tour operator business plan template

How to create a tour operator business plan in 8 steps

Preparing to Write a Business Plan

Tour operator business plan template, tips and tricks for a strong tour operator business plan.

Wondering how to turn your tour operator idea into a real business? The first step to launching a startup and getting investors onboard is to develop a formal proposal called a business plan . Whether you want to start a travel agency, a walking tour company, or an adventure travel business, you will use a business plan to communicate exactly how you plan to make your idea come to life.

Creating a tourism business plan might sound daunting; in this article, we’ll show you how to do one and offer lots of advice for first-time founders. You’ll be able to use this article as a tour operator business plan template to write your own sample business plan (as an exercise) or to create the real thing.

To more clearly illustrate how to create a tour operator business plan, we’ll use a sample business as we go through each section. Our sample business is a small tour operator startup that specializes in ecotourism in Thailand.

Before you start to create your official business plan, it can be helpful to think through several aspects of your business so that you are fully prepared to address each topic in the business plan template. One excellent preparation exercise is to complete a Business Model Canvas for your company.

The Business Model Canvas encourages you to think critically about your customers, cost structure, revenue streams, marketing strategy, and more. It’s the perfect warm-up for your business plan because you’ll incorporate your Business Model Canvas notes into the actual business plan document. We recommend that you do this exercise with your co-founders, if you have any, and with a whiteboard – you’ll probably make lots of changes as you go!

You can find a printable Business Model Canvas template here .

Your tour operator business plan should contain at least seven sections: an executive summary, a company overview, a description of your services, an analysis of your market, an implementation plan, a team summary, and a financial plan. You might have one or more appendices at the end, if you have additional relevant information to include. The finished product should be formatted nicely and incorporate your company’s logo and branding.

Executive Summary

As the first component of your business plan, the executive summary is arguably the most important section. If you’re pitching your idea to investors, they’re likely very busy people, so you want to grab their attention from the beginning. The executive summary should contain a concise outline of your tour operator company’s objectives and goals, your mission and/or vision statements , your key success factors, and a clear description of your value proposition.

Company Overview

Think of this section as what you would post on the “About” section of your tour operator company’s website. The company overview should explain who your company’s key leaders are, how and when the business started, what the ownership structure looks like (if you have investors, for example), where your office is located, and an outline of your current assets and debts. If you’re in the early stages of your business, this section might be quite short.

Operations Plan

The operations plan is where you describe exactly what your company will offer. What kinds of tours will you sell? Where exactly will you operate? This is the type of information you would list on your website for potential customers or guests to read – but without too much of a sales pitch.

In this section, it can also be helpful to include a description of the full “ life cycle ” of your business. What happens before, during, and after a tour? What steps does the guest complete, and what happens behind the scenes at your company’s office?

Thinking about our Thai ecotourism company, we might illustrate how someone could book a tour perhaps six months in advance on our website. Between booking and arrival, we coordinate accommodation, meals, and transportation with partner providers. When the tour concludes, we offer transportation back to the airport and follow up with a special offer to book another tour with us at a discount.

Market Analysis

Try to include statistics from reputable sources whenever you can. Destination marketing organizations, tourism bureaus, and air traffic data, just to name a few, can provide valuable insight and add credibility. This section should leave no stone unturned so that your reader can truly understand your market conditions.

In our ecotourism business in Thailand, for example, we would include information about travel trends in Thailand (like the most popular feeder markets), new air routes, economic trends, the number of new hotels being built, etc. We would also explore the ecotourism market; are more people choosing eco-friendly travel options today compared to five years ago? What companies are the current ecotourism market leaders globally and in Thailand?

Implementation

Now that you’ve explained your business idea and described the market in which you plan to operate, it’s time to outline exactly how you will bring your tour operator business to life. This section should include a SWOT analysis , details about your marketing and pricing strategies, and a sales projection.

In the SWOT analysis , you will explore your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. What does your company offer that nobody else in the market does? What are some potential challenges that you will need to face? Using our ecotourism company example, a threat could be natural disasters – if there are floods or mudslides, our business cannot operate. On the other hand, an opportunity is that more people are interested in eco-friendly travel options.

Your marketing and pricing strategies should be very specific. How will customers find your company? Which online channels will you use? Will you work through travel agents or directly with your customers?

Your pricing strategy should include the exact rates you plan to charge for at least a year in advance. For example, our ecotourism company in Thailand might charge $699 for a package during low season, $899 during high season, and $999 over holiday periods, with rates increasing 5% each year.

We might also offer a 10% discount for advance purchase bookings made at least 6 months in advance and charge a 50% cancellation fee for any reservations cancelled within 3 months of the tour departure date. Based on your pricing strategy, you can create a sales projection that will estimate your company’s sales performance, preferably over the next three years.

Team Summary

After your reader understands what your tour operator business will do, they’ll wonder who is going to make it happen. And if you’re planning to launch a full-fledged tour operator business, you’re probably not going at it alone. The Team Summary section should include a thorough plan for your company’s organizational structure, key leaders, employees, and training processes.

Do you already have a management team in place, or will you need to hire additional leaders? How many employees will you need, and how much will you pay them? And how will you train and develop your employees? The Team Summary should answer all of these questions and provide enough information for potential investors to understand exactly how you plan to staff your business, pay your employees, and ensure all team members are trained properly.

Financial Plan

The financial plan is extremely important to potential investors because they will want to maximize the return on their investment. Your financial plan is essentially a projection of your revenue streams and cost structure for your company’s first five or so years of operation. It will include not only revenue from ticket sales and costs from employee salaries, but also details like tour-operator software costs, insurance, taxes, marketing spend, depreciation of assets, interest on loans, and more.

If you don’t have a finance background yourself, it may be helpful to seek assistance from an accountant or someone who knows the ins and outs of financial modeling.

Additional Information

In an appendix, you can include supporting information or statistics that may be helpful for potential investors, but not essential to your business plan. For instance, you could include a full report on air traffic trends that you used in your Market Analysis section.

Writing a business plan is certainly not an easy task. It’s time consuming and requires a lot of thought, but a well written business plan can lead to significant growth for your company. As you complete your business plan, keep these pieces of advice in mind:

Conduct thorough research on your market . When you pitch your company to investors, you want to be seen as an expert, so learn as much as you can about your competitors and market trends.
Simplify your words and descriptions whenever possible . A business plan is not the place to wow your reader with flowery language – instead, you want your reader to easily grasp your value proposition. Think about writing so that a fifth-grader can understand it. The last thing you want is for your reader to be confused about what your company actually does.
Don’t be afraid to make changes . As you work on your business plan, you might discover that some aspects of your business need to be adjusted for the greater good of the company. After all, the companies that are the most adaptable are the ones that survive!
Get a second opinion (or a third or a fourth). A good test of your business plan’s readability and clarity is to let someone outside your industry read it, like a family member or friend. If they have a lot of questions, you might need to adjust your descriptions or more clearly explain your plans.
Proofread ! Your business plan is a reflection of your company’s values. If your formatting is sloppy and your text is full of typos, your reader might question whether you have the attention to detail necessary to run a successful business.

Now that you have all the tools to create a great tour operator business plan, it’s time to get to work!

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Adrienne Fors is the founder of Strategic Stays, a consultancy specializing in tech solutions and copywriting for short-term rental businesses and boutique hotels. She was previously a Market Manager at Expedia, and she graduated from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Adrienne is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota and enjoys traveling and playing tennis.

Mize is the leading hotel booking optimization solution in the world. With over 170 partners using our fintech products, Mize creates new extra profit for the hotel booking industry using its fully automated proprietary technology and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue across its suite of products for its partners. Mize was founded in 2016 with its headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices worldwide.

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How to start a Tour Operator business in 2024: A step-by-step guide

By Brieanne Biblow

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There are so many benefits of being a tour operator , but taking the first step to start your own tour company? That can feel daunting. Like any start-up business, there are lots of pieces that need to come together before you welcome your first customers. With countless resources out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’ve asked yourself “How do I start an online tour operator business?” We’re here to give you more than just a few tips on starting a travel and tour company. Dive into our practical step-by-step guide on how to start your own tour company.

How to start a Tour Operator business in 2024

1. choose a business niche, 2. register your tour company, 3. design your tour, 4. build relationships , 5. market your tour, 6. launch your tour, choose a business niche.

Find your passion

The first step to becoming a tour operator is to know what you’re passionate about. If you survey a handful of happy tour guests, do you know the number one thing they’ll say makes a difference between a good tour and a tour they’ll recommend to all their friends? A passionate tour guide.

Your passion for cooking could translate into delicious food tours, or your love of the outdoors could turn into hiking tours, even a passion for all things spooky could transform into starting a ghost tour business. So, take some time to find your passion that you can’t wait to share with others every day.

Evaluate your city

Once you have your passion in mind, it’s time to take a look at your city. Is it a popular tourist destination? Is there anything that’s not being explored? While passion is key, it’s equally important to identify if there’s an opportunity. Passion without opportunity is just a hobby. Check in with your local tourism board to see if they have any market research reports that outline the opportunities and challenges in the industry.

Dig into travel and tourism trends

The travel and tourism industry, like any industry, can see larger trends in pop culture trickle down and open up entirely new business opportunities. Your potential customers are being influenced by trends, so why not do some research, incorporate ones that feel like a fit for you, and watch more bookings roll in.

Some 2024 tourism trends that will be influencing travelers:

Multi-generational tours : Post-retirement boomers will be looking to travel with their entire families. So creating a tour offering that has something for the whole family could be a great idea.
Cultural connection : More and more, savvy travelers are always looking for something truly authentic to the destination they’ve traveled to. That doesn’t mean you have to be the authentic expert. Instead, think about exploring opportunities to partner with other start-up businesses in your community that could add this element to your tour offering.
From screens to reality: Keeping a pulse on popular TV shows and movies can be a great way to come up with unique tour ideas that can target new customers for your business.

Identify your target market

Now that you have innovative tourism ideas , you need to map out what your ideal potential customer looks like. Think about the types of people that will be attracted to your tour.

What’s their age demographic?
Where are they coming from?
What language(s) do they speak?
What interests do they have?

Who your customers are will determine many of the decisions you make later. This information will also be crucial when you create your marketing strategy. So, take the time to get to know your target market.

Research your competitors

Having found your tour idea and evaluated the market in the previous section, you’re almost ready to register your tour company. But first, you’ll need to research your competition, so you know what you’re up against. Head to Google and search simple like “tour operators near me” and ask yourself:

What are they doing well?
Where are their gaps?
What are their price points like?

Then, find ways to differentiate yourself and stand out.

Register your tour company

With your research complete, now is a good time to consider your options for registering your business. Go to your local tourism board and find out the requirements for starting a tour company in your area. Here are some of the legalities you might have to go through.

Name your tour business

The first thing you need to do is name your business. Your tour name will be used in all of your documentation. Make sure your name is both memorable and descriptive. The most important is if the website domain is available. If your name checks all the boxes, go to your local Registrar of Companies to get it approved and then purchase your domain.

