How to open a travel agency from scratch step by step instructions. Step-by-step instructions on how to open a travel agency from scratch

A travel agent is actually a tour sales manager. The latter are a ready-made travel program drawn up by the operator. The tour includes booking a hotel, excursion programs and carrier services (planes, buses, cruise ships). The difference between a freelance travel agent and a travel agency is that he does not need an office and a large number of employees. He can do all the work online.

The agent's remuneration consists of a commission from sales, which is paid by the operator for each attracted buyer. It can be from 5% to 10% of the cost of the voucher. Thus, your future income determines the number of sales made. A novice travel agent shouldn't expect quick and high profits. For stable income you will need a permanent customer base, which can take several months to build. The average salary for a home agent is between $ 500 and $ 1,000 per month.

How to become a travel agent from scratch at home

You can start working as a travel agent without a specialized diploma, but this does not mean that you do not need knowledge. First of all, you should familiarize yourself with the legislation regarding this type of activity and tourist (foreign) travel in general. Also, you should study the terminology, classification of tours, features of choosing a tour operator, methods of communication with a client and, of course, geography.

Legalization of the activity of a tourism agent

Without official registration, neither tour operators nor clients will work with a travel agent. You can register as an individual entrepreneur (FOP) or LLC. In the first case, it is much easier to maintain documentation and register activities; in the second, there will be more confidence in your company.

When registering, it is very important to choose the right activity codes. AND For Russia(OKVED-2), and for Ukraine(KVED 2017) these will be:

11 Activities of travel agencies;
90 Reservation services and related activities.

When registering, it is better to choose a simplified taxation scheme.

To work as an agent for the sale of tours, you do not need to obtain a license, and therefore you can start working immediately after registration. But here one more point should be taken into account. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, travel agents, unlike operators, are not included in single register and are not required to have financial security (guarantees). If you are considering options on how to become a travel agent from scratch in Ukraine, you need collateral in the amount of at least 2,000 euros. At the same time, if this amount is not enough to cover losses associated with the failure to provide paid services through the fault of the agent, being a sole proprietor you risk not only guarantee funds, but also personal property.

Banking organizations are usually the guarantors. They provide collateral for up to 5 years. In some cases, you can conclude a deal for up to 2 years. Registration of a guarantee is expressed in the opening of a deposit account (pledge under the guarantee) and regular insurance deductions to the bank, which, in case of occurrence, will be used to pay compensation. The deposit itself will not be withdrawn and at the end of the term of the agreement with the bank, it is returned to the agent. Deposit confiscation can only occur if the travel agent has not adhered to the regular payment schedule.

In most cases, no one checks the availability of the travel agent, and you can start activities without it. On the other hand, large and reputable tour operators may refuse you if the guarantee is not confirmed.

A travel agent at home, in most cases, does not deal with the preparation of travel documents (foreign passports, visas, powers of attorney). However, in order to advise your clients, you must know the list necessary papers for crossing the border, a list of items and medicines allowed for transportation, as well as the rules for staying in the territory of the country to which your client is sent.

Choosing a direction of activity and target audience

Before becoming a travel agent, you must decide on the category of travel products (tours) that you will be selling. This will define your future target audience.

The modern tourist business offers a wide variety of tours. They fall into three large groups:

Internal- travel within your own country. This activity is suitable for beginners. It does not require knowledge foreign languages... The disadvantage of this direction is the relatively low level of income and relatively low demand. The main buyers are older people and families with an average income.
Outgoing- travel on vacation to other countries. A traditional type of tours that are in high demand among a wide range of consumers.
Inbound- travel for foreign tourists to your country. Requires good knowledge of foreign languages (English).

Most operators work with all directions, and therefore you can expand the scope of your activities at any time.

In addition, tours differ by the type of organization:

Stationary- classic tours to one country (city) with permanent residence at a specific hotel. It could be a beach holiday by the sea, ski resorts, rest in forest sanatoriums, children's recreation camps. The main buyers of such tours are families with children, newlyweds and older people.
Mobile- tours during which several countries and regions (cities) are visited. These include sea cruises, bus tours, hiking trails and camping. This type of tours is in demand among young people (students).

