Franchising in tourism: market overview. Tourist agency

Travel franchise

Travel franchises can be divided into two broad categories:

• network travel agencies (RossTour, 1001 tour, etc.);
• tour operators (Tez Tour, Coral Travel, etc.). In this option, the franchisee is faced with the task of selling their own tours. Tour operators carefully select partners and prefer entrepreneurs who have already proven themselves in the relevant field. The transaction is carried out with great caution, as tour operators sometimes encounter scammers who hide behind the name of the brand and deceive people. However, in return the client receives an active advertising campaign, a big name and full support.

The buyer can freely choose any option that is closer to him in terms of the concept and principles of doing business. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. But regardless of the type, the deal is beneficial for both parties:

• for franchisees it means increased competitiveness, assistance in running a business, rapid expansion with minimal investment;
• for the franchisor – receiving commissions and promoting a personal brand.

According to statistics, more than 50% of travel agencies on the Russian market are franchise networks.

There are fewer and fewer agencies that work independently.

An entrepreneur who receives a travel agency under a franchise costs a small initial amount, but at the same time immediately becomes competitive.

A franchise allows you to “come prepared”: the franchisee gets the opportunity to work under the name of a well-known brand, a client base and a powerful advertising campaign.

In addition, the franchisor takes care of the security: it provides software for searching and booking tickets and hotels, and trains employees in work standards. For franchisees, the main advantage is gaining a knowledge base and transferring experience. Companies offer employees webinars, personal meetings, courses, a hotline, benefits, etc.

However, the buyer must independently find the premises, equip it, decorate it in the style of the company and hire employees. The brand may reimburse some of the costs. He will monitor the quality of work and sometimes send mystery shoppers or conduct an office audit.

The main thing that the franchisor receives is commissions. At the same time, the profit of franchisees remains higher than that of companies operating independently. Commissions can reach up to 15%.

Requirements for a travel agency franchisee

Working under a travel agency franchise seems tempting for many entrepreneurs, but not a single travel company wants to lose its rating, and has certain requirements for choosing a franchisee.

1. Room. A travel agency office is usually small, but a minimum area is set for it - usually 15 square meters. If the office provides two or more workplaces, then a larger area is needed.
2. Location. The office should be located in an area with good traffic and should be visible to people. Preferably, close to the metro or public transport stops. An office can occupy the first floors of residential buildings or buildings, or be located in a business or shopping center. There should be space on the façade for an advertising banner or sign.
3. Technical equipment. The office must have the Internet, a landline telephone and office equipment.
4. Staff. The conditions of many tour operators include experience working with travel agencies. For example, Tui requires selecting managers with at least 70% qualifications. Not many people are ready to take someone on and train them from scratch. Dress code is also important among employees.
5. Work standards. A travel agency franchise implies strict adherence to travel agency operating standards. This is a refusal to do anything on your own, following a given scheme, fulfilling a sales plan, complying with the terms of commission payments, and following company policy.

A trip to business: is it worth opening a travel agency under the Well franchise?

The process of opening an office from the moment the installation contract is signed should take from a week, if the premises are owned, to two months. The average for the network is two months. The payback on the initial investment, which the company estimates at 150-450 thousand rubles, should occur in 3-6 months. The company does not have a system of fines. The only penalty for the franchisee - 0.1% of the monthly payment - is charged if the partner does not pay the royalty on time and does not communicate for two weeks.

In 2014, the average cost of a tour at Well agencies was about 60 thousand rubles. for two adult travelers. According to the head office, it arranges 250–300 tours a year, selling tours worth 15–18 million rubles. Office commission income - 8-14% - amounts to 1.2-2.5 million rubles. per year, or 100–210 thousand rubles. per month. All Well partners sell tours through the Well-touradmin corporate IT system. All requests for tours and payments for them go through: it aggregates payments to tour operators and transfers commissions to partners. Well believes that the office’s net profit should be about 70 thousand rubles. per month.