Register your business

Now that you have a name you’re ready to make things official by registering your business. There are different options for how you register— sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporations. Speaking to a small business accountant is a great idea to understand the tax implications of each option. Then, evaluate the pros and cons of each before you make your decision.

Get your business license and permits

Once you’ve registered your business, you’ll need to get a local business license. Check in with your local municipality to do this. You might need to obtain additional permits and licensing based on where you are operating and if you have any vehicles.

Purchase liability insurance

Protect your business, yourself, and your guests by getting liability insurance. Accidents happen, that’s a given. But to ensure that you aren’t held personally liable, you’ll want to meet with an insurance company to learn about what coverage your business needs. Some commonly required in the tourism industry are:

Commercial General Liability (CGL)
Property Insurance
Accounts Receivable Insurance

Register as a tour guide

If you are guiding, you might need to complete a course to become a licensed tourist guide. This allows you to take tourists around a designated geographical area. To find out if you need to register as a guide, check in with your local tourism board.

Open a business bank account

Now that you have a business license, you’ll want to open a corporate bank account. This will help you keep track of all your expenses and revenue and make accounting a lot easier.

Design your tour

Write your business plan

With all the legalities taken care of, it’s time to write your business plan.

A business plan is a document that holds all of your ideas. It’s your roadmap that helps you determine how you’ll move forward. Include your company description, market analysis, partnership opportunities, and small business goals . It should also include your marketing plan, operations plan, and a list of your vendors, products, and services. It should also contain a variety of financial projections for your first 1-5 years of business. Remember: it’s okay if you don’t have all the answers right away, but it’s good to know what to focus on as you grow.

Side note: once you get up and running, you should learn how to develop a strategic plan to help you reach your ultimate vision for your tour operator business.

Create your Unique Selling Proposition

With your business plan in hand, it’s time to lock down your unique selling proposition. This explains what makes your tour better than the competition. It’s the benefit that travelers can only get by booking with you — like that you provide ethical travels & tours . You should be able to define this in one sentence.

Set your tour pricing

Now that you’ve evaluated your market it’s time to determine the value of your tour and choose what you will charge. It’s important to consider your operating costs and market value as well as what you think customers are willing to pay. This part often feels overwhelming for a lot of start-up businesses, which is why we’ve created our free Tour Operator Costing Sheet .

Craft your brand story

Now comes the fun part—it’s time to create a compelling story for your tour. Make sure it has a definite beginning, middle, and end. Find themes that you can carry through the entire experience. A clear narrative makes your tour more memorable. The goal is to have your guests telling their friends all the neat things they learned in the weeks that follow.

Design a tour logo

Once you’ve created a story for your tour, it’s time to design your brand around it. The first step is to create a logo. Your logo is the visual representation of your business. It will be used in all of your marketing collateral. You can choose to work with a graphic designer, or give free tools like Canva a try. Lookin for some inspiration? Check out more ideas for branding your business .

Build a travel website

Alright! You’re finally ready to create an online presence for your business . This is how many travelers will find you when researching their trips. If you don’t know how to build a website you have a few options; you could hire a contractor, or try your hand with tools like: Wix , Squarespace , or WordPress . Whatever you choose, make sure your website works with online booking system (like Checkfront 😉).

Set up an online booking system

You don’t just want travelers to find you online; you want them to make, and pay, for reservations right on your website. To do this, you need an online booking system . Your booking system can also be used to process your in-person and over the phone reservations. Here are a few links that will help you find the platform that’s right for you.

What is an Online Booking System?
How to Create an Online Booking System in 24 Hours (or Less)
Start Using Checkfront’s Booking System for Free

Build Relationships

Talk to other tour guides

When starting a business, many entrepreneurs think they need to do everything on their own. This can lead to loneliness and frustration. But, you don’t have to do it alone. Many guides would be happy to share their knowledge with you. Go out and build relationships with other operators in your city, who aren’t direct competitors. Online communities like Tourpreneur are an invaluable resource for tour operators at any stage of their business.

Connect with the local tourism community

Take any opportunity you have to build relationships with local business . While it’s difficult to walk into a room full of strangers and feel like an outsider, you won’t regret pushing yourself to meet other business owners. You’ll feel connected to people in the same boat as you and get a lot from the relationships you make. Just don’t forget to give back. Here are a few key relationships you should build locally:

With your local city council
Your local tourism or destination management organization (DMO)
Your local tourist information office
Hotel front desks and tour desks

Market Your Tour

With your target market defined and your marketing strategy ready to go, it’s time to get the word out about your amazing business! From online travel agents to social media to email marketing, we’ll cover it all:

List your tours on OTAs

Make it easy for travelers to find you by listing your tour on online travel agents (OTAs). OTA’s like Viator, Expedia Local Expert, Google Things To Do and GetYourGuide already have experience in digital advertising and have built up a mass following. While they will take a commission from your sales, they also have a significant amount of marketing spend at their disposal that your business can benefit from.

Think about it like selling vegetables — while you could set up a booth at a local farmer’s market, you’ll probably get far more customers by selling in a grocery store.

Implement SEO best practices

Now that you’re tour is listed with a couple online travel agents, it’s time to start driving traffic to your website. The best long-term strategy to do so is through search engine optimization (SEO). You can use SEO best practices to optimize your site for Google and other search engines. One of the best things to do is to SEO optimize your product descriptions . That way when someone searches for something related to your tour, your website shows up in search results.

Buy Google Adwords

While SEO is great, it’s a long-term strategy and can takee time to crawl up Google or Bing’s search rankings. To get immediate results you can buy AdWords. Instead of waiting for Google’s algorithm to show your website on the results page, you bid on specific keywords related to your business so your site shows up on top of the page.

Start email marketing

With steady visitor traffic coming to your website, you’ll want to capture their emails so you can stay in touch with them. Email marketing is a powerful tool when done right but it will take some work to stand out in your customers’ inboxes. Our Complete Guide to Email Marketing for Tourism Operators is a great place to start.

Get on Facebook and Instagram

Social media is where your customers are likely spending most of their time online, so you should be there, too. Creating a Facebook page and Instagram account will let you connect to your customers, post pictures of your tours, and make your company information easy to share and recommend. Plus, you can use Facebook Messenger or Instagram’s Direct Messages to answer questions and use the ad network on both platforms to help more people discover your tour.

Launch Your Tour

Host Your Friends and Family

As you prepare for a successful business launch , you’ll want to do a few test runs. We recommend a pre-launch buzz campaign or hosting a few friends and family first. Think of it as your dress rehearsal. Go through the tour from start to finish and collect as much feedback as you can. Once you feel confident that you’ve worked out the kinks, you’re ready to launch!

Final thoughts

Building your own tour business is no easy feat. From designing a tour and evaluating your market, to building relationships, your brand, your online presence, and getting those first customers through the door. There’s a lot of pieces to put together. However, following this step-by-step guide and your intuition you’ll have a successful tour operator business in no time.

Want to get your tour business off to a running start?

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Travel Tour Agency Business Plan Template

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Get the most out of your business plan example

Follow these tips to quickly develop a working business plan from this sample.

1. Don't worry about finding an exact match

We have over 550 sample business plan templates . So, make sure the plan is a close match, but don't get hung up on the details.

Your business is unique and will differ from any example or template you come across. So, use this example as a starting point and customize it to your needs.

2. Remember it's just an example

Our sample business plans are examples of what one business owner did. That doesn't make them perfect or require you to cram your business idea to fit the plan structure.

Use the information, financials, and formatting for inspiration. It will speed up and guide the plan writing process.

3. Know why you're writing a business plan

To create a plan that fits your needs , you need to know what you intend to do with it.

Are you planning to use your plan to apply for a loan or pitch to investors? Then it's worth following the format from your chosen sample plan to ensure you cover all necessary information.

But, if you don't plan to share your plan with anyone outside of your business—you likely don't need everything.

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Travel Tour Agency Sample Business Plan

Start-up your travel tour agency with a business plan similar to this detailed example..

Travel Tour Agency Business Plan

1. executive summary.

The tourism industry has undergone rapid growth of unsurpassed nature over the last several decades. This has mainly been due to the advent of a ‘borderless’ world and increased information dissemination about the majestic sceneries throughout the world, with the southern African region being no exception.

We are on the brink of penetrating a lucrative market in a rapidly growing industry. The current trend towards an increase in the number of tourists entering the country presents an opportunity for Sephats Tours to penetrate the market.

An opportunity for Sephats Tours’ success exists because the national tourism industry is growing at a rapid pace annually.

Sephats Tours is poised to take advantage of this growth and moderate competition in the city travel portion of the industry, with a dedicated and experienced staff, excellent networking, and effective management and marketing. Sephats Tours intends to provide travel and adventure packages to tourists primarily in the Southern region, but also the whole of Botswana.

Services and products provided by Sephats will initially include pre-arranged tours, custom packages according to clients specifications, travel consultation, and as time progresses making reservations for lodging amongst other related services. Sephats Tours seeks to differentiate itself as the premier adventure mobile operator in the greater Gaborone area.

Our services will be positioned very carefully: They will be of extremely high quality, comfortable, informative and tailored to the clients needs such that they will enable individuals to have a greater appreciation of the natural environment and its intricacies.

Our marketing strategy will be based mainly on ensuring customers know about our existence and the service(s) we fulfill. Hence our intention is to make the right information available to the right target customers. This will be done through implementing a market penetration strategy that will ensure that we are well known and respected in the tourism industry.

We will ensure that our prices take into consideration peoples’ budgets, that these people appreciate the service(s), know that it exists, and how to contact us. The marketing will convey the sense of quality in every picture, every promotion, and every publication.

Our promotional strategy will involve integrating advertising, events, personal selling, public relations, direct marketing and the Internet, details of which are provided in the marketing section of this plan.

It is important to recognise that we do not intend to just take individuals on sightseeing excursions, but also to ensure that they appreciate nature through informative briefings on objects’ origins.

This element will assist in differentiating us from our competitors and contribute towards the development of a sustainable competitive advantage.

Hence we need to engage the right people in the right place at the right time if we are to ensure optimum growth. We intend to develop our team so that our people can grow as the company grows – a mutually beneficial relationship.

We project sales to increase from more than P350,000 (Botswana Pula [P]) the first year to more than P556,500 the second, and P630,000 in the third year.

In a nutshell, we do not just intend to market and sell our service, but to market and sell travel solutions and a total-quality environment. This will ensure we establish a reputable corporate image.

1. Objectives

Our business strategy will revolve around the need to provide quality service to our various target customers, in the process fully satisfying their needs. This shall be undertaken through recruitment of a professional team and the provision of good quality custom-designed travel packages, catering to the client’s particular needs.

With time our marketing campaign will increase the awareness of our services in the various market segments we shall be targeting. This is particularly so with the organisation looking at establishing a clear advantage(s) in an increasingly competitive market.

We will provide clients with the opportunity to focus on their core activities whilst their transportation side needs are fully satisfied. Marketing material shall be professionally done so as to be reflective of our intended image and reputation.

