Alexey Zhumataev
Opening a travel agency
Hi all! Today I will write another one for those who want, the topic business plan will be to open your own travel agency. First of all, we decide the issue with money, whether we will, or find an investor, or perhaps you have your own savings.
The tourism business is not experiencing best time, travel agencies are closing one after another, and not only small ones, but also quite strong and stable ones.
Therefore, let's look at the business plan I prepared; it will help you avoid many pitfalls. It is worth noting right away that it is better to start a tourism business before the start of the season (that is, summer) at this time there is maximum demand for this service.
Travel agency business plan
Let's look at where to start a tourism business:
Travel agency registration
Of course, it’s worth starting with the official registration of this business. The form of ownership that is best suited for this activity is.
During registration you will need to select an appropriate name for your travel agency.
Travel agency name
There are quite a lot of options for the activities of a travel agency, for example:
EuropeTour, Tourist, Vacation, Around the World, etc. If you don’t have enough imagination, then you can simply google the Internet and find the name of a travel agency that you like, even if it is plagiarism, but with a 95% probability the names are not patented, so there should be no problems.
Types of travel agency activities
In addition to the name, you will need the types of activities that you will engage in:
63.30 – Activities of travel agencies.
This group includes all types of activities that are related to the tourism business, so it is enough to indicate the group itself and you will be able to use all the subgroups that include it:
63.30.1 -
Organization of comprehensive tourist services;
63.30.2 - Providing excursion tickets, providing accommodation, providing vehicles;
Introduction
1.Basic principles successful work travel agencies
2.Main steps of technology implementation
2.1. Selecting a computer
2.2. Choice office program
2.3. Internet access
2.4. Company website
2.5. Search engine
3.Reservation systems. GDS - Global Distribution Systems
Literature
Introduction
Tourism (French tourisme; tour – walk, trip) arose during that period of social development when the human need to obtain information about new places, to travel as a means of obtaining this information, was an objective law of the development of human society. Traveling brings pleasure to a person and gives an opportunity to relax.
At a certain stage of economic development, when the need for travel increased sharply, producers of these services appeared. This led to the formation of a special type of product - tourism, which can be bought and sold on consumer market.
Producers of services designed to serve tourists (traveling people) have united in the tourism industry. Tourism is not a vital commodity, so it becomes an urgent human need only when a certain level his income and at a certain level of wealth of society.
Tourism is currently developing rapidly in many countries around the world and is playing an increasingly prominent role in the global economy. According to experts, the level of international tourism in terms of arrivals in 1999–2010. could amount to more than 1 trillion tourists, and the profitability of this service sector will steadily increase. Already today, the tourism sector accounts for about 6% of the world's gross national product, 7% of global investments, every 16th workplace, 11% of global consumer spending.
Since tourism is an intersectoral sector of the economy, covering not only accommodation facilities, but also transport, communications, food, entertainment and much more, this area affects any continent, state or city. The importance of tourism for the economies of different countries is associated primarily with the benefits that it brings, provided successful development. First of all, this is the growth of jobs in hotels and other accommodation facilities, in restaurants and other food industry enterprises, in transport and in related service industries. To others important advantage is the multiplier effect of tourism, that is, its influence on the development of related sectors of the economy. The third advantage is an increase in tax revenues to budgets of all levels. In addition, tourism has an economic impact on the local economy by stimulating the export of local products.
In Russia, however, for a number of reasons, the tourism sector has not yet received proper development in comparison with many other countries. Russia, together with all the CIS countries, accounts for only 2% of the world tourist flow. Today, the number of foreign guests coming to Russia for business, tourism and private purposes is about 8 million people, which is far from corresponding to its tourism potential.
Among the main reasons hindering the development of inbound tourism is that created by individual foreign and domestic funds mass media the image of Russia as a country unfavorable for tourism; the imperfection of the current procedure for issuing Russian visas to citizens of foreign countries that are safe in terms of migration; undeveloped tourism infrastructure; discrepancy between the price and quality of hotel accommodation, etc.
At the same time, the number of Russian citizens who want to make a tourist trip, especially to foreign countries. Thus, in recent years, the average number of Russian tourists traveling to countries far and near abroad is about 13 million people, and this figure is constantly growing. This indicates that tourism activity, having survived a period of chaotic development, is going through a stage of qualitative development.
It is no secret that when a travel agency client, purchasing a tour, receives well-prepared documents and complete information about the tour, he feels more comfortable and trusts the chosen agency more. Also, the travel agency, having spent considerable money on attracting of this client to himself, retaining complete information about him, can later use it to re-attract the old client to himself. It is known that the costs in this case are four times lower than the initial ones!
You cannot miss an important component of the success of any company - financial management and planning. Stable development of a travel agency and the absence of financial turmoil are the cherished dreams of many companies. How to achieve this? Systematized management of work with clients, suppliers and internal work gives the company desired result.
How can you achieve systematization of company management? The answer is quite simple - through the introduction of modern technology automated control.
Modern technologies Nowadays you can buy it ready-made and implement it, that is, customize it for yourself. The cost of implementation depends on the complexity of the system. To begin with, you can implement a simple and inexpensive automated accounting system. For example, a system for promptly entering information about customer applications (orders), extracting all necessary documents (reservation sheet, contract, TOUR-1 or sanatorium-resort voucher, invoice, receipt:), promptly receiving sales reports. Further, you can complicate the system by adding prompt reservations, accounting for mutual settlements with suppliers, and communication with the accounting department.
It is possible to immediately install a unified accounting system, both operational and financial, and in two aspects - managerial and accounting. Using flexible separation of access rights and information visibility, managers have access to only their part of the system, and accountants have access to their part. Naturally, company managers see all the information and can monitor the work of managers from their computer. Since the operational input of information is carried out in unified system, you can see who is working and how: the number of applications entered, confirmed, paid by the client, paid to the supplier, closed, income for each application. Through system reports, the manager sees the performance of each manager and department. Details can be set for each tourist and each component of the tour. For any client you can see the history of his requests and payments.
In a single system, managers can immediately see whether their application has been paid or not, and the amount of payment. The accounting department immediately receives the original information and does not waste time re-entering the same data. All information is divided according to access rules, and the manager will not see unnecessary information. Accordingly, there is no need to separate databases, which inevitably leads to input errors, slow operation and resulting problems.
After the main tasks of systematic management of a travel agency have been solved - managing work with clients, suppliers and internal activities company, you can begin to expand the system.
Ultimately, all the necessary information is printed out in a beautiful form. Clients will be issued the entire set of necessary documents, suppliers will be given relevant reports, and for the state, all reports in the established form will be printed.
Even latest technology in the company, after its implementation, it must be constantly improved so as not to become outdated. Therefore, the control system must be flexible and customizable so that it can be improved from within. The 1C:Enterprise system on which it is built standard solution"1C-Rarus: Travel Agency" is an open and flexible system. Using a powerful built-in programming language and the ability to communicate with any external systems can be built automated system management of any complexity.
PC "SAMO-TourAgent" - agency automation
Automation of the work of travel agencies usually comes down to operational accounting of tours ordered by tourists, completed payments with clients and partners, and printing of all necessary documents.
To automate a separate travel agency, you must use software, based on the use of a database that accumulates all working data in a single repository. This is necessary to receive reports on the agency's work at any given time. In addition to the database, it is also necessary to have a program with a convenient user interface, acceptable operating speed, and configuration of system parameters related to the company’s activities. These parameters primarily include text and appearance printed documents, generated on the basis of working data, as well as the ability to manage access rights to various system data.
With the automation of network agencies, the situation is somewhat more complicated. Network agencies from a legal point of view may have various types: one company with several sales offices, a network of individual agencies under a common logo (franchisees): The management of network agencies periodically needs operational reporting on the activities of the entire network. Such reporting can only be provided if all data is stored in a single repository.
