How to open a travel agency from scratch: step by step instructions. How to open a travel agency: a guide to mastering the travel industry How to start a travel business from home

People in the CIS countries, especially in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, love to fly abroad, travel around the countries and have a rest, and you can make money on this by opening your own travel agency. But, if you are not a successful entrepreneur, how to start a travel agency from scratch? Step-by-step instructions with recommendations from successful businessmen, clear advice and a financial plan in our article.

First Steps - Choosing a Concept
The first pitfalls
registration
We draw up the documentation
We are looking for a suitable premises
We select a pleasant interior
We select personnel
We are looking for potential clients
What are the expenses and income?

What the article is about:

First Steps - Choosing a Concept

Four options have been found on the market for a long time:

Private travel agency - requires renting an office, hiring personnel and concluding agreements with other firms, but you will not have to depend on other people either. The option is more suitable for acquaintances not only with business, but also with the work of a tour operator.
A home travel agent is the easiest way for a newbie to invest in this environment. You don’t need to rent an office and call other people, but don’t expect much profit either. In this case, burnout can only be done by a person with his own client base and skills in the marketing environment. Get ready that only the middle class of people will come to you.
Internet travel agency - the format of online purchases is extremely loved by people, which can allow travel to different cities and countries, so the travel agency should not go bankrupt. The main thing is that the site of the company contains complete information about the company itself, about vouchers and offers, and is also really convenient for an ordinary ordinary visitor. Include the ability to communicate with the operator, select changes in the voucher and pay through online wallets for the comfort of the buyer.
Franchising is the best format for the first business, because a beginner is not yet ready to solve some problems on his own. The advantages of this option are that your new agency is opened under the leadership of a well-known network like the "World of Discovery", you will not be left without attention and trust of potential buyers. Also, you will receive some equipment, free business training, marketing campaign and such necessary connections at the very beginning.

The first pitfalls

The least popular period for tourism is the off-season periods - several months winter-summer + several months autumn-winter. Of course, some bursts of activity are guaranteed, because someone has holidays, vacations or personal circumstances, but such periods must be taken care of in advance.

In the first year, it is important to work hard on expanding the client base through discounts for the May holidays, unusual ideas for summer vacations and promotions for trips during non-vacation months.

Take care of planning your expenses in unprofitable months, and, most importantly, it is worth opening a travel agency in early spring in order to have time to build up a client base before autumn. During the "dead" seasons, your travel agency should offer the sale of air tickets, the services of a lawyer for obtaining a visa, as well as special internal vouchers to the cities of the country.

Download a sample travel agency business plan as a template for your own.

registration

There are two regulatory forms, it is worth choosing based on your desires and aspirations, as well as initial capabilities.

The first option is LLC (legal entity). Registration of a legal entity involves a mandatory large financial investment, but it makes it possible to open a whole network of travel agencies.
The second option is an individual entrepreneur (individual). A beginner should start with this form, because the investments are quite small, and it is easier for many to collect the documentation. True, situations arise when tour operators require mandatory registration of an LLC, but they do not work with individual entrepreneurs.

We draw up the documentation

Step-by-step instruction:

Start by choosing the name of your travel agency. Think of something sonorous, catchy, meaningful, but serious enough. For example, the "World of Discovery" will do.
Pick up a room. This is important for determining the address of the company registration.
It is important to choose the right type of activity in a travel agency according to the classifier.
Pay the state fee.
Notarize the signature of the company registration application.

For a legal entity, two more actions are also required - to determine the authorized capital in the amount of at least 10 thousand rubles, and also for each of several founders to create a model of its share with its nominal value.

We are looking for a suitable premises

You will need a small area, located in a place with the highest traffic of potential buyers. That is why travel agencies like to open in business business centers.

Be guided by the name, because, for example, "Business Ocean" clearly indicates that there are many entrepreneurs and office workers in the building, and everyone has a vacation. Undoubtedly, it is important that the premises are located in the city center, even if these are small regional cities like Omsk or Samara.

We select a pleasant interior

Design a dignified and comfortable client area with a coffee table and a comfortable small sofa for several people. If you want your clients not to get bored, organize a small number of travel magazines, preferably with a lot of photographs. The tourist model should be read throughout the office design - paintings, straw hats, wallpaper and other things reminiscent of tourism.

Do not be afraid to show your own "want" and creativity in the design. Be original! Employees also need their own area. To keep workflows efficient, organize desks, comfy computer chairs and racks with everything you need to work. You will also need space for a printer, copier and other important devices.

