of the weather - a natural disaster or just adversity makes travel agency workers quickly take action to protect customers.

The tourist business is also influenced by external political sentiments, whether it be political instability, any strikes, pickets, terrorist attacks, etc., also force employees of travel agencies to urgently take measures to protect customers.

These "pitfalls" - the peculiarities of the tourism business greatly impede start-up entrepreneurs from working in the field of tourism.

How to start opening a travel agency

If you are wondering how to start a travel agency from scratch, you should know where it starts at all. In the process of planning the scheme of work of your travel agency Special attention must be given to the target audience. Study this first. After all, it is the preferences of the buyers of your tours - their desires that will determine those questions, where to open the main office, how to plan tours, what to offer to buyers, what should be the range of tours? These same preferences of buyers will ultimately determine the name of the travel agency. In other words, defining your target audience will allow you to create a basic concept for your entire enterprise.

After you have decided on the questions of the target audience, proceed to drawing up a business plan. When approaching this issue, do not overestimate the possible number of tourists who will buy your tours. There may be fewer of them than expected. In your business plan, also try to keep in mind that sometimes there are unexpected expenses. To ensure that your income is not lower than the expected level, do not forget to take into account possible discounts on tours, etc., in your business plan.

Gathering employees

Such a thing as opening a travel agency initially implies that you cannot do without employees. You will have to look for employees. That is, in questions of how to open a travel agency from scratch, you must remember that you cannot do without employees.

Typically, the staff of any travel agency includes a manager, manager, courier and sometimes an accountant. This is a standard state. An incoming accountant may act as a person acting as an accountant.

There is one drawback in such an arrangement of personnel: two employees will not be able to cope with running a business if it suddenly happened that one of the employees did not come to work. Well, or they will work at the expense of quality. In this regard, experts recommend hiring two managers.

The above state is a list of staff that a travel agency cannot do without. You must remember that if you decide to open a travel agency from scratch, then you simply must include this state in the business plan. Further, when you get a little spin, you can hire more employees, of which you will need an accountant-cashier, a cleaning lady, a secretary-assistant.

In the tourism business, there has been a recent trend towards an increase in salaries and partner rewards. This is due to the fact that there is a so-called "personnel shortage". Highly qualified specialists move to other travel agencies, because they are offered a large salary there. The fact that there are not enough qualified specialists leads to the fact that there is a turnover of personnel, which entails an increase in salaries, because in order to lure a qualified specialist over to our side, it is necessary to offer him a large salary. In this regard, whether you like it or not, you will have to offer more if you do not want to barely keep afloat.

registration

If you have already thought about the question of how to open a travel agency and decided to open your own travel agency, at some stage you should register your business. It is impossible to start such a business without registration. You are obliged to register it - to issue either. If you do not know which form is better to choose an individual entrepreneur or LLC, we recommend that you study the material - "". Some entrepreneurs treat constituent documents inappropriately. They do not see them as a significant formality. However, they must be treated as necessary documents... After all, these documents are the order that determines the relationship of personnel with the management team. In addition, legislation Russian Federation does not recognize such shadow agencies as they usually do not pay taxes. And this, in turn, leads to responsibility, sometimes to criminal responsibility.

Along with the registration of an LLC or individual entrepreneur, you will need to obtain a license that gives you the right to engage in such a type of labor activity as organizing tours. Travel agency licensing - necessary stage registration. But, it does not work in all countries. For example, in Russia, you do not need to license it to open a travel agency.

Before starting your agency, do not forget to also choose the taxation option that is convenient for you. As is known, different shapes taxation imply different amounts of tax payments. In order not to pay more to the state treasury than we would like, it is recommended to choose the option that is convenient for you. How to do this, we read in the material - "".

Choosing a room and interior

The choice of premises and interior is a separate question, the answer to which should be for every entrepreneur who wants to open a travel agency.

Choose a small room as a location for a travel agency. In the early stages of your agency's existence, a small room will do. The main thing in these matters is that your agency is not far from large crowded places. It can be any place where people are constantly walking.

As for the interior of your travel agency's premises, this is an equally important issue, since those people who will buy tours from you are people of the wealthy class. The average middle-level citizens will also contact you, but more often wealthy people will. Therefore, the interior must correspond to them. It is unlikely that any wealthy person wants to stay in an office that does not have good renovation... Therefore, prepare thoroughly to resolve these issues - create a cozy interior.

At the start of your travel agency, it is enough to put coffee table, armchair and mini-buffet. The very interior of your office should have a corporate identity. Filling it with tourist paraphernalia will not be superfluous. Also arrange the workplaces for the employees appropriately.