The technical side of network agency automation must, in a certain sense, be intertwined with the look of the network. If it is quite easy to automate a separate agency by connecting it to the server of a single database of the central office via Internet channels, then it is impossible to do this with a franchisee. Communication problems with the database server will immediately lead to paralysis of the work of an individual agency. In the case of a franchisee, this is a disruption to one company's operations due to another company's problems. The solution is possible only by using a local working database in a separate office, which eliminates the dependence of the agency’s work on the work of the data transmission channel, with copying to central office all entered data (the data transmission channel is used quite rarely compared to a permanent connection - once an hour, once a day, the frequency is chosen by the parent company). But behind the advantages there are also disadvantages. The central office server stores a single database collected from individual agencies. The central office can only passively monitor the agency's work. Technically, it is very difficult to implement active behavior of the central office in relation to the subsidiary.
* The calculations use average data for Russia
A fragment of the book by Yulia and Georgy Mokhov “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? Should I risk my last savings or not? How long will it take for investments in the tourism business to 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 have to hire? Where to look for footage? Which tour operators to work with? Which countries do you sell tours to? Limit yourself to a narrow specialization or sell everything? Should we open air and railway ticket offices immediately or later? How to attract clients? How much to spend on advertising? Do tourists have many complaints? And yet...
SHOULD I OPEN A TRAVEL AGENCY OR NOT?!
We will try to dispel all your fears and support your 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 or omission.
Development of a business plan for a travel company.
We offer for your reference a diagram that reflects the main parameters and cost items that can be used when drawing up a business plan for a travel company (agency).
1. Travel agency concept
Type of activity:
- travel agent;
- tour operator;
- mixed activity.
- 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 and accompanying person;
- translation services;
- sale of guidebooks;
- sale of related travel products;
- sale of gift certificates;
- booking and ordering tables in restaurants, tickets for events;
- rental of tourist equipment;
- car rental.
- by type of tourist destination;
- according to the cost of tours;
- by country;
- by type of tourism.
2. Organizational plan
Travel agency office location:
- center;
- outskirts;
- distance from the metro.
- rent;
- own premises;
- other.
- showcase office on the first line;
- in the business center;
- in administrative office building;
- V shopping center;
- on the first floor of a residential building.
- two jobs, three five jobs;
- one-room, two-room, three-room, more than three rooms;
- free layout (number of meters).
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tables with reception places, chairs for employees, chairs for visitors, bedside tables with keys, rack for catalogues, wardrobe, hangers, hanger rack,
board for information and special offers, a sofa for visitors, a coffee table, a safe, blinds, a mirror, dishes (for employees, for receiving visitors), photo frames and permitting documents, plants.
Office equipment (cost calculation):
computers, telephones, fax, printers (minimum 2 pieces), scanner, copier, TV, CD and DVD player for showing films about countries and resorts, air conditioning, water cooler, first aid kit, clock, stationery, wall map of the world or globe.
Office design project:
- zoning of space;
- design of the premises according to the concept of the travel company;
- floor plan.
3. Competitive environment
Competitors in selected tourist destinations.
Competitors within the radius:
- buildings;
- district;
- cities;
- countries (if necessary).
4. Production plan
Staff:
- staffing table;
- formation policy wages;
- personnel training.
Tour sales technology:
- search and booking of tours;
- scheme of interaction with partners;
- processing payment for tours;
- document flow;
- delivery and issuance of documents.
- by season;
- by directions;
- by country;
- by price;
- by target audience.
Travel agency pricing policy.
Features of the tours sold.
Development corporate identity:
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- contractor;
- list of required items;
- concept and functions of the site;
- contractor;
- cost and timing of work.
- signboard;
- pillar;
- signs;
- a sign with operating hours and company details.
- booklet;
- business cards;
- letterheads.
- budget size for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months;
- advertising media.
6. Legal aspects opening a travel company
Legal form of a legal entity.
Tax system.
Drawing up a lease agreement.
Required permits depending on the type of tourism activity.
Trademark registration.
Purchase and registration of cash register equipment (if necessary).
Order forms strict reporting"Tourist package".
Maintaining accounting records (independently, with the assistance of an accountant, consulting company).
Legal support of activities
7. Financial plan
Sources of funds.
Amount and duration of investment.
Initial expenses plan.
Fixed expenses plan.
Income plan.
Payback plan.
8. Conclusion
Long-term development plan.
9.Applications
Approximate costs for creating a travel agency in Moscow,
one-time:
Registration of a legal entity and preparation of 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
Trademark registration 50,000-100,000
Employee training 5,000–30,000
Additional possible costs
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- Purchase of a ready-made tourism business, payment of legal services to support the transaction
- Payment for premises selection services
- Payment for recruitment services
- Payment for connection services
- Internet and additional telephone lines
- Payment for services of a consulting company
The cost of tours even in the same hotel category 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 season prices for selected destinations with data from 3*, 4*, 5* hotels and compare them with the expected amount of income
Approximate plan of monthly expenses of a travel company in Moscow (rub.)
Office and infrastructure
Wages
Rent of premises 25 m2 - 50,000
Communication services 3000
Internet 5000
Water (cooler) 500
Stationery 2500
Other administrative expenses 6000 Staff salaries
Advertising budget
- Director 35,000 +%
- Manager 19,000 +%
- Manager 16,000 +%
- Secretary-manager 12,000 +%
- Courier 16,000
- Accountant (outsourcing) 10,000
- Cleaning lady 3000
Unforeseen expenses RUB 10,000.
- Legal subscriber service 7000 rub. months
- Payment for the online booking and tour search system is 1200 rubles/month.
- Refilling cartridges 400 rub./month.
Total 241,500 rub. + percentage of salary
Selecting the status of a travel company. Tour operator or travel agent?
After the abolition of licensing for tour operator and travel agency activities in 2007, mandatory public order established only for tour operator activities. Anyone can engage in travel agency activity legal entity or individual entrepreneur. The only thing that determines the status of a travel agent today is the existence of an agreement with the tour operator, according to which the travel agent, on behalf of and at the expense of the tour operator, sells the tourism product generated by the tour operator. At the same time, the travel agent is obliged to 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 operators and take the necessary legal actions in a timely manner. The fact is that the law establishes mandatory requirement- all tour operators registered in the territory Russian Federation, are required to have financial security. Financial security is a guarantee of the tour operator in case of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the contract for the sale of a tour product, insurance of its civil liability to consumer tourists.
From funds financial security injured tourists are compensated for the actual damage they suffered, for example, the cost of the tour if it did not take place, or the difference in cost if the vacation time was reduced. Financial security is provided by an insurance company or banker. The law establishes the minimum amount for which an insurance contract or contract must be concluded bank guarantee; today it is 10,000,000 rubles. for international tourism (entry and exit) and 500,000 rubles. for domestic tourism.
The cost of servicing financial security averages 1–1.5% per year of the amount of security.
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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 insurance compensation will be 100,000–150,000 rubles. This is the 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 a travel agent’s work when selling tours looks something like this:
- the tour operator enters into an agency (commission) agreement with the travel agent, according to which the agent is instructed to implement (sell) tours generated by the tour operator for a fee;
- a travel agent attracts a client (tourist) and enters into an agreement with him on the sale of a tourist product, receives the documents necessary to register the tour;
- the travel agent sends a request to the tour operator to book specific travel services for the client (tourist), indicating the dates, number and details of tourists, hotel, level of transportation, excursions and other components of the tour;
- the tour operator confirms the travel agent’s request and issues an invoice for payment;
- the travel agent provides the tour operator with the documents (or information) necessary to process the tour (for example, for a visa);
- The travel agent accepts the final payment from the tourist (if paying in cash, he issues cash receipt or strict reporting form);
- the travel agent makes payment to the tour operator minus the remuneration due to him (by bank transfer or in cash to the tour operator's cash desk);
- the tour operator issues the travel agent with tour documents necessary for the tourist to travel;
- the travel agent issues the tourist documents for the tour and all necessary information tourist;
- 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;
- 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 presented scheme reflects only the ideal version of document flow.
