We open a travel agency (firm). How to open a travel agency in Russia: how much it costs and how to properly organize a tourism business

In Europe and America, people have long abandoned the services of large agencies and companies in favor of independent consultants. Similar trends are observed in our country.

Becoming a tour operator is an opportunity to create an excellent launching pad for further development own business.

What attracts people to this job? High salaries, constant travel ... For many, the life of a travel agent seems like a real fairy tale. But at the same time, almost no one dares to take any decisive steps towards the fulfillment of their dreams. Do you want to be among them? Then this article is for you!

Step 1. Training

Interested in how to become a tour operator, you first need to figure out where and how you will be trained.

There are two options here: regular colleges and universities, as well as special operator training schools.

The first option is attractive because you will study in depth all the disciplines related to tourism and hospitality, get a huge base of theoretical knowledge. However, it will take several years to complete the entire course of study. The alternative is distance learning. Actually, in the very educational institution you will appear 2-3 times a year, and the rest of the time you can use to prepare the ground for further work.

If you want to get the maximum of useful practical information and get to work as soon as possible, it would be more logical to enroll in a special operator training school. Here you will learn how to become a tour operator, get an overview of travel destinations, sales and booking systems, marketing, etc.

Step 2. Obtain certification

Work as a tour operator is impossible without obtaining certification. For your future clients, this will be proof of your competence and deep knowledge of the specifics of your activities. Therefore, you will be much more trustworthy.

As a rule, the corresponding certificates can be obtained at the place of study. But some people turn to the International Association CLIA, which offers certification programs that are well-known and respected in the tourism industry.

Step 3. Obtaining a license

If you want to have your own travel agency, it is better to register the business with a legal entity (CJSC, LLC, etc.). But for those who want to become a travel agent (that is, an intermediary between a travel agency and its clients), it will be enough to register as an individual entrepreneur - PBOYUL. To obtain a license, you will need to pay a state fee of 1300 rubles.

You should be aware that the license to sell and pre-book air travel is issued separately. Certification conditions are dictated by the Federal Aviation Rules. At the same time, certain requirements are imposed on the premises, staff, security and reservation systems. If you intend to sell not only tours, but also air tickets, you will need to conclude an agreement with the airline and obtain this certificate.

Having decided to become a travel agent, it is very important to choose the right OKVED codes. The most commonly used code is 63.30 - “Activities of travel agencies”. In addition, it is advisable to apply for inclusion in the All-Russian Register of Travel Agencies.

Step 4. Choosing a tour operator company

Perhaps this is the most important step. The travel agent can independently choose which of the many operators to cooperate with. When choosing, you should take into account the amount of remuneration, the reputation of the company in the market and the convenience of work.

An important question that is faced by almost everyone who is interested in how to become a travel agent: "Where can I find these same operators?" The easiest way to do this is by visiting specialized tourism fairs, exhibitions, etc. It is best to “catch your luck” in Moscow, where such events are held annually (MITT, MITF, Intourmarket, Otdykh). Hundreds of representatives of various companies and organizations gather here. As they say, there are plenty to choose from. In addition, you can visit similar regional exhibitions.

Various conferences and fairs are also held in the workshop format by professional travel publications (Tourbusiness, Banco, Turinfo, Travel Expert consulting group, etc.). The atmosphere at the workshop, as a rule, is more relaxed and businesslike than at exhibitions. There are more opportunities to meet partners, discuss important issues and tune in to work.

Step 5. Conclusion of the contract

And now we got to the most important thing. How to become a travel agent? After you have decided on the choice of a tour operator, you will need to sign an agency agreement. Under the terms of such a document, you will receive a reward for each sold tour. The amount of remuneration may vary, but on average it is about 10-15% of the cost of the tour itself. If in the future you will prove yourself well in the eyes of the tour operator and will successfully sell tours, the percentage that you receive from each transaction may increase.

In addition, partners of travel agencies that are members of the agency Networks (for example, Kuda.ru or the Hot Voyage Store Network) receive an increased commission. Due to strong corporate support, agencies that are members of such networks (which, by the way, are not so easy to get into) have the opportunity to deduct a fairly large percentage of their income.

Step 6. Advertising

Suppose you have already found a suitable company and signed an agreement. Done: now you are a tour operator in Italy, France, Greece or Russia. It would seem that everything is going well, but ... But no, for some reason you managed to sell only a few tickets in a few weeks. And then to your friends. This is where the lack of advertising for your services comes into play.

First of all, we would recommend that you pay attention to the numerous publications, catalogs and applications that publish travel advertisements. Of course, it is not easy to stand out among hundreds and thousands of other offers. Therefore, first of all, you need to decide on your target audience.

After compulsory licensing of tourism activities in Russia was canceled in 2007, many entrepreneurs began to wonder how to open a travel agency from scratch, and the Internet was full of step-by-step instructions for this type of business. It is not surprising, starting investments are minimal, and this profitable business with small investments pays off after selling only 500 vouchers. What do you need to open a travel agency and where to start?

