How to Run a Travel Agency

Share

Travel and tourism industry is one of the largest industries in the world. It employs millions of people and it brings in a lot of money to all the service providers that work in this business. If you are now thinking of starting, and running a travel agency, you have come to the right article which will explain some information that is related to the nuts and bolts of travel and tourism business. There are a number of important steps that you need to take to realize your vision in establishing a travel company.

Make an assessment study on potential places around your town that can be developed into tourist destinations

In the beginning, God created our earth was a very beautiful planet. Because of the rapid growth of human population, the need for wood as housing materials as well as other natural resources is increasing. The exploitation of the natural resources causes extensive damage to our environment. Through travel and eco-tourism business, we can try to preserve our nature. As an entrepreneur who wants to start a business in tourism and travel industry, you need to visit certain places in and around your town that you see have the potentials to be developed as travelers destinations. In order for those places to become tourist destinations, they have to be able to be accessed by the tourists and the service providers. For instance, if there are lakes in the Arfak mountains of Manokwari, they will become a great attractions for tourists if the government build roads to the lakes. If there are no roads available, another alternative is airport. Certain tourist resorts in the Caribbean islands build their own airstrip to allow private jets and small aircraft reach them. When a beautiful place cannot be reached by tourists, it will not be able to be included in the itinerary of a tour package.

Determine the Tourist Destinations

There are a lot of tour packages offered by thousands of travel agencies around the world such as a one week tour to tropical island of Bali in Indonesia, or a two-week diving package in Bunaken and Raja Ampat. Famous tourists destinations such as Phuket Thailand, and the Caribbean islands are promoted by travel agencies in cooperation with local service providers in every tourist destination. From my personal experience, I develop my travel agency business by visiting places around my home town Manokwari in West Papua province of the Republic of Indonesia that are potential to be developed as tour destinations. I made a long list of places inside or near the city such as the traditional market, the Pasir Putih beach, the Table Mountain, the Wave Surfing beach of Abasi and Mansinam island as the destinations which tourists can visit in three day tour.   

Calculate the Costs

After making the list of the potential places as tourist destinations, the next step that I need to do is calculating the cost of transportation. For budget travelers, the calculation of the cost will be based on the use of public transportation but for tourists who are willing to pay more for traveling comfortably, the calculation should be based on car rent. Because I also include Mansinam island in the package, I have to hire a private boat or use public water taxi to bring tourists to the tropical island. Tourists traveling in groups prefer a rent or private boat whereas single tourist in general choose public water taxi to go to the island.

Calculate the Food

Another important factor is the meals for tourists while they travel to the places that you would like to offer. Most often in eco-tourism business, the destinations that are included in the package are located in isolated area where there are no restaurants around. The only way that a travel agency must do is tot bring the food from the city. In my experience, I know that three are no restaurants in the Mansinam island, so I will suggest tourists to buy snacks and water in Manokwari city before they leave for the island.

Cost of Accommodation

Tourists who come to your city will need a comfortable but affordable accommodation. A professional travel agency can customize the tour package that he or she offer to the tourists according to the rate of rooms in any hotels that they choose. Although I personally know a lot of hotels in my town, I only recommend a small number of budget hotels which tourists can choose during their stay in my town. For instance, a room in YAT Losmen costs Rp. 250,000/night whereas a room in Kagum Homestay is Rp. 150,000/night.

Sample of Itinerary and List of Prices

Here is a list of prices for 2 tourists that I compose to help you as a new travel agency or guide in developing your own tour package. The prices below are the real rates that tourists pay for the services for a 3-day tour in Manokwari.

Make an attractive brochure

When all the travel destinations and their costs have been determined and calculated, the next job a travel agency should do is making a brochure as a promotional tool to sell the tour package.  If your travel agency is new, I suggest that you prepare two kinds of promotional tools, i.e. printed travel brochures and website. Today, millions of people are looking for reasonable travel deals from the internet. For instance, if some people interested in wave surfing or snorkeling in Manokwari, they will type such keywords as snorkeling in Manokwari, or wave surfing in Manokwari in search engines to find information about it. Google or Bing will provide accurate information about Manokwari to them.  It should also be noted that the brochure or the website be written in English language. English as an international language is the most popular language in tour and travel businesses. Please, check the spelling, grammar and preposition that you use in your travel guide brochure or website before you print it or upload it into the internet.

Be Always Ready for the Unpredictable

As a tour guide, you have to think two or three steps ahead of a trip. Do you understand what I mean? No? OK, for example, I am now walking with two tourists around Mansinam island, I also at the same time try to make phone calls to car drivers for another trip and a local villager for a hiking tour in the Table Mountain. So, the next day when I am going to guide the tourists again, the car and the birding guide have already been informed to help me. You see in the list, I don't mention my service as travel guide but as an interpreter/ tour guide. I make money from guiding tourists and arranging their trips and accommodation.

There are a lot of aspects that you need to consider when preparing a tour package that you want to offer to your business partners, i.e. other travel agencies in Europe, North America or Australia. They are the seasons (or change in weather), the flight or ship schedules and the other local service providers that you will hire for serving tourists. Tourists need to be informed about changes in destination or schedule in their trips in advanced so that they can also prepare themselves for that. If you serve your guests better, it is more likely that they will recommend your service to other people. by Charles Roring - contact email: charlesroring@gmail.com

Also read: Starting up a travel agency

• How to run a travel agency from home

• Manokwari a Great Tourist Destination

• Traveling to District of Senopi

• Traveling to Tropical Island of Numfor

• Ecotourism in Kwau village of Arfak Mountains