How to find a tour operator for cooperation

To get started, you need to conclude an official agreement with a tour operator, otherwise you will not receive a commission, even if you sell the tour. At the same time, you can choose as a partner either one operator or several, which will allow you to provide customers with a wider choice of vouchers.

Similarly, when considering the question of how to become a travel agent at home, it is necessary to choose the directions of tourist travel. Doing everything at once, especially for a novice agent, is very difficult, and therefore, for a start, it is better to choose several countries that are most interesting to you personally.

There are many resources on the Internet that allow you to find a suitable tour operator. Some of them themselves offer direct cooperation. For example, if you are looking for quick way how to become a travel agent from scratch in Russia, you can register in the Workle.ru tour operator system and start earning literally right away. To work in this system, you do not need to register with the tax office, since the company itself makes all the contributions to the Pension Fund and the Federal Tax Service for you.

In addition, you can find partners in the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators on the official website of Rostourism (russiatourism.ru).

If you are a registered entrepreneur, you can also use the online services for the selection and booking of tours (with a reward). Agents from the Russian Federation can use the following resources:

Booking center (ecenter.travel) - provides training and selection of tours around the world.
Sletat.ru (sletat.ru) - in addition to the selection of tours, offers assistance and free website creation for the automatic sale of travel products (vouchers).
1001TUR (1001tur.ru) - selection of tours from the largest operators with increased commission and bonus accruals.

Independent travel agents from Ukraine search for operators and tours can be carried out on IT-Tour (ittour.com.ua). The service allows you to select and compare the cost of tours from different operators. There is the possibility of selling refusal vouchers and assistance in creating your own website. As a rule, such resources allow you to conclude cooperation agreements with the operator online.

How to check the reliability of the operator

In most cases, the tour operators are responsible to tourists, but if force majeure happens, the agent who carried out the sale falls out of favor. This means that your reputation with customers is directly related to the good faith of the chosen partners, and therefore, when considering how to become a travel agent from scratch at home, it is important to learn how to recognize good faith partners.

You can find a tour operator suitable for your working conditions and evaluate its reliability in special online catalogs (turbiz.turistua.com, tursvodka.ru), which provide an opportunity to view ratings. It is also necessary to monitor user and agent reviews on specialized sites (otzyv.ru, turpravda.ua, obnovlenie.ru).

You can draw your own conclusions by analyzing the operator according to the following criteria:

The presence of a host company partner in the country of the tour... If the operator has its own representatives in the city or country where your customers are sent, this increases the reliability of service provision. You can find out this information on the official website of the operator.
Arrangements with airlines and carriers... The more companies are partners of the operator, the greater the opportunity to perform replacement services in emergency situations.
Partner insurance company level... If an insurance company works with an operator with a high level of trust and a percentage of payments on insurance policies, the higher the operator's reliability.
Number of directions... If a tour operator works in a narrow segment of destinations, he will not be able to quickly provide a replacement tour in case of unforeseen situations (natural disasters, military and political conflicts).

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

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

Features of the tourism business

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

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

Travel company formats

Taking into account the size of the start-up capital and his own ambitions, an entrepreneur can open a travel agency in 2018 from scratch in one of the following formats:

Independent company. This option is more suitable for professionals with personal connections, industry experience and contacts with tour operators. Among the things that are needed to open a travel agency are SPD registration, office rent, purchase of equipment and staff recruitment;
Home agency. For entrepreneurs who do not have the required start-up capital, this option is preferable, since you can open a travel agency at home with minimal investment: for work, it is enough to have a computer, printer and telephone. The home agency format is also not suitable for beginners, as it requires its own client base and an extensive social circle. How to open a travel agency at home: you need to register an individual entrepreneur, provide a presence on the Internet and social networks and organize a platform for meeting with clients in the nearest cafe;
Internet agency. Such a sales channel can be both additional for an independent firm and the main one for a home business format. To open a travel agency in 2018, you need to develop an online store, involve programmers to organize access to the offers of tour operators, connect payment systems and think over a mechanism for providing online consultations.