There are 2 types of service providers in the tourism services market - travel agencies and tour operators. Travel agencies sell ready-made tours, while operators develop them: they select hotels and book rooms in them, organize air travel, and they also set the amount of commission that a travel agency will receive for selling tours.

Travel agencies, in turn, are of two types: some specialize in domestic tours, while others specialize in international ones.

Opening a profitable travel agency from scratch

So, before you open a travel agency from scratch, you need to choose priority sending tourists - abroad or within the country. In the first case, they usually offer some unique thematic trips, for example, visiting all the major churches in Russia in 7 days or an ecotour with a demonstration of how strawberry cultivation is organized using Dutch technology, and foreigners can also be received. In the case of international destinations, they usually rely on popular beach holidays and elite expensive tours.

What do you need to open a travel agency?

• Registration of an agency as a quality legal entity- LLC or IP. In most cases, the form of an individual entrepreneur is more profitable, since it is less expensive and does not require authorized capital. However, some tour operators refuse to work with firms registered as individual entrepreneurs.
• Room rental. It is enough to find a room with an area of ​​20 m2 and preferably in the city center. There is also an opinion that it is better to locate the office next to other travel agencies, as customers love choice and will gladly go to all the nearest firms to choose the best tour and the best price.
• Repair and arrangement of the premises. Cosmetic repairs of an office with an area of ​​20 m2 will cost from 50,000 rubles. About 18,000 rubles more will have to be spent on two telephone lines, as well as on the Internet. In total, about 100,000 rubles will need to be spent on the furnishings and the purchase of equipment.
• Until 2007, step-by-step instructions on how to open a travel agency included obtaining a license from scratch and collecting documentation, but now paperwork has been reduced to a minimum, which is why everyone is attracted this species business.
• Obtaining statistics codes and opening a bank account, not forgetting to report this to the tax office.
• Acquisition of access to a single search database for tours and tour operators. The most common example is tourindex.ru. Access costs from 13,000 rubles for half a year and allows you to quickly show the client all possible offers without going to the website of each tour operator. Any step-by-step instruction on how to open a travel agency from scratch will certainly note that access to the database of tour operators is the most important step. If funds allow, you can also purchase special software to simplify workflow, it costs about 9,000 rubles and is designed for 4 seats.
• Search and hiring of personnel. A minimum of 2 sales managers will be required, and the business owner himself usually combines customer service and administrative work. They usually do not hire an accountant, but pay a part-time job 5-8 thousand rubles a month. The salary of managers is approximately 10,000 rubles + 1-3% from the sale of tours. Employees are also periodically sent on study tours to popular destinations.
• Signboard, advertising and website creation - customer search. Here, too, you need to decide on priorities - to bet on the Internet or traditional advertising, because today both directions are costly. However, all the companies that have been thinking about how to open a travel agency and what is needed for this eventually agree on one opinion - the best advertising is word of mouth, recommendations from satisfied customers.

The average price of a tour in popular destinations is about $700-800. The agency earns on average 10% commission from the sale of the tour, that is, $ 70-80. In the first year of the company's work, there will be few orders, about 40 contracts per month in summer and only 15-20 in winter. The most difficult thing is to survive the off-season in the first year, as well as send 400-500 clients abroad. If the company has successfully survived the first year of operation, then in the future the number of customers will constantly grow by 2-3 times.

And when the travel agency is quite strong, it can try to become a tour operator. To do this, you will need to buy a liability insurance policy for 5 million rubles and enter the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators. This will allow you to independently create tours, satisfying the demand of regular customers for exotic destinations and set your own prices.

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How to start a travel agency from scratch and succeed

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Opening a travel company in a third world country

Business idea: opening a travel company in a third world country. Who it's for: Everyone. Necessary resources: the premises in which the company will be located; qualified guides who speak foreign languages.

You can't beat the big players by cutting prices, so you'll have to work hard to get your services worth the money you ask for them. The services that make you stand out from the rest are very important. The overall quality of services is the key to success.

Tourism is an extremely competitive industry, and by opening a travel agency, you are setting yourself up for a large number of hard work. And when starting a business, you will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity for a free or extremely cheap vacation - you simply will not have time. So the motivation should be related to the job and the services you provide.

You will be negotiating with people all day long, in person or on the phone, which takes effort, even if you enjoy talking to people. If you don't have the stamina for that, you shouldn't open a travel agency.

In the tourism business, it is more important not to sell tours, but rather to sell consultations. Your customers want to be sure they can rent a car, go for a walk or get a vegetarian meal. It is very important to provide them with a personal touch.

You do not need to have experience in tourism. It will help, of course, but the most important thing is to be ready for quick learning.