In practice, a travel agent may face various surprises; firstly, the tour operator may refuse to conclude a contract with you agency agreement and propose a purchase and sale agreement, as a result your legal status, it will be necessary to adapt accounting and document flow;
secondly, when making a payment under a tour operator agreement, you suddenly discover that the invoice has been issued for payment to
another company or, making payment through the tour operator’s cash desk, you will be given a receipt cash order to physical
a person with a “paid” stamp without the organization’s seal.
Travel company staff
The optimal staff for a small travel company looks something like this:
- ¦ leader;
- ¦ manager1;
- ¦ manager2;
- ¦ secretary with an expanded range of responsibilities;
- ¦ courier;
- ¦ accountant and cashier;
- ¦ cleaning lady.
Director.
The head of the travel company is a key figure and decides large number issues, both economic and strategic, but in addition to this, it is advisable to have at least two sales managers.
The manager can also be the chief accountant, 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 during which a specialist can go through all the “seasons” of a travel agency’s work - high, low, “dead” - and learn how to manage a company. If the head - founder of a travel agency has no experience in tourism, this is not a tragedy. It is necessary to invite managers with work experience and, together with them, develop the strategy, assortment, and 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 processing documents with tour operators, monitoring the fulfillment of orders, price changes, requirements for documents provided, terms of cooperation, special offers.
A universal manager must maintain and improve his qualifications (master classes, seminars, promotional tours), work at exhibitions and workshops. Requirements for managers: higher education, experience in tourism, absence bad habits, presentable appearance, competent Russian speech, sociability, initiative, ability to decide conflict situations, responsibility.
A manager without work experience should at least strive to work in tourism and have a specialized secondary or higher (incomplete higher) education, since this significantly affects the general level of culture. On
teaching someone who strives for knowledge is a rewarding task, but find out long-term plans this candidate to
the invested effort and money 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 can I get to you?”, “What time do you work until?”), ensures timely ordering of the necessary office supplies, household goods, and monitors the courier’s work schedule , carries out instructions from the manager, receives visitors and guests of the office. You must understand that sometimes it is very difficult to do without the help of a secretary, especially in the high season - in the summer, when the phone is ringing at the same time and the client is sitting in the chair.
Secretaries are also tasked with filling out questionnaires, recording and registering incoming and outgoing mail, and responding to corporate emails, ICQ, and Skype.
As a rule, a secretary is hired after several months of starting a travel company, when the phone is constantly ringing and clients demanding attention come to the office.
Courier
A very important and responsible position. With the strength (legs) of this person, money, passports, documents must get to the tour operator. Therefore, when choosing a candidate for this position, be guided by: simple rule: a person must be checked in all possible ways - call the previous place of work, confirm the correspondence of the place of registration and place of residence, call home phone and communicate with relatives and ask for recommendations. These measures are not unnecessary. The problems that may arise due to the actions of the courier are, without exaggeration, catastrophic - loss of foreign passports and documents, theft of funds that the courier transports daily. Most best option- this is a relative or acquaintance, but, unfortunately, such candidates are not always found.
Accountant-cashier,
certainly a necessary specialist, but the cost of his services is too high for a small travel agency (in Moscow from 30,000 rubles). Therefore, most travel agencies use the services legal companies or a visiting accountant. Such a personnel solution allows you to reduce accounting costs by at least three times.
Remuneration and bonus schemes in the tourism business
In the tourism business there is general trend to an increase in wages. This is due to the existing personnel “hunger”. Specialists with 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.
Options for calculating salaries for a tourism manager
The tour is considered sold when 100% payment is made.
1. Interest-free system: salary 22,000–30,000 rub.
2. Salary + interest:
Salary 10,000–15,000 rub. + 10% of 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 revenue from sold tours, divided among all managers.
Salary 18,000–20,000 rub. + 5% of tours sold by the manager.
Salary 18,000–20,000 rub. + 10% of all tours sold, divided between all managers.
3. Planned system: fixed salary is paid when the plan is fulfilled; for example, from 50,000 rub. (this refers to the company's income, not the total cost of the tours). If the plan is exceeded by more than 50,000 rubles. + 10%, more than 100,000 rub. + 15%, over 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 met, with the exception of the low season, there is a system of fines:
- ¦ the first month - no penalties, an analysis of the reasons associated with the 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, a planned payroll system, as a rule, is not used.
Options for calculating wages for a travel company courier
1. Salary 12,000–15,000 rubles, payment for a travel ticket, mobile phone, working hours: Monday-Friday.
2. Salary 15,000–20,000 rubles, payment for a travel ticket, mobile phone, working hours: Monday - Saturday.
During the high season and increased sales volumes, it is customary to give couriers 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, issue bonuses and work calmly.
On the market you can find offers from courier companies that deliver documents anywhere
cities, they enter into a formal agreement and bear full financial responsibility for cash and documents in the parcel.
Options for calculating the salary of a director of a travel company
1. Salary from 40,000 rubles.
2. Salary 18,000–20,000 rub. + 1–5% of monthly income
agency after deducting expenses.
3. 12,000–15,000 rub. + 5–10% of monthly income after deducting expenses.
This was just a small fragment of the book by Yulia and Georgy Mokhov, “Travel Agency: Where to Start, How to Succeed,” published by Peter Publishing House.
In the guide itself you will find detailed advice on choosing a tour operator, organizing document flow, taxation, recommendations for promotion, working with the client base and many valuable links to specialized Internet resources for tourism industry practitioners.
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REPORT ON PRODUCTION PRACTICE
V travel agency"All travel"
Completed:
2nd year FM student
group MGKTS-2014-1
Zinchenko A. V.
Checked:
assistant
Cherednichenko A. A.
Kharkov-2016
| INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………...... SECTION 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRAVEL AGENCY “All travel”……... ........................................................ ........................................... 1.1 General characteristics travel agency “All travel”…………….…..................................... ....................................... 1.2 Characteristics of the departments of the travel agency “All travel”…… ……..…..…................................................... ................................ SECTION 2 ORGANIZATION OF SERVICES AT THE TRAVEL AGENCY “All travel”………………… ………………………………...... 2.1 Required documents for the work of a travel agency….. 2.2 Form of visitor service…………………………………… 2.3 Analysis of advertising and information activities in the travel agency “All travel”… …………………………………….................. SECTION 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORK PERFORMED……… ……... 3.1Organization of personnel management of the enterprise “All travel”...................................... ........................................................ ......... 3.2 Staff motivation ………………………………………………… 3.3 Characteristics of the work performed at the “All travel” hotel…....19 CONCLUSIONS…… ..……………………………………………………….….20. LIST OF SOURCES USED…………………………21 |
INTRODUCTION
Tourism is one of the most important industries for the development of the Russian economy. In the tourism sector today, new programs are being implemented, infrastructure is being improved, and investments are being actively attracted.
Tourism and travel are an integral part of the hospitality industry. Travel is the main theme of tourism. Differences in time, distance, location, purpose and length of stay are all just distinctive elements of tourism. In general, tourism is a multi-purpose phenomenon that simultaneously combines elements of adventure, the romance of distant travels, a certain mystery, visiting exotic places and, at the same time, the earthly concerns of entrepreneurship, health issues, personal safety and the safety of property.
Tourism plays a major role in the global economy, providing a tenth of the world's gross national product. This branch of the economy is developing rapidly and will become its most important sector in the coming years. The annual growth of investment in the tourism industry will be about 30%.
On-the-job training is essential integral part educational process. It helps to consolidate and expand the knowledge acquired during the learning process and allows you to acquire professional skills independent work in the divisions of the enterprise, provides familiarization with the organization of production and the work of the enterprise, acquaintance with the workforce.
The internship was completed at the travel agency “All travel”.
The purpose of the practice is to become familiar with the basic principles of conducting tourism activities, management and other connections, and the rules of interaction with consumers of services.