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

Software, systems for viewing and booking tours;
Training;
The ability to open a travel agency from scratch with no experience using famous brand and a recognizable corporate identity;
Legal and advertising support;
Increased commission rate;
Support in resolving conflicts with tour operators.

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

Choosing a tour operator

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

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

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

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

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

Advantages and disadvantages

Should you open a travel agency in 2018? To answer this question, an entrepreneur must carefully weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of this type of activity. To the positives tourism business can be attributed:

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

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

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

Activity registration

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

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

Location selection

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

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

Considering how to start a travel company from scratch in a business center, the presence here should be mentioned as a positive aspect. finished offices renovated, connected engineering communications, communication channels and service, including cleaning and security. The disadvantages of this location are the presence of an access system and the impossibility of placing a sign on the facade of the building.

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

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

Room and interior equipment

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

Room preparation

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

Development of a unified corporate identity for signage, outdoor and interior design It is better to entrust the office to a designer: when calculating how much it costs to open a travel agency, you should take into account such design costs. As additional elements decor are used geographic Maps, souvenirs from different countries, exotic masks, globes, aquariums with bright tropical fish: the visitor should understand at first glance that it is a travel company that is located here.

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

Equipment

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

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

Staff

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

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

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

Agency staff

Financial investments

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

Upfront costs

The amount of current expenses depends on many factors: the scheme of motivating managers, the format of the advertising campaign, the taxation system and the intensity of the use of communication channels (when paying per minute for phone calls and restricting traffic by the Internet provider):

Estimated running costs

Profit and payback periods

What is a tour operator and travel agent

Tour operator - a legal entity that is engaged in the formation, promotion and sale of a tourist product, in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation "On the basics of tourist activities in the Russian Federation." Simply put, it is an organization that prepares and promotes travel offers. The tour operator will arrange for meals and hotel accommodation. Provides transportation, excursions, etc.

There are several ways to implement a tourist product. For example, using travel agencies. In this case, all responsibility for the quality of the service provided lies with the tour operator.

A travel agency is an organization that promotes and sells a tour operator's tourism product. In accordance with the law of the Russian Federation "On the basics of tourist activities." A travel agency can be opened by both a legal entity and an individual entrepreneur. It is an intermediary between tourists and the tour operator who receives their commission. The travel agent buys the formed and ready-to-sell travel product from the operator. And offers it to the end consumer. Receiving a monetary reward for this sale.

Quite often, a travel organization combines the functions of a travel agent and a tour operator. For example, a tourism organization organizes and offers a tour of Italy, acting as a tour operator. And at the same time, this travel agency acts as a travel agent, implementing a tour to France, formed by another tour operator.

It is important to know that tourism is:

entry - travel on the territory of the Russian Federation of people who do not permanently reside in Russia;
outbound - travel of citizens of the Russian Federation abroad;
domestic - travel within the Russian Federation of Russian citizens.

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For the opening and operation of a travel agency, special permits are not required by law. Therefore, this type of tourism business, as practice shows, is more widespread. Let's take a look at the main stages of creating a travel agency (travel agent).

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Business plan

At the first stages of starting any business, it is necessary to draw up a business plan. First, you need to decide for what purpose it is being compiled and for whom. For example, to obtain a loan, for a private investor, for oneself. It is necessary to calculate the amount of capital investment for a year, half a year, or a month. A business plan can be drawn up independently or ordered from a consulting company.

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Choosing the name of the travel agency

From apt name a lot depends on the travel company. It helps to promote the company's services on the market, creates an associative array and style associated with the company. A good name is well and quickly remembered, which is very important when there is a lot of competition.