How to start

It is quite possible to open a travel agency from home with a computer and telephone. You can start building a client relationship with friends and family, so it's technically easy to get started.

But you need to think big if you want the business to survive. Competition at the local level or at the street level is not enough high level for business success. A truly local business will not survive in such a market. It needs to be available all over the country.

Look for areas that are not yet well covered by travel agencies and start a business there. Or you can start a business that provides specialized travel services and does not require an office.

How much does it cost?

Office costs can be very high, but if your travel agency is highly specialized, you can save on office space by renting in an area where it is the cheapest.

Staff:

However, a remote but cheaper office can be a disadvantage when it comes to hiring staff. It's not an industry that earns very high salaries, but there is competition for good staff.

Look for people who have experience in tourism and who will be attracted to a cheap vacation and offer them good conditions work. Roughly speaking, you will need to spend as much on salaries as on office rent, but you need to be prepared to pay more for experience or knowledge of foreign languages.

Before you open a travel agency, you need to think about how customers find out about your company. Local newspapers, yellow pages, teletext - good ways but they are not cheap.

Word of mouth advertising is effective, but be aware that this is not a business where, with good service, you will definitely be contacted again. Your customers will tell their friends about the great service they have received, but high price competition will force people to explore other options, even if they end up coming to you.

Opening a travel agency

Develop a plan

Develop a realistic business plan for opening your travel agency. You will need to compete successfully with both existing agencies and websites where people can book their own hotel and plane tickets. If you don't have experience in the tourism business, you can work for an existing travel agency for a few months to get one.

You should also have a realistic financial plan. After compiling it, consult with an accountant.

Define a Niche

When developing a travel agency business plan, focus on your distinguishing features. Extended vacations, trips that include more than one flight and hotel reservations, and guided tours are much more difficult to plan using online services. Many firms also prefer independent organization of trips using the Internet to work with a certain travel agency. When defining your niche, focus on what interests you and what you are good at. If you have great experience, for example, in excursion tours to Europe, it is better to open a travel agency that specializes in such tours. If you have connections in the business environment and experience in organizing corporate travel, it is better to open a travel agency focused specifically on companies.

Create connections

Advertise your travel agency by emphasizing your specialization and targeting potential clients. In your promotional material, such as a brochure or website, describe your experience organizing tours and why it would be difficult for people to organize tours themselves. Based on your knowledge, you may be able to save clients money by bundling tours or organizing them at less busy times of the year.

Travel agency profit

A travel agency's arrival is the commission it receives for selling a tour operator's package. The visibility of your travel company is important, because international tour operators will not give a large commission to an unknown organization. Commissions can vary greatly.

The minimum commission starts from 10%, and for well-known travel agencies it reaches 18%. So it will be difficult for you to compete if you are just starting out.

For example, if the average cost of a voucher is 25,000 rubles, then by selling 4 vouchers per day, you can get an income of 300,000 rubles. per month, which should be enough to cover the costs.

How to start a franchise travel agency

How to open a travel agency and not go bankrupt in the first year? (and this happens to 90% of new firms) One solution to this problem is to open a franchise travel agency. You will be provided with a business model, a ready-made brand, contacts with a tour operator, and well-established business processes. Of course, you will have to pay for this, but, as a rule, the fee is not very high.

If you are new to the business, then a franchise is the best way for you to open a travel agency. Unfortunately, to date Russian market There are not very many travel agents in the franchise market, so the franchisee's choice will be limited.

How to start a tourism business

It must be understood that travel business- the concept is much broader than a travel agency or travel agency. The tourism business includes hotels, transportation, organization of excursions, etc. In general, there are 2 areas of tourism business:

1) Your clients are vacationing elsewhere. Your company organizes the collection of documents, delivery and negotiates with the host, which is engaged in servicing tourists. Almost the entire tourist business in Russia operates according to this scheme.

2) Another option is to accept tourists from other cities and countries. Most of the tourism business in countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Spain, Greece, etc. works according to this scheme. Although there are travel agencies there that provide local residents with the opportunity to relax in another country.

The organization of the tourism business of the first direction is much simpler, since it does not require the creation of infrastructure, the construction of hotels, keeping the sights clean, ensuring the safety of tourists, etc. Usually, when people in Russia talk about the organization of the tourist business, they mean exactly this.

The tourism business related to the first direction can be conditionally divided into 2 areas: travel agencies and tour operators. Travel agencies are engaged in the resale of ready-made tourism products, and usually they do not require large investments to open. Tour operators, on the other hand, are organizing tours, often renting planes and hotels abroad. They carry significant risks, but also receive significant profits. They are engaged in the implementation of their tours both themselves and with the help of travel agencies.

In the tourism business, one should not confuse a travel agency and a tour operator. The difference is that travel agencies sell tours, and tour operators organize them. You can open a tour operator company, but you need to compete with large companies that buy seats in airplanes and hotels in bulk, which allows you to reduce the cost of their tours.