We select personnel

A travel agency as a business does not tolerate fraternization and forgiveness of mistakes, so never agree to hire relatives and friends.

Take only those who show professionalism and the ability to recognize criticism. It is very beneficial to hire people with experience in tourism, but some of the staff may show excellent work without experience. Browse job candidates in the following categories:

way and manner of speaking:
competent construction of sentences and a pleasant presentation of thoughts;
the ability to identify what needs to be put in the foreground;
the ability to perseverance, focus on a specific task;
how seriously a person takes tourism;
the ability to present your personality to another person;
relaxed, worry-free communication with strangers;
what things are of interest to him, the breadth of his horizons;
proposed ways of solving various conflict situations.

Therefore, the candidate must become a model of a person who can interest another to buy, who can work with people with money.

Are you planning a small project? Two or three customer service staff and a janitor are enough to keep the office running smoothly. Later, it is worth hiring an accountant and a programmer, with the expectation of expanding the business. As a salary for managers, offer a minimum wage, supplemented by a percentage of the proceeds, in order to motivate them to work more efficiently.

Choosing a reliable tour operator

In order not to miscalculate and reduce risks, conclude contracts with ten different operators at once, half of which are obliged to specialize in a particular direction.

Choose a direction that is calculated by other companies as the most popular in your city or the whole region, but do not forget about unusual options.

At first, you will begin to receive not so much profit, but after the first tourists, the percentage will begin to increase. If you set a great example of a business project with successful sales, you will receive more offers from more successful operators.

There is also a ready-made example of a search base for online tours and operators, which can slightly simplify the work of your travel company. The most popular database is tourindex.ru, where access to the database is obtained for a significant fee. For a year of service, you will have to pay 26 thousand rubles, but it is up to you to decide whether it is profitable to remain without such reliable support.

We are looking for potential clients

In order not to be left without clients, open your own company website, so that a professional web designer and system administrator in one person will deal with its design and filling.

You can still use other advertising methods:

Making announcements in the media, including radio.
Advertising the company on billboards and banners.
By broadcasting advertisements on TV in ad units.
Hiring people to distribute flyers.
Motivating clients to write agency reviews to launch word of mouth.

Sometimes clients go to the bureau from an incomprehensible source, therefore it is important to constantly adjust even a ready-made business plan, as well as to keep a special journal about the channels of customer receipt in electronic form. This will help you do regular analytics on the statistics of attracting people to a travel agency. Do not forget about discounts, promotions and bonuses that perfectly motivate people not only to make purchases, but also to attract their friends and loved ones.

Video: how to open a travel agency?

What are the expenses and income?

The profitability indicator is individual and depends on a variety of factors.

*Expense line*		*Cost amount, thousand rubles*
1	Initial lease for two months	100
2	Repair	80
3	Furniture	50
4	Utilities	10
5	Paperwork	5
6	Manager salary	15 x 2
7	Cleaning salary	10
8	Marketing campaign	15
9	Tax	30
10	Unexpected expenses	10
Total:		340

The very opening of a travel agency will cost about 300 thousand rubles or more, but monthly you will also have to pay rent for premises, taxes, employee salaries, utilities, and much more.

The average payback is almost one and a half, or even two years. In the first year, it is important for a travel agency to simply survive and stay afloat amid a sea of competition. This can be achieved by pleasant service, quality services, good service and competent advertising. Only after reaching the level of sales of 500 vouchers annually, the project moves into the class of an established business.

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People have different ideas about rest: for some, a week spent on a tropical beach would be an ideal option, others prefer travel and sightseeing, others cannot imagine leisure without hiking and rafting on mountain rivers. In all this diversity, there is one thing in common: when going on vacation, everyone tries to change the environment and spend time away from home.

Given this demand for tourist travel, many entrepreneurs are thinking about how to open a travel agency from scratch: step-by-step instructions in this case suggest two possible ways to create and develop a business. In the first case, an entrepreneur can focus on the mass sale of popular travel packages and take part in active competition, while in the second, the emphasis is on expensive individual and exotic tours. Considering that hundreds and thousands of destinations are currently available to the consumer both within the country and abroad, it can be assumed that everyone who is sufficiently balanced and responsible in creating their own travel company can find and occupy their own unique niche in this market.