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Site creation

Nowadays, in order to organize your business, you need the support of the Internet. Take care of creating your own company website. This service can be ordered from professionals, but it is possible to make a simple website on your own. To do this, you need to select a hosting (place of "physical" storage of your site) and a domain name. This is the address of your page, which should overlap with the name of your company. This will make it easier for potential customers to remember and find you.

There are many free and highly detailed website builders out there. Choose one and follow the instructions and tips to create your site. To begin with, it is enough to make a website one-page reader, which will contain information about you, contacts, a short list of services.

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Selection of tourist destinations

As experts advise, a narrowly focused business sells its goods and services better. Shoppers are more likely to go to specialty stores. The same rule applies in the tourism business. It is better to offer your clients specific tours. For example: "Our agency selects medical tours around Russia using a unique method for children and adults." Instead of the offer "We will pick up any tour". The first option is more informative and understandable.

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How to choose partners of tour operators

When signing a cooperation agreement with a tour operator, pay attention to the availability, duration and amount of financial security. To the number in the Federal Register of Tour Operators. For the duration of work in the tourism business. Pay attention to the number of employees in the staff of this company, to the availability of diplomas and awards. Find out where the tour operator's office is, its size and presentability, the availability of guide information, etc. There are no exact criteria for selecting the best and most reliable partners. Try to learn as much as possible about them.

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Where does the tourism business start?

So, where should you start when starting a travel business:

selection of an office. In order to organize a tourism business, you need to find suitable premises... It is worth choosing an office space in places with maximum traffic. In a promoted shopping center, in a business center, on the central streets of the city, next to the metro;
preparation of a business plan;
recruitment. According to experts, decency and diligence are the most important criteria in the selection of personnel. Quite often, start-up entrepreneurs hire their friends and relatives. This may not be such a bad choice in the travel business;
Advertising: Print business cards, advertise on the internet, post or distribute flyers. Students can be hired for this job;
paperwork. Find out what documents you need to issue to open your own travel business in the appropriate authorities. The main thing is to arrange everything legally.

Living from paycheck to paycheck, spending your own time enriching another person and hoping for a meager pension is a dubious prospect. The alternative is to start your own business. A successful business idea first brings in money and then time with family and friends for travel and sports. Perhaps you need to take a risk to live to the fullest? Great idea for business - to open a travel agency from scratch. The following advantages are in its favor:

Minimum initial investment. Salaries of employees, purchasing office equipment and renting an office.
Prompt coverage of costs. With the right planning, already during the first high season after the opening of the travel agency will be profitable. Due to fierce competition, miscalculations of the management, lack of stable effective demand and dozens of other factors, the business pays for its costs in 1-2 years after the organization enters the market.
Stable product price. The cost of a tourist ticket depends little on economic factors. It is stable for a long time or costs even more.
Ease of getting started. You can plunge into the world of business on your own or seek help from an experienced organization.

Having decided to open a travel agency from scratch, decide what services you will provide. They are divided into two groups:

planning trip routes and solving other organizational issues (tour operator);
implementation of operator's tours and receiving commissions for this (travel agency).

For now, let's dwell on the second option. Decide what kind of trips you will provide: abroad or within the country. Open and occupy your niche business and select a key customer category.

Activity registration

The first thing you need to open a travel agency is registration. Select the organizational and legal form of activity. According to the tax code, the travel agency is registered as LLC or sole proprietor. In the first case, operators are willing to cooperate and you will get more trust from customers. The disadvantage is the creation of authorized capital. Funds are frozen that you could spend on advertising or wages workers.

Opening an organization in the form of an individual entrepreneur is more profitable from a financial point of view. No share capital is required, you do not pay most of the taxes and you submit the minimum package for registration.

Other organizational issues

You have decided on the form of activity. Now, for both sole proprietorship and LLC, solve the following questions:

select the name of the travel agency;
decide on the registration address;
indicate the types of activities, taking into account those declared in the classifier;
pay the state registration fee;
contact a notary (if necessary) and draw up an application for registration.

To open a travel agency in the form of an LLC, you also need:

form the authorized capital (minimum - 10,000 rubles);
if there are several founders, determine the nominal share of each of them and reflect it in the statutory documents.