How to become a travel agent

So, you have decided to become a travel agent, that is, to sell vouchers for one or more tour operators. You do not bear significant risks, but the most difficult problem of business falls on you - the problem of sales.

Business idea: open a travel agency from scratch

And you need to solve it well, because commissions are the only source of your income.

First of all, it is necessary to determine the direction of activity. Will you work only in the most popular destinations (Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt) or will you provide tours to almost all countries? Will you specialize in beach holiday or skiing? What tour operators will you work with?

When the answers to these questions are ready, you need to think about how you will attract customers. Use advertising in print media and the Internet, give the company a good name, come up with a twist. And don't forget to serve your customers well so that they will come back to you again and bring their friends.

How to become a tour operator

Becoming a tour operator requires a significant initial investment. It is the tour operators who organize tours and set prices for them, as well as the size of the commission for travel agents.

Most often, tour operators emerge from successfully developing travel agencies, thus immediately having a market for their services.

How to open a travel company without start-up capital

Open a travel company start-up capital possible, but you need to understand that in this case you will have to give up all the benefits associated with high costs. And this is, first of all, the office, advertising and staff. The problem of lack of staff is easily solved. As long as the profits are small, you can do everything yourself. When the number of clients increases, and, consequently, the volume of work and profits, you can hire staff to help you. Lack of office due to lack of staff is also not a big problem. You just need to find another place to meet with clients.

Lack of money for advertising is a serious problem. It is necessary to look for clients on your own, without spending a lot of money, to build a client base. You can use the Internet, communicate with as many people as possible and tell them about your services ... By and large, opening a travel company without start-up capital is the solution to this problem.

How to open a travel agency to work with corporate clients

Work with corporate clients is singled out as a separate niche of the tourism business, and if you open a travel agency, focusing on them, you can get many advantages. But entering this market can be difficult. Many companies have their own staff who deal with tours, or travel agencies with which they have been cooperating for a long time. However, new companies regularly appear that do not yet have established relationships with travel agencies, and some companies are not satisfied with the work of travel agencies with which they cooperate, so starting a travel agency can be a good idea. Or you can find a place as an independent travel agent working from home. In any case, with the right approach, you can earn very good money.

Responsibilities

Owners of travel agencies working with corporate clients often have to deal with various responsibilities. In addition to buying air tickets (and adding a surcharge to their cost) and performing other functions typical of travel agents, corporate travel agencies can also provide the following additional services:

• Search for hot tours
• Assistance in obtaining visas and passports
• Organization of delivery of clients to the airport
• Fulfillment of special requirements of managers (for example, renting limousines, delivering cardio equipment to the room, etc.)
• Implementation of all arrangements required to enable the client company to attend all congresses and conferences
• Provision of scheduling services for all other meetings
• Providing cost management services to help clients keep costs under control

The nature of the corporate business model is such that many services may require very short notice.

But instead of becoming a nuisance, urgent work is always an opportunity to take large commissions, although in this situation you need to act according to the circumstances. It may not be worth raising prices for an important client who has a lot of orders, unless they are always urgent.

Potential clients

Almost any company is your potential client, although it is more likely that large companies with a large number of employees will work with travel agencies. Most likely, your clients will also include:

• Companies too small to support tour staff and too busy to do so
• Departments involved in the organization of tours, in large companies. They might need your help
• Travel agencies that can not cope with the volume of work
• High-ranking executives who travel so often that they need a person who will deal only with their plans.
• Musicians (including bands) and professional athletes

Some people can visit several countries at once in a year. That is why the idea of ​​opening a travel agency is just perfect for starting your own business. In the market of tourist services there are travel agents, as well as tour operators.

Tour operators are engaged in the creation of a tourist package, which includes: developing routes, buying charters, booking hotel rooms, arranging transfers, organizing the reception and departure of tourists, helping in choosing excursions.

Travel agents, in essence, are sellers of travel packages (such intermediaries), they are directly connected with tour operators, having concluded an agreement with them for the provision of their services. The income of travel agents is the percentage of the income of the tours sold by them.

Before you open a travel agency you need to know:

1. A crowded place is perfect for opening a travel agency, it is desirable that there are some public institutions nearby: banks, offices, business centers, etc., because in the future they will be your regular customers. Do not skimp on the arrangement of the premises, make it as beautiful as possible, you can create a thematic style, in general, it should show the level of your services and attitude towards the client.

2. All information about your agency should be in a prominent place so that the client can easily read it. Although a license is not needed now, there should be insurance for your activities, so hang it on the wall. Also in each season of work, you will receive positive reviews and thanks from travel agents, it can also raise your reputation in the eyes of customers.

3. Please note that before you open a travel agency, you will face a lot of difficulties and it will take a lot of time. Therefore, it is recommended to immediately buy a tourist business, this will save you from many organizational issues.