Features of the tourism business

Before opening a travel agency in Russia, an entrepreneur should consider the features of this business, get an idea of the structure of the tourism market and assess the state of affairs in the industry, which is currently determined by the following factors:

On popular destinations, agencies offer similar or identical products, thereby creating a high level of competition;
The market is dominated by independent companies - despite the large number of offers, no more than 8-10% of entrepreneurs seek to open a travel agency by franchise;
About 30% of newly created entities are closed during the first year of operation;
Competitive market leaders use dumping, artificially lowering prices for popular tours;
Business is subject to both positive and negative external influences - championships, festivals and mass celebrations attract the attention of tourists, while natural disasters, political and military actions, and terrorist threats cause a significant decrease in demand.

Travel company formats

Taking into account the size of the start-up capital and his own ambitions, an entrepreneur can open a travel agency in 2020 from scratch in one of the following formats:

Independent company. This option is more suitable for professionals with personal connections, industry experience and contacts with tour operators. Among the things that are needed to open a travel agency are SPD registration, office rent, purchase of equipment and staff recruitment;
Home agency. For entrepreneurs who do not have the required start-up capital, this option is preferable, since you can open a travel agency at home with minimal investment: for work, it is enough to have a computer, printer and telephone. The home agency format is also not suitable for beginners, as it requires its own client base and an extensive social circle. How to open a travel agency at home: you need to register an individual entrepreneur, provide a presence on the Internet and social networks and organize a platform for meeting with clients in the nearest cafe;
Internet agency. Such a sales channel can be both additional for an independent firm and the main one for a home business format. To open a travel agency in 2020, you need to develop an online store, involve programmers to organize access to the offers of tour operators, connect payment systems and think over a mechanism for providing online consultations.

Purchase of a franchise. For beginners who do not have sufficient experience, if there is a start-up capital of the required size, it is easier to buy a ready-made business model and open a travel agency for a franchise, since network agencies usually provide their partners with:

Software, systems for viewing and booking tours;
Training;
The ability to open a travel agency from scratch without experience using a well-known brand and recognizable corporate identity;
Legal and advertising support;
Increased commission rate;
Support in resolving conflicts with tour operators.

Franchises are available on the market at a cost of 150 to 450 thousand rubles. It should be noted that the companies offering them have certain requirements for office space, interior design, and stipulate a mandatory sales plan: such factors must be taken into account in order to understand whether it is worth opening a travel agency in this way.

Choosing a tour operator

An entrepreneur considering how to open a travel agency should also understand the technologies for creating and selling tourism products. In fact, the tasks of travel agencies are limited to finding buyers and selling ready-made tours, which are developed by larger companies - tour operators. They are the ones who form travel packages that include:

Visa support and paperwork;
Delivery of tourists to the place of rest by air, train or bus;
Transfer (transportation of clients from the airport to the hotel and back);
Accommodation and meals;
Health insurance.

When concluding agreements with one or more tour operators, the agency's income will be formed from a commission of 9-12% of the cost of each sold tour, which the product supplier pays to intermediaries. The interest rate is revised twice a year, thanks to which large travel agencies that sell a large number of vouchers are seeking to increase the amount of deductions to 15%.

How to open your own travel agency, where to start? First of all, you need to choose 8-10 reliable tour operators. Half of them should sell vouchers corresponding to the profile of the company (for example, to Turkey or Egypt), and the rest should close other directions, including individual programs and tours to exotic countries; this separation allows us to offer customers interesting products even after the end of the tourist season. When choosing operators, it is recommended to pay attention to the following factors:

Duration of existence and active work;
The presence of positive and negative customer reviews;
Financial support of the operator and the amount of the insurance contract;
Priority areas of work;
Availability of redeemed rooms in popular hotels;
The presence of branches nearby, which greatly simplifies the paperwork and the procedure for issuing visas for tourists.

Advantages and disadvantages

Should you open a travel agency in 2020? To answer this question, an entrepreneur must carefully weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of this type of activity. The positive aspects of the tourism business include:

A wide range of tour operators offering favorable terms of cooperation;
Loyal requirements for the size of the start-up capital, the ability to open a travel agency from scratch at home with a shortage of funds;
Uncomplicated company registration process, no licensing;
Development of the tourism industry in Russia, the emergence of many budget and exotic tours within the country (for example, to Karelia or Kamchatka);
Formation of the belief in potential buyers that they should rest every year, if possible, away from home or abroad;
The ability to cooperate not only with private consumers, but also with corporate customers.

Speaking about whether it is profitable to open a travel agency, it should be borne in mind that today the market is 85–90% full, as a result of which only companies that offer non-standard services and open new directions survive. Thus, in addition to the high level of competition, the disadvantages of the tourism business include:

Unpredictability of demand and the impossibility of accurate forecasting of profits;
Exposure to the influence of economic and political factors;
Seasonality (from November to March, sales fall by 40-50%).