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Well numbers

310 working offices

60 thousand rubles. — average cost of a tour for two in 2014

0 rub. — franchise cost

2–10 thousand rubles. - monthly royalty

15 sq. m - recommended office area

150–450 thousand rubles. — starting investments for opening an office

8–14% — the size of the commission of a travel agent working with Well

1.2–2.5 million rubles. — monthly revenue from the sale of tours

3–6 months —franchise payback period

Source: company data.

The parent company recommends that its partners locate the office in a bright room with sufficient space for outdoor advertising. There are no clear criteria for passability; the main thing is that the majority of passers-by should be women. “Usually it is the woman who collects all the information about the future trip and passes it on to her husband, who makes the decision,” advises Permilovsky. “Therefore, beauty salons, kindergartens, and schools should be located near the office.” The furniture for the future office is purchased by the entrepreneurs themselves. Previously, Well worked in partnership with a furniture company, which paid the company a percentage of each order of the franchisee. But now the head office simply provides a list of equipment and furniture that should be at each point.

Well specialists help select franchisee managers; however, it does not go as far as personal interviews with applicants. The head office sends the entrepreneur a series of tests on regional studies, with the help of which the qualifications of the future employee can be determined. If the correct answers are more than 60%, the candidate can be considered a professional. The office director and all employees must undergo free training in Moscow. Over the course of two days, they are taught courses on document management and regional studies. In the first block, they learn how to work with the Well-touradmin software. With its help, you can select tours, maintain a client database and work with applications, and the office owner can monitor the work of managers remotely. The second block teaches you how to navigate the list of resorts and hotels and talks about the features of tourist countries.

The joint advertising agreement signed by Well and its partners does not imply the creation of a common advertising fund. Each office makes its own decisions about marketing campaigns. According to Permilovsky, Internet advertising works best in Moscow, outdoor advertising in large cities, and rotation on radio and television in small towns: airtime here is inexpensive, and an entrepreneur can afford to be featured on local channels. The head office places advertising for the entire network in search engines (Yandex.Direct, Google AdWords) and on specialized tourism websites.

The only issue that the parent company promises to take care of is conflicts with tour operators. For example, tourists may not be checked into a hotel on time or there may be a flight discrepancy due to a flight delay. Such issues are resolved with the senior management of tour operators, which is difficult for an ordinary office to reach. “We personally know the directors of all operators, and personal communication in Russia remains the most effective,” says Permilovsky. The rest is left to the agents.

“Usually it is the woman who collects all the information about the future trip and passes it on to her husband, who makes the decision,” says franchise manager Ilya Permilovsky. “Therefore, beauty salons, kindergartens, and schools should be located near the office.” (Photo: Oleg Yakovlev / RBC)

Franchisee's view

Oksana Aggitova from Kasimov (Ryazan region) opened the Well office in July 2020. She managed to significantly reduce start-up investments: by the time she became a franchisee, she already had her own business - a TV channel in her hometown, so there were no problems with advertising. There was also no need to spend money on furniture: the travel agency was located in a pavilion next to the holding company, from where the necessary equipment was transferred. Oksana decided to do business with her friend. “We only invested in printing (about 10 thousand rubles were spent on printing interior and advertising materials) and added comfort to the office by buying a sofa and a coffee table,” says Aggitova. Taking into account small expenses (stationery, internet, etc.), opening the outlet cost the entrepreneurs only 45 thousand rubles.

Aggitova considers one of the main advantages of cooperation with Well to be the lack of plans for selling tours: “I talked with the tour operator Coral, but immediately dismissed this option of cooperation: the plans set by the company are impossible to fulfill in our small town.” On average, over three months of operation, her outlet sold tours worth 600 thousand rubles. per month. Office expenses are less than those for which the main office is preparing: the location in Kasimov requires 40–50 thousand rubles. per month.