Tasks industrial practice are:
1. combining theoretical knowledge with practical skills;
2. study of the activities of the enterprise of social and cultural services and tourism;
3. study of the activities of services and departments of the enterprise and their interaction;
4. study of main directions marketing strategy enterprises;
6. familiarization with the safety rules in force at the enterprise, as well as with the safety requirements when organizing and conducting tourist trips.
SECTION 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRAVEL AGENCY “All travel”
1.1 General characteristics of the travel agency “All travel”
Travel agency “All-travel” is located at Kharkov, Constitution Square, 1 (Palace of Labor), entrance 8, floor 5, office 85-04
Travel agency "All-travel" has been on the Ukrainian tourism market for 2.5 years. The company cooperates with all major tour operators, which provides our clients with a wide range of price offers and high quality service. Travel agency "All-travel" offers a large number of places to stay, booking hotels in cities and resorts. Excursion, health and individual tours of any complexity - you can order all this at a travel agency.
Over the past years of successful work, the agency's employees have become the highest professionals in their field. As a travel agency, we have earned ourselves a good name and a reliable, positive reputation. The travel agency has diplomas and certificates that officially confirm the recognition of the company as a conscientious and successful company. The company has developed a permanent customer base. The company's clients know highest quality provided by the travel agency and come to them again and again, not wanting to change the travel agency.
The head is Karnaukh Alevtina Viktorovna
The agency offers a wide range of tours from sightseeing to exotic around the world.
The company's strategy is to create a multifunctional tourism operator providing a full range of tourism and hotel services.
1.2 Characteristics of the departments of the travel agency “All travel”
Travel and tourism are a set of related business areas that serve travelers in one way or another. Obviously, the closest thing to tourism is the work of travel agencies; airlines are also involved here, railways, hotels, restaurants and much more. This entire group represents the tourism infrastructure, or the tourism industry.
Definition of the tourism industry as a set of enterprises, institutions and organizations of material production and non-production spheres that ensure the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of tourism products, the development and use of tourism resources, and the creation of a material and technical base for tourism, which includes the following components
The first is tourism organizers – tourism enterprises for the development, promotion and sale of tourism products (tour operators and travel agents).
Tour operators perform the functions of organizers and creators of a complex product for group tourism, and a travel agent is an individual or legal entity who acts as an intermediary in the sale of tours generated by a tour operator.
When a person travels, he needs rest and, accordingly, a place where he can spend the night - for this, the next segment of the tourism industry is needed, which are enterprises providing accommodation services (hotels, motels, boarding houses, holiday homes, etc.).
Accommodation occupies a central place in the range of services provided to tourists during travel and is an integral part of every tour. Accommodation facilities, which mean any facility that regularly or occasionally provides places to stay overnight, form the basis of the tourism industry. Our research is devoted to this component.
It so happened historically that the first needs of a person are accommodation and food, therefore the tourism industry also includes enterprises that provide services to satisfy the needs of tourists for food.
The tourism industry is characterized by such types of food establishments as restaurants, cafes, and bars. When organizing meals for tourists, various service methods are used
The most important element Tourist infrastructure, which is included in the main range of services included in the tourism product, is transportation.
Transport companies include: automobile and aviation enterprises, railway departments, river and sea transport enterprises, etc. Transport used for tourism purposes is classified into three types: land, water, air
Just spending the night, eating and moving around by transport is not interesting. We dare to say that today, as before, people want to learn more about other countries, and for this, a branch has appeared in the tourism industry - excursion activities.
Excursion activities organize and provide services that satisfy human needs for familiarization with spiritual and moral values, for the accumulation of knowledge, including professional ones, in the mode of free choice of objects, methods and means of knowledge
It is also important that in addition to all of the above, a person wants to satisfy his spiritual needs and have fun, and therefore tourism cannot imagine itself without the entertainment industry.
Leisure and entertainment businesses include theme parks, movie theaters, hobby clubs, arcades, etc.
The above list is far from complete. The tourism industry also includes trade enterprises (shops selling tourist equipment and souvenirs), tourism management bodies (government institutions, public tourism organizations), educational, scientific, design institutions, banks, insurance companies, medicinal and medical institutions, communication organizations and much more
Based on these premises, the tourism industry is defined as “a set of hotels and other accommodation facilities, means of transport, facilities catering, objects of educational, business, recreational, sports and other purposes, organizations engaged in tourism and travel agency activities, as well as organizations providing excursion services and guide-translator services
SECTION 2 ORGANIZATION OF SERVICE AT THE “All travel” HOTEL
Necessary documents for operating a travel agency
Tourism activities are regulated by the Law “On Tourism”, according to which business entities can be both legal entities (organizational and legal form - LLC) and individual entrepreneurs (PE). To register a company, it is enough to have one founder (resident or non-resident). Each travel agent can sell holiday tours both within Ukraine and abroad.
Bank guarantee. You will need a written commitment from a bank to pay for the operator’s services if the agent fails to do so. The presence of a bank guarantee is a mandatory condition for cooperation with tour operators. To issue it, the bank will require a certificate of state registration, charter (if the travel agency is a legal entity), information about the current account, as well as copies of the office lease agreement (or document confirming ownership), passport and certificate of assignment of the manager’s identification number, certificate of registration with tax office(Form 4-OPP).
Agency agreements. The agency enters into contracts with each of the tour operators of interest. Agreement forms can be downloaded from the official websites of operators.
Client agreement. Needs to be developed standard contract with clients for the provision of tourism services. The contract is considered concluded from the moment the cost of the tour is paid and the client is issued a voucher from the tour operator. The voucher must indicate the place and time of the start and end of the route, its duration, type of transport, name and address of the hotel, its type and meals. The voucher must have a 12-digit number and no corrections or blank fields.
Standard rules for tourists. The agency independently develops rules for tourists, which usually regulate entry into a particular country, the procedure for meeting, escort, excursion services and accommodation, insurance conditions, etc. These rules are included in each client agreement.
Agreement with an insurance company. Optional (this is not prerequisite) you can enter into an agreement with one or more insurance companies and provide services for insuring the health of clients or issuing civil liability policies in the event of their traveling abroad by car. This is especially true for those traveling to the countries of the Schengen zone, where it is mandatory to have a medical insurance policy with coverage of up to EUR30 thousand (otherwise the country’s embassy will not issue a visa). In case of travel to countries with a visa-free regime or with a visa on arrival, a medical insurance policy along with a voucher is provided by the tour operator, its price is included in the cost of the tour.
Agreement with the airline. If desired, a subagency agreement is concluded with one of the air ticket sales networks or an agency/brokerage agreement with airlines. This will allow you to sell air tickets and participate in bonus programs.
The acceptance certificate of completed work is signed between the agent and the operator upon completion of the sold tour.
Tourism business.
Travel agencies in Russia
Development of tourism business in the country - trend 2014-2018
First steps in organization
Travel agency from scratch:
Features of the tourism business in Russia:
Who is a tour operator?
What is the amount of authorized capital for a travel agency?
Do you need a license for a travel agency to operate tourism?
Form of activity and taxes for a travel agency.
What holiday destinations for Russians are in demand?
What remuneration does the travel agency receive?
How much does a travel agency earn on average?
Legal documents regulating the activities of travel agencies.
How many Russians go abroad on vacation?
How to open a franchise travel agency in Russia?
Relationships between tour operators and travel agencies. Where does a travel agency buy tours?
Organization and management of tourism business.
Room
Equipment
Staff
Marketing:
Advertising - searching for clients
Sales of products
Financial plan:
Investments
Payback
No. 1 Domestic holidays, organization of holidays in your region
No. 2 Organization of exotic tours with annual turnover about 10,000,000 rubles
No. 3 Your own mini business, organizing youth recreation in your city
No. 4 How to make money without having a travel agency?
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Tourism business.
Travel agencies in Russia.
Today in Russia there are about 15,000 travel agencies operating in the tourism services market, of which 500 are the largest and about 2,500 are tour operators.