Activity registration

Business in the field of tourism without legalization of the enterprise is not only illegal, but also virtually impossible: tour operators will simply refuse to conclude cooperation agreements with individuals. Therefore, before opening a travel company, you need to choose one of the available organizational and legal forms (individual entrepreneur or LLC) and submit an application for registration to the appropriate authority, indicating the desired taxation system. Depending on the expected structure of the company's profit, the STS is preferred at a rate of 6% (income) or 15% (income minus expenses).

Obtaining a license at the moment is not what is needed to open a travel agency: only the activities of tour operators are regulated by the state. However, the owner of an intermediary agency in order to increase consumer loyalty can also officially confirm his status: for this, an application should be submitted to Rostourism, attaching documents on financial security of responsibility to it. In addition, the staff of the licensed company must consist of employees with secondary specialized or higher education in the field of tourism, and the manager will additionally be required to have at least three years of work experience in the industry.

Location selection

Experienced entrepreneurs consider the search for suitable premises to be one of the most important tasks in the tourism business: when considering what is needed to open a travel agency, one should take into account not only the format, but also the target audience of the agency. When selling exclusive services, the company is located in a business district in a building with convenient parking, while when selling mass tours, priority is given to places where people with average incomes gather - central streets, shopping or entertainment centers, stops and metro stations. Before you open a travel agency in a chosen location, it is advisable to make sure that there is a sign that is noticeable from afar, increasing the flow of customers by 25-30%.

In the city center, a rented space of 20–25 m² on the ground floor of a residential or administrative building is used as an office: this location will help to raise the agency's status in the eyes of clients. Other advantages of this option include high traffic and transport accessibility, and the number of disadvantages is the possible lack of parking and increased rents.

Considering how to open a travel company from scratch in a business center, as a positive aspect, it should be mentioned that there are ready-made offices here with renovation, connected utilities, communication channels and services, including cleaning and security. The disadvantages of this location are the presence of an access system and the impossibility of placing a sign on the facade of the building.

In shopping centers, you can also find a suitable place to open a travel agency: what needs to be done first of all is to assess the traffic and purchasing power of visitors in order to select the most popular offers. There are two main drawbacks in this case: high rents and a shortage of free space in popular shopping malls.

In a densely populated residential area, the number of potential clients is most often limited by the walking distance to the office. When calculating how much it costs to open a travel agency from scratch, you need to take into account the relatively low rent and the possibility of buying an apartment on the ground floor with its subsequent transfer to a non-residential fund. In the absence of direct competition, the main task of the company is to regularly inform local residents about popular offers by posting ads and placing advertisements in mailboxes.

Room and interior equipment

After concluding a lease agreement, the premises need to be repaired, managers' workplaces need to be equipped with tables and computers, and the waiting area for visitors - with comfortable sofas, coffee tables, a water cooler or a coffee machine. The total cost of preparing the premises includes:

Room preparation

Expenditure item	price, rub.	Qty	Cost, rub.
Rent for the period of renovation	1200	25 m²	30 000
Office design project	1500	25 m²	37 500
Renovation work	2 000	25 m²	50 000
Building materials	1 500	25 m²	37 500
Plumbing	7 000	1	7 000
Lighting	1 500	6	9 000
Air conditioning	25 000	1	25 000
Backlit sign	25 000	1	25 000
Total:			221 000

It is better to entrust the development of a unified corporate identity for signage, external and internal office decoration to a designer: when calculating how much it costs to open a travel agency, such design costs should be taken into account. Geographic maps, souvenirs from different countries, exotic masks, globes, aquariums with bright tropical fish are used as additional decorative elements: the visitor should understand at first glance that it is a travel company that is located here.

When choosing furniture, you can choose one of the standard options or order the manufacture of cabinets, tables and shelves in the workshop: the price difference will be insignificant. Before opening a travel agency from scratch, you must additionally purchase:

Equipment

Name	price, rub.	Qty	Cost, rub.
Furniture
Work table	15 000	3	45 000
Worker's chair	3 000	3	9 000
Customer chair	1 000	6	6 000
Corner sofa	28 000	1	28 000
Coffee table	5 000	1	5 000
Rack	5 000	2	10 000
Filing Cabinets	8 000	1	8 000
Safe	12 000	1	12 000
Information board	4 000	2	8 000
Hanger	4 000	1	4 000
Office equipment
A computer	18 000	3	54 000
Specialized software	9 000	1	9 000
Dedicated line	2 000	1	2 000
Office network with a switch	10 000	1	10 000
Phone line	6 000	2	12 000
Office mini-automatic telephone exchange	5 000	1	5 000
MFP network	15 000	1	15 000
Telephone set	2 000	2	4 000
LCD TV for presentations	18 000	1	18 000
Promotional Products
World map 150x200 cm	4 500	1	4 500
Globe 40 cm	5 000	1	5 000
Catalogs and advertisements	15 000	1	15 000
Shelves for souvenirs	1 500	4	6 000
Stationery	10 000	1	10 000
other expenses	20 000	1	20 000
Total:			324 500