Moscow businessman Roman Voinov met the starting price of 130 thousand rubles. Being far from tourism (Voinov rented out cars and ran a grocery store), he chose this type of business because of the small investment. The opening took three months, most of which Voynov spent searching for a suitable office. “I considered two options for premises - a shopping center and an office center,” he says. — In the first case, there was exorbitant rent, but there was a large flow of visitors, 99% of whom, however, come in to scratch their tongues and do not buy anything. In an office building, the rent is significantly lower, but you also have to fight for clients - rely heavily on advertising, use word of mouth. I chose the second option."

Voinov recouped his initial investment in six months. Now his profit is about 80 thousand rubles. per month, but could have been much higher if not for currency fluctuations and the collapse in the tour operator market, he is sure. In addition, the tourism business is strongly tied to the season: the hottest months are June and July. In September, people start booking New Year's tours, but from December to early February the low season begins. By the beginning of spring, orders for May tours begin to arrive. That is why, Voinov believes, a travel agency cannot be the only source of income. You can transform an agency from a side business into your main business only by opening at least three offices that will work together.

An entrepreneur from Zvenigorod, Nelya Kostyreva, devoted herself entirely to the agency: in order to open an office, she left her job at Sberbank. Launching the agency in 2011 took only two and a half weeks: she found an office quickly, immediately completed training and began selling tours. The starting investment amounted to 130 thousand rubles, most of which went to the purchase of office equipment and advertising (by the way, according to her, word of mouth ended up being much more effective). The average bill for tours is higher than for the network - 80-180 thousand rubles, but per year she sells not 250, as the head office promises, but only 70-80 tours.

For St. Petersburg resident Vadim Voinov, the opening cost much more - 400 thousand rubles, but he does not explain what these costs were. However, by the standards of the Northern capital, this is a small starting capital. “I specifically choose types of businesses that do not require large expenses. Any fool can open a company with money, but without…” Voinov laughs. He owns a music store and opened a travel agency for his girlfriend, who worked in one of the Well offices as a manager. “It was planned that she would handle everything, but I, of course, helped in the opening and got so involved that now we are doing all the business together,” says Voinov.

According to the businessman, during the summer season the office experiences a real influx of clients. “My personal record is booking at 3:45 a.m.,” says Vadim. During the high season, the agency receives up to 200–300 thousand rubles. arrived per month, selling about 100 tours, but in October they managed to sell only four tours. Most of the agency's regular clients are Voinov's friends and relatives, so he does not invest in advertising - he only runs groups on social networks.

What's going wrong

One of the main problems of franchisees is recruiting employees. “It was impossible to find an adequate person who knows how to work with people and has a client base: such specialists are in great demand,” says Roman Voinov. As a result, the businessman hired one manager at a rate of 10 thousand rubles. plus interest and started selling himself, often replacing the only employee.

Oksana Aggitova found the training useless. In her opinion, the courses will help managers with experience, while beginners need a deeper immersion in the topic. “Most of the guys have only been to Egypt and Turkey and have no idea about other countries,” says Aggitova. — And tourists are becoming more and more savvy and demand a detailed story about the resort. Recently, for example, a client asked if he would be allowed into a hotel in an Arab country with smoked sausage.” Such issues are resolved by Aggitova herself, who has traveled to more than a dozen countries. Nelya Kostyreva, on the contrary, believes that Well courses are needed only for beginners, and Vadim Voinov did not go to study at all: his girlfriend has sufficient experience in the tourism business.

Most entrepreneurs are satisfied that the head office rarely interferes with their work. “I occasionally contact the girls from technical support regarding booking issues, they are responsive and always help. As for the rest, I prefer to figure it out myself,” says Kostyreva. “Ultimately it all depends on the director. I was not promised solutions to all problems and was not promised mountains of gold. I received what was promised—a well-known brand, an online booking system, training and network-wide advertising,” says Roman Voinov. But Vadim Voinov believes that he should receive more consultations and technical assistance in order to justify the monthly contributions to the benefit; he considers it inconvenient, and the website that the company creates for each office is “creepy”: “All the technical support is hopelessly outdated. I tried to tinker with this site myself, but as for me, it was easier to create a good page from scratch.”