And the first travel agencies appeared in Russia in the late 80s and early 90s. After 1993, a boom in the development of the tourism business began, and new travel agencies appeared with a variety of offers. Many entrepreneurs see this direction as an unplowed field and a fairly easy business. But the 1998 crisis put everything in its place, since most agencies simply did not survive the difficult time; these were, as a rule, those companies that sold their tours at dumping prices and did not accumulate financial reserves. Those who were able to survive troubled times are today the largest in Russia.
After 2000, the state’s economy began to recover and, at the same time, the income of the population grew. In this regard, a new round of development occurred in the tourism business, and travel agencies of various formats began to reopen. But, despite more or less favorable times, about 40% of newly opened travel agencies continue to close without working and three years, this trend continues to this day. What are the reasons for this situation? And what are the main mistakes of new travel agencies? We will try to figure it out in our article.
Development of tourism business in the country - trend 2014-2018
Today there is no doubt that the trend of development of the tourism business within our country has already begun. In fact, huge amounts of money are being invested in the development of individual regions, which look very attractive from the point of view of tourism and recreation. This can be confirmed by the successfully held Olympics in Sochi 2014. The state, along with private investors, invested a large sum in the construction of Olympic facilities and in the infrastructure of the entire surrounding area. After the Olympics, these attractions, advertised throughout the world, became accessible to ordinary people.
Also, immediately after the Olympics, due to a number of circumstances, Crimea and Sevastopol returned to Russia, this great places for summer holidays and as soon as the situation in Ukraine normalizes, a bridge will be built on the peninsula and then the main tourists will flock. By the way, the state has already launched a low-cost air flight from Moscow to Simferopol, it is called “Dobrolyot” and tickets there are 40% cheaper.
A sharp jump in patriotism for lately will also undoubtedly have a beneficial effect on the development of tourism business within the country.
It is also worth mentioning the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which will be held in our country in 2018. By this time, the state promises to work on creating infrastructure in those cities where festive events dedicated to football will be held.
In Russia there are many destinations for tourism and recreation besides the south. In general, our country has everything: seas and rivers and mountains and steppes and taiga, and desert, etc. You can relax in Russia on the beach and at ski resorts and for educational and therapeutic purposes, active recreation, hunting, fishing, everything is there, but one problem that prevents all this from developing at the pace we would like is the infrastructure.
Within our country, the priority is recreation in cities, sanatorium and resort vacations, river tours, and tours along the Golden Ring. All this is happening in the central part of our country, the eastern regions are less in demand in this regard, but Putin invited our European friends to come to us in Siberia for firewood.
The leading travel agencies of our country call Moscow and St. Petersburg priority; it is believed that this is not a plowed field, since in these cities something new is constantly appearing that can attract tourists, as an example we can cite youth hotels - hostels, in which young people gather in large groups for parties, the price of accommodation in a hostel is much lower than in ordinary hotels, and the profit is made due to the large number of clients.
Also, in many regions they began to develop agricultural tourism; this type of recreation helps to plunge into the origins of one’s ancestors; this type of tourism does not require special investments. Agricultural or otherwise green tourism is already a feature of the tourism business in
Russia, we smoothly move on to the next topic.
First steps in organizing a travel agency from scratch:
Features of the tourism business in Russia.
Who is a tour operator?
A tour operator is a company that creates the service product itself in the tourism market. The tour operator interacts with hoteliers, carriers, and insurance companies. Large tour operators have buses and their own rooms in some hotels on their company's balance sheet. There are guides on staff who accompany you during your vacation. Simply put, the tour operator creates a wholesale product, retail sales is handled by a travel agency.
What is the amount of authorized capital for a travel agency?
To open a travel agency authorized capital remains at the level of 10,000 rubles.
Do you need a license for a travel agency to operate tourism?
The license to provide tourism services was canceled in 2007. Today, a license is not required; only tour operators remain on the registry, who create the product itself, and the travel agency only sells it.
Form of activity and taxes for a travel agency.
It is definitely better to choose an LLC, since the client has more trust in companies than in individual entrepreneurs, and in the tourism business, client trust is the key to success.
Taxation for a travel agency today is only possible under the “simplified” system, but is offered in two options:
- Or 6% of income
- Or from the difference between income and expenses of 15%
It is better to choose the second option, since the costs can be written off for staff training, including going on study tours, as well as large advertising costs.
What holiday destinations for Russians are in demand?
Today the situation on the market is not changing much; over the past 5 years the picture looks something like this:
What remuneration does the travel agency receive?
On average, the remuneration of large tour operators is 10%, and in general there are fluctuations in the market from 5% to 16%; this depends on how long the travel agency has been operating and how many tours it sells. The more sales, the higher the profit percentage. The tour operator recalculates the profit for each agency every six months.
How much does a travel agency earn on average?
It is customary to calculate the profit of a travel agency not in a month or even in six months, but once a year. The calculation of annual profitability is determined by the seasonality of this business.
On the Internet you can find all sorts of figures for the earnings of travel agencies from 200,000 to 3,000,000 rubles.
But here the question is different: “How many tours can you sell?”
Let’s say there are three of you working together - you and two managers. You want a salary of 30,000 rubles. per month, 2 managers 20,000 rubles each. + rent, telephone, internet 30,000 rubles per month, + advertising 5,000 rubles per month. (I do not count taxes, accountant services and other expenses)
As a result, per year you need: 1,260,000 rubles of expenses.
Let’s say the price of the average tour sold is 50,000 rubles, your reward is 10%, that is, 5,000 rubles.
Question: How many tours do you need to sell to earn at least 1,260,000 rubles a year?
Answer: 252 rounds. Based on the calculation, each of your managers should sell at least 126 tours per year!
Legal documents regulating the activities of travel agencies.
- When opening - KVED No. 53.30 - “Activities of travel agencies”.
- Tax reporting according to documents for a simplified taxation system
- Between a tour operator and a travel agency - agency agreement, commission agreement
How many Russians go abroad on vacation?
Over the course of several years, the number of Russians traveling abroad has been gradually increasing and today there are about 15 million trips per year. The Rosstourism website has all the data. Here, for example, is a table of the top 50 tourist countries with the number of visits:
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How to open a franchise travel agency in Russia?
Opening your own travel agency as a franchise looks quite attractive, since today there is a sufficient selection of companies that are ready to sell their franchise at quite reasonable prices. Investments in a franchise business start from 250,000 rubles and end at around 600,000 rubles. By purchasing a franchise, you get a number of advantages over your competitors.Here are some of them that franchisors offer:
- Increased remuneration rate from tour operators
- Possibly territorial protection within your city or part of it
- The franchisor's software will be installed on your computers
- The Frasher can regularly conduct advertising campaigns for the entire network
- Often the franchiser has a number like 8-800 with redistribution of calls to regions and receives calls around the clock, including from your clients
- You can be provided with legal and accounting assistance as part of your work
- The franchisor conducts training and advanced training courses for your managers
- You will have access to common base corporate documents, reports and knowledge
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But one should not assume that all franchisors are handing out franchises of their business left and right; they also have a number of their own requirements and visions of the business, and constantly monitor and monitor how you serve your clients. Because they are responsible for this with their prestige.
Frequent requirements from franchisors to entrepreneurs:
- Availability of an office on the 1st line of central streets
- Area about 20 m2 with good repair, and sometimes with renovation in a corporate style
- Possibly convenient parking
- A sign made in a certain way with a certain design is required.
- And others...
In our opinion, one way or another, before opening a travel agency, you need to consider everything possible options, including opening a franchise, even if you want to develop your own brand and after time, also sell franchises for your business.
Relationships between tour operators and travel agencies. Where does a travel agency buy tours?
Today, there are more than 2,500 tour operators in Russia, and it must be said that not all of them have an impeccable reputation, so choosing a partner must be approached carefully.
First you need to visit the Rosstourism website, which has lists of tour operators with their data and, most importantly, capitalization; as a rule, the higher it is, the more reliable the partner.