Before opening a travel agency, the business plan should also be supplemented by the costs of purchasing specialized software that automates the work of the company and provides a quick view of the offers of all tour operators: a manager who manually opens dozens of sites is unlikely to be able to quickly serve a client. The price of the program is 8-9 thousand rubles, and the subscription fee for access to the tour selection system is 2,100 rubles per month.

Staff

Opening a travel agency from scratch on your own without work experience is possible only in a home format - in all other cases, the company requires sales managers. A novice entrepreneur is unlikely to be able to lure experienced workers from other firms, so it is better to invite young specialists to work and train them in the future to get a professional team in a year.

To get acquainted with the product, employees are regularly sent on short study tours, compensating them for the costs after the sale of a certain number of vouchers in these directions. It is logical to assume that an employee who has seen the resort and hotel with his own eyes is able to tell about it much more colorfully and convince even a skeptical client.

The director of the company (who is also the owner) can perform administrative functions, engage in advertising, search for new partners and replace managers during their absence. Hiring a full-time accountant, system administrator and cleaning lady is impractical: the incoming specialists will also cope with a small amount of work. When calculating how much it costs to open a travel agency, you need to provide for the costs associated with wages:

Agency staff

Financial investments

Considering how to open a travel agency, where to start a company, you should understand that without detailed cost planning, the chances of business success remain small. Travel agency investments include:

Upfront costs

The amount of current expenses depends on many factors: the motivation scheme for managers, the format of the advertising campaign, the taxation system and the intensity of the use of communication channels (with per-minute payment for phone calls and traffic restriction by an Internet provider):

Estimated running costs

Profit and payback periods

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:

The current travel agent is looking for proven operators, with whom he signs a contract for further cooperation.
The travel agent studies the offers offered by the tour operator to the smallest details and starts looking for clients.
If one is found, then the travel agent concludes an agreement with him and submits an application for booking services with the operator.
The tour operator accepts the application and, which must subsequently be paid.
After that, the funds received by the travel agent minus the established commission (as a rule, it is 10-15%) are transferred to the account of the tour operator.
The tour operator transfers all the necessary documents to the agent, who subsequently issues all the information to the tourist.
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 well-coordinated and properly organized work, it will be possible to open a travel agency in 3-4 months.

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 the average cost of one sold tour is 28,000 rubles (we take the current dollar rate into account). 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 a very popular service sector in our country. There are many options for running it, from a home agency to a franchise.

In this article, we will analyze all the possible options, highlight their advantages and disadvantages, answer the question of what is needed to open a travel agency, and give some useful tips.

Pros and cons of business

When deciding to open a travel agency, you need to think carefully and calculate all the pros and cons of such a step.

The pluses and prospects of the venture include:

a rapidly developing tourism business, which makes it possible to provide tourism services in many directions (in Russia, abroad, etc.), and as a result, the possibility of obtaining the corresponding profit;
a wide selection of tour operators and the possibility of concluding contracts with one or several of them;
the rapidly increasing flow of people who would like to use the services of agencies to organize their holidays;
relatively simple registration documents and license opening.

The disadvantages and difficulties that may arise when opening such a business include:

the rapidly increasing competition in this area (in every city now there are at least several travel agencies that provide services similar to yours);
complex predictability of the client flow (depending on the success of the advertising campaign and the relevance of travel packages, the agency can either acquire a stable client base in a short time, or not withstand the proposals of competitors and be left without customers);
seasonality of profitability. It is generally accepted that business is all-season due to the possibility of selling winter tours (for example, Courchevel and other ski resorts). However, actual data show that in summer the demand for travel agency services is several times higher than the winter interest of clients.

We draw up a business plan

As with starting any other business, you will need to draw up a business plan. Outlining prospects for further development and risks when opening a travel agency, it is necessary to take into account a number of fundamental factors that affect the success and profitability of the enterprise.

It is necessary to think over and calculate in as much detail as possible all possible risks, expenses, payback periods of initial investments, additional costs in the promotion process, as well as the estimated profit, based on the interest of the target audience.