We shall position ourselves as a quality commercial transportation operator that provides customer-need fulfillment, enjoyment, reliability and a good image. We intend to establish a good rapport with all the relevant stakeholders, especially hotels and travel agents.

We also intend to have well-designed brochures and other promotional material that will enable clients to have an understanding of the types of services we offer and advantages of utilising them.

In addition well-done, informative brochures, fact sheets and business cards often have a triggering effect on clients contemplating utilising our services. Hence this will undoubtedly generate increased sales of our service.

In summary we intend to attain the following objectives:

Continuously provide enjoyable quality excursions/trips on time and on budget.
Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time.
Establish a market presence that assures short-term and long-term profitability, growth and success.
We are fully committed to supporting growth and development in the tourism and overall economy of Botswana.
Contribute positively to our communities and our environment.

Internally we intend to create and nurture a healthy, exuberant, respectful, and enjoyable environment, in which our employees are fairly compensated and encouraged to respect the customer and the quality of the service we intend to provide.

In addition follow-up will be mandatory so as ensure customer satisfaction and make any improvements as recommended by the customers in future.

We seek fair and responsible profit, enough to keep the company financially healthy for the short and long term, and to fairly remunerate employees for the work and effort.

3. Keys to Success

The keys to Sephats Tours success will undoubtedly be effective market segmentation through identification of several niche markets and implementation strategies.

Along these lines the company intends to implement advertising, personal selling and direct marketing strategies to the target markets.

Our personal selling marketing strategies will rotate around keeping in touch with hotels and travel agencies for major customers, and advertising for more individual customers.

Hence our key success factors will include the following:

Excellence in fulfilling the promise: We intend to offer completely enjoyable, comfortable and informative travel excursions that will ensure that travelers are thoroughly satisfied and appreciative at the end of their trip.
Timely response to customers’ requests: We cannot afford to delay our clients for whatever reason, as this will have a negative bearing on our image and reputation, including future business. Hence we need to be continually communicating with the client, including hotels and lodges so as to ensure that we are constantly available to the client meeting their expectations.
Solid and fruitful strategic alliances : Considering the nature of our services and our relative infancy on the market, we realise the importance of establishing and maintaining fruitful strategic alliances with various stakeholders, including hotels, lodges, and travel agencies, amongst others, so as be assured of a constant flow of customers, fulfilling their needs at every opportunity.
Marketing know-how: As a relatively new company on the market there will be a need to aggressively market our business and the services we provide so as to be continuously at the top of our prospective clients minds. This will also act as a temporary deterrent for companies contemplating entering our market. Advertising shall be undertaken on a regular basis.

2. Company Summary

Sephats Tours intends to provide individual and group travel to leisure clients.

Services and products provided by Sephats will initially include pre-arranged tours, custom packages according to clients specifications, travel consultation, and as time progresses making reservations for lodging amongst other related services.

Sephats Tours seeks to differentiate itself as the premier adventure travel company in the greater Gaborone area.

As it grows it will take on people and expand into related markets and services. It will also look for additional leverage by establishing relationships and representations with appropriate strategic allies.

1. Company Ownership

Sephats Tours is a Private Limited company incorporated at the Registrar of Companies through the foresight and vision of Mr. X and Mrs. Y. It is a 100% wholly owned Botswana firm.

2. Start-up Summary

Thus far the directors have contributed one hundred and sixty seven thousand pula (P167,000) to purchase a Mercedes Benz mini bus currently in its possession and P30,000 for cash expenses. Total start-up expenses covered (including legal costs, business plan compilation, license costs and related expenses) come to approximately P5,000.

3. Company Locations and Facilities

At present the company offices are located at Plot Number 28338, Block 3, Belabela road opposite Gaborone Television Station, near Hill Crest Primary School.

However, as time progresses the intention is to move into more accessible and attractive offices in a prime area. This regardless of the fact that our type of business is not too dependent on office location and size.

3. Services

Sephats Tours is a travel company that intends to deliver leisure travel excursions to customers. Sephats intends to guide customers in selecting a trip(s) based on pre-defined vacation criteria. This analysis will be based on user profiles, set by the consumers, which includes preferences such as:

Activities sought
Destination, and
Time of Travel

A traveler will hence be able to select areas of interest based on their preferences and subsequently identify destinations to visit.

The intention is to provide customers with access to exclusive travel destinations, service to fully appreciate destinations through information packages, not just sight-seeing, and access to special interest travel according to the group’s/individual’s preferences.

1. Competitive Comparison

There are presently few competitors offering services similar to ours. However considering the pace of change and current growth rate of the tourism industry luring many companies into the sector, this may be short-lived.

Hence there will be a need to not only firmly establish ourselves on the market, but also strongly differentiate ourselves from these other businesses. However on a broader scale our competition comes in several forms:

The most significant competition are hotels and travel agencies offering travel excursions to their clients. They undertake this service in order to establish a competitive advantage over their competitors.

However, instead of directly competing with them we intend to establish good working relationships in the form of strategic alliances such that we are able to offer the service for their clients and thus enabling them to concentrate on their core activities whilst ensuring customers are fully satisfied.

Our key advantage in this regard will be our specialty of the service and hence wide knowledge ensuring customer satisfaction at all times as well as flexibility in providing the service. Existing hotels, lodges and travel agencies may identify the opportunity to diversify into our intended services utilising their current client database.

Naturally, existing clients will be inclined towards utilising these familiar companies due to the fact that a good relationship may have already been nurtured over the years during their business dealings.

This presents a potential challenge to us, as we need to aggressively market our services and expertise in the field. Existing safari operators that mainly focus on the remote environs such as Maun and Kasane are at times able to compromise, offering excursions in and around Gaborone, though very rare. Hence we intend to focus on this market. An analysis of competition is provided in the Market Analysis section of this plan.

2. Service Description

Sephats Tours intends to offer the service and knowledge a discerning leisure traveler seeks whilst on vacation, with the intention of seeing and appreciating the numerous sights in the area.

Keeping in mind the comforts of a tourist, our fleet shall be very well maintained and designed as per customer standard and expectations. However not wanting to limit ourselves we intend to be open to special hire by churches, organisations, groups, schools and sports teams, amongst other related groups.

The game reserves and lodges that we intend to be our main destinations are:

Mokolodi Nature Reserve
Goborone Game Reserve
Gaborone Dam
The Oodi and Mochudi Craft Villages
Kolobeng and Thamaga
Khutse Game Reserve

Below is a briefing of several places of interest and their various attractions.

Mokolodi Nature Reserve: Set in a wide valley just 10 minutes drive from the city, this scenic reserve offers a well-developed network of game drives and stone and thatch chalets overlooking a water hole. Mokolodi also offers the rare opportunity to track rhino or to walk through the bush with young elephants. These excursions offer excellent photographic opportunities. Evening drives can include a bush braai giving visitors the chance to see the more unusual nocturnal creatures.
Gaborone Game Reserve: This 550 hectare reserve provides an ideal get-away for tourists who can see a remarkable range of wildlife in the park including rhino, eland, zebra, gemsbok, wildebeest, kudu, ostrich and impala, all on well-maintained bush roads that are designed for easy access. Bird watching in the Gaborone Game Reserve is excellent, particularly along the eastern edge, bounded by Notwane River, and it typifies the incredible diversity of bird life to be found throughout the Gaborone area.
Gaborone Dam: On the south bank a remarkably rich variety of bird and wildlife can be seen, including herds of impala, kudu and scuttling families of warthog. New picnic sites, which are currently under development will also provide places of interest. The Gaborone Yacht Club is the main attraction on the dam with its swimming pool, bar and wide verandah overlooking the water off a rocky koppie in the middle of the dam which often becomes an island in the wet season.
The Oodi and Mochudi Craft Villages: In Oodi the main attraction will be the Lenstwe-la-Oodi weavers. In Mochudi apart from traditionally decorated Setswana architecture, the tourists will find the most southerly baobab trees in Botswana and traditional crafts including the Ithuteng Tin Workshop and Ikgabiseng handmade jewelery. The Phuthadikobo Museum in Mochudi will also be an attraction site.

Other sites will include Matsieng Foot Point, Gemsbok National Park, Mabuasehube Game Reserve, Legaga la ga Kobokwe, Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, Nxaii Pan and Khama Rhino Sanctuary.

Integrating the above places of interest into our tours we intend to be offering the following tours:

“Capital Crusade” – City Tour: This will be a professionally guided tour around the city centre including visits to the Main Mall, Finance Mall, National Museum, City Council Library, Gaborone Station, and House of Parliament including others. These tours shall be eye opening in terms of the normal Botswana town folk life style providing knowledge and information throughout the guided tour. Included in this package will be refreshments and information folders detailing the main sites and history of Gaborone. This tour will cover approximately 50 kilometers taking about half a day to complete. Cost: PX per person.
“Cultural Enrichment” – Cultural Tour: This shall involve tours to the main historical and cultural sites in and around Gaborone including Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Oodi and Mochudi Craft Villages, including the cultural dances. This tour shall reveal the ‘Kgotla’ – cultural villages, traditional paintings and art, as well as the traditional lifestyle. Obviously baobabs will make for good viewing. The tour package will include an information folder, guided tour and refreshments. This tour will cover approximately 200 kilometers taking the whole day to complete. Cost: PY per person.
“The Essence: Past & Present” – City & Cultural Tour: This will be a combination of the cultural tour and city centre excursion. This will be marketed as a “total package” enabling tourists with very little time to appreciate the Botswana lifestyle, both in the present and past. This tour will invariably take the whole day and cover approximately 250 kilometres. The tour package will include the information folder, guided tour, refreshments and a picnic lunch. Cost: PZ per person.

3. Macro-environment

At a large scale research demonstrates that tourism is undergoing a rapid growth of unsurpassed nature. Generally there is a trend towards shorter stays but increased visits, as individuals strive to experience as many cultures as possible, including seeing as many attractions as possible.

Increasingly Botswana is being marketed as “one of the few places in Africa where game sanctuaries have remained completely unspoiled.

A destination that unlocks the mystery of nature – an oasis in a wilderness which is an ideal escape for nature lovers. Very little of this fascinating country has seen human habitation – this is true Africa in all her remoteness and authenticity.

With such marketing in place the number of tourists entering the country is bound to increase, presenting a larger potential market for ourselves. This potential market is what we seek to tap.

4. Sales Literature

The business will begin with a general corporate brochure establishing its position on the market. This brochure will be developed as part of the start-up expenses including the business cards and Company Profile, mainly for the large organisations that often recommend services to potential customers.

Compliment slips are also intended so as to raise awareness of the company and its services. We also intend to have information pamphlets that will provide information on our various tour packages. Literature and mailings for the initial market forums will be very important.

5. Fulfillment

The key fulfillment and delivery will be provided by the employees of the company. The real core value will be professional expertise, provided by a combination of expertise, experience, hard work, and education (in that order). Hence we intend to ensure that the work we undertake is always thorough and relevant to the clients’ needs.

We will turn to reputable companies for supplying the necessary individuals and groups for our services. Hence the need to establish good relationships with our strategic allies.

