How to run a travel agency from home

Running a travel agency from home to earn a living is possible if you know how to arrange trips to tour destinations, reserve flight tickets and hotel rooms. As a tourist guide, I have done these things from the comfort of my home for two years. I started running a travel agency after finding out that my hobby in traveling and taking pictures of beautiful natural places can be used for developing the places that I visit as potential tourist destinations. For instance, last year I went to an island near Manokwari city that is surrounded by beautiful coral reef last year. When I was there, I saw colorful corals, and ornamental fish there. I suddenly realized that this island should be preserved for future generations of Papuan. The preservation of the coral reef is possible through eco-tourism. When the nearby fisherman and coastal citizens can get substantial income from tourists who use boats and buy food during their tour around this tropical island, tourism industry can support the protection of the area from irresponsible fishing and domestic waste dumping around the waters of the small island. A good travel agent knows the educational values of eco-tourism. He or she should inform people who are involved in serving tourists who snorkel or swim near the island to stop throwing plastic wastes into the water.

river in the rainforest of the Arfak mountains To successfully run a travel agency from home, I first establish a website and a blog that I use to promote interesting tour destinations around my home town Manokwari. The followings are the destinations that I have promoted in my Manokwari Papua blog and website:

Travel Destinations in West Papua that I promote

Manokwari city (city tour, visiting Papuan artists for souvenirs)
Small islands near Manokwari city (swimming and snorkeling)
Table Mountain (Hiking, Caving, insect and bird watching)
Arfak mountains (watching birds, butterfly andH beetle, as well as studying traditional medicine)
North coast of Manokwari (hiking a long the river, snorkeling, swimming and wave surfing)
Senopi and Kebar (hiking, bird watching, butterfly and beetle collecting,)
Numfor island (traditional dance and music performance, snorkeling and bird watching),
and etc

Transportation and Accommodation

People usually travel in long distances by airplanes, ferry boats, and cars. They will also need reasonable priced hotel rooms to stay. A good travel agent must combine all the tour destinations in an itinerary that use various transportation modes in affordable prices. If the tour package is too expensive for budget travelers, tourists will not be interested in visiting the destinations that we offer. A travel agent has to be able to change transport mode that is safe to tourists if he considers bad weather can pose potential danger to his customers. For instance, during high waves, traveling with ferry boat is not recommended. As an alternative, the tour guide can change it with airplane. Most often traveling to remote villages in Kebar valley and Numfor island can only be done by small airplane where ticket reservation cannot be done through the website of the airline. Airline companies such as Merpati and Susi Air do not provide ticket reservation services for inter town and villages flights in West Papua. A professional travel agency has to be able to provide this service by directly going to the representative offices in the towns or villages where the airlines operate.

Although I run my travel agency alone, I always cooperate with local people when guiding tourists around the rainforest mountains, and the tropical islands of West Papua. I believe that a strong networking with local people will successfully bring a healthy tourism industry into reality. Multiplier effect that are realized from this tourism industry is essential in supporting the preservation of forest and coral reef. People can feel that by protecting their environment, they can make money from providing services and selling foods and souvenirs to tourists.

Partnership with local people

papuan children were playing at the Abasi beach of Manokwari city - a nice place for wave surfing One of my strategies in running a successful travel agency operation is the empowerment of local people. The indigenous Papuan people living in the Arfak mountains and tropical islands of the Geelvink bay own lands that have become tourist destinations in the tour packages that I offer to tourists. In order to get support from them, I choose some houses that belong to the indigenous people as accommodation facilities for the tourists. The tourist facilities are still in very basic condition meaning that they only provide shelter and water for tourists. The term "guest houses" or "garden houses" in the remote villages that are included in the list of travel destinations are not the same as luxurious hotels with AC and internet connection that we can find in Manokwari city, the capital of West Papua province. The indigenous people, in their simple lifestyle, have served tourists well. They work as cook, and boat drivers in Numfor island whereas those who live in Arfak mountains work as bird-watching guide, porters and cooks for tourists. Any travel agencies must implement the policy of providing jobs to the local people to get support from them and to run their tour and travel business sustainably.

Promoting Tour Packages through the internet

Tourists themselves will be able to get new lessons and culture from the preserved natural environment and the indigenous people who live in and around these places.

There are still a lot of activities that tourists can do while traveling to this region such as fishing, or whale shark watching. I have taken a lot of photographs of the beautiful natural places and cultural activities as well as recorded the them and uploaded them into the internet. So far, many tourists have contacted me for visiting Manokwari and its surrounding region. This month alone, I have successfully arranged trips and guided tourists from the Netherlands, Russia and Czech republic. More tourists will come in the coming months. This is possible due to the promotion of my tour packages on a number of websites and blogs that I update regularly. Promoting a tour package through the internet is the cheapest way a travel agent can do to make money from home. The language that I use in promoting the tour packages that I offer is English and Indonesian language. Plain English with correct grammar (tenses, prepositions, and vocabulary) is highly recommended to attract tourists from all corners of the world to read the website, blog or brochures. At first, it was quite difficult for me due to the lack of experience in arranging tours and guiding tourists. Now, after guiding tourists from various countries in the last two days, I can confidently says that Manokwari is an attractive travel destination for those who want to see Papua's pristine nature and culture. If you still are not sure how a beautiful natural place can be developed into a potential tour destination, you can visit my blog Manokwari Papua.

If you want to visit this city to enjoy snorkeling, swimming and hiking in this tropical island, please, contact me via my email charlesroring@gmail.com. I will be happy to arrange your trips (including itinerary in affordable prices) and guide you by myself.