The business plan must include the costs of:

paperwork (registration, license for the provision of services, certificates, franchising);
lease of office space;
marketing campaigns, advertising;
payment of wages, including deductions to the tax service, pension fund, social insurance;
ensuring the life of the office (including furniture, office equipment, office supplies).

Also, it is necessary to roughly calculate the possible profit (calculated on the basis of general market monitoring in this area, seasonality, competition, marketing efficiency of your company) and the risks associated with the unprofitability of the travel agency. Consider ways to eliminate these risks.

Location

One of the main stages of opening a travel agency is choosing an office for rent. It is advisable to rent office space in the city center, in a location close to business centers. This will provide you with the opportunity to engage VIP clients as well as get more attention.

Also, it should be borne in mind that for greater efficiency, it is desirable that there are no firms in the building (on the same street) that provide similar services (exclusion of competition).

The rented office must have access to the Internet. It is better to give preference to buildings that have a separate exit to the street and a parking area for cars.

How to attract customers?

Given the high level of competition between travel agencies, providing itself with a client base is one of the main priorities of a young organization.

If you have chosen a simple, but rather colorful and memorable name for your company, this can serve as an additional advantage during promotion.

Also, do not forget about the most effective way - word of mouth. Before opening a travel agency, tell all your friends and acquaintances about your plans, make notes on your pages in social networks, in general, try to make as many people as possible know about your venture.

Plan for their first clients the maximum possible discounts and interesting promotions(quite often these discounts are made even at a loss to the company and are written off to advertising costs), try to provide the highest level of services. In most cases, after successful trips, satisfied customers tell their surroundings about this, which motivates them to contact you.

Mandatory additional attributes should be business cards and brochures, which will indicate promotional offers that surpass competitors' offers in terms of the terms.

Moving on to considering the main marketing moves in the promotion of a travel agency, you need to focus on on advertising on the Internet... These can be both pop-up banners on the pages of visited sites or postal services (an agreement is concluded with the management of the sites for the allocation of a site on the page: the cost, the percentage of the bandwidth on their website, the frequency of appearances, the period of the contract), and contextual advertising (when when you enter keywords in the line of a search service, it is your site that appears in key positions). These nuances must be discussed with the programmer who will develop your site.

Video marketing is a fairly effective method of attracting customers. You can make a video filming of the most interesting and frequently visited places in the proposed tours and post them on the Internet (for example, on Youtube). In this case, it is not necessary to use expensive equipment for shooting. These can be videos filmed with amateur cameras, but the plot of the commercials should convey emotionality. At the end of the video, there is a navigation block, by clicking on which your potential customers will be able to familiarize themselves with the conditions and cost of purchasing vouchers in your agency.

The following video contains tips for starting an agency and attracting clients:

The nuances of opening an agency

If you would like to eliminate additional costs and aim at a relatively minimal investment, then it makes sense to think about the following options for opening a travel agency.

At home

To open a travel agency at home, you will first need to register your activity (company registration). After completing all the basic documents, it is most advisable to conclude an agreement with a large tour operator.

When concluding a contract, try to avoid assuming obligations to ensure a fixed number of tours sold, focus on a simplified scheme: you provide the main agency with clients - the agency pays you a commission according to the actual work performed. This option does not include the cost of renting office space, which significantly reduces the cost of the project.

Online

The specifics of opening and developing an online travel business can mean both working in an office and being at home, doing business from a home PC.

When registering your entrepreneurial activity, you will need to indicate the legal address of the enterprise and additionally record the name of the official website through which the sale of vouchers (services) will be made. If the site provides for payment by bank transfer, as a rule, it is necessary to register the company's account to which the transfers will be made.

By franchise

You can turn to a well-known tour operator for help in establishing a company and conclude a franchise cooperation agreement with him. As a rule, the cost of a franchise directly depends on the promotion of the franchisor company and the conditions under which a larger company will provide you with a franchise.

In this case, from the side of the parent organization, you will receive additional information support and financial insurance and eliminate additional advertising costs.

How much does it cost to open a travel agency

Depending on the conditions on which you plan to open a travel agency and you will need to calculate the amount of future costs.

As a rule, the most expensive is renting an office and purchasing everything you need for it (furniture, office equipment, etc.). Rentals may vary on average from 30,000 to 60,000 rubles(it all depends on the proximity of the office to the city center, its general condition: renovation, availability of communications and the conditions on which the lease agreement is concluded).

Registration of the basic necessary documentation during registration (registration of an LLC and a license) may cost you from 8,000 to 12,000 rubles.