You should also pay attention to how tour operators interact with your clients, whether they have their own guides, vehicles and possibly even hotel rooms. As a rule, conscientious tour operators work with trusted air carriers and insurance companies. At vacation spots they provide transportation, assign their guides to groups of tourists, through whom you can purchase excursions and consult on various issues of stay and accommodation. Among other things, guides work with tourists, inform them important information, for example, about rescheduling a flight, this is very important!
Then it’s worth looking at the presence of representative offices of tour operators in your region; if there are any, this will facilitate further work on paperwork, for example, to obtain visas you will not need to send documents to the central office, everything can be done through the representative office.
The beginning of a relationship begins with the conclusion of an agreement, in this case it is an agency agreement and a commission agreement under which you receive your percentage from the sale of tours, by the way this amount is about 10%.
Another important aspect of the relationship between travel agencies and tour operators, which has already happened in practice, is when entire planes were canceled or delayed flights or unpaid hotels, due to the tour operator’s dishonesty. And your clients will make claims against you because you sold them this tour. So you need to be careful when choosing your partners.
After concluding contracts, you are given the opportunity to access as an agent the database of all tours of specific tour operators. This access can be done either through the software or directly on the site. Through your personal account you will book tours for your clients. There are also sites on the Internet that present databases of all available tours from all tour operators; through such sites it is most convenient to compare prices.
Organization and management of tourism business.
The organization of a tourism business on the basis of a travel agency must be approached quite carefully and not lose sight of the main features of the business, in order not to make mistakes that lead to the unprofitability of the company and its subsequent closure, as we said above that about 40% of companies do not survive even three years . They fold during the off-season, when demand for travel decreases.Step-by-step scheme for opening a travel agency:
The zero stage is to choose the time to open a travel agency; it is best to open not long before the season in order to have time to carry out an advertising campaign and immediately start earning your first money. We will also include the creation of a website for a company here.
The first stage of organizing a business should be marketing research of your region and city. You must understand how many competitors you will have and what their characteristics are.
The second stage will be choosing a concept, that is, you can open a travel agency from scratch or buy ready business, or open as a franchise.
The third stage will be searching for premises. This issue must be approached with all responsibility and not agree to the first options. Your profit depends on the location and convenience for the client.
The fourth stage is searching for partners and concluding contracts. This question concerns the choice of a tour operator, we discussed it above.
The fifth stage is the search for tour sales managers. This is also a very important point when opening a profitable travel agency. There are several options for resolving this issue, which are most often encountered.
The first option is to search for managers who have work experience and have already developed client base. This option helps you start already having a certain advantage, but requires an increase in labor costs.
The second option is to select managers without work experience who only have a desire to learn and earn money in the tourism business. This approach allows the manager to independently develop his own staff.
The third option will be mixed; it is hiring managers with and without experience. In this case, diversification of the wage fund occurs, which is also not a bad option.
The sixth stage is advertising. Carrying out advertising companies eats quite a bit most of The profits of a travel agency in some cases reach 40% of the company’s net income. But what can we do about advertising as the engine of trade? Read more about the behavior of advertising companies below.
Now that your travel agency is open, an advertising campaign has been carried out and the first clients have appeared, it’s time to talk about managing this business. As a leader, you must clearly understand your responsibilities!
Most often, people who decide to open a travel agency are those who have already worked for hire in a similar business and have learned the intricacies of this business, and these are, as a rule, former managers.
But do such managers have team management skills? Not always! And that’s why many sales people, when opening a travel agency, begin to go about their usual business and drive their business into a trap from the very beginning. In order to avoid making such mistakes, you should move some distance away from managers and try to see the work from the outside. You must understand what not a specific client wants, but the majority of clients in general.
The job of travel agencies is to sell a tour to the client as quickly as possible. Because in any city, operating travel agencies sell essentially the same tour and for approximately the same price. Those agencies that dump prices, as a rule, die during the off-season, and tour operators do not welcome this method of work. Therefore, managing a travel agency does not come down to controlling the client, but should control its managers so that they respond to requests as quickly as possible and offer not just one option, but several, trying to satisfy the client’s request. To do this, managers must constantly train and monitor the situation in the tourism market every day when they come to work. To be able to offer a good tour at the first request.
The next very important point is working with regular clients. A separate folder should be created for each client, where the maximum amount of information will be stored, including his relatives and his preferences. Let's say, there are people who do not change their habits and fly every year, for example, to Turkey in July, in this regard, why don’t we offer you a tour at a favorable price in advance, say, in May.
In addition to working with managers, your task will include planning, or in other words, strategic planning. Strategic planning- these are calculations of assumptions for the future, how the situation will develop and how you will act. First, you should come up with questions for yourself that may arise in the course of your work and try to answer them, for example, what will our travel agency do in the off-season? How many tours do I plan to sell this year? And for the next one? What will I do if clients take me to court? What promotions and when will we hold? How much do we plan to spend on advertising this year?
For each such question, you must provide a clear answer, for example: “What to do if there is a law on mandatory authorized capital for travel agencies, say 2,000,000 rubles???” Answer: “Unite with people like our travel agency and chip in...”
All this is called business planning, which a tour sales manager may not know, but a travel agency manager should definitely know and be able to apply in practice.
Premises for a travel agency.
About the premises for a travel agency it was said in this article above and will be said even lower, in this section we will say that:
There are no special requirements for the office of a travel agency other than convenience for the client and aesthetic appearance.
The choice of premises comes down to:
- Reasonable price
- Location closer to the center
- Possibly human flows
- Availability of minimum amenities for staff
- Availability of telephone and Internet lines
In any case, when renting an office, even cosmetic repairs will be necessary, so you should set aside at least 50,000 rubles for this case.
Equipment for a travel agency.
After the repairs have been made and the premises are ready for work, equipment should be purchased.
The choice of equipment for a travel agency should be approached quite carefully; on the one hand, all equipment should be functional, on the other hand, it should please the eyes of your clients.
Main types of equipment for a small travel agency:
- Furniture.
- Office equipment.
- Advertising and information products.
- Office.
Furniture should be functional, comfortable and beautiful.
To open a small travel agency with a staff of 2 managers and a director, you will need:
Tables with stands - 3 pcs. 15,000 rubles each.
Chairs - 3 pieces (staff) for 7,000 rubles, 6 pieces (clients) for 3,000 rubles.
Sofa for clients - 1 pc. 25,000 rub.
Coffee table - 1 pc. 7,000 rub.
Styling - 1 piece. storage advertising products 12,000 rub.
Total for furniture: RUB 128,000.
Additionally, you can install an aquarium, which costs another 30,000 to 300,000 rubles.
Office equipment must be functional and fast.
Computer - 3 pcs. 30,000 rubles each.
Fax - 1 pc. 3000 rub.
Printer-scanner - 2 pcs. 5000 rub.
Telephone - 2 pcs. 1500 rub.
Total office equipment: RUB 106,000.
Additionally, you can install a projector or plasma TV, or at least an additional monitor for the convenience of presentations; this costs another 15,000 to 50,000 rubles.
Advertising and information products must be presented in sufficient volume; in the client’s opinion, the longer a travel agency operates, the more advertising products it has.
World map on the wall - 2000 rub.
Magazines catalogs - 20,000 rub.
Add. Waste paper - 5000 rub.
Total for advertising products: RUB 27,000.
We refer to the office: paper, pens, felt-tip pens, staplers, paper clips, folders, files, etc.
Office expenses: about 10,000 rubles.
Additionally, you can purchase magnetic boards for the convenience of training or presentations within the company.
Also, do not forget about the shelves on which you will display small gifts that your satisfied clients brought you from tour trips.
The total for equipment without additional amenities: 271,000 rubles.
Staff for a travel agency.
The presence and number of personnel working in a travel agency can be very different. If you have a mini travel agency, then in the first few days you can organize all the processes yourself; over time, you will need to expand the staff in favor of tour package sales managers.
For an average travel agency, five people are enough, of which:
- The director is you
- Two managers - selling tours
- Accountant - reporting
- System administrator - website promotion
Of these people, only the director and managers can work permanently in the office; the rest can work remotely. This concept will help you save on office rent.