To open a business, a room with an area of about 20 sq. m. It should be located in crowded places with developed infrastructure and parking spaces. Optimally - in the central part of the city.

Do not spare money for a sign. It should be different from competitors' labels and not merge with neighboring labels. In the dark, a backlight is required. The working day is over, and the sign is inviting potential customers to rest and your business is running.

Travel agency office interior

Do not spare money for renovating the premises. These costs are more of an investment. The attitude of clients to the travel agency depends on the interior design of the premises.

A comfortable sofa, soft chairs and a table are essential prerequisites for the comfort of customers. Decorate the interior in a unique corporate identity... Do not forget about bright cards, souvenirs, exotic plants and animals.

Don't skimp on workplaces for employees either. You need to purchase:

work tables and armchairs;
telephones;
pens, notebooks and other stationery;
office rack;
office equipment: printer, scanner and copier.

Choose a reliable internet service provider. Let customers enjoy fast WiFi. And workers quickly look for the necessary information about weather conditions or changes in the conditions of tours. Let be Slow internet or its regular outages do not prevent you from opening a travel agency and successfully developing your business in the future.

Recruit staff for a travel agency

The general rule of thumb in any business is not to hire friends and family. You, as a leader, will not be perceived by them or other employees. Close relationships almost never turn into business ones.

Your ideal candidate should have relevant successful work experience. If not, then pay attention to the following personal qualities:

positive attitude towards life;
openness to communication;
responsible execution of tasks;
consistent and correct formulation of thought;
the ability to focus on the main thing;
purposefulness;
the ability to find a common language with strangers;
conflict resolution skills.

Working in a travel agency requires communication skills. Sometimes communicative, motivated and responsible employees with no experience are better than unmotivated individuals with 10 years in the field.

To open a travel agency and ensure its activities, 2-3 employees responsible for selling vouchers, building up and retaining a client base are enough. However, a few weeks after starting work, you need to hire an accountant and a cleaning lady.

Wages should motivate employees. Set a flat salary and percentage of tour sales. Spare no bonuses for completing your plan.

Choosing a tour operator

To minimize risks by opening a travel agency, cooperate with at least 10 operators. At least half of them should specialize in your main line of business.

Consider the popularity, reliability and duration of the operator in the market. On average, travel agencies receive from 5 to 16% of the cost of sold vouchers. For the first tours sold - the minimum commission. However, with the increase in package sales, so does your reward. Operators are interested in increasing sales volumes, so they are ready to pay more promising travel agencies.

Look for clients

Immediately after opening a travel agency, create your own website. Do not spare money for its design, filling with text content and unique photographs. Update information regularly, remembering to notify clients about new tours and promotions.

Do not lose relevance and classic approaches to attracting customers:

advertising in newspapers and magazines;
radio messages;
videos on television;
billboard advertising;
distribution of leaflets by promoters.

In a special journal, write down how visitors learned about your organization and why they decided to use its services. Invest in effective customer acquisition paths and discover other options.

Try to make your customers permanent. Immediately after opening, a travel agency should be associated with promotions and bonuses.

The cost of opening a travel agency

It will not be possible to answer unequivocally how much it costs to open a travel agency. This is determined individually. The minimum amount for starting a business is 300,000 rubles. This includes expenses for:

rental of premises (minimum - 30 thousand rubles per month, from 60 thousand in the capital);
staff remuneration (salary and interest);
office equipment and software (from 100 thousand rubles);
communications and the Internet (depending on the tariffs of the providers);
advertising (in accordance with your financial capabilities).

The indicator of the effectiveness of an average travel agency is the sale of 500 vouchers during a calendar year. Then the monthly net profit of the business is up to 100 thousand rubles.

How to renew activities

The most important thing for a new travel agency is to open a niche and stay in the market. Unfortunately, after a year of operation, 5 such organizations out of 10 are closed.

The travel business is seasonal. The new organization must plan losses for the spring and fall months.