In the event that a travel agency will open under the auspices of a franchisor company, it is necessary to take into account the costs of concluding a franchise agreement.

In most cases, the contract is paid as a one-time payment. However, over time, additional clauses and conditions may be included, which may change the value of the originally agreed value.

Also, the top-priority part of the expenditure includes the remuneration of employees and the corresponding monthly deductions to state funds for each of them. Usually, at the start, the accountant is not included in the staff, and the number of employees varies from 3 to 5-6 people (including the director). Average wages in travel services fluctuate from 12,000 rubles and more, depending on the type of mutual settlements: constant rate, rate + interest, only interest. It is necessary to take into account that, according to the Labor Code, payment must be timely, therefore, it is desirable that the amount for its payment be postponed for several months in advance.

Don't forget about marketing and promotional costs. This item must include the costs of printed advertising products (business cards, leaflets, printed prices, etc.), payment for the creation of an Internet site and its promotion (information update, hosting). As a rule, all these investments amount to not less than 30,000 rubles... If you are planning a wide-format discount system as an opportunity to promote a travel agency and attract more customers, this amount can be increased several times.

If you wish, you can use television, while it is better to focus on city TV channels. The cost of advertising airtime varies by region, but on average you can count on the cost 15,000-30,000 rubles when broadcasting a video several times a day. The cost of the video itself will cost you from 12,000-20,000 rubles(without sophisticated special effects, but with the involvement of a professional operator and editing, cutting of frames).

Also, there may be additional logistics costs, any unforeseen expenses, payment of penalties and much more.

In general, if you have calculated all the possible costs and risks, and after monitoring the market in the provision of travel agency services, you came to the conclusion that your company will compete with existing companies, feel free to get down to business!

The tourism business has always been and remains a highly competitive field, since to start an activity does not require large financial investments, and the main tool is human resources and the Internet.

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Thanks to the developed communication systems, it is possible to successfully engage in sending tourists on travel, having only one competent employee who is familiar with tourism systems and accounting, or create a large structure that allows you to monopolize the tourism market in a particular region or city.

In this article you will find answers to questions about how to open a travel agency, where to start, and how to get the maximum possible profit.

The main aspects of the travel agency

A travel agency is an organization that sells package tours, airline tickets, hotel reservations and the selection of comfortable vacation options in accordance with the wishes of customers.

A distinctive feature of a travel agency from a travel operator is that when selling tours, the agency sells a finished product, that is, it does not have direct relations with hotels and carrier companies.

This legal point is of particular importance, since almost all responsibility for the fulfillment of the terms of the contract lies with the tour operator, while the agency is, in fact, an intermediate link between the seller of the service and the tourist.

A tourist package is a set of services included in the cost of a tourist voucher, and includes:

air travel;
transfer (delivery from the airport to the hotel and back);
accommodation in the selected hotel;
food in accordance with the concept of the hotel.

The travel agency's earnings consist of the percentage that travel operators pay to the intermediary for the products they sell. At the same time, the amount of interest directly depends on the volume of tours sold.

On average, a travel agency receives from 8 to 10 percent of each completed tour.

If the agency is large and occupies a leading position in its segment, then the amount of remuneration can increase up to 15 percent.

Video: the basics of the tourism business

In addition to cash bonuses, there are other incentive methods in the relationship between the travel agency and the tour operator, which include the opportunity to purchase so-called study tours at a minimum price for travel agency employees. The implementation of such study tours allows agency representatives to broaden their horizons and, when tourists contact them, give a full and objective assessment of a particular hotel or holiday destination in general, and the operator to increase the total sales of travel packages.

How to open a travel agency: step by step instructions

In order to correctly assess whether it is worth opening a travel agency, and whether it will be profitable, it is necessary to draw up a business plan.

When developing this document, it is required to honestly and objectively answer a number of questions posed, such as:

general concept of the travel agency;
additional services that will be included in the scope of his interests (these include the sale of tickets for various types of transport, hotel booking, car rental, translation services, booking and sale of tickets for various entertainment events, concerts, exhibitions, registration of foreign passports, as well as the implementation of activities in the field of insurance);
priority tourist destinations.

In addition, it is worth turning to financial calculations and assessing the number of competitive organizations, the profile of their activities, as well as the total volume of the market for the services provided. The chosen location for the travel agency's office and the level of professionalism of its staff will be important.

Photo: is it profitable to open a travel agency

If the office is located in a hard-to-reach place (remoteness from public transport stops, lack of normal conditions for parking, basements and upper floors of office buildings), then the flow of clients will be very limited.