6. Technology

Sephats Tours will strive to ensure that it contains the latest, or extremely recent personal computer including relevant software so as to ensure that the company is continuously at the forefront in our market arena.

The one certainty in our industry is that technology will continue to evolve and develop, changing what we market as well as how we market it. Our aim will be to be aware of the implications of this new technology and utilizing it in our existing framework where possible. However it should be noted that as we are new on the market it will take some time before we have in place our own website and other multimedia presentations.

With time we also intend to have the latest and most efficient software in place to enable smooth operations.

7. Future Services

In putting the company together we have attempted to offer enough services to allow us to always be in demand by our customers and clients. The most important factor in developing future services/products is market need.

Our understanding of the needs of our target market segments shall be one of our competitive advantages. It is critical to our effort to develop the right new services. In the future, Sephats Tours intends to broaden its coverage by expanding into additional markets.

One of the main services it aims at providing is to become a destination management company that brings alive the magnificence of this country to the traveler. This will be done by co-coordinating the traveler’s entire experience from hotel bookings, safaris and tours, greeting and porter services, and to tour packages and incentives. However in doing so we will strive to ensure that it is compatible with the existing products and company personnel.

As time progresses the intention will to provide a Southern Africa tour package covering the whole of southern Africa.

4. Market Analysis Summary

We are today experiencing a rapid growth in the economy of unsurpassed nature. This has been brought about by, amongst other things, the relaxation of foreign exchange policies and macroeconomic policies geared towards attracting foreign investors into the country.

The fiscal and monetary policies of the government geared towards maintaining growth with social justice have largely contributed towards this, evidenced by our economy averaging a growth rate of 7% since 1990 – very high by international standards.

The current drive and emphasis by the government on diversification of the industrial base away from the minerals sector presents an opportunity for Sephats Tours to make a valuable contribution towards achieving this goal. Having undertaken a thorough and comprehensive research of the market we realized that there was a need for a tourist transport company that focuses on providing leisure excursions to tourists.

Though there are mobile operators currently on the market, some of whom have been in existence for a relatively long period of time, we believe that there is a market need for one that specializes on providing comfortable and enjoyable transport to tourists and visitors.

This, also considering the fact that, potentially Botswana’s richest natural resource, the tourism industry is becoming an increasingly important player in the economy and may in the long term prove even more valuable than mineral resources in earning foreign exchange.

Aware of the fact that operating in such a market is largely dependent on good networking, we intend to establish networks and strategic relationships with various hotels, lodges and travel agents to ensure a steady stream of clients.

However in so doing we intend to ensure that the service we provide is of extremely high quality and comfortable. Our initial overall target market share shall be 10% of the market, mainly focusing on the greater Gaborone area and southern Botswana.

We appreciate that entering such a market is not a ‘bed of roses’ and will require us establishing strong links with strategic partners as outlined previously. Hence we intend to implement an aggressive marketing strategy, well supported by the other business functions.

The above prognosis influenced our decision to enter the tourist transport industry.

1. Market Segmentation

We will be focusing on those foreign tourists seeking leisure travel and excursions whilst on vacation in Botswana, with the intention of letting them see and appreciate the numerous attractions in our country.

Though we realise that the majority of our tourists come from South Africa we shall be mainly targeting those from Europe and the Americas who often do not have transport or adequate knowledge about the country, unlike their South African counterparts who often do. Hence we shall be mainly targeting those who are not that mobile but wanting to see as many sites as possible.

These people often do not want to waste their money on hiring vehicles to move about by themselves, but instead want to be escorted around places of interest by a reliable source. Hence the need to professionally market ourselves and the services we provide, offering a service of uncompromised nature.

2. Target Market Segment Strategy

Our marketing strategy will be based mainly on making the right service(s) available to the right target customer. We will ensure that our services’ prices take into consideration organisations’ and peoples’ budgets, and that these people know that we exist, appreciate the value of our services, and how to contact us.

The marketing will convey the sense of quality in every picture, every promotion, and every publication. Our intension will be to target those individuals and groups looking for leisure activities and places to visit.

We realise the need to focus our marketing message and our service offerings. We need to develop our message, communicate it, and make good on it. The decision to establish strategic alliances with several hotels, lodges and travel agencies is aimed at tapping our target market effectively and efficiently.

2.1. Market Needs

Though the tourism sector has undergone rapid growth over the last decade the vast majority entering this sector have rushed to the North where we have the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, and other sites as attraction points.

Very few have focused on south and central Botswana. With this in mind we intend to exploit the untapped market in this area so as to provide our customers with a good service and realize our business objectives.

We understand that our target markets need more than just being shown the areas of interest but also to be informed about their significance and origins. Hence we don’t just intend to provide a service(s), but to provide one of unparalleled nature relative to the market.

2.2. Market Trends

Of all the uncertainty surrounding this industry, one fact is certain: tourism is here to stay. The only question is how large the industry will become and whether it can sustain, if not exceed, its current growth rate. However large the market ultimately becomes, the company strongly believes that travel will be an important component of this market place. Tourism statistics provide a reliable guide as to the size of the market.

According to the latest tourism statistics total arrivals for 1998 amounted to 1,351,798 representing an increase of approximately 12.65% from the previous year. Of the total arrivals in 1998 205,146 (15.2%) were holiday/tourists whilst 319,440 (23,6%) were visitors, both groups of which constitute our target market, totaling approximately 524,586 individuals.

Source: Tourism Statistics 1998 – Central Statistics Office .

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How to Develop a Successful Tour Operator Business Model

Table of Content

The 3 elements to form a successful tour operator business model, setting goals and objectives for your tour operator company, the value proposition: why would anyone buy your tour, key resources you’ll need to deliver your usp, sorting out your finances, establishing your revenue streams, defining your customer relationships, pulling everything together into your marketing strategy, wrapping up.

How did you realize you have a passion for educating and providing people with rich cultural experiences? Or that you simply love a specific activity and want to share the experience with others? However you made that realization, you’re here, ready to take the next step to creating a viable and successful tour operator business.

The truth is that being a tour operator is not just about providing new and exciting experiences for tourists. There’s way more to it than that. Just like any other venture, there are lots of pieces that need to come together before you achieve any kind of success.

A major part of that puzzle is putting together a well thought out business model and plan.

That’s why you’re reading this article. It is your guide to understanding the tour operator business model and how to create your own. It will also help you to focus on tasks that will have the most business impact.

Let’s get to it!

The tour operator business model consists of three key elements: your tour and activity selection, your market , and your money making plan.

Tour and activity selection: What are you selling? What makes it unique/what’s your unique selling proposition (USP)? What resources do you need to get started?

Your market: Who are you selling your products or services to? Which category of traveler/tourist are your services for? Who are your competitors?

Money making plan: How will you make money? How will you market your trips and activities?

Addressing those three main points in a document or spreadsheet is the first step to creating a viable tour operator business model.

Next? Set goals.

This part is extremely important in several ways. The first one being that envisioning how your business will look 5 years down the line gives you some more perspective of what you need to do to get there.

So think about what it will look like. How many customers will book your tour per week? How many activities can you handle per week?

Answer questions of that nature and you’ll be able to come up with at least 10 objectives and steps that you need to take to get there.

Some examples of goals and steps you may come up with:

Expand your tour activity selection. In order to do so, you need to find gaps in the market that you can meet with your resources and experience.
Reach a new market segment. That requires that you perhaps partner with other travel agents and activity providers.
Further streamline your booking experience. That requires that you activate online bookings with tools like Regiondo .

Setting clear, well-defined goals can also help your business grow; and improve teamwork and collaboration (when everyone on your team understands the direction your business is headed, they’ll have more clarity and purpose in their work to get you there.)

And remember that setting goals is an ongoing process in any business .

Your business’ value proposition is arguably the most important element of your overall marketing message. It is the part where you define how you’re creating value for your prospective customers.

To be a bit more technical: Your value proposition is a clear and concise articulation of why customers should choose your tours or activities over your competitors.

So what goes into creating a clear and concise value proposition?

State your vision for the business
What value does your product or service provide to the customer?
Why are you qualified to offer that value offering?
What is unique about your product or service?
What is the growth potential for your product or service?

The aim of writing down your value proposition is that it makes it easier for customers and potential investors to evaluate your offering — from a market and financial perspective. In fact, every single item on your business model or plan has to relate back to your value proposition.

What do we mean by that? Simply put, your key resources are the main resources your company uses to create your USP and to provide your tour or activity offerings. They are the most important things to have for your tour operator business model to work.

Credit: Strategyzer

So think about a few things:

What are the main assets your company needs to put on tours and activities?
What key resources does your tour require?
Which resources are most important in all your distribution channels?
What does the operational end of your business look like? For example, what kinds of materials do you need? What equipment will you need? What types of people will you employ?

The key resources section plays a vital role in bringing your vision and value proposition to life. It highlights what you need in order to deliver the value your customers expect from you.

You’re really excited to get your new business model up and running— we get it. But remember that a successful tour operator business needs to make economic sense.

So, you need to ask yourself some financial questions, which include:

What’s the initial investment of capital that my tour operation company will need?
When will I start making profit?
What will my profit statements look like in 6 months? A year?
What income can I take home?
Will I be able to dedicate enough, finance-wise?
What is the likelihood of the business failing?
What if it does (fail)?

Those questions are vital to accurately gauging your ability to develop a successful tour operator business model.

Perhaps the most critical component of any sustainable tour operator business model? A positive cash-flow.

You need to figure out your revenue streams from the get-go. To help you fine-tune them, here are some questions you should ask yourself:

What are your primary and secondary revenue streams?
What value are your customers willing to pay for?
How would they prefer to pay?
How much does every revenue stream add to overall revenues?

Customer relationships refer to the way you interact with new and existing customer segments. Once you know their communication and purchasing preferences, you can adequately build a system to attract customers, get repeat business and more referrals.

Here are some key questions to think about when mapping out your customer relationships:

What does your target audience expect from you?
Can you integrate that into your business (cost and format-wise)?

Those two questions will further inform your USP, finances, and other strategies.

You need a marketing strategy that is solely designed for your target market and customers. There are so many niches in the tour operator industry which also means that there are so many different marketing plans that are particularly favorable to specific niches.

You need to create a marketing plan that is tailored to your niche.

So, ponder the following:

What is my customer persona? Meaning, who are they? How old are they? What do they do for a living? Where are they from? What do they want from your tour or activity?
Where do you find your ideal customer? For example, are they heavy social media users? If so, which channels are they active on?
What are their purchasing personas? Meaning, is it a segment that purchases online? Do they prefer sending through a check or buying in person?

You can then do your research to create an effective marketing strategy that your customer segments will buy into.

Let’s give you potential strategies you can incorporate into your overall marketing strategy:

Add a blog to your website to substantially boost your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Cultivate your social media presence.
Run campaigns that make sense for your customer segment. For example, if your target market is millennials looking for the ultimate holiday experience, then social media should be your priority over print advertising.