Advertising campaign

All steps for opening a travel agency have been completed. The first visitors can be received. To do this, you need to conduct an advertising campaign.

The first visitors will be remembered for a long time. Where can I get them? There are a lot of ways to attract the target audience. In the present age - the age of computer technology, it is recommended to create a website for your organization. In addition to other types of advertising, this type of advertising for your services in the travel environment will not be superfluous.

You can also advertise the services of your travel agency by placing advertising banners in places with a large crowd of people. Along with this, advertisements can be placed on live radio, on television. All these types of advertising are good and can significantly increase the number of your visitors. At the moment, advertising is an effective tool for finding clients.

By the way, the visitor often has the habit of appearing completely out of nowhere. Therefore, start a journal in which you will record statistical data, through which you can further determine which type of advertising is best for your agency.

Cost-benefit questions: "every hunter wants to know ...".

Any entrepreneur is interested in knowing how much you can earn in the tourism business? Is it profitable to open a travel agency? Is the investment in given view work activity? It is necessary to dwell on this issue in more detail.

Before starting to investigate this issue, you need to remember how much money was invested in opening a travel agency. These questions are strictly individual, therefore preliminary calculations can only be approximate.

According to businessmen, the profitability of this type of business at the initial stage is currently about 300 thousand rubles. per year and above.

The payback of this business depends on the chosen business strategy and today it is about half a year.

When you start working in the field of providing services in tourism, become stronger, become recognizable, take, so to speak, your place in this area, the most responsible and anxious moments will come - working days. And if you manage to reach the level at which you will already sell about 500 vouchers per year, your monthly profitability will be approximately 80 thousand rubles. and higher.

Further development

If you do everything correctly - correctly draw up a scheme of work in the field of tourism, choose the right business strategy, then the issues of business expansion will not be long in coming. At this stage, you may already think that your travel agency can change its status - become a tour operator.

In these matters, you, for sure, will face a lot of difficulties and surprises - it is not always easy and simple to turn from a travel agency into a tour operator right away. Therefore, it is recommended not to rush to the transition to another formation, but to stop at the continuation of the provision of services in tourism to the same regular customers. Continuing to provide services in the sale of tours, you can gradually transfer the travel agency to the status of a tour operator.

As you can see, opening a travel agency is a good and rewarding business. How to open a travel agency from scratch is a completely solvable question. If you competently approach the issues of organizing the sale of vouchers, then success and luck will not keep you waiting. All you need to open a travel agency in Russia is a desire.

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* Calculations are based on average data for Russia

Fragment of the book by Julia and Georgy Mokhovykh "Travel agency: where to start, how to succeed" by the publishing house "Peter. Published with permission from the publisher.

Do I have enough money to open a travel agency? Risking your last savings or not? How long will the investment in the tourist business pay off? How much will I earn? Create your own travel agency or buy a ready-made one? Or join a franchise network? Is it difficult to make a business plan for a travel agency? What are the requirements for a travel agency office? How many employees will you need to hire? Where to find personnel? Which tour operators to work with? Which countries to sell tours to? Limit yourself to a narrow specialization or sell everything? To open air and railway ticket offices immediately or later? How to attract customers? How much to spend on advertising? Do tourists have a lot of complaints? And still…

TO OPEN A TOURFIRM FOR ME OR NOT?!.

We will try to allay all your fears and support the desire to open a travel agency. But we guarantee: everything that is written here is a real reflection of the state of affairs in the tourism business, without exaggeration and omissions.

Development of a business plan for a travel company.

We will offer for review a scheme that reflects the main parameters and cost items that can be used when drawing up a business plan for a travel company (agency).

1. The concept of a travel agency

Kind of activity:

• travel agent;
• tour operator;
• mixed activities.

Additional services:

• sale of air and railway tickets;
• transfer services, ordering limousines;
• visa processing;
• insurance;
• preparation of documents for registration of foreign passports;
• services of an individual guide accompanying;
• translation services;
• sale of guidebooks;
• sale of related products for travel;
• sale of gift certificates;
• booking and ordering tables in restaurants, tickets for events;
• rental of tourist equipment;
• Car rent.

Priority tourist destinations:

• by type of tourist destination;
• by the cost of the tours;
• by country;
• by type of tourism.

2. Organizational plan

Travel agency office location:

• Centre;
• outskirts;
• remoteness from the metro.

Office status:

• rent;
• own premises;
• other.

Office type:

• showcase office on the first line;
• in the business center;
• in an administrative office building;
• v mall;
• on the first floor of a residential building.