Tourism business: from scratch or franchise?

For owners, the benefits of a travel agency franchise are:

• implementation of a unified policy;
• legal and accounting support;
• training and development on an ongoing basis;
• customer base;
• advertising campaign;
• minimum costs for a “package” of services.

However, there are not only pros, but also cons:

• requirements: not every entrepreneur meets the requirements set by tour operators. It is difficult to select employees with suitable experience and find good premises;
• competition. Even among franchisees there is competition;
• lack of a proper name. If you start working under someone else's brand, you will not reveal your own potential.

To understand which business is more profitable, you need to assess your financial capabilities and potential. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages.

Opening cost

This is an important question for both beginners and experienced entrepreneurs. Naturally, the franchise is not free. The spending plan looks like this:

• franchise: 200-300 thousand rubles.
• commissions: from 3.5 thousand rubles monthly.
• office rent (in Moscow, 15-20 square meters): 40 thousand per month.
• Internet and telephone: 4 thousand per month.
• furniture and appliances: 100-150 thousand.
• salary: from 20 thousand.
• cleaning the premises: 5 thousand.

In addition, you will need a fee for registering a business, opening a current account, making a seal, etc. On average, starting work under a franchise costs 400-500 thousand rubles.

Benefits for franchisees

First of all, franchising in the tourism industry attracts everyone with a small investment to start. Small amounts are also required to open your own agency, but there is no guarantee of making a profit from such a business. This is due precisely to the trust of ordinary customers in the sonorous names of companies that have been on the market for many years.

By purchasing a travel agency with an already well-known name, there is no need to spend additional funds on various promotions, which is an undeniable advantage. A name already known to everyone begins to work immediately and bring profit to the owner of the outlet and the brand itself.

Benefits also include the ability to receive free customer service software. This includes:

• all bases for booking hotel rooms and air tickets;
• a central website with a constant flow of online applications;
• training of staff and the franchisee himself.

The last point is very important, because all the company’s experience accumulated over the years is transferred free of charge to new partners first-hand. To do this, each brand chooses its own strategy. Some people prefer distributing educational booklets, conducting theoretical seminars, webinars, distributing training videos, and so on. Others prefer to train personnel “in combat”, providing them with internship positions in real operating locations. Some franchisors even assign qualified curators to their new partner, who, if necessary, answer all questions and monitor the fulfillment of all previously set work requirements.

The undeniable advantages include legal assistance in various matters. Experienced lawyers of a large brand are always ready to help their partner in difficult issues with clients, for example, when canceling a tour.

Also, a travel agency franchise implies higher earnings than if you open an outlet on your own. This is due to the large flow of customers to well-known companies, allowing owners to raise commissions for the sale of vouchers for their franchisees to 13-15%.

An indirect advantage includes the constant development of the brand, which will certainly affect all employees of its name. This is due to the fact that absolutely all networks strive to get as much of the market as possible and are forced to constantly change the list of tours provided and the level of service to please clients.

Opening a travel agency under a franchise

Tourism and recreation are always in demand among the population. An entrepreneur who decides to start opening a travel agency goes through several stages.

Tax registration

The form of business organization depends on the plans. If an entrepreneur wants to open only a travel agency on behalf of a well-known brand, he can register an individual entrepreneur and register a simplified taxation system with the tax office. If he wants to work as a tour operator, he must register an LLC. This is the first question that a franchise buyer must decide.

The preparation of documents can be done by the client himself, the franchisor or a separately hired specialist.

It depends on what is preferable: saving time or money. Half of the travel agencies help franchisees with collecting documents.

Choosing a Franchise

You shouldn't take on your first franchise. The choice must be made with caution. There are basic selection criteria:

• lump sum fee;
• the amount and conditions for charging commissions;
• brand awareness in the region where you are going to work;
• how long has the franchisor been in business?
• company size and number of operating offices;
• number of partners.