Building a tour operator business from scratch is not easy. There are many pieces of the puzzle you have to put together: from choosing your niche, to building relationships, to conducting thorough market research, to building your brand and online presence, etc.

However, creating the right business model will give you a clear roadmap to guide your business journey. Use this article as a guide to creating a viable tour operator business model.

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Welcome to the New Mexico Tourism Department Industry Resource Website

Tour operator business plan guide.

Before you start to create your official business plan, it can be helpful to think through several aspects of your business so that you are fully prepared to address each topic in this business plan guide. One excellent preparation exercise is to complete a Business Model for your company.

Download Business Plan Guide PDF

With your Business Model prepared, you can now more easily complete your Tour Operator Business Plan .

Your tour operator business plan should contain at least seven sections:

an executive summary,
a company overview,
a description of your services,
an analysis of your market,
an implementation plan,
a team summary, and
a financial plan.
You might have one or more appendices at the end if you have additional relevant information to include. The finished product should be formatted nicely and incorporate your company’s logo and branding. For assistance with branding, reference the Entrepreneur Tour Operator Toolkit – Branding & Marketing Guide .

Executive Summary

Company Overview

Operations Plan

It might be helpful for example, to illustrate how someone could book a tour perhaps six months in advance on your website. Between booking and arrival, coordinate accommodation, meals, and transportation with partner providers. When the tour concludes, offer transportation back to the airport and follow up with a special offer to book another tour with us at a discount.

Market Analysis

This section explores your specific niche within the tourism industry and the geographic location(s) where you plan to operate. Who are your target clients or guests? Who are your main competitors? What trends exist in this industry sector? Is the number of visitors to your location increasing or decreasing? Try to include statistics from reputable sources whenever you can. Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), Chambers of Commerce, and the New Mexico Tourism Department, just to name a few, can provide valuable insight and add credibility. This section should leave no stone unturned so that your reader can truly understand your market conditions.

For example, try to include information about travel trends in New Mexico, economic trends, the number of new hotels being built, etc. We would also explore the ecotourism market; are more people choosing eco-friendly travel options today compared to five years ago? What companies are the current ecotourism market leaders?

Later in this toolkit, you will have an opportunity to further flush out your marketing plan utilizing the Entrepreneur Tour Operator Toolkit – Branding & Marketing guide .

Implementation

Now that you’ve explained your business idea and described the market in which you plan to operate, it’s time to outline exactly how you will bring your tour operator business to life. This section should include a SWOT analysis, details about your marketing and pricing strategies, and a sales projection.

In the SWOT analysis , you will explore your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. What does your company offer that nobody else in the market does? What are some potential challenges that you will need to face? Using an ecotourism company example, a threat could be natural disasters – if there are floods or mudslides, our business cannot operate. On the other hand, an opportunity is that more people are interested in eco-friendly travel options.

Your pricing strategy should include the exact rates you plan to charge for at least a year in advance. For example, will you charge different prices for different packages? For low season vs. high season vs. holiday periods? With rates increasing 5% each year? And/or consider a 10% discount for advance purchase bookings made at least 6 months in advance and charge a cancellation fee for any reservations canceled within 3 months of the tour departure date. Based on your pricing strategy, you can create a sales projection that will estimate your company’s sales performance, preferably over the next three years.

Team Summary

After you understand what your tour operator business will do, you’ll wonder who is going to make it happen. And if you’re planning to launch a full-fledged tour operator business, you’re probably not going at it alone. The Team Summary section should include a thorough plan for your company’s organizational structure, key leaders, employees, and training processes.

Financial Plan

A break-even analysis is a critical part of the financial projections in the business plan for a new business. Financing sources will want to see when you expect to break even so they know when your business will become profitable.

But even if you’re not seeking outside financing, you should know when your business is going to break even. This will help you plan the amount of startup capital you’ll need and determine how long that capital will need to last. A one-page break-even analysis template is available to help you through this exercise.

In general, you should aim to break even in 6 to 18 months after launching your business. If your break-even analysis shows that it will take longer, you need to revisit your costs and pricing strategy so you can increase your margins and break even in a reasonable amount of time.

If you don’t have a finance background yourself, it may be helpful to seek assistance from an accountant or someone who knows the ins and outs of financial modeling.

Additional Information

In an appendix, you can include supporting information or statistics that may be helpful for potential investors, but not essential to your business plan. For instance, you could include a full report on trends that you used in your Market Analysis section.

Tips and Tricks for A Strong Tour Operator Business Plan

In summary, writing a business plan is certainly not an easy task. It’s time-consuming and requires a lot of thought, but a well-written business plan can lead to significant growth for your company. As you complete your business plan, keep these pieces of advice in mind:

Conduct thorough research on your market . When you pitch your company to investors, you want to be seen as an expert, so learn as much as you can about your competitors and market trends.
Simplify your words and descriptions whenever possible . A business plan is not the place to wow your reader with flowery language – instead, you want your reader to easily grasp your value proposition. Think about writing so that a fifth-grader can understand it. The last thing you want is for your reader to be confused about what your company actually does.
Don’t be afraid to make changes . As you work on your business plan, you might discover that some aspects of your business need to be adjusted for the greater good of the company. After all, the companies that are the most adaptable are the ones that survive!
Get a second opinion (or a third or a fourth). A good test of your business plan’s readability and clarity is to let someone outside your industry read it, like a family member or friend. If they have a lot of questions, you might need to adjust your descriptions or more clearly explain your plans.
Proofread ! Your business plan is a reflection of your company’s values. If your formatting is sloppy and your text is full of typos, your reader might question whether you have the attention to detail necessary to run a successful business.

Back to Tour Operator Toolkit Outline

Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template

Great for beginners
Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
Get started in seconds

Marketing is the lifeblood of any successful tour operator. To stand out in a crowded market and attract more travelers, you need a solid marketing plan that covers all the essential elements. That's where ClickUp's Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template comes in!

With this template, you can easily create a comprehensive marketing strategy that helps you:

Identify your target audience and understand their needs and preferences
Develop compelling tour packages and services that resonate with potential travelers
Implement effective marketing channels, such as social media, email campaigns, and content marketing, to reach your target audience
Track your marketing efforts and measure their impact on bookings and revenue

Don't let your tour business get lost in the noise. Use ClickUp's Marketing Plan Template to elevate your marketing game and attract more travelers today!

Benefits of Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template

A well-crafted marketing plan can be a game-changer for tour operators, helping them achieve their business objectives and stand out in a competitive market. Here are some benefits of using the Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template:

Streamline your marketing efforts by outlining clear goals, target audience, and messaging strategies
Increase brand visibility and attract more potential travelers through targeted marketing campaigns
Optimize your promotional activities and allocate resources effectively for maximum ROI
Stay ahead of the competition with a comprehensive analysis of market trends and competitors
Track and measure your marketing performance to make data-driven decisions and enhance your strategies

Main Elements of Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template

ClickUp's Tour Operators Marketing Plan template is designed to help you effectively market your tour operator business. Here are the main elements of this List template:

Custom Statuses: Track the progress of your marketing tasks with 6 different statuses - Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, and To Do.
Custom Fields: Utilize 6 custom fields such as Quarter, Task Type, Impact, Progress, Percent Completion, and Effort to provide detailed information about each marketing task and monitor its performance.
Custom Views: Access 5 different views to gain a comprehensive understanding of your marketing plan. These include Key Results, Timeline, Getting Started Guide, Objectives, and Progress Board.
Project Management: Leverage ClickUp's powerful project management capabilities to streamline your marketing efforts. Use features like task dependencies, time tracking, and integrations to enhance collaboration and drive success.

How to Use Marketing Plan for Tour Operators

If you're a tour operator looking to create an effective marketing plan, follow these steps using the Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your target audience

Start by identifying your ideal customers. Consider factors such as age, interests, location, and travel preferences. Understanding your target audience will help you tailor your marketing efforts to reach the right people.

Use custom fields in ClickUp to categorize and track your target audience segments.

2. Set clear marketing goals

Decide what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts. Are you looking to increase bookings, expand your customer base, or promote a new tour package? Setting specific and measurable goals will help you stay focused and track your progress.

Use Goals in ClickUp to set and track your marketing objectives.

3. Choose the right marketing channels

Determine which marketing channels will be most effective in reaching your target audience. Consider using a mix of online and offline channels such as social media, email marketing, SEO, content marketing, and partnerships with travel influencers or local businesses.

Use the Board view in ClickUp to create a visual representation of your marketing channels and track your progress.

4. Create compelling content

Develop engaging content that showcases the unique experiences and benefits of your tours. This could include blog posts, videos, stunning imagery, customer testimonials, and interactive maps. Tailor your content to each marketing channel to maximize its impact.

Use Docs in ClickUp to create and collaborate on your content ideas and strategy.

5. Analyze and optimize

Regularly review your marketing efforts to see what's working and what can be improved. Analyze key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, and customer feedback. Use this data to make informed decisions and optimize your marketing strategies.

Use Dashboards in ClickUp to visualize and analyze your marketing performance across different channels and campaigns.

By following these steps and utilizing the Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp, you can create a comprehensive and effective marketing plan that helps you attract more customers and grow your tour business.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template

Tour operators can use the Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template to effectively plan and execute their marketing strategies to reach their target audience and drive bookings.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive marketing plan:

Use the Key Results View to set measurable targets and track the success of your marketing campaigns
The Timeline View will help you visualize your marketing activities and deadlines
Refer to the Getting Started Guide View to get familiar with the template and understand how to best utilize its features
The Objectives View will help you define the goals and objectives of your marketing plan
Use the Progress Board View to track the progress of each marketing task and ensure everything is on track
Organize tasks into six different statuses: Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, To Do, to keep track of progress
Update statuses as you work on each task to keep your team informed of progress
Monitor and analyze the effectiveness of your marketing plan to optimize your strategies and achieve maximum results.

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How to Start a Tour Operator Business

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Last Updated on: December 27, 2023 by Joseph Muriithi

Starting a tour operator business can be an exciting and rewarding venture for those who have a passion for travel and a desire to share it with others. However, it is important to acknowledge that the tourism industry can be highly competitive and constantly evolving. In this blog post, we will delve into the essential steps you need to take to start your own tour operator business and thrive in this dynamic field.

Need a business plan written for starting your tour operator business? Get in touch here!

Research and Planning

The first step in starting a tour operator business is conducting extensive research and meticulous planning. Begin by identifying your target market and determining the types of tours you want to offer. Consider the interests and preferences of your potential customers, and tailor your tours accordingly. Research the destinations you wish to focus on and analyze the demand for tours in those areas. Additionally, delve into the legal and financial aspects of setting up a tour operator business, such as obtaining the necessary licenses and permits, securing appropriate insurance coverage, and developing a comprehensive pricing strategy. It’s also important to conduct a thorough analysis of your competitors to identify gaps in the market and find ways to differentiate your business.

