The travel industry had been booming until it was hit by the Coronavirus pandemic this year. Travel agencies and businesses are suffering losses due to the outbreak, however, the travel industry will soon recover. A famous quote ‘after winter comes spring’ is what is hoped for in the travel industry. And, one thing that is certain is that the industry will experience an influx of travelers once the disease has been eradicated completely.
The other factor which is certain is that already intense competition in the travel market is going to get worse, as all the travel businesses will sell their services using an aggressive approach. The cut-throat competition in the travel industry usually resulted in about 56% travel startups making it in the long run while others suffered a huge fall.
The times to come will bring a heavier competition, and therefore, travel agencies can utilize this time to prepare themselves to succeed in the future. So, here are 9 business plan ideas for travel agencies in 2020 that will make your business thrive. You can also go with own Travel portal development, after Corona, it is the perfect time to start with the same.
What are the trending business plan ideas for travel agencies?
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Specialty travel agency
A unique business plan idea for travel agencies is starting a specialty travel agency. This niche is great if you love traveling yourself as your enthusiasm towards travel will help you in crafting travel packages for a specific person or group. A specialty travel agency tailors travel packages as per the likings of a certain group. For instance, you can offer after-dark tours to business travelers or backpacking tours to adventure seekers. This kind of travel service requires a strong knowledge of different kinds of tours and fluency in multiple languages to be able to drive the business towards success.
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Special needs travel
For ages, travel has always been oblivious to people with special needs. Special needs include people that have mobility issues, emotional, behavioral or learning disability or impairment. Only recently have leading travel businesses started to take special needs into consideration. For instance, Airbnb provides a filter to search for lodging that has wheelchair access. People with special needs face difficulties in booking their travel and seek the help of travel agents. Therefore, planning travel for people with special needs is a fairly fresh and lucrative business idea for travel agencies in 2020.
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Specialty cruises
Organizing specialty cruises is another great business plan idea to increase profits for your travel agency. You can either organize event-based specialty cruises such as Disney-themed cruises and Rock Boat cruises or cruises for the different niche groups of the travel industry such as families with young children, youth, etc. People seeking cruise vacations usually take the help of travel agencies to plan and book their travel, and therefore, this seems to be a good idea for a travel agency.
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Adventure travel
In recent years, the global adventure tourism market has experienced a significant increase in revenue. Adventure travel includes land-based activities such as hiking and trekking, water-based activities such as parasailing and rafting, and air-based activities such as sky jumping and paragliding.
Organizing adventure travel is a lucrative business idea as it includes a wide variety of travelers such as groups, family, and couples aged between 25 - 50 years old. Adventure travel is one of the fastest-growing segments with Europe and America being the leading regions. The innovations in this segment provide an exceptional experience to adventure seekers and this is something that travel agencies should leverage.
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Arrange off-road travel
Many travelers enjoy off-road and four-wheel drive activities during their vacation. Off-road travel is an affordable activity that any person can enjoy. The different levels of off-road activities can also be a thrilling activity for adventurous off-roaders.
Some people also take car on rental services and take it further for road trip.
To be able to successfully implement this business plan idea, advertising and promotion of your travel agency by local travel agents, hotels, and restaurants is necessary. The partners who advertise your travel agency will charge a small commission for bringing you customers and increased business.
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Organize kayak tours
Tourists have also come to enjoy kayaking as a sport and fun activity when on a vacation. Organizing kayak tours is a good business plan idea for travel agencies in 2020 as not many travel agencies have entered this niche.
You can offer travelers beginner or expert packages based on their level of experience. Kayak tours are usually organized for coastal areas or areas with lakes or rivers. You can grow your kayak tour business by partnering with travel businesses that offer kayak tours in their packages.
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Offer Low-budget travel
Traveling to new destinations is a costly affair especially with the airfares and hotel prices. For this reason, students and the non-working age group are left out from the travel scenario. Therefore, students and non-working people are a good target market to tap by offering low-budget travel services. This would obviously require you to reduce travel costs but the market still holds immense potential and creative ways can be found to attract the target market.
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Organize meditation-influenced trips
Every year a lot of people travel to practice yoga and meditation. Organizing yoga and meditation influenced trips can help your travel agency gain traction. Especially, after the world is free from the chains of Coronavirus, people would want to indulge in such kind of travel. Your travel agency can build partnerships with centers that offer yoga and meditation and earn commissions from referring your customers to such retreats.
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Offer tour-guide services
The last business plan idea for travel agencies in 2020 is the tour guide services. Tour guides don’t necessarily have to be about historical monuments, but can also guide services for famous food, best hikes in the area, bird tours, etc. If your travel agency has good knowledge about the tour-guide areas, you can easily provide travelers your services. Alternatively, you can also hire local guides for a particular area or tour to guide your customers.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down travel and the travel industry. However, the research for a vaccine may soon bring positive news. Therefore, with these 9 business plan ideas for travel agencies in 2020, you can stay a step ahead of competition. Staying up-to-date with the current trends and providing maximum satisfaction to customers will achieve exponential growth for your business.
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