When the number of people who want to relax decreases, the travel agency is obliged to attract them using a system of discounts. It is worth informing about the best offers even during the sale of vouchers in the season.

You also need to diversify the sources of business income. In particular, you can open additional services: help with obtaining visas or selling air tickets.

Don't forget about your main job. During the off-season, offer regulars a weekend at one of the local recreation centers.

From travel agency to operators

After several years of successful activity, a travel agency can move to the next stage of business development, becoming an operator. The organization will continue to be responsible for the sale of vouchers and start organizing vacations. In fact, the volume of work and responsibility will increase. You need to compete with former partners and dozens of other organizations. However, all income will remain in the company's account.

To become an operator, a travel agency needs:

buy a liability insurance policy;
add the organization to the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators.

To get started, continue to work with regular clients of the travel agency. Consider their wishes and open individual tours. Better put the cost of the vouchers slightly below the market average. the main task on initial stage- gain experience. However, no one canceled the minimum profitability.

Opening a travel agency is an interesting opportunity for own business... In any case, such an activity will become interesting experience in your life. And correct planning, hard work and a share of luck will allow you to realize your business idea, doing what you love for more than one year.

Types of travel agencies

First, let's figure out what a travel agency is from the point of view of the law. The basic law governing all activities of organizations specializing in tourism - Federal Law "On the basics of tourism in the Russian Federation". Here, a clear concept of travel agency activity is given, which consists in the promotion and implementation of a tourist product. That is, a travel agent can only sell a ready-made tourist product formed by a tour operator. A tourist product is understood as a complex consisting of several services sold to the end user for a total price.

Based on the provisions of the law, the travel agency can not only sell the so-called "package" tours created by the tour operator on the mass tourism market, but also provide tourists with additional services for a separate cost. For example, such additional services may include booking air and train tickets, booking a place in hotels, selling tickets for concerts, etc. But the organization of a trip to the theater, which, in addition to tickets, also includes delivery by bus, is, strictly speaking, a complex tourist product, for the creation of which it is necessary to become a tour operator with all the ensuing consequences in the form of financial guarantees, inclusion in the register of tour operators, etc.

Often travel agencies bypass such restrictions by concluding an agreement with a tourist for each service separately, or, for example, by receiving a commission from a trucking company. Which, in turn, concludes a contract for organizing the trip. However, such an organization of activities is unlikely to be recognized as legal in the event of legal proceedings, therefore, it is very risky.

Actually, a travel agency at the very beginning of its activity can choose one of two ways of development - to remain independent or to join any network of travel agencies. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages.

An independent travel agency owes nothing to anyone, more freely in his choice of partners, can choose the location and design of the office. But at the same time, get ready that your commission will be minimal (at least until you provide a large volume of sales for each tour operator). You will also deal with your problems yourself.

Those who want to join the existing network still have to make a choice about which network to prefer. You can join one of the independent travel agency networks(1001 round, Last minute store, etc.). Each network has its own requirements and conditions, which should be carefully reviewed. In addition, there is often a mandatory entry and / or annual fee. For this, you will have an increased commission from many tour operators, legal support (very, of course, conditional), in case of problems, as well as a recognizable brand, which increases confidence in beginners.

You can also open a travel agency franchised by a tour operator. Coral, Intourist, Sputnik and others have their own networks, but here the requirements for a travel agency are even stricter, often a sufficiently large volume of sales of the tours of this tour operator or a guarantee of such sales are required. All networks impose certain restrictions on their members in the choice of partners, which may even be good for beginners, especially in light of the frequent bankruptcies. At least many network agencies are among the first to receive information about the financial difficulties of tour operators.

The video also tells about the creation of your own company.

Business registration from the point of view of the law

Both a commercial organization (LLC, CJSC, etc.) and individual entrepreneur... There are no obstacles in the form of licenses, permits, etc. That is, to open a travel agency, it is enough to go through state registration as a legal entity or individual entrepreneur and indicate OKVED 63.30, which is the most general and reflects the main aspects of travel agency activities, and also makes it possible to engage in the provision of information and excursion services, book hotels and provide transport.