Office size:

• two jobs, three jobs;
• one-room, two-room, three-room, more than three rooms;
• free planning (number of meters).

Office furniture (cost estimate):

tables with reception areas, chairs for employees, chairs for visitors, bedside tables with keys, a rack for catalogs, a wardrobe, hangers, a hanger rack,
board for information and special offers, sofa for visitors, coffee table, safe, blinds, mirror, dishes (for employees, for receiving visitors), frames for photographs and permits, plants.

Office equipment (costing):

computers, telephones, fax, printers (2 minimum), scanner, copier, TV, CD and DVD player for showing films about countries and resorts, air conditioner, water cooler, first aid kit, clock, stationery, wall map of the world or a globe.

Office design project:

• space zoning;
• design of the premises according to the concept of a travel company;
• floor plan.

3. Competitive environment

Competitors in selected travel destinations.
Competitors in the radius:

Ready-made ideas for your business

• building;
• district;
• cities;
• countries (if necessary).

The predominant competitive qualities of the future travel agency.

4. Production plan

Staff:

• staffing table;
• formation policy wages;
• training.

Tour sales technology:

• search and booking of tours;
• scheme of interaction with partners;
• registration of payment for tours;
• document flow;
• delivery and issuance of documents.

Range of travel agency services:

• by seasons;
• by directions;
• by country;
• by price;
• by target audience.

Travel agency pricing policy.

Features of the tours for sale.

Development of corporate identity:

• contractor;
• list of required items;

Website creation:

• the concept and functions of the site;
• contractor;
• cost and terms of work.

Office decoration for sales.

• signboard;
• pavement sign;
• pointers;
• a plate with the operating hours and company details.

Printing products(description, circulation, contractor, production time, cost):

• booklet;
• Business Cards;
• letterhead.

Opening presentation.

• the size of the budget for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months;
• advertising media.

The structure and rules for maintaining a client base.

6. Legal aspects opening a travel company

Legal form of a legal entity.

Taxation system.

Registration of a lease agreement.

Required permits depending on the type of tourist activity.

Registration of a trademark.

Purchase and registration of cash register equipment (if necessary).

Order forms of strict reporting "Tourist voucher".

Maintaining accounting(independently, with the involvement of an accountant, consulting company).

Legal support of activities

7. Financial plan

Sources of funds.

The size and duration of the investment.

Initial cost plan.

Fixed expenses plan.

Income plan.

Payback plan.

8. Conclusion

Long-term development plan.

9.Applications

Estimated costs of setting up a travel agency in Moscow,
one-time:

Registration of a legal entity and execution of the necessary permits for travel agency activities: 20,000-25,000

Furniture and office preparation for sales: 50,000-100,000

Office equipment and communications 100,000-150,000

Development of corporate identity 15,000-25,000

Website development and registration 20,000–45,000

Registration of a trademark 50,000-100,000

Employee training 5,000-30,000

Additional possible costs

Ready-made ideas for your business

• Purchase of a ready-made tourist business, payment for legal services to support the transaction
• Payment for services for the selection of premises
• Payment for recruiting services
• Payment for connection services
• Internet and additional telephone lines
• Payment for the services of a consulting company

The cost of tours even in one category of hotels is different, and the choice of tourists does not always fall on the 3 * level of accommodation. Therefore, in order to make an income plan, it is necessary to analyze the prices of the season for the selected destinations with the data of 3 *, 4 *, 5 * hotels and compare them with the expected amount of income.

An approximate plan of the monthly expenses of a travel company in Moscow (rubles)

Office and infrastructure

Rent of premises 25 m2 - 50,000

Communication services 3000

Internet 5000

Water (cooler) 500

Stationery 2500

Other administrative expenses 6,000 Staff salaries

Wage

• Director 35,000 +%
• Manager 19,000 +%
• Manager 16,000 +%
• Secretary-manager 12,000 +%
• Courier 16,000
• Accountant (outsourcing) 10,000
• Cleaning lady 3000

Advertising budget

• Legal subscription services RUB 7,000 month
• Payment for the online booking and tour search system 1200 rubles / month.
• Refueling of cartridges 400 rubles / month.

Unforeseen expenses 10,000 rubles.

Total RUB 241,500 + percentage to salary

Choosing the status of a travel company. Tour operator or travel agent?

After the licensing of tour operator and travel agency activities was canceled in 2007, a mandatory state procedure was established only for tour operator activities. Anyone can engage in travel agency activities entity or individual entrepreneur... The only thing that determines the status of a travel agent today is the existence of an agreement with a tour operator, according to which the travel agent, on behalf of and at the expense of the tour operator, sells a tour product formed by the tour operator. At the same time, the travel agent must comply with a number of requirements established by law, which we will discuss below.