Offering Various Types of Tours

When starting a tour operator business, you have the flexibility to offer various types of tours based on the interests and preferences of your target market. Here are some popular types of tours that you can consider:

Cultural Tours: These tours focus on immersing travelers in the local culture and traditions of a destination. They often include visits to historical sites, museums, and cultural events, providing participants with a deeper understanding of the local heritage.
Adventure Tours: Adventure tours cater to thrill-seekers and outdoor enthusiasts. They offer activities such as hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, or wildlife safari expeditions. These tours aim to provide unique and adrenaline-pumping experiences in nature.
Culinary Tours: For food lovers, culinary tours offer the opportunity to explore a destination’s cuisine and culinary traditions. These tours may include cooking classes, food tastings, visits to local markets, and dining experiences at renowned restaurants.
Wildlife Tours: Wildlife tours allow travelers to observe and learn about exotic flora and fauna in their natural habitats. They often include visits to national parks, wildlife reserves, and guided safaris, providing opportunities to see rare and endangered species.
Historical Tours: Historical tours focus on the rich history and heritage of a destination. They include visits to historical landmarks, ancient ruins, and architectural wonders. These tours offer insights into the past and help participants appreciate the cultural significance of a place.
Educational Tours: Educational tours cater to students, scholars, and lifelong learners. They provide opportunities to engage in educational activities, such as attending lectures, participating in workshops, and visiting educational institutions or research centers.
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Tours: With the rising awareness of sustainability, eco-friendly tours have gained popularity. These tours promote responsible travel practices and focus on minimizing the environmental impact. They often include activities such as eco-trekking, volunteering in conservation projects, or staying in eco-lodges.
Special Interest Tours: Special interest tours cater to niche markets and specific hobbies or interests. They can be tailored to photography enthusiasts, art lovers, wine connoisseurs, or sports enthusiasts. These tours offer unique experiences aligned with the participants’ passions.

Remember to thoroughly research your target market and consider their preferences when selecting the types of tours to offer. You can also create customized tours by combining elements from different categories to cater to specific customer needs and preferences.

By diversifying your tour offerings, you can attract a wider range of customers and differentiate your business from competitors.

Start-Up Costs

Starting a tour operator business requires a financial investment to cover various start-up costs. The specific expenses can vary depending on factors such as the size and scope of your business, the destinations you plan to operate in, and the types of tours you offer. Here is a table outlining the average range of start-up costs for a tour operator business:

It’s important to note that these figures are estimates and can vary based on individual circumstances. It is recommended to create a detailed budget and consider seeking professional advice to accurately determine your start-up costs.

Building Relationships and Networks

Establishing strong relationships and networks within the travel industry is crucial for the success of your tour operator business. Connect with local suppliers, accommodation providers, transportation companies, and other relevant stakeholders to build a reliable network of contacts. Attend travel trade shows, conferences, and events to meet potential partners and gain insights into new destinations and tour packages. Collaborating with trusted suppliers not only ensures the quality of your tours, but also enables you to negotiate better deals and offer competitive prices to your customers. Additionally, consider joining professional associations and organizations related to the tourism industry to further expand your network and gain access to valuable resources and industry expertise. Building strong relationships with your customers is just as important as building relationships with other businesses. Foster open communication, provide personalized recommendations, and go the extra mile to create memorable experiences for your customers.

Proven Marketing Techniques

Effective marketing and promotion are essential for attracting customers and differentiating your tour operator business from competitors. Here are some proven marketing techniques that can be helpful:

Engage in Content Marketing: Create valuable and informative content related to travel and the destinations you offer tours to. Publish blog posts, articles, or videos that provide insights, tips, and recommendations for travelers. This positions you as an expert in the industry and helps build credibility and trust with potential customers.
Leverage Social Media: Utilize social media platforms to showcase your tours, engage with your audience, and build a community of travel enthusiasts. Share captivating visuals, travel stories, and behind-the-scenes content to generate interest and excitement about your offerings. Encourage user-generated content by organizing photo contests or using dedicated hashtags for customers to share their experiences.
Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with travel influencers or bloggers who have a significant following and influence in your target market. They can help promote your tours, share their experiences, and reach a wider audience. Choose influencers whose values align with your brand and whose audience matches your target market.
Offer Referral Programs: Incentivize your existing customers to refer your tours to their friends and family by offering referral discounts or rewards. Word-of-mouth recommendations are powerful in the travel industry, and this strategy can help expand your customer base.
Utilize Email Marketing: Build an email list of interested prospects and past customers. Send regular newsletters or email campaigns with updates on new tours, exclusive discounts, and travel tips. Personalize your emails to make them more engaging and relevant to each recipient.
Collaborate with Local Businesses: Form partnerships with local businesses in your destination areas. For example, collaborate with restaurants, hotels, or activity providers to offer package deals or cross-promotions. This can help attract more customers and provide added value to your tours.

Remember to monitor the effectiveness of your marketing strategies and make adjustments as needed. Regularly analyze data and metrics to understand what resonates with your audience and drives bookings.

Required and Essential Skills and Talents

To successfully operate a tour operator business, certain skills and talents are necessary. Here are some of the key ones:

Strong Communication: Excellent communication skills are essential for effectively interacting with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Clear and concise communication helps build trust and ensures that everyone involved is on the same page.
Customer Service: Providing exceptional customer service is crucial for creating a positive experience and building customer loyalty. Being able to anticipate and fulfill customer needs, handle inquiries and complaints, and go the extra mile to exceed expectations are vital skills.
Organizational Abilities: Tour operators need to be highly organized to handle multiple tours, bookings, and logistics simultaneously. Planning and coordinating different aspects of tours, such as transportation, accommodations, and activities, require efficient organizational skills.
Knowledge of Destinations: Having a deep understanding of the destinations you offer tours to is essential. This includes knowledge of local attractions, landmarks, culture, history, and any specific requirements or regulations.
Sales and Negotiation: Being able to effectively sell your tours and negotiate with suppliers and partners is important for securing deals and providing competitive prices to your customers. Sales and negotiation skills help in building profitable partnerships and maximizing revenue.
Adaptability and Problem-Solving: The tourism industry is dynamic, and unexpected challenges can arise. Being able to adapt to changing circumstances and finding creative solutions to problems is crucial for ensuring smooth operations and maintaining customer satisfaction.
Passion for Travel: A genuine passion for travel and a love for exploring new destinations is fundamental to running a tour operator business. This passion will drive your dedication, inspire your customers, and enable you to curate unique and memorable experiences.

Remember that these skills can be developed and improved over time through experience, training, and continuous learning.

Providing Exceptional Customer Service

Once you have successfully launched your tour operator business, it is crucial to focus on providing exceptional customer service. Satisfied customers not only become repeat clients but also act as brand ambassadors, spreading positive word-of-mouth about your business. To accomplish this, consider the following tips:

Train your staff: Invest in comprehensive training programs to ensure that your staff members are knowledgeable, friendly, and capable of delivering excellent customer service. They should be well-versed in the details of your tours, destinations, and any potential challenges that may arise during the trip.
Prompt communication: Respond to customer inquiries and concerns promptly and in a professional manner. Address any issues that may arise during the tour efficiently and effectively. Make your customers feel heard, valued, and appreciated.
Personalize the experience: Tailor your tours to meet the unique needs and preferences of your customers. Pay attention to their interests and provide personalized recommendations and suggestions. This personal touch will enhance their overall experience and create a lasting impression.
Go above and beyond: Surprise your customers with unexpected gestures that exceed their expectations. Consider small gifts, personalized notes, or exclusive experiences. These thoughtful touches can leave a lasting impression and make your customers feel special and valued.
Gather feedback: Regularly collect feedback from your customers to identify areas for improvement and address any concerns. This feedback loop is essential for enhancing your offerings and continually improving your customer service. Consider implementing customer satisfaction surveys or providing a platform for customers to share their experiences. Actively respond to feedback and incorporate suggestions to demonstrate your commitment to continuous improvement.

Starting a tour operator business requires careful planning, thorough research, building strong networks, effective marketing, and delivering exceptional customer service. By following the steps outlined in this blog post and continuously adapting to changing market trends and customer preferences, you can establish a successful and profitable tour operator business. Remember to stay passionate about travel, provide unique and immersive experiences, and prioritize the satisfaction of your customers. With dedication, perseverance, and a customer-centric approach, you can embark on a fulfilling journey to becoming a successful tour operator.

Fill this form and we will be in touch to discuss your needs. Our team is comprised of experienced business planners bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise enabling them to meticulously analyze business models, competitive landscape, product positioning, and target market to develop a compelling Business Plan that resonates with your target audience, investors/ funders and stakeholders.

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How To Write A Great Business Plan For A Tour Operator

The first step for any person starting a tour operator business is to sit down and write a business plan..

A business plan for a tour operator shouldn’t just be written to give to banks, consultants, or compliance solutions such as Protected Trust Services. The most important reason to write a business plan is for you. A great business plan will allow you to place your ideas on paper and allow you to reflect and develop different ideas and strategies for your tour operator business to be a great success.

Don’t be intimidated by a business plan for your tour operator business.

We understand that it may seem very formal and intimidating to write a business plan. But, it shouldn’t be, and absolutely doesn’t need to be. This one document is quite simply what it says on the tin, so to speak, – A plan for you and for your business.

A great business plan is always short, concise and to the point.

The true key is to write to your audience – make sure whomever is reading this business plan will fully understand your business plan.

What needs to be included in a business plan when starting up a travel business.

The executive summary.

This is a concise document summarising what is in each section of the business plan.

Business Overview

This area describes your business, point to include:

Business formation history

The type of business

The legal structure – are you a Limited Company?

Location of the business

Means of doing business – are you internet based, high street based etc

Operations Plan

This area should fully describe how your business will work. How will the business be set up, who will be responsible for different tasks, when will different tasks be implemented and completed – In essence, how will your tour operator business operate?

Market Analysis

Arguably this is one of the most important elements. It is imperative that you understand your competition and your place in the market.

The major questions to answer within this area:

Who are your major competitors? Include a little on their history and their success.
How much are your competitors charging and how will you price in relation?
How much demand is there for your product?
Market demand and consumer behaviour towards the products you intend to offer. Who is your target market?

Team and Management

You may have a great idea but the team who will drive your company are the key to true success. In this section describe your team, their roles and also who you will need to hire to fully support an excellent execution of your product.

How are you going to turn your ideas into a phenomenal tour operator business? Within this area you should fully cover your marketing plan, sales plan and also show how you going to measure your success.

Financial Plan

This area is your eyes! Your financial forecast is incredibly important for any startup tour operator business . Every penny going in and every penny going out should be included. This will allow you to see how to price effectively, marketing budgets, cost of sales, staff costs and every element of monies concerning your business.

We have an ideal financial forecast template for travel businesses and also a very simple business plan template for you to follow. Do email us at [email protected] or call 0207 190 9988 and our consultants will always be more than happy to support you. Our advice is completely complimentary.

For a solid understanding of how to write a business plan do take a look at the following link which is full of extensive explanations that we feel will really help you. How to write a business plan.

If you’d like to discuss this further, please get in contact with one of Protected Trust Services’ (PTS) lovely staff members by calling 0207 190 9988 . Or, you can visit our member support and travel trust account pages to learn more about how we protect you.