4. Depending on the amount of finances you have, you can even think about an already well-promoted and successful tourist business, this will be a very big advantage in your future work. Success will be affected by factors such as: famous name, a positive reputation, a large customer base, as well as a well-known location of the agency. If you agree to leave the former employees, this will also become a significant advantage, because skilled workers who know their business are in short supply in our time.

5. But before taking a ready-made tour. business, carefully familiarize yourself with its background, find out about its reputation, popularity among customers, what market share it occupies, this is necessary due to the fact that the competition is very, very big. Be sure to find out about the reviews, whether there are complaints or complaints, and most importantly, whether this agency should not sue.

Detailed business plan for a travel agency and travel agency:

If you still decide to open your own travel company, then we will tell you in detail how it is worth starting this business, so that in a short period of time you can make money on it.

1. To begin with, the right step is to draw up a business plan for your agency, analyze the budget, it should be chosen with a margin. Get acquainted with the demand for tourism services in your area, as well as the level of competition, because it is very high. If you don't trust your own insights into a situation, then the best thing to do is to turn to people who specialize in the specifics of marketing research.

2. Before you register any business activity, you need to go through a lot of legal nuances. There are two ways to register a travel agency: as a private entrepreneur or a limited liability company. Since the requirement for licenses for travel agencies has been abolished these days, when concluding an agreement with a tour operator, you can immediately begin your activities.

3. If you are still determined to obtain a license for the full right to engage in tourism activities, then for this you will need to go through a number of legal procedures that meet the requirements of the state. These requirements include the following conditions: your staff must be 20% of employees with an average special education in the field of tourism, or from people who have worked for more than three years in this field, and they must also have well-developed communication skills.

4. The director of a travel agency must have a higher, secondary specialized education, and his work experience in the field of tourism must be more than three years.

5. As a room for a travel agency, an office with an area of ​​25 sq. meters. The city center will be the perfect place to discover it. The premises should have a main entrance and preferably a place for parking cars.

Business idea: How to open a travel agency from scratch?

The location for the new travel agency should be chosen near other, the same agencies. Thus, it will be convenient for customers to choose between offers. The main criteria by which the client chooses a travel agency are the quality of the hotel being booked and the amount of the discount provided. The office space should please the eye of the client, because people who want to use your services have high hopes for the agency and have solid money in their pockets, so you should not disappoint their expectations. No matter what size the room, the sign should attract attention and be memorable.

6. Agreement with tour operators. Before choosing several tour operators, decide what target audience your travel agency will have, in what area of ​​​​recreation it will work. Also solve the issue with the specialization of tours, usually they are international and domestic.

7. For greater confidence, it is recommended to conclude an agreement with ten tour operators. About half of them should correspond to the key areas that your travel agency specializes in, good example there will be Egypt and Turkey, because these are one of the most popular holiday countries. The remaining operators can be divided into other, less popular areas, this is necessary to expand the range and load the agency with work. This division will be correct because at the end of the season of the main offers, people who prefer to travel all year round will be able to choose from many other packages.

8. Not a little an important factor, when choosing an operator, there will be his time in the travel services market, as well as the trust of customers and, of course, reputation.

Do not get hung up on any of the tour operators, justifying this with the personal appeal and fame of the company. It would be more correct to distribute contracts, each of which would correspond to its own direction. Thus, the client will be able to choose the most suitable price for the provision of hotel services. You will not always have clients with full wallets, so you need to balance the prices so that they suit everyone.

The tour operator is the main factor in earning your capital. The amount of the commission can vary from 5 to 16 percent for each ticket sold.

9. After you open a travel agency, the next step is to promote and promote your agency. At first, you will have to shell out a lot for advertising, so initially invest this cost in your business plan. As a rule, waste will be: for advertising on the Internet, on TV and in newspapers. Never resort to one-time advertising, as experience shows - this is money down the drain, the frequency of publications should be high, only thanks to this method, you will reach a large number of target audiences. Please note, depending on the level and cost of the services you offer, it is necessary to place advertising in those places where it will be seen by citizens who can afford these services.

10. You should not count on clients in the form of acquaintances and friends, no matter how strange it may sound, but it is these people who will rarely resort to your services. Although this is contradictory information, but as statistics show, the influx of this group of people comes only after your company is sufficiently promoted and becomes quite famous. We wish that your business in the field of tourism will bring you a positive result in short time, and yours tour operator has gained many satisfied and wealthy clients who will return again and again.

The travel agency organizes day trips around the city. Should an agency issue travel vouchers?

Answer: If a travel agency organizes one-day sightseeing trips around the city, then it should not issue tourist vouchers.

Rationale: In order to determine whether travel packages are required for day trips, it is necessary to define what constitutes a travel package.