It is also important to pay attention to reviews. After choosing, you need to leave a request and discuss the details with the manager.

Selecting a room

Typically, travel agencies set certain requirements for the premises. They do not do the search itself, but provide advice as the search progresses.

An entrepreneur can find an office on his own or contact a real estate agency. In any case, it is necessary to select an office in the central area of ​​the city, in a crowded place and in close proximity to a transport interchange.

In rare cases, franchisors offer the services of their realtor. Only 5% of representatives have this opportunity.

Search for colleagues

A businessman can search on his own or contact a recruitment agency. He must look at the requirements of the franchisor (usually experience in the desired field) and his own requirements. When selecting, you need to pay attention to qualifications, experience, appearance and manner of communication. You can look for employees in the media or on the Internet.

Travel agencies, after hiring staff, train them.

It can take place online or offline and take different forms: courses, webinars, lectures, trainings, etc. Typically, employees are invited to the head office for an internship.

Preparation of a package of documents

A travel agency usually offers assistance in collecting documents. If you had to do this yourself, you can handle it on your own or contact a lawyer. Required:

• contract with a travel agency;
• booking sheet;
• report from the agency to the operator;
• employment contracts;
• employee work schedule, vacation schedule;
• instructions for officials;
• questionnaires.

Collecting documents takes from several days to a couple of weeks.

Equipment preparation

A travel agency office is a typical office space. It requires standard equipment.

• client area: sofas or chairs, tables, wardrobes for outerwear;
• workers' area: safe, personal computers, telephones, printers, scanners, copiers;
• water cooler, kettle and cups, stationery, etc.

The franchisor can partially provide the equipment or provide contacts of suppliers who will give a discount. If this is not possible, an entrepreneur can purchase used equipment - this will save money at first.

Working with tour operators

This is where things get a little more complicated. For fruitful cooperation, patrons require several years of experience in the tourism industry. Beginners in this business very rarely get the go-ahead to cooperate. This is due to the large number of scammers using a famous name to scam people. Franchising in tourism on the basis of a tour operator involves distributing only its own tours among the population, which cannot regulate the pricing policy at the level of one point.

Factors that unite both options for developing a franchise business include:

• the ability to set a sales plan;
• advertising at the state level;
• famous name;
• opportunity to receive promotional tours.

Which franchise should you choose?

In Russia, more than 40 companies offer their franchises. Of these, only 50% are fairly well-promoted companies that are well-known and known to at least half of travel lovers. Only 4 companies are the most popular.

Fly.ru

The franchise was included in the list of the 25 most profitable networks, which was compiled by Forbes. The company was founded in 2010, but only began selling the brand in 2014. There is only one head center and about 600 offices throughout the country.

At the moment, Sletat.ru is actively promoting the brand. The company has a list of priority cities, and for them it offers preferential terms of cooperation.

The benefits include:

• fame: recognition level exceeds 45%.
• The customer base numbers more than 300 thousand people.
• four channels for attracting customers.
• The franchisor creates a website for free.
• A CRM program developed taking into account the characteristics of a travel agency.
• contract with the most famous tour operators.
• remote financial management.
• education system.
• a complete guide to starting and promoting a business.
• legal and design support.

Flying offers work in two formats: a full-fledged office and an island location. The lump sum contribution is 60 thousand rubles. Monthly - depends on the region. Payback period – 3-7 months.

Solntseturn

Hot tours are the specialty of the Solntsour company. It was founded in 2006, and since then it has more than once been one of the top three leaders in the Russian tourism sector. Franchises have been selling since 2008. The total number of points across the country exceeds 120 offices.

Advantages of the Solntour franchise:

• a large number of clients, which does not depend on the season;
• automated processing of applications;
• maintaining reports and documentation;
• analysis of employee performance.

By becoming a Solntsatur franchisee, a businessman receives the right to speak on behalf of the company, access to a training system, regular advice and support, and a wide advertising campaign.