What are the requirements for travel agency staff?
It is impossible to name any special requirements, since it depends only on the desires of the manager, meaning the presence higher education and work experience.
It is mandatory to have knowledge of your work, especially for accountants and system administrators.
Managers have a desire to work, develop and earn money. Another common requirement for managers from employers is to have a pleasant appearance and charm.
First of all, managers and tour sales managers should be trained in the tourism business. What do you need to know?
For managers:
- Strategic planning
- Reporting
- Monitoring the work of managers
- Interaction with competitors
- Working with partners
- Work to attract and retain clients
For managers:
- Tourism market research
- Search and selection of tours
- Preparation of tour packages
- Reporting
- Selling tours by phone
- Sale of tours in the office during a personal meeting
You can get good training by opening a franchise travel agency; this topic was discussed a little higher. Part of the necessary training can be obtained by communicating directly with hoteliers and guides via the Internet. Good experience can be obtained from communication with clients after the trip. Obtaining information for training also has quite a creativity, like the whole business in general.
Marketing.
Travel agency advertisement.
Travel agency advertising is one of the most complex and interesting species advertising and in this business, like in no other, advertising is the real engine of trade.
Travel agency promotion is a creative approach to advertising companies. It is mandatory to create advertising that encourages potential customers to relax. Advertising must be bright and memorable!
The first thing a modern travel agency needs is to create its own website and pages in social networks and in this issue The format of your business does not matter, in the sense of small or medium. Advertising on the Internet is mandatory for all travel agencies.
Today's realities require a modern website that presents ready-made offers in your areas of interest. There should be a section for searching and selecting tours with the possibility of booking via the Internet and various payment options, including payment for electronic money.
Don’t forget that your website should be constantly updated, providing information of interest to potential clients. It’s also a good idea to have a section with photo reports and stories of your clients who went on vacation through your travel agency; this also indicates that you need to interact and work with clients even after they return from vacation.
The site must have a registration section for users. After registration, the person automatically becomes yours potential client leaving your data for you, in return you must provide him with some exclusive information that will not be available to anonymous visitors. This may be the opportunity to leave comments on photographs and articles, or access to the ability to download information, for example, a printed guide, tourist information, maps, routes, etc.
It is possible to create a website and forum dedicated to recreation and travel on the basis of it. But it’s worth mentioning that to develop the forum you will need funds from 100,000 rubles, but you will get a lot of potentially interested clients with their registration data.
Many leading travel agencies have been able to create entire social networks based on their websites, in which not only clients are registered, but also hotels, other travel agencies and even large tour operators, as well as many other various companies and individuals who, one way or another, are involved in the tourism business. Uniting in social networks helps create convenience and the necessary atmosphere for the development of tourism business and, of course, ensure big profit to its creator.
Promoting a travel agency website on the Internet:
- Registration on forums and message boards
- Creation and development of pages on social networks
- Blogging and microblogging
- Constant updating and adding new articles to the site itself
- Order contextual advertising- Yandex Direct, Google Adwords
- Promotion through crowded places - YaP, etc.
- Conducting free newsletters from your website - Subscribe, etc.
- Advertising on women's thematic forums also works well, since women are more interested in and choose a place to relax than men.
The second very important thing is to promote your travel agency offline; practically any type of advertising is also suitable for this.
Newspapers, radio, television will also work, but subject to a number of conditions. The main thing is to provide important, interesting and necessary information.
In a newspaper, it is better to order a whole narrative article with your contacts inside it; there must be a headline that arouses the reader’s interest, for example, How to visit Turkey for 10,000 rubles? What awaits tourists in 2014 in Spain? Interesting places in Europe - top 10, etc.
On the radio, advertising needs to be creative and memorable; in a short video, you need to interest the listener as much as possible. The question-answer format works well for radio; this is when the question is: “Is it possible to get into the Louvre without queuing?”, the answer: “the travel agency “name” knows how! Contacts, France in your pocket!!!”
Advertising on television today is an expensive format and it will be difficult for a beginning travel agency to allocate such a budget. With television, it is best to start on the scale of local TV channels, within your city.
Creative people will almost always find the best way out of this. complex issue- advertising for a travel agency. One of my friends, a girl who has been involved in the tourism business quite successfully for 5 years, ordered the production of refrigerator magnets with an image of the sea and an island with a palm tree, of course, not forgetting to write the name of her company on top and her website below.
She distributed these magnets by delivering mail to apartments. And I can tell you that such a publicity stunt brought her many new clients. I myself have personally seen her magnets hanging on the refrigerator at my friends’ houses.
Here is an example of a creative approach to advertising a travel agency, in which the minimum investment is no more than 20,000 rubles, and the return is maximum.
Comparing clients who come from advertising on the Internet and advertising from offline, we can say the following: clients coming from newspaper, radio and television advertising ask the same question: “What can you offer me, and what do you have?” Clients coming from the site are already more aware of the tours you offer and are focused on choosing between several. This makes the work of managers easier, and we can say with confidence that the conversion of people coming from the Internet will be higher.
Choosing a name for your travel agency.
The name of the travel agency should be approached very carefully and come up with at least 50 names. From all this you need to choose the most consonant and memorable!
Here are some examples:
- Rus-tour
- Ali Baba - tour
- Infiniti - tour
- Luxury tour
- Gambit - tour
- To Berlin
- Three whales
- Seven seas
- Three continents
- Atlantis
- Heat tour
- Euro-tur
You can come up with a lot of names, but try to choose one that can speak about the tours you provide, taking into account future development. And perhaps, in addition to a catchy name, make it a little humorous.
Sales of products.
How is the tour sold?
The classic tour sales scheme looks like this:
- The client sees the advertisement
- Call to the office
- Manager's job
- Office visit
- Manager's job
- Purchasing a service
Online tour sales scheme:
- Search or advertising or recommendation from friends
- Visiting the site and choosing a tour
- Tour payment
- Obtaining travel documents
But no matter what the tour sales chain is, advertising will still be in the first place, so we can definitely say that the sale of tourism business products will completely depend on advertising.
When writing a business plan in this section, you should pay attention to retaining and developing regular customers and spreading word of mouth.
It is clear that in order to ensure maximum sales of our tours, we need to have regular customers who form the key core of our business.
To ensure high sales of products, some travel agencies create their own non-standard tour packages. A tour package is a set of components necessary for travel.
What is a standard tour package?
The standard tour package includes: visa (if required), honey. insurance, air travel (round trip), transfer to place of residence, hotel room, meals.
What is a non-standard tour package?
A non-standard tour package differs from a standard one in that it includes additional services, such as excursions, additional services. Maybe creating a tour package to visit several countries at once in one trip.
In general, in order to sell your service, you can come up with a truly non-standard tour package and thereby arouse greater interest from clients. Everything will depend on your creativity.
How can a travel agency find and retain regular customers?
Regular clients are people whose needs are fully satisfied by your travel agency.
The search for a client should be carried out by a marketer, and the retention by a manager.
- First of all, the client should be attracted by advertising,
- secondly, the charm of your manager,
- on the third tour price,
- to the fourth round itself
At the same time, at all stages, your manager should interact with the client, but this does not mean being intrusive.
You need to communicate with the client and after he returns from the trip, this will help to retain the client, you need to be able to be, if not a friend, then at least a comrade, and then you will undoubtedly gain many regular clients.
In the tourism business there is such an expression as a deadline - this applies to the sale of last-minute tours as it should be, since your client will have a certain amount of time during which he must decide to purchase a travel tour.
Don’t forget about promotions and bonuses for regular customers, and hoteliers will help you with this. Many hotels offer promotions; upon a repeat visit, the client is given a better room.
Discounts also necessary tool. The discount may apply when you contact your travel agency again, or as part of the ongoing promotion - bring a friend. There are also systems of cumulative discounts; the more trips, the greater the discount.