According to Art. 1 of the Federal Law of November 24, 1996 N 132-FZ "On the basics of tourism activities in Russian Federation"(hereinafter - Law N 132-FZ) a tourist voucher is a document containing the conditions of travel, confirming the fact of payment for a tourist product and being a form of strict accountability.

Tourism is temporary trips (travels) of citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons from a permanent place of residence for health-improving, recreational, educational, physical culture and sports, professional and business, religious and other purposes without engaging in activities related to generating income from sources in the country (place) of temporary residence.

A tourist product is a set of transportation and accommodation services provided for a total price (regardless of the inclusion in the total price of the cost of excursion services and (or) other services) under an agreement on the sale of a tourist product.

A tourist is a person who visits the country (place) of temporary stay for health-improving, recreational, educational, physical culture and sports, professional and business, religious and other purposes without engaging in activities related to generating income from sources in the country (place) of temporary stay, for a period of 24 hours to 6 months in a row or spending at least one overnight stay in the country (place) of temporary residence.

The customer of a tourist product is precisely a tourist or another person who orders a tourist product on behalf of a tourist.

Tourist activities are activities related to the organization of travel (Article 1 of Law No. 132-FZ).

These definitions make it possible to identify signs of activity that are directly related to tourism activities. Such signs, in particular, include: leaving the place of residence for a period of more than 24 hours and less than 6 months, the presence of certain purposes of departure (cognitive, medical and recreational, etc.), accommodation in the country (place) of temporary residence, etc.

For persons visiting the country (place) of temporary stay for educational purposes for a period of less than 24 hours without spending the night in the country (place) of temporary stay and using the services of a guide (guide), guide-interpreter, Law N 132-FZ singles out a special term - a sightseer .

Tourist agency

One-day city tours do not fall under the definition of travel and tourism, and are not fully a tourist product, since they do not involve the departure of citizens from their permanent place of residence and the provision of accommodation services. This means that the activity of a travel agency in organizing one-day excursions is not a tourist activity.

However, day trips (excursions), although not directly related to tourism, can be indirectly related to tourism activities if the services for organizing one-day excursions are part of a single tourism product. In this case, one-day sightseeing trips are partially regulated by Law N 132-FZ.

If a travel agency organizes one-day excursion trips as an independent service, then this activity is subject to regulation in accordance with Ch. 39 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the provision of paid services.

In addition, according to Art. 4.1 of Law N 132-FZ, organizations providing excursion services on the territory of the Russian Federation for no more than 24 hours in a row are not required to have financial security in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Thus, based on the analysis of the legal nature of the organization of one-day excursions within the city, it can be concluded that this activity, carried out as the provision of independent services, does not relate to tourism activities and is not subject to regulation by Law N 132-FZ.

According to the provisions of Federal Law No. 54-FZ of 22.05.2003 "On the use of cash registers in cash settlements and (or) settlements using payment cards", organizations and individual entrepreneurs engaged in cash settlements and (or) settlements using payment cards are required to use cash register equipment included in the State Register. Organizations and individual entrepreneurs, in accordance with the procedure determined by the Government of the Russian Federation, can carry out cash settlements and (or) settlements using payment cards without the use of cash registers in the case of providing services to the public, provided that they issue the appropriate strict reporting forms (clause 2 of Art. 2 of the Federal Law N 54-FZ).

A tourist voucher is a form of strict reporting, and its form is approved by the Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 9, 2007 N 60n "On approval of the form of a strict reporting form."

Forms of forms of strict reporting, approved before the entry into force of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 06.05.2008 N 359 "On the procedure for making cash settlements and (or) settlements using payment cards without the use of cash registers", are used by organizations and individual entrepreneurs providing the population with such services for which these forms are approved by orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia.

Consequently, an organization engaged in tourism activities has the right to carry out cash payments without the use of cash registers in the case of providing services to the population, subject to the execution and issuance of a strict accountability document "Tourist Voucher".

Registration of a tourist voucher is mandatory for organizations engaged in tourism activities (Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia of 10.06.2010 N 03-01-15 / 4-120, the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow of 01.11.2010 N 17-15-114738; p. 3 Letters of Rospotrebnadzor dated August 31, 2007 N 0100/8935-07-32 "On the peculiarities of law enforcement practice related to ensuring the protection of consumer rights in the field of tourism services").

This means that for the implementation of other, non-tourist activities, including the organization of one-day excursion trips as an independent service, it is not necessary to issue a tourist voucher.

M. R. Zabelina

Auditing company LLC "INSEI"

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Friends, I greet you! Today I will tell you how to open a business available to every novice entrepreneur, namely, how to become a travel agent from scratch.

This case is suitable for those who like to travel on their own. Being engaged in tourist business, you will have a rest in different countries through your company.

Niche, I think, is very relevant in our time. For a long time it was difficult to go on vacation abroad and now people are having a blast. Many have a rest and two - three times a year.