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Travel agency business plan template

Download this travel agency business plan template in PDF or Word format, or tailor it to your project directly in our business plan software.

Discover our travel agency business plan template

Our travel agency business plan template gives you the structure to write a professional plan.

Not accustomed to writing business plans? Our travel agency business template will turn a typically challenging process into a total breeze.

Modelled on a complete business plan of an travel agency in Trouville sur Mer, our template features both the financial forecast and the written part that presents the project, its team, the local market and the business strategy implemented by the management.

Cast your eyes on this template to achieve a better understanding of what your bank and investors would like to see, so that you can create a business plan that meets their expectations.

7 day free trial. No credit card required. Travel agency business plan template available with paid plans only.

How to use this travel agency business plan template

Edit the travel agency business plan template online, or download it.

There are 3 ways to use this template:

Edit it online: you can adapt this template to your business idea by changing the text or the financial forecast directly in our business planning software
Download in PDF: if you're just after a little inspiration, you can download the travel agency business plan template in PDF to read over it
Download in Word format: want to edit your plan on Word? Simply export the travel agency business plan template to Ms Word (.docx) format

online editor for travel agency business plan template

Travel agency business plan template content

This template includes a complete travel agency business plan example, with a financial forecast and the following sections:

Executive summary: the executive summary gives the reader a clear and concise overview of your business idea
Company: this section lays out the structure of your business, including its location, management team and legal form
Products and services: here, you'll give an overview of the services offered by your travel agency (excursions, business trips and international trips)
Market analysis: the market analysis is where you’ll demonstrate that there is a strong demand for your travel agency through a thorough assessment of the industry (customer profile, hot trends, regulation, competition, etc.)
Strategy: this section highlights your travel agency's game plan when it comes to pricing, marketing and mitigating risks along the way
Operations: this step lays out your travel agency's operational organisation, including the recruitment plan
Financial plan: the financial plan includes a table of sources & uses (initial funding plan), and complete financial statements (P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statements).
Appendices: this part provides the opportunity to include multiple financial appendices generated by our software (debt maturity profile, monthly financial statements, financial analysis, etc.).

cover page and table of contents for the travel agent business plan template by The Business Plan Shop

Executive summary for a travel agency business plan

The executive summary gives the reader a clear and concise overview of your business idea.

Our travel agency's executive summary is formed of the following subsections:

Business overview: in this subsection, we outline who the travel agency founders are, what legal form they've chosen for the business, and the rationale behind the choice of their location
Market overview: in this subsection, we summarize the conclusions of the market analysis performed by the travel agency's owners and explain what age groups they aim to target (our travel agency business plan template targets locals, tourists passing through Deauville-Trouville as well as small and medium-sized businesses in lower Normandy and Paris)
Financial highlights: in this subsection, we give an overview of the forecasted financial performance of the travel agency over the first 3 years of operation
Our ask: in this subsection, we outline the amount of financing required to start the travel agency and how it's going to be funded (the founders are seeking a bank loan to start their travel agency)

executive summary for travel agency business plan sample

Company overview included in our travel agency business plan sample

This section lays out the structure of your business, including its location, management team and legal form.

Our travel agency business plan template's company section is formed of the following subsections:

Structure & Ownership: in this subsection, we outline who the travel agency's shareholders are and what legal form they've chosen for the business
Location: in this subsection, we present the area surrounding the location chosen for the business and the layout and main features of the premises
Management Team: in this subsection, we give an overview of the background of each of the travel agency's founders, explain how they met and why they decided to start a company together

company overview included in travel agency business plan template

Products and services offered by the travel agency

The products and services section is where you will state the different services that your travel agency will offer (trips abroad, excursions and business trips).

In our travel agency business plan template products and services section, we cover:

Excursions in Normandy: a choice of short trips including both the D-Day beaches tour and cider distillery tour
International trips: departure from either Deauville or Caen
Custom-made business trips: a selection of seminars and team-building events in Normandy

product and services description of the travel agency business plan example

Market analysis for the opening of the travel agency

The market analysis is where you’ll demonstrate that there is a strong demand for your products and services through a thorough assessment of the industry (customer profile, hot trends, regulation, competition, etc.)

Our travel agency business plan example's market analysis section is formed of the following subsections:

Demographics and Segmentation: in this subsection, we explore the market in depth. We look at the supply and demand sides both at the national and local level, analyse the hot trends perceived by the founders, and the key statistics that will help the founders build their positioning
Target market: in this subsection, our founders explain who they view as their ideal customer (our travel agency business plan template targets locals, tourists passing through Deauville-Trouville as well as small and medium-sized business in Lower Normandy and Paris)
Competition: in this subsection, we take a look at the direct (independent or franchise travel agencies nearby) and indirect (travel agencies and tour operators online) local competition to ensure we have a differentiated positioning and that the market is large enough to accommodate the arrival of a new travel agency
Regulation: in this subsection, we give an overview of the main regulation applicable to our travel agency

market analysis section of the travel agency business plan template

Setting the strategy for our travel agency

This section highlights the company's game plan when it comes to pricing, marketing and mitigating risks along the way.

Our travel agency business plan template strategy section is formed of the following subsections:

Pricing: in this subsection, we explain how service rates are decided (our travel agency earns a 13% base rate commission through selling trips for network partners such as Tourcom) and the rationale behind our choice
Marketing plan: in this subsection, we explain what action we'll put in place to build awareness and loyalty among our travel agency customers
Milestones: in this subsection, we give an overview of the main goals we set for ourselves for the next 3 years
Risks and Mittigants: in this subsection, we perform an assessment of the medium and long-term risks that could jeopardize the financial viability of our travel agency and outline how we intend to mitigate them

travel agent business plan example: stragtegy section

Operations section of the travel agency business plan template

This part lays out the company's operational organisation, including the recruitment plan.

Our travel agent business plan operations section is formed of the following subsections:

Personnel plan: in this subsection, we explain what our opening hours will be and explain the responsibilities of each of staff member in our travel agency
Key assets and IP: in this subsection, we list the assets and intellectual property rights which are critical to our business operations and explain how we will secure and protect each of these
Suppliers: in this subsection, we give an overview of the main suppliers we will use our what commercial terms have been negotiated with them

travel agency business plan template: operations section

Financial plan included in our travel agency business plan template

This section presents the expected financial performance of the travel agency over the next 3 years.

Our travel agency business plan example's financial plan is formed of the following subsections:

Start-up funding: in this subsection, we list the cost of each item required to launch the travel agency
Important assumptions: in this subsection, we explain the methodology and the main assumptions used to build the travel agency's financial forecast
Sales forecast: in this subsection, we detail the expected revenues and growth rate for our travel agency in the coming years
Cost structure: in this subsection, we list all the expenses required for our travel agency to operate smoothly
Projected Profit & Loss statement: in this subsection, we analyse our forecasted P&L and comment on the expected profitability of our travel agency over the next 3 years
Projected cash flow statement: in this subsection, we analyse the expected cash generation of the travel agency
Projected balance sheet: in this section we give an analysis of the liquidity and solvability implied from our balance sheet

travel agency business plan forecasted P&L

Appendices of the travel agency business plan template

This part provides the opportunity to include multiple financial appendices generated by our software (debt maturity profile, monthly financial statements, financial analysis, etc.).

Our travel agency business plan template's appendices include:

A maturity profile chart showing the principal repayments of their loans over the next 3 years
A monthly cash flow forecast: showing how much cash is being generated or consumed each month over the first 3 years of operations

travel agency business plan template: monthly cash flow forecast

Travel agency business plan template sample

Executive summary, business overview.

Bersara Travel Agents will be a travel agency based in the heart of Trouville sur Mer, close to the tourist office.

Our primary aim is to help tourists experience the very best Normandy has to offer.

We will offer customers:

Excursions within Normandy
International trips from Deauville or Caen
Business trips and seminars

Bersara Travel Agents is a limited liability company managed by its two partners - Mrs Sarah F and Mr Bernard T.

Market Overview

National Market

Key figures from the French travel industry

Tourism was France's leading industry in 2014 - comprising 7.4% of the economy's total GDP.

Whilst the French travel market was dynamic at the time, it was also on the cusp of change.

In 2013, 8,122 travel agencies generated a combined turnover of €13.7bn (8.6% of the industry's total turnover).

It's estimated that French residents booked 15.4% of their trips through travel agencies or tour operators (including online bookings) in 2014. The market share of travel agencies reached 39.5% of all overseas trips booked by the French.

Local Market

With over 4 million trips made each year, Calvados is the 8th most visited region in France.

Calvados' main areas of attraction include:

The 1944 landing sites and corresponding Battle of Normandy tours
Sites linked to the history of William the Conqueror
Local produce (visits to cider distilleries and cheese factories)
Leisure activities (seaside activities, sailing, horse riding, tennis and golf)

The Coeur Côte Fleurie collection of villages, of which Trouville Sur Mer is included, has a year-round population of 20,582. This figure is, on average, six to eight times higher in the summer.

The Trouville Sur Mer tourist office, located near the agency's premises, welcomes an estimated 20,000 people in July.

Business tourism is also very prevalent within Coeur Côte Fleurie, thanks to the Centre International de Deauville (CID). The convention centre is occupied 300 days a year, hosting 150 events and accommodating 200,000 visitors.

Financial Highlights

We expect our travel agency to be profitable from year 3.

We anticipate that our turnover will increase from €488,025 in year 1 to €789,000 in year 3. The gross margin is expected to remain stable (12%) throughout.

We expect to generate an EBITDA of €-31,222 in year 1, €-13,995 in year 2 and €5,110 in year 3.

Despite the company's loss-making situation in the first two years, the business should be sufficiently capitalised to enable us to meet our loan repayments while retaining sufficient headroom to deal with unforeseen circumstances.

Bersara Travel Agents has a negative working capital requirement, which should give our startup further leeway during the first two years.

Bersara Travel Agents will require an initial investment of €55,000.

Our partners will contribute €50,000 (€25,000 in share capital and €25,000 in directors loan) i.e. 91% of the amount. We would like to obtain a bank loan of €5,000 to complete the financing.

500,000+ entrepreneurs have already used The Business Plan Shop

Easy to get started with and well-guided throughout. Lots of business plan templates to help you and writing is easy because there are explanations at each step of the process.

Quite frankly excellent because I was able to finalize my business plan in less time than expected. This software offers a very coherent and complete approach to writing your project.

It is a very well designed software that allows you to visualise each step of your project, understand if the idea is viable or not and think about the steps needed to start your business.

The software is just impeccable. Of course, it meets the requirements of people starting a business. In addition to having a tool for putting together a proper financial forecast, there is also a tool to help write the business plan.

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travel agency owner using our business plan template

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Travel agency business plan template faq.

A travel agency business plan is a written document that sets out the commercial, operational and financial objectives of the company over the next 3 to 5 years.

It consists of two main parts:

A written part that presents, in detail, your travel agency business, the team, your strategy, and your medium-term objectives.
A financial forecast that highlights the expected profitability of the travel agency and the initial funding requirements.