You can also provide your discounts to clients who help promote your travel agency on social networks, write articles on forums and other sites, register and post their reports, including photo reports mentioning your company.
There is another example of a profitable opening of a travel agency with a promotion to attract the first clients in a new residential neighborhood. Firstly, this approach helps to save on office rent, cheaper than in the center. Secondly, there is no or almost no competition.
Having opened the above-mentioned travel agency, its creators began to think about attracting clients. We decided to hold the “International passport without a queue” campaign, that is, we took upon ourselves the entire process of obtaining international passports for the population. And what do you think, there were quite a lot of people willing. Yes, even if such an action is quite stressful and requires additional staff, but with competent work of managers, the return can be up to 40% or even more. Let's say you help 3,000 people for free, but sell 1,000 tours, in my opinion, not bad.
Financial plan.
Drawing up a financial plan is a prerequisite for starting any business. Standard financial plan includes calculations for estimated initial investments and assumptions for the return on investment of the project with projected profits.
Investments.
Investments in a travel agency are quite small due to this this business attracts many entrepreneurs. Let's try and calculate the initial investment in a small travel agency.
We will calculate investments for a quarter, that is, the next three months of work. In the future, all expense items are planned to be paid from the profits received.
We will divide all investments into four parts:
- Renting premises
- Purchase of equipment
- Payroll fund
- Marketing activities and advertising
Rent of premises for a travel company - a premises with an area of 35 sq.m. was found. With repairs already made, at a rental rate of 400 rubles. for 1 sq.m. For a month it comes out to 14,000 rubles. + internet, telephone 3000 rub. For the quarter 51,000 rubles.
Purchase of equipment - above we calculated the minimum set required for a small travel agency, its cost was 271,000 rubles.
Payroll - in our small travel agency five people will work together with the manager, of which the manager himself will have a salary of 30,000 rubles. will work in the office and two managers with a salary of 20,000 rubles. + a percentage of the sales of tours will also be located in the office. An accountant and a system administrator will work remotely with a salary of 20,000 rubles.
The total wage fund for the quarter is: 330,000 rubles.
As a result, our investment in opening a small travel agency amounted to 752,000 rubles.
If you take the minimum and count on instant returns from the business, meaning immediately after the first month of work, then you can keep it to 388,000 rubles. By the way, in calculating the payback of a business, we will use exactly this figure, since the business should begin to at least somehow pay for itself from the first month of operation.
Payback.
To calculate the payback of a business, we will use the estimated sales figure for travel packages, as well as use the amount of the average check.
So, we plan to attract our main clients from advertising campaigns, based on the response rate we plan to be 0.8% out of 1000 people - 8 will book a tour, respectively, the more money spent on advertising, the more clients we will get.
Combining these data into calculations, we forecast customer acquisition at 600 per year. Based on these figures, we set a standard for managers of 220 sold tours per year; if a manager sells more, he receives an annual bonus; if he sells more, he receives more.
Next, the price for the average tour sold by us is 50,000 rubles, we receive a 10% commission, respectively, 5,000 rubles is the amount of the average check.
Annual expenses:
Rent + internet, telephone - 204,000 rubles
Payroll fund - 1,320,000 rubles
Advertising - 470,000 rubles
Result: 1,994,000 rubles
Annual income:
220 rounds x2 = 440 rounds multiplied by average bill 5,000 rub. = 2,200,000 rubles
Available funds at the end of the year: 2,200,000-1,994,000= 206,000 rubles.
The payback of the travel agency should occur in the first year of existence, while at the end of the year additional profit should be generated, which will be spent on advertising and the payment of bonuses, so that in the second year of operation the profit will increase.
Startups in the tourism business (examples):
No. 1 Domestic holidays, organization of holidays in your area.
Organizing recreation and tourism in your own region is suitable for almost any resident of our country. To do this, you need to show curiosity and activity. Any region has many of its own attractions that other people want to see. The main thing is to present such a service correctly.
First you need to get a camera, learn how to beautiful photos. By being smart and observant, you can pick up good list the most beautiful places in your region and region. After that, use the Internet to advertise yourself. We will do advertising for the startup by creating own blog, forums, portals and of course social networks on topics: tourism, recreation, photography, attractions, culture, art, etc.
We post the accumulated materials on the Internet under our own authorship and with our own coordinates, while offering our services for organizing, meeting, accompanying and accommodating everyone.
With the right approach, investments in such a startup are zero, and an income of 30,000 rubles per month is guaranteed. Here is your first example of a tourism business from scratch!
No. 2 Organization of exotic tours with an annual turnover of about 10,000,000 rubles.
Today, the tourism services market is represented not only by the main holiday destinations. Many people are already tired of this and want to relax according to an individual program, say, to go where no one or few people have been. As they say, demand creates supply, so there is travel companies, who specialize in exotic destinations by creating individual itineraries. By the way, the price of an exotic vacation has already added $10,000. Per tour and this is quite reasonable!
For example, how many people have conquered Elbrus? No! Do you think there are many people who want to do this? There are many and their number is increasing every year! The cost of such an ascent is about $20,000. And there are travel agencies that every year gather several groups of exotic vacation lovers (a total of only 20 people per year!!!) and make ascents.
We calculate: 20 (people) multiplied by 20,000 dollars (price per person), we get 400,000 dollars, which translated into rubles is about 14,000,000 rubles.
And for a startup, you can come up with a lot of such exotic tours in completely different directions and preferences, from relaxation to sports and extreme sports.
No. 3 Your own mini business, organizing youth recreation in your city.
One of my friends, a regular at city clubs and parties, started his own tourism business without even knowing it. Many regular party-goers are familiar with the phrase that there are the same people in the club. This situation prompted him to meet people from other cities on the Internet and invite them to parties in his city. When the question of accommodation arose, he began to offer the second room of his apartment for rent. He charges 500 rubles per person; according to him, he never had less than 20,000 rubles per month just for renting out a room.
Also in big cities There are mini hotels - youth hostels where many young people come to relax and hang out, find new friends and have a good time. A friend of mine also accommodates groups of young people in such hotels. He cooperates with the hostel management for a percentage.
Recently, famous personalities often come to the clubs of our city with their concerts, which many fans and admirers want to attend, but some kind of uncertainty prevents them from going, where to spend the night, etc.
This is where ingenuity comes in! In social networking groups, an acquaintance publishes posters about the upcoming event and offers his services as a “guide” - all inclusive. There are plenty of people willing!
For these purposes, he books apartments in advance that are rented out for a day, you know those? Such an apartment costs 1,500 rubles per day. He accommodates six people in them and over the weekend, from such an apartment alone he earns 3,000 rubles into his pocket.
In the future, he dreams of building a house for 20 people. So that in just two weekends he can earn 20,000 rubles.
No. 4 How to make money without having a travel agency?
Today, you can start your own startup and make money in the tourism business by selling tours and vouchers even without having your own company or even registering as an individual entrepreneur. There are travel agency websites that offer ordinary individuals work on their behalf. After registration you will be given access to their database of tours.
Why is this beneficial for travel agencies?
Travel agencies receive a commission from the tour operator from the sale of the tour and the more tours they sell, the higher the commission will be. Attracting individuals, the travel agency increases its sales.
Why is this beneficial to you?
Working in such a scheme, you get the opportunity to engage in the tourism business of selling tours without leaving your home. You also receive large commissions by working under the wing of a travel agency; today they are willing to pay about 35% of their profits. That is, let’s say a travel agency earns 10% from the sale of each tour; let’s take the average profit from one tour as 5,000 rubles. From 5,000 rubles you are paid 35%. We receive 1,750 rubles in profit from one tour.
To earn about 20,000 rubles per month you need to sell about 12 tours.
The advantages of such a business are obvious; you can start mastering the tourism business today without investing money in opening your own company. You don't risk anything!
First you need to create pages on social networks, perhaps your own website, and start promoting on the Internet. Start with your friends and acquaintances. Gain your first invaluable experience with minimal investment in the tourism business.
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