Further, in order to sell a tourist product, you will have to work with each of the tour operators you are interested in. conclude an agency agreement. Beforehand, it is better to make a list of the main tour operators working in the areas of interest and find out the conditions for concluding an agreement with new agencies on the website or by phone.

Many tour operators now allow you to send scans of the necessary documents and a signed contract to access booking systems, and either send the original by mail or bring it in person only when booking or even paying for the first round.

If you are planning to open in spring or autumn, then it is convenient to conclude agreements at major tourism exhibitions that are held twice a year in Moscow. At the same time, stock up on advertising materials for the upcoming season!

After concluding a contract with a tour operator, you can already start working.

Premises

There are no uniform rules here. You can be guided by the following principle. If you have enough money, then it is better to choose a room either at a passable place, for example, next to public transport stops or on crowded streets with their own entrance, or in large shopping centers. Such premises cost a lot, but you will see the first customers right on the opening day.

If your start-up capital is limited or it is generally borrowed funds, then the premises can be chosen much more modestly. The main requirement, meanwhile, remains in force - there should be easy access to the premises, no one will look for a travel agency, especially a new one, when there are plenty of them within walking distance.

The calculation of the area of \ u200b \ u200bthe room is made based on the estimated number of employees. Each manager must have at least 8 m2.

Next, it is worth considering the layout of the room. There are some nuances here. Firstly, visitors to a travel agency often come not one by one, but whole families. Hence, you should be able to comfortably accommodate 4-5 visitors. For this a sofa will do, several armchairs or benches, which should be placed near the manager's desk.

It is worth pondering over appearance premises. Registration should be bright and catchy enough to attract attention from the street. You should not make too aggressive color accents, because clients often spend a lot of time at the travel agency, choosing leisure options, so inside the atmosphere should be calm and conducive to trusting communication.

Interesting solutions can be created by styling the premises to resemble a country that is a priority area of your business.

Equipment

In addition to the usual computer equipment and communication equipment, for travel agency equipment nothing out of the ordinary is required. Here, your fantasy is limited only by your budget.

Of course, every manager who works with clients, must have a desktop with a computer and telephone, as well as a printer. For the daily work of a travel agency manager, a monochrome laser printer is enough, which, in addition, can be made networked and provide the ability to print at once for several employees. The main thing is that access to the printer is convenient for each of them.

It looks very ugly when managers have to squeeze past clients and other employees to pick up a printed contract. Better yet, if it is not a printer, and MFP, because in a travel agency it is often necessary to make copies of documents or scan them for sending to partners.

Another nuance that should be taken into account when equipping a travel agency is monitors. Since the manager's working day passes almost entirely behind the screen, it must be a high-quality, serviceable monitor of a sufficiently large size. In addition, it should be located in such a way that a potential client does not see the information on the screen (there is no need for a tourist to see, for example, the size of the agency commission). At the same time, the manager should be able to easily turn the monitor towards the tourist to show, for example, photos of a hotel or country.

Do I need a fax? Today we can confidently say that fax has practically ceased to be used!

Cabinets are needed for storing documents and advertising materials, of which there will be many. Also include a wardrobe for your employees and a coat rack so visitors can get comfortable as well.

You will definitely need a safe, because even if you will not accept cash, which is difficult, but you may need to leave clients' foreign passports for visa processing, travel voucher forms, etc.

To work with cash, you will need a cash register.

As for the software, the usual office software package and one specialized program for a travel agency are enough, there are several of them on the market and each has its own advantages. All programs allow you to keep records of clients with their data, which greatly facilitates the work of the manager.

Staff

From the point of view of the law, there are no requirements for travel agency personnel. Actually, as a last resort, the entire staff can be represented by one individual entrepreneur.

But really, you must have at least 2 employees, so that they can replace each other in the event of vacations, illnesses and travel on promotional tours. In addition, 2 employees will ensure the work of the travel agency in evening hours and weekends, when the flow of customers is usually maximum.