The lack of business planning is one of the main reasons why more than 50% of startups fail within 5 years. If you're starting a travel agency, writing a business plan is a must-have in order to reduce the risk of failure of your project.

Business plans are also required by most lenders and investors in order to secure financing, therefore a business plan is also highly recommended if you're seeking a loan or equity investment for your travel agency.

Writing a travel agency business plan without The Business Plan Shop can be both error-prone and time-consuming - whether you're new to entrepreneurship or experienced:

You'll need to research the structure of a business plan, what to include in each section, and what key elements investors and lenders expect to see
You may encounter writer's block (especially if it's the first time you're writing a business plan for your travel agency)
You'll need to create a financial forecast on a spreadsheet which requires a solid understanding of accounting and financial modelling in order to be done without error
You'll need to spend hours formatting financial data on Excel or Sheets before it's ready to integrate into your business plan
Any updates to your travel agency business plan or financial forecast will need to be done manually

Luckily for you, The Business Plan Shop's online platform and travel agency business plan template guide you through every stage of writing a business plan, so that you can spend more time managing and growing your business instead.

Our editor follows a best-in-class structure for professional business plans. Each section and subsection includes examples and instructions to help you, while our business plan templates provide further inspiration if you're stuck.

Our financial forecasting software helps you create a forecast and integrate it into your business plan with ease. Anytime you update your data, your business plan automatically updates.

And with our forecasting software all the calculations are done for you, without errors.

The budget to start and run a travel agency will depend on the exact concept and location.

If you're starting an online travel agency, your costs are likely to be much lower than if you are going to use a physical location. This is because you will save on rent and overheads amongst other expenses.

If your travel agency is located in the city centre or on any busy high street, you're likely to incur much higher expenses than if you are on the outskirts of a town or city.

A stylish website, that's well designed (professionally), will likely increase your startup costs, in comparison to a simple, yet workable website.

As an example, in our travel agency business plan template the total initial funding requirement amounted to €55,000, with the founders contributing €50,000.

In order to assess the exact budget for your travel agency idea, you need to do a financial forecast using a financial projection tool such as the one we offer .

The package we offer at The Business Plan Shop goes way beyond a simple blank template you need to fill. With our platform you get:

Access to one of the best business plan software on the market
Access to our travel agency business plan template which contains a complete example of a written business plan and financial forecast to start a travel agency
Access to our entire business plan templates library - giving you dozens of examples to take inspiration from
Access to our financial planning and analysis platform so that you can track the actual performance of your business against what you had planned in your business plan and re-plan easily

But you shouldn't take our word for it: try our solution for free and make your own opinion!

The free trial enables you to try the software for free during 7 days in order to verify that it meets your requirements before buying.

Some features are limited during the free trial, the main limits are:

You can only create one business plan
The financials of the first year are visible, but data for other years are hidden
You can export your plan in PDF but not in Word or CSV
No access to our business plan templates

You can create your account and start your free trial here .

Access to our template is included with all our paid subscriptions.

Please visit our pricing page to learn about this in more detail.

Other business plan templates and resources to discover

IMAGES

Free Tour Operator Business Plan Template
11+ Travel Business Plan Templates
The All-In-One Tour Operator Costing Sheet
Tour Operator Business Plan Powerpoint Presentation Slides
How to Set Up a Tour Operator Business Plan
Turo Business Plan Template

VIDEO

Important Business Idea || Growing Business Plan for Beginners
Business Plan Template
Travel Services
Part 1: My 1st year in business, full review
Business Plan, Do You Really Need One?
How to Start an Event Management Business

COMMENTS

Tour Operator Business Plan [Free Template
Writing a tour operator business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan: 1. Executive Summary. An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and ...
How to Set Up a Tour Operator Business Plan
1. Business overview. This section of your tour operator/ tour agency business plan provides a holistic snapshot of your company, offering readers a clear understanding of your business's identity. Ideally, it should include the following: Business Name: Your business name should resonate with your target audience, conveying the essence of ...
How to write a business plan for a tour operator?
A business plan has 2 parts: a financial forecast highlighting the expected growth, profitability and cash generation of the business; and a written part which provides the context needed to interpret and assess the quality of the forecast. Using business plan software is the modern way of writing and maintaining business plans.
PDF Entrepreneur Tour Operator Toolkit Tour Operator Business Plan Guide
With your Business Model prepared, you can now more easily complete your Tour Operator Business Plan. Your tour operator business plan should contain at least seven sections: 1. an executive summary, 2. a company overview, 3. a description of your services, 4. an analysis of your market, 5. an implementation plan, 6. a team summary, and 7.
How to create a tour operator business plan in 8 steps
Tour Operator Business Plan Template. Your tour operator business plan should contain at least seven sections: an executive summary, a company overview, a description of your services, an analysis of your market, an implementation plan, a team summary, and a financial plan. You might have one or more appendices at the end, if you have ...
Travel Tour Agency Business Plan Example
Thus far we have purchased a Mercedes Benz mini bus to run tours for our customers, for P167,00, which was purchased with P32,000 down and the rest on a 5-year 6% loan. Other start-up expenses covered include legal costs, business plan compilation, license costs and related expenses. Logo, branding.
How To Make A Tour And Travel Business Plan
Your financial plan is an essential element of successful business planning. When creating a business plan, you should include revenue forecasts and expenses. They can also include pricing strategy, cost control methods, cash flow forecasts, financial statements and balance sheets. Having a tour financial plan will help you make better business ...
How to start a Tour Operator business in 2024
Name your tour business. The first thing you need to do is name your business. Your tour name will be used in all of your documentation. Make sure your name is both memorable and descriptive. The most important is if the website domain is available.
How to create a business plan for a tour or activity company
1. Fill our Business Model worksheet. We've created a Business Model worksheet especially for tour and activity business owners looking to define their business ambitions and map a direction forward. Print out a copy, have a few pens handy, and unleash your business creativity. You could also have fun covering a large print-out with Post-it notes.
Free Travel Tour Agency Business Plan Template + Example
Follow these tips to quickly develop a working business plan from this sample. 1. Don't worry about finding an exact match. We have over 550 sample business plan templates. So, make sure the plan is a close match, but don't get hung up on the details. Your business is unique and will differ from any example or template you come across.
Tour Company Business Plan
Basic Information. A tour company business plan contains several sections to be developed in a clear and detailed manner, such as a description of the company, partnership opportunities, and market analysis. It will also include information for an operations plan, a marketing plan, and a list of the products and services your company will provide.
Tips To Put Together A Killer Tour Operator Business Plan
Defining your business goals and having a clear vision of the path to achieving them is the first step you should take when starting a tour operator company. Decide on what you want your business to look like now, in a year, in 3 years, and then further into the future. Success doesn't happen by chance - it is a product of strategy and hard ...
Travel Tour Agency Sample Business Plan
The tour package will include an information folder, guided tour and refreshments. This tour will cover approximately 200 kilometers taking the whole day to complete. Cost: PY per person. "The Essence: Past & Present" - City & Cultural Tour: This will be a combination of the cultural tour and city centre excursion.
How to Develop a Successful Tour Operator Business Model
Answer questions of that nature and you'll be able to come up with at least 10 objectives and steps that you need to take to get there. Expand your tour activity selection. In order to do so, you need to find gaps in the market that you can meet with your resources and experience. Reach a new market segment.
Tour Operator Business Plan Guide
Download Business Plan Guide PDF. With your Business Model prepared, you can now more easily complete your Tour Operator Business Plan. Your tour operator business plan should contain at least seven sections: an executive summary, a company overview, a description of your services, an analysis of your market, an implementation plan, a team ...
How to Create a tourism Business Plan?
Needless to say, tour marketing is one of the most important aspects of your tour business. Your business plan should have a detailed marketing strategy and promotional tactics, including pricing strategy, advertising channels, and innovative tactics. It should also leverage social media and other tourism-related technology to reach your target ...
PDF Travel Agency Business Plan Example
Get access to Upmetrics software, invite your team members and start writing your business plan. 1. Get tried and tested tips. Upmetrics business plan builder gives you everything you need to stay in sync and guides you on every step of your business plan writing. 3. Stunning business plan cover pages.
Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template
Main Elements of Tour Operators Marketing Plan Template. ClickUp's Tour Operators Marketing Plan template is designed to help you effectively market your tour operator business. Here are the main elements of this List template: Custom Statuses: Track the progress of your marketing tasks with 6 different statuses - Cancelled, Complete, In ...
Tour operator Business Plan
Promotional Strategies. This part of the business plan ensures that people appreciate the services of the tour operators company, know that it exists, and how they can contact you to buy tickets. The marketing will convey the sense of quality in every picture, every promotion, and every publication. The promotional strategy of the business ...
How to Start a Tour Operator Business
Research and Planning. The first step in starting a tour operator business is conducting extensive research and meticulous planning. Begin by identifying your target market and determining the types of tours you want to offer. Consider the interests and preferences of your potential customers, and tailor your tours accordingly.
Tour Operator Business Plan Template
This business plan comes with suggestive content you can easily customize to your needs. An unapologetically-made business plan that you can view and edit in your computer, laptop, tablet & even smartphone. Download this Tour Operator Business Plan and map your direction towards success! Pro Download Template. Word.
How To Write A Great Business Plan For A Tour Operator
Financial Plan. This area is your eyes! Your financial forecast is incredibly important for any startup tour operator business. Every penny going in and every penny going out should be included. This will allow you to see how to price effectively, marketing budgets, cost of sales, staff costs and every element of monies concerning your business.
Travel agency business plan template
Download this business plan template for a travel agency in PDF or Word format, or tailor it to your project directly in our business plan software. ... It's estimated that French residents booked 15.4% of their trips through travel agencies or tour operators (including online bookings) in 2014. The market share of travel agencies reached 39.5% ...

How to create a tour operator business plan in 8 steps

Preparing to Write a Business Plan

Executive Summary

Company Overview

Operations Plan

Market Analysis

Implementation

Team Summary

Financial Plan

Additional Information

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How to start a Tour Operator business in 2024

Find your passion

Evaluate your city

Dig into travel and tourism trends

Identify your target market

Research your competitors

Register your tour company

Name your tour business

Register your business

Get your business license and permits

Purchase liability insurance

Register as a tour guide

Open a business bank account

Design your tour

Write your business plan

Create your Unique Selling Proposition

Set your tour pricing

Craft your brand story

Design a tour logo

Build a travel website

Set up an online booking system

Build Relationships

Talk to other tour guides

Connect with the local tourism community

Market Your Tour

List your tours on OTAs

Implement SEO best practices

Buy Google Adwords

Start email marketing

Get on Facebook and Instagram

Launch Your Tour

Host Your Friends and Family

Final thoughts

Want to get your tour business off to a running start?

Join the 30 Day ‘Things to Do’ Challenge for Tour Operators.

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Travel Tour Agency Sample Business Plan

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Travel Tour Agency Business Plan

1. Objectives

3. Keys to Success

2. Company Summary

1. Company Ownership