However, the cost of renting such premises will be several times lower. But, if your plans include a full-fledged work aimed at business development, then you need to find a room that will maximally satisfy the requirements of potential customers.

What you need to open a travel agency - the necessary documents

In order to operate as a travel agent, you need to register a legal entity or register as an individual entrepreneur.

A significant disadvantage of working as an individual entrepreneur is that you will be responsible for the agency's existing obligations with all your property. Therefore, the main organizational and legal form of a travel agency is a limited liability company.

So, you need to contact the registering authority, having the following documents on hand:

form 11001 certified by a notary;
decision or protocol on the establishment of an LLC;
a letter of guarantee on the provision of a legal address to a newly created LLC (after the registration of the Company, it will be necessary to conclude a lease agreement);
list of members of the Society;
2 copies of the charter of the LLC, in which the main type of activity must indicate the OKVED code 63.30 - "Activities of travel agencies";
copies of passports of all participants and the head of the LLC;
a receipt for payment of the authorized capital (as of today, the minimum amount of the authorized capital of the Company is 10,000 rubles. At the time of registration of an LLC, it must be paid at least 50%;
a receipt confirming payment of the state duty for the implementation of registration actions (4,000 rubles).

After 5 working days, you will receive documents confirming the registration of the LLC, and from this moment you can start your activity as a travel agency.

When is it better and profitable to open a travel agency? Dead seasons in business

Just a few years ago, the tourist market froze with the arrival of late autumn and gradually revived by the end of April. With the advent of year-round beach destinations on the market, its seasonality has significantly decreased, and with the growing popularity of such extreme sports as alpine skiing and snowboarding, it has disappeared altogether.

Now the so-called "dead seasons" in this business do not exist. Of course, immediately after the New Year and May holidays, the demand for tourist vouchers is somewhat reduced, but thanks to a certain category of people who prefers to rest at low prices, numerous travel agencies work successfully during these periods as well.

How to open and run your own successful travel agency - choosing partners

One of the most common and easily accessible ways to operate in the tourism industry is to work as a division of a major travel operator.

If you are interested in how to open a travel agency for a franchise, then you must, first of all, contact your chosen tour operator and discuss with him the fundamental possibility of such interaction. If there are no objections on his part, then you can safely get down to business.

Franchising offers many clear benefits:

the possibility of using a well-known brand in your own advertising;
placing information about your travel agency on the website of the tour operator;
full support from the tour operator's staff;
supply of all advertising materials necessary for work;
increased commission on sales of travel packages.

The disadvantages of such work include mandatory one-time and monthly payments, as well as the need to comply with the requirements of the tour operator, which may relate to various things, from the location of the office to the uniform of the agency's employees.

Therefore, before turning your gaze towards the franchise, you must carefully weigh all the pros and cons of such cooperation.

How much does it cost to open a travel agency? Calculating costs

In order to finally decide on how to open a travel agency from scratch, and at the same time not incur extra costs, you need to calculate the size of the initial investment.

Here are examples of the main expenses that will need to be incurred before starting an activity:

opening a legal entity. If you carry out the procedure yourself, it will cost you at least 6,000 rubles. If you resort to the help of specialists, then the amount can increase to 10,000 rubles;
rent of premises. Depending on the location and size of the rented area, the monthly cost of the premises can be on average from 9,000 to 30,000 rubles;
purchase of the necessary furniture and equipment. The cost is quite difficult to calculate, since it can vary from 15,000 to 50,000 rubles;
communication services. Payment for the phone and the Internet will require approximately 3,000 rubles monthly;
payment for travel systems that allow online booking of tours. On average, this is still 1,200 rubles for each month of using such a system;
salaries of employees. Its size fluctuates from 25,000 rubles travel agency director and from 10,000 rubles his ordinary employee;
other expenses (stationery, advertising, teaching materials, and so on).

Here is a rough order of numbers to be prepared for when deciding to open a travel agency. It is clear that the upper limit of the amount of expenses for starting a business can be limited only by the organizer's imagination and his financial capabilities.

How to open a travel agency at home

If you want to minimize costs and at the same time try yourself as the owner of an interesting business, you should try to open a travel agency at home.

In this case, you will not need to rent a room, spend money on the purchase of furniture, and also pay salaries to employees, because you will combine all positions in one person.

The only drawback of such work is a narrow circle of consumers of Internet services, but if the quality of work is at its best, then soon you will create a base of regular customers for yourself, and you will be very satisfied with the simple and profitable work.