You do not have to buy and sell anything, impose unnecessary dietary supplements or some other goods on people. You simply arrange tours, help people choose a vacation spot according to their budget and needs.

To get started, choose a travel agency through which you will start working. Agencies such as Tez Tour, Pegasus, Biblio sell their franchises, but when working with them you should only sell their tours and the franchise itself is paid.

I propose to become a good travel agent through the operator " Ross Tour". They do not need to pay for the franchise, and if you set up your ads well, you will bypass all competitors.

Your expenses for initial stage will be for the purchase of a computer, printer, or you can use what you already have. Then you will have to pay for office rent, Internet. I do not advise opening a travel agency at home, it is better to receive tourists in the office and communicate with them personally.

It will be necessary to buy office furniture, namely a table and chairs, a sofa for customers who are waiting in line. Order a sign in any advertising agency and advertise.

The most important thing is a properly configured advertisement, only through it will the first customers come to you. Then they will come and follow the recommendations, if people like how you communicate with him and how promptly you serve.

How to become a travel agent is now clear. Let's see now how the whole workflow takes place.

For example, a person is looking for a trip to Bulgaria for three days, so that there is a first line, a sandy beach and a pool. You go to the site tophotels.ru and it gives different variants tours.

After that, go to the site ecenter.travel and look at the price of such tours, show them to the client, and he already chooses what suits him and goes to rest, and you get your interest from the tour operator.

Your travel agency will bring in good money, provided it has a convenient office location and good advertising.

For the season from May to September, it is really possible to earn a million rubles of net profit. Yes, and most go to relax on those resorts, vouchers for which you sell.

What will be your share of the profits? For example, you sold a ticket for 130 thousand rubles for 11 days. You get an average of 10% from it, it depends on the operator your customers will fly to. So you received 13 thousand rubles from only one client. And we have already paid off the office rent and all related expenses.

Your next sale was a voucher for 15 people for 900 thousand rubles to Egypt and you received 90 thousand profits. And so on, in general, the business is profitable and simple, it’s good that you became interested in how to become a travel agent from scratch, you got to the right place and at the time when you can get rich.

You can promote your company through Yandex.Direct, advertising in Vk group, will go very well on Instagram, where you post videos and photos from the resorts, as well as reviews from your customers.

You can first promote the vk group through this service, then the tourists themselves will be added. The main thing is to constantly engage and live in this business. If you yourself are interested, approach your agency with soul, then everything will work out.

The easiest way to open a travel agency is to buy.

But if you still want to do it yourself, we offer you step-by-step instructions from the expert of the Sletat.ru company.

Tourism, despite all the difficulties experienced recently, remains an extremely attractive business area. It gives you the opportunity to open your own business with little investment and is associated with a lot of positive emotions: helping people have a rest, and then hearing their positive impressions is very nice. And yet, the tourist industry is a tough nut to crack. In order not to break spears about him, or rather not to lose all the money, you need to take a very balanced and serious approach to opening your travel agency.

Where to begin?

First of all, it is necessary to find out how the tourist market is arranged and what it consists of. The business owner must decide whether to work with a franchisor or as an independent agency. By opening yourself, you take on more risks. Firstly, unknown travel agencies do not inspire confidence, which means they need more serious efforts and budgets for promotion. Secondly, you will have to independently resolve the issues of acquiring technologies related to the search and booking of tours. And thirdly, it is more difficult to work with tour operators - suppliers of a tourist product.

In modern conditions, it is more efficient to open not independently, but under the brand name of a large network of travel agencies.

Franchise network travel agencies can be divided into main categories, each of which has its own branches.

1. Travel agencies from tour operators whose task is to sell the tourist product of this supplier. Obviously, a tour operator can only offer low-cost tours to some destinations, so such a travel agency may not be profitable enough in the end.
2. Travel agencies that receive traffic from offline channels. Such agencies are not limited in the choice of tour providers. Their disadvantage is the weak development of Internet technologies.
3. Travel agencies that receive traffic from online channels. More modern networks that attract audiences using the Internet and own various online tools for finding, booking and selling tours. Minus - such a network misses the "classic" offline audience.
4. Networks that combine online and offline communication channels and provide technologies for automating work, as Sletat.ru does. The main mission of such companies is to give the travel agency the opportunity, with the help of modern technologies sell the most cost-effective tours and put this process on stream.

When choosing a franchisor, it is important to pay attention to his experience and the specifics of doing business. Some companies have a high risk of bankruptcy during a crisis. This is due to the fact that in a number of situations the tour operator may require an advance payment for tours in the amount of up to 100%, while tourists often pay for them in installments, and the network management company does not have sufficient financial “airbag” for such a case.

There is no definite formula for opening a travel agency that will be 100% profitable. Any business involves the establishment of business processes, and therefore a certain guarantee of success often becomes competent management and, of course, the ambitiousness of the travel agency itself.

