Running a travel agency is not a cup of tea. You need to be presentable and at the same time you have to provide the customers with services which are matchless and top notch. Here we are going to talk about the questions you need to get answers for while running a travel agency.
Should I develop contacts with others?
Yes, this is mandatory. You have to develop contacts. In other words we can say that you should make strong PR (personal relations). Let me make it clear that without strong relations with business partners or professionals of the same field, you cannot simply enjoy all the benefits of the company in terms of profit. Develop network with others in the travel industry so that you can have nice relationship with the vendors.
Is it mandatory to contact franchise owners?
It is true that you have to know the contact numbers of the franchise vendors. This is especially a must-to-do thing for home based agents or independent contractors. Without getting in touch with the franchise owner, you cannot know what type of feedback you are receiving from the customers. You also gain enough experience in the travel industry by having relationships with the franchise representatives.
Should I take business courses?
Consider to take a couple of business courses so that you can learn about how to start and maintain the travel agency in an effective way. Finding these courses on the internet is very easy. Make sure the courses you choose are par your business requirements and those are enough to improve your learning and working capabilities. Participate in all paid and unpaid courses. You can even get enrolled in the diploma or certification programs offered by multiple universities.
Is it good to join specific societies?
For travel agents, joining societies and organizations is a good idea. These will be increasing your visibility as a service provider before the clients. This way it will be so much easy for you to get desired number of customers every month.
Additional tips
Some additional tips are:
- Join the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents (NACTA), or the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
- Become a certified travel agent instead of only focusing on gaining experience. With a certification, your knowledge is expanded, and you become fully professional.
- You need to remember that it will take time to earn good profit. Be prepared financially till revenues exceed expenses.
- Before starting the travel agency, make sure to research about your competitors. These can be present within your colony or even in the same city. You need to know about the type of services they are providing.
Last but not the least, we would like to say that you should become creative and should offer unique tour deals to your clients. Without it, you cannot get desired number of tourists and thus cannot earn the money you see other travel agents of the same niche are earning.