Moscow entrepreneurs can purchase the “Turnkey Travel Agency” package, which allows you to organize a full-fledged travel agency in a few weeks.

Lump-sum payment Solntsatur - from 20 thousand rubles to 1.7 million.

Coral Travel

Coral Travel focuses on clients with above-average incomes, and therefore a franchise will not be appropriate in every city. The company was founded back in 2001, and thanks to its high quality, even despite the cost of tours being higher than others, it has become one of the most popular in the country. Currently it has more than 800 offices throughout Russia.

The franchise provides the following opportunities:

• recognizable brand;
• attracting wealthy clients;
• monthly employee training;
• freedom in business management.

The total cost of the franchise starts around 3 million, but the payback of the business is 12-14 months, depending on the region.

This price includes promotions and bonuses, a cashback system, a design project, etc.

Advantages

Why do businessmen prefer to work as franchisees rather than develop their own brand? This desire is explained by saving time, resources, and increasing the chances of success. Many entrepreneurs believe that they can only become successful under a well-known brand. Indeed, working as a franchise in the tourism industry has many advantages, which include the following advantages:

• sales growth by attracting customers with a well-known brand (increasing customer motivation to contact a franchisee operating under a familiar brand);
• more favorable commission conditions (and small independent agencies and franchisees cooperate with tour operators, the latter manage to receive commissions 2–4% higher than the former);
• comprehensive support from the franchisor (all responsibility falls on the management organization, and not on the franchisee);
• providing additional guarantees to clients (in the tourism industry, word of mouth largely determines brand loyalty, positive reviews, high ratings - all this motivates a person to apply for vouchers to a franchisee company operating under a well-known brand, and not to a small company);
• work on a ready-made business model (all mechanisms have been worked out and are clear);
• comprehensive support for franchisees (there are already established work schemes, including a customer service system);
• promotion of the franchisee’s company, including through regional advertising and posting information on the franchisor’s official website.

The tourism niche is a very competitive sector. It’s not easy to go out and work there on your own. The probability of collapse in this case increases significantly. Operating as a franchisee is much easier. A businessman does not have to develop a concept or attract visitors from scratch. In fact, he already has a customer base, albeit not a large one. By choosing the right franchise, you can immediately increase the flow of consumers by 30%.

Working under a franchise is suitable for those who want to start earning money in a short period of time, albeit under the guidance of a tour operator.

Profitability of travel agent business

Market and competitor analysis

The tourism services market segment in the Russian Federation began to grow and develop around 2010. All this time he showed significant growth. It is noteworthy that not only the volume of the market increases every year, but also the revenue of companies operating in it. This suggests that the market is growing not only in terms of quantity, but also the quality of services provided to customers is growing.

The main activity of the tourism services market is providing assistance to travelers who are planning to go abroad. 90% of such clients go on vacation. Of course, there is a certain percentage of people who are going to immigrate, go to study or for business, but they prefer to use the services of specialized companies, of which there are also quite a lot today.

It is worth immediately noting that the level of competition in the tourism services market is very high. A high level of demand also creates supply. Every year the volume of the tourism market in Russia increases by more than 100 billion rubles. This is a very impressive figure. Let's figure out what exactly is causing this growth rate.

The factors are:

• increase in the level of solvency of citizens;
• large-scale development of the infrastructure of this type of business, clients are presented with more opportunities;
• attractiveness of the market for investors. Money is invested not in travel agencies, but in those establishments that directly provide services, that is, hotels, airlines, etc.;
• the opportunity to save money when purchasing a tour, which creates a high level of demand.

The main service offered by travel agencies is the preparation of tours for citizens. The tour price includes hotel accommodation, flights, and insurance. For the company's client, such a purchase will be much more profitable than purchasing these items separately.

The tourism business covers the Internet. Today, more and more people have begun to use a new service – online booking services. Thanks to the procedure, time is significantly saved for both the consumer and the travel agent. By automating the process, profitability and profitability increase significantly. This function is worth adopting when opening your own travel agency.