But first of all, it is necessary to find out why it is so important to understand the difference between travel agency activities and tour operator's activities and take the necessary legal actions on time. The point is that the law establishes mandatory requirement- all tour operators registered on the territory of the Russian Federation are required to have financial support. Financial security is a guarantee of a tour operator in case of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of an agreement on the sale of a tour product, insurance of its civil liability to consumers by tourists.

From the financial means, the injured tourists are reimbursed for the real damage they suffered, for example, the cost of the tour if it did not take place, or the difference in cost if the rest time was reduced. Financial support is provided by an insurance company or a bank guarantee. The law establishes the minimum amount for which an insurance contract or a bank guarantee contract must be concluded; today it is 10,000,000 rubles. for international tourism(enter exit) and 500,000 rubles. for domestic tourism.

The cost of servicing financial support is on average 1–1.5% per year of the amount of the collateral.

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For example, from minimum size financial support for international tourism in the amount of 10,000,000 rubles. the cost of the insurance premium will be 100,000–150,000 rubles. It is this amount that will need to be paid annually to the insurance company for the tour operator's civil liability insurance contract.

The contractual scheme of the travel agent's work in the implementation of tours is approximately as follows:

1. the tour operator concludes an agency (commission) agreement with the travel agent, according to which the agent is instructed to sell (sell) tours formed by the tour operator for a fee;
2. the travel agent attracts a client (tourist) and concludes an agreement with him on the sale of a tourist product, receives the documents necessary for the registration of the tour;
3. the travel agent sends the tour operator an application for booking specific travel services for the client (tourist) - indicating the dates, number and data of tourists, hotel, level of transportation, excursions and other components of the tour;
4. the tour operator confirms the travel agent's application and issues an invoice for payment;
5. the travel agent gives the tour operator the documents (or information) necessary for the tour (for example, for a visa);
6. the travel agent accepts the final payment from the tourist (in case of cash payment, he issues a cashier's receipt or a strict reporting form);
7. the travel agent pays the tour operator minus the remuneration due to him (by bank transfer or in cash at the tour operator's cash desk);
8. the tour operator issues to the travel agent the travel documents necessary for the tourist to travel;
9. the travel agent issues the tourist documents for the tour and all the necessary information to the tourist;
10. the travel agent reports to the tour operator - sends the agent's report (act) indicating the amount of the tour sale and the amount of remuneration;
11. the tour operator signs the agent's report and issues an invoice for the services provided under the agency agreement.

But it should be borne in mind that the above scheme reflects only perfect option workflow.

In practice, the travel agent can expect various surprises; firstly, the tour operator may refuse to conclude an agency agreement with you and offer a sale and purchase agreement, as a result, your legal status, it will be necessary to adapt accounting and workflow;

secondly, making payment under the tour operator's agreement, you suddenly find that the invoice has been issued for payment to the address
from another company or, by paying through the ticket office of the tour operator, you will be given a receipt cash order on the physical
a person stamped "paid" without a seal of the organization.

Travel company staff

The optimal staff for a small travel company looks like this:

• ¦ leader;
• ¦ manager1;
• ¦ manager2;
• ¦ secretary with extended terms of reference;
• ¦ courier;
• ¦ accountant;
• ¦ cleaning lady.

Director.

The head of a travel company is a key figure and solves a large number of issues, both economic and strategic, but in addition to him, it is desirable to have at least two selling managers.

A manager can be a chief accountant, a cashier, sign documents and register the receipt of funds.
If the head of a travel agency is a hired employee, he must have at least two years of work experience, this is the minimum time for which a specialist can go through all the "seasons" of the travel agency - high, low, "dead" - and learn how to manage the company. If the head - the founder of the travel agency has no experience in tourism, this is not a tragedy. It is necessary to invite managers with work experience to work and together with them develop a strategy, assortment, advertising policy of the company.

Travel company manager.

His responsibilities include: negotiating with clients and partners by phone and in the office, arranging tours with tourists, booking tours and preparing documents with tour operators, monitoring the execution of orders, changing prices, requirements for the documents provided, terms of cooperation, special offers.

A universal manager must maintain and improve his qualifications (master classes, seminars, advertising tours), work at exhibitions and workshops. Requirements for managers: higher education, experience in tourism, lack of bad habits, presentable appearance, competent Russian speech, sociability, initiative, ability to resolve conflict situations, responsibility.