Should employees be required to have special education and work experience? Unfortunately, now special tourism education is very far from the practice of modern tourism, therefore, its availability without experience real work will not give the employee any benefits. But work experience, especially if the founder himself does not have one, will not hurt. If the director has work experience and his own idea of what and how employees should do, then the best option there will be a selection of employees without experience - they will not have to be retrained.

Do I need to hire an accountant? A small travel agency usually has a very small volume of financial and accounting transactions, so a full-time accountant is usually not needed. A home-based accountant or service by a special company is enough to ensure the preparation and delivery of reports.

Promotion

Beginners have the hardest part here, especially independent travel agencies. It is difficult to convince clients of your reliability and competence.

With a limited budget, you need to be careful when approaching expensive outdoor advertising. One bright sign is enough visible from the street.

Better distribution of flyers works, especially with discounts. This is an inexpensive advertising method that can bring dozens of visitors on the same day. Social media advertising works well, especially in a small town setting.

For example, a travel agency negotiates with several cafes. That together with the invoice, each visitor will be given a travel agency discount card. And the travel agency, in turn, will provide its customers with a discount at this cafe as a bonus when buying a tour.

It should be understood that the promotion of a travel agency is a rather lengthy process, few people manage to make money in the very first season. But even if the summer, for example, turned out to be successful, it is difficult to survive the “off season” (February-March) even for “seasoned” travel agencies. Basically, it is possible to pass the break-even point and start making a stable profit only after three to four years.

Profitability

In simple terms, profitability is the ratio of the profit earned to the invested funds. Profitability of 30% means that each ruble invested in turnover came back and brought another 30 kopecks profit.

How to calculate the profitability of a travel agency? Very simple. Calculate all the funds that you have invested in your business. Then count how much you received. Is the first greater than the second? Congratulations, you're at a loss! If you earned more than you spent, then this is success.

In order to open a travel agency from scratch to be successful, you need to immediately clearly understand what level of sales you need daily, monthly, annually, in order to achieve at least "zero". To do this, calculate all your running costs, leaving aside investments in equipment, furniture, etc. for now. Add up the cost of renting premises, salaries of employees, communal payments, advertising costs. Don't forget to add your salary as well.

Now deduct the taxes that you will need to pay from here. This is exactly how much you must earn in order not to “burn out”. Once your sales are well above your spending figures, you will start earning a return on your one-time investment. And only after that we can talk about the profit made. Only then will your business become profitable.

Challenges faced by travel agencies

The first problem that creates difficulties is pronounced seasonal nature of the business. Usually people actively use the services of travel agencies in the summer season and before the New Year holidays. The rest of the time, clients in the travel agency are "worth their weight in gold" and there is a tough fight for them.

Hence the next problem of the tourism business - discounts, often on the verge of dumping. Not uncommon, especially in the off-season, discounts of 5-8%, which almost completely "eat up" the already small commission, which is the source of the travel agency's income.

Incompetence of staff Is another scourge of tourism. In order for the travel agency manager not only to sell package tours, but to be well versed in different directions, to know the conditions of each country and the hotel base, it is necessary to invest in its development (send to exhibitions, seminars, advertising tours), and the travel agency often does not have free funds.

Bad faith of partners. Tour operator bankruptcies put travel agencies in an unenviable position. After all, they are the ones who often have to deal with angry customers. And in the case of a trip that has taken place, a dissatisfied client often goes to a travel agency, which in no way can affect the quality of the tourist product. Imperfection legislative framework also makes the travel agency business risky.

Do you still want to open a travel agency? This is a really interesting business, not even just a business, but a lifestyle! It suits people who are dynamic, willing to take risks, and active. The main thing here is not to count on quick windfall profits and always be ready to apply “plan B”. We must always look for non-standard approaches, access to new clients, make the most of personal connections and charm. And then you will succeed!

In the video below, Sergey Vatutin, the founder of the company 1001 Tour, shares the secret of his success.