Among the main competitors of your company it is worth mentioning:

• large tour operators that are known not only in your city, but also in the country as a whole. This is the main competitor, which will be difficult to fight, but you can think about possible cooperation. Today there are a large number of different programs in which a well-known travel agency helps small businesses in this area. As a rule, this assistance is provided for a certain percentage of profit. In some aspects it is similar to franchising;
• direct competitors, that is, networks in your city. You can deal with them quite simply with proper marketing organization, as well as drawing up profitable offers for clients.

If we talk about the portrait of a potential client, it will be a person between the ages of 20 and 50, with average or above average income. These can be both men and women. Such clients prefer holidays abroad.

A more budget-friendly holiday is possible on the territory of the Russian Federation. Clients with low and middle income levels may give it preference.

Business documentation

Listing everything that is needed to become a travel agent, one cannot fail to mention such an important condition as legalization of activities. To regularly sell tours, you must enter into a civil contract with the tour operator or become an individual entrepreneur. The intermediary does not need any licenses, and therefore you can begin work immediately after receiving individual entrepreneur documents with the appropriate OKVED codes:

OKVED codes for travel agents

Since it is officially impossible to work as a travel agent from home without regularly paying taxes, it is necessary to consider ways to minimize such deductions.
This business is characterized by high margins, so it is most profitable for an entrepreneur to use the simplified tax system at a rate of 6% of revenue; Next, it is advisable to open two bank accounts. The first will be used for current payments, and the second - for transactions with client money and mutual settlements with the tour operator when booking tours;

Finally, the entrepreneur must develop a client agreement template. This document should list all the nuances of the transaction - the timing and procedure for making payment, the start and end dates of the tour, the list of services provided, their prices. If a travel agent enters into an agreement on his own behalf, he is obliged to identify himself in the agreement as an intermediary and indicate the contact details of the tour operator as the supplier of the product.

Features of a travel agent business

The idea of ​​transferring the retail distribution of tourism products to private intermediaries is not new. The Workle service has been operating online for several years, with the help of which freelancers earn money by selecting loans, concluding insurance contracts and selling travel vouchers. But during the crisis, tour operators had to reduce the number of branches. Many of them are faced with the need to develop new channels for selling tours. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​how to become a travel agent at home began to look quite attractive for beginning entrepreneurs. Of course, this business format is very convenient: the agent does not need to find and rent premises, buy office equipment, or hire managers. But on the other hand, the intermediary loses the opportunity to invite clients to the office. For some businessmen, the lack of a reason to impress a guest with luxurious renovations and furniture may seem like a significant drawback, although in reality this is not the case.

After all, potential clients, as a rule, are at work during the day, and therefore can only allocate time to discuss the details of the tour in the evening or on weekends. Most often, they study different offers on the Internet, and then call agencies and find out the best price for the selected product. Thus, maintaining an office does little to help increase sales.

Unlike managers, an independent specialist is not tied to a workplace. Without any problems, he can take a laptop for presentations, an agreement form, a terminal for accepting payments and come to the place designated by the client. Since a visit to the customer is still rare among the services of travel agents, this will be an advantage: the consumer will feel obliged to the specialist who spent time and money traveling to him, and therefore will not refuse the offer so easily.

Consequently, in the absence of an office, the likelihood of a successful transaction even increases. Moreover, the potential client will appreciate the attentive attitude towards his wishes and, if the vacation goes well, he will contact the travel agent again in the future.

How to make a choice

When choosing between a franchise from a travel agency or operator, you should also become familiar with the principle of selecting potential partners for the patrons themselves. The operating conditions for franchising tourism in Russia from any travel agency can be discussed with a brand representative. Anyone can familiarize themselves with them and make a choice in favor of one brand or another.

As for applicants to work together with popular tour operators, they will have to send in their applications and wait for approval from the company's managers. Only after this all further working conditions become known.