A manager with no work experience should at least strive to work in tourism and have a secondary specialized or higher (incomplete higher) education, since this significantly affects the general level of culture. On
teaching someone who strives for knowledge is a rewarding business, but find out the long-term plans of this candidate so that
the invested efforts and funds were not wasted, - perhaps he will use the knowledge gained in another travel agency.

Travel agency secretary

receives incoming calls, distributes them according to the specialization of managers, answers general questions ("How to get to you?" , carries out orders of the head, receives visitors and guests of the office. It should be understood that sometimes it is very difficult to do without the help of a secretary, especially in the high season - in summer, when the phone rings and the client is sitting in the armchair at the same time.

Secretaries are also charged with filling out questionnaires, accounting and registering incoming and outgoing mail, answering corporate emails, ICQ, Skype.

As a rule, a secretary is hired after several months of the start of a travel company, when the phone rings constantly, and clients come to the office demanding attention.

Courier

A very important and responsible position. By the forces (feet) of this person, money, passports, documents must go to the tour operator. Therefore, when choosing a candidate for this position, follow a simple rule: a person must be checked by everyone possible ways- call the previous place of work, confirm the compliance of the place of registration and place of residence, call home phone and chat with relatives, ask for recommendations. These measures are not superfluous. The problems that may arise from the actions of the courier are, without exaggeration, catastrophic - the loss of foreign passports and documents, theft of funds that the courier transports every day. The best option is a relative or an acquaintance, but, unfortunately, such candidates are not always found.

Accountant-cashier,

undoubtedly, required specialist, but the cost of his services for a small travel agency is too high (in Moscow from 30,000 rubles). Therefore, most travel agencies use the services of law firms or a visiting accountant. Such a personnel solution allows to reduce the costs of accounting by at least three times.

Remuneration schemes and bonuses in the tourism business

In the tourism business, there is a general trend towards an increase in wages. This is due to the existing personnel "hunger". Experts with work experience move to another company, where they offer a slightly higher salary for the same full-time position, and this can happen every six months.

Tourism Manager Payroll Options

The tour is considered sold at 100% payment.

1.Interest-free system: salary 22,000-30,000 rubles.

2. Salary + interest:
Salary 10,000-15,000 rubles. + 10% off the tours sold by the manager.
Salary 15,000 + 10% after the implementation of tours for more than 150,000 rubles.
Salary 15,000 + 10% of proceeds from sold tours, divided among all managers.
Salary 18,000–20,000 rubles. + 5% off the tours sold by the manager.
Salary 18,000–20,000 rubles. + 10% of all sold tours, divided among all managers.

3. Planning system: fixed wages are paid when the plan is fulfilled; for example, from 50,000 rubles. (this refers to the company's income, not the total cost of the tours). If the plan is overfulfilled over 50,000 rubles. + 10%, more than 100,000 rubles. + 15%, more than 250,000 + 20%.

During the low season (January, February, May, June), the plan is 50%. In this case, the previous fixed salary is paid.

If the plan is not fulfilled, with the exception of the low season, the system of penalties works:

• ¦ first month - no fines, an analysis of the reasons associated with a decrease in sales is required;
• ¦ second month and beyond: 40,000–49,000 rubles. - 10% is withheld from the fixed payment (30,000–39,000 rubles - 20%; 20,000–29,000 rubles - 30%).

In the first months after the opening of a travel agency office, the planned payroll system is usually not applied.

Options for calculating the salary of a courier of a travel company

1. Salary 12 000-15 000 rubles, payment of a ticket, mobile phone, working hours: Monday-Friday.

2. Salary 15,000–20,000 rubles, payment of a ticket, a mobile phone, working hours: Monday-Saturday.

During the high season and the increase in sales, it is customary for couriers to give a bonus of 20-30% of their salary. The courier is an important employee of the travel agency, so it is better to pay extra on time, write out bonuses and work calmly.

On the market, you can find offers from courier companies that deliver documents anywhere
cities, they enter into an official contract, bear full financial responsibility for the funds and documents in the parcel.

Options for calculating the salary of the director of a travel company

1. Salary from 40,000 rubles.
2. Salary 18,000–20,000 rubles. + 1-5% of monthly income
agencies after deducting expenses.
3. 12,000-15,000 rubles. + 5-10% of monthly income after deducting expenses.

It was just a small fragment of the book by Yulia and Georgy Mokhovs "Travel agency: where to start, how to succeed" by the publishing house "Peter".

In the guide itself, you will find detailed advice on choosing a tour operator, organizing document circulation, taxation, recommendations for promotion, working with a client base and many valuable links to specialized Internet resources for practitioners of the tourism industry.