Before opening a travel agency, it is important to analyze the presence of the target audience. If you are going to open major city- St. Petersburg, Moscow or another millionaire - it makes no sense to analyze it entirely. Choose the most attractive area and evaluate how much your company will be in demand in it.

Another important element preparation - analysis of the competitive environment. Find out what agencies are nearby, what they offer, what your competitive advantages are and what differentiates you from them. You can even go to a competitor travel agency as a mystery shopper if you really need to.

Investment size

Investments in the opening of a travel agency, as a rule, are relatively small: this business does not require expensive equipment or the purchase of goods. And yet, the amount of investment can be very different. The main expense items when opening a travel agency are office rent, purchase of equipment, promotion costs and paying a fee if you open a franchise agency.

The larger the city, the higher the amount of investment in rent. The rental rate in 2016 averages about 1.5–2 thousand rubles per 1 sq. m. m, but in Moscow and St. Petersburg it may be slightly higher - an average of 2.5 to 4 thousand rubles. Thus, the minimum amount of rental costs will be about 30-60 thousand rubles.

Personal experience

For high-quality customer service and minimizing queues in the office, it is optimal for two managers to work at the same time. To accommodate two workplaces and a comfortable waiting area, you need a room with an area of ​​15 sq.m.

Do not forget that the room is likely to need renovation. Even if it is in good condition, it will need to be brought up to certain standards. For example, our offices must be branded in accordance with the guidelines. Compliance with these requirements allows you to create a comfortable atmosphere for customers and managers and increases the loyalty of tourists to the brand as a whole.

With regard to the cost of furniture and appliances, there is a large variation in the amount of investment. You can buy inexpensive furniture and used appliances or choose more expensive options.

Don't forget about the costs associated with registering an agency. You will need to register an individual entrepreneur or LLC and pay a state duty, open a bank account (for which the bank will charge a commission), recruit staff, register employees in the labor inspectorate and the pension fund. If not strict reporting forms (BSO) are used, but a cash desk, then it needs to be registered. As for settlement and cash services, Sletat.ru, for example, cooperates with the largest Russian banks and offers favorable conditions for franchisees.

The average cost of opening a travel agency "Sletat.ru" (with furniture, appliances and repairs) will be about 150-200 thousand rubles.

The budget for promoting a travel agency can again be different: there are both expensive ways and channels that do not require any investment. On average, you need to allocate about 100 thousand rubles for this item of expenditure in the first 4-6 months of work.

Among the fixed costs of the travel agency is the payroll fund for managers. Their salary consists of a salary and a percentage of sales. In St. Petersburg or another large city, a manager can receive 15-20 thousand rubles of salary + 10-20% of the agency's profit. If we are talking about a small town, then the ratio will be 10-15 thousand rubles of salary + 10-20% of profit.

At the same time, when calculating the volume of investments, one must firmly understand that in the first six months the agency can work without profit. And this means that some kind of financial "cushion" is needed. Therefore, you should not invest your last funds in business. Also, the entrepreneur needs to understand how he himself will live. Money should not be associated with its current costs, a clear budget allocated for business development is needed.

Step-by-step instruction

At the initial stage of development of a travel agency, very important point- promotion. In order for it to work in the best way, you need to understand which channels for attracting tourists are most effective in a particular case.

See what potential partners are near your travel agency. The tourist audience is adjacent to the audience of the leisure sector - restaurants, cafes, bars, beauty salons, etc. You can establish contact with representatives of such businesses and hold joint promotions, spending a minimum of funds. For example, you can jointly provide discounts to customers, print double business cards, prepare and place table tents with information about the partner, etc. on tables.

Keep in mind that tourists come to the office where they live or work. Therefore, it is important to convey information about your discovery and existence to the residents of nearby houses. If you opened in a residential area, you can make a mailing list. And it should not be an attempt to sell a tour, but a beautifully designed invitation to visit your office.

Try to involve the local media: tell them about your discovery, advertise regularly. Remember that promotion must be constant, it must never stop. Otherwise, there will be no influx of new tourists.

The first clients are your acquaintances, so you need to call them all.

Personal experience

People spend a lot of time in in social networks and do not want to leave the comfortable space. In contact with,Facebookand other similar sites - a modern, popular and budget channel for attracting tourists. Sletat.ru has developed a special module for searching tours in social networks. Thus, the tourist can search for tours where it is convenient for him, and from there send applications for the selected tours.

If you have opened an agency in a small town, it makes sense to go to the audience in the city-forming enterprises, negotiate with their management and leisure department, offer employees to participate in interesting events etc. Remember that tourism is not limited to foreign destinations, you can also sell domestic ones. They are well suited to “accustom” the audience to themselves in particular and to trips through travel agencies in general, gradually transferring customers to foreign package tours.

Having decided on the format of work, a place to open and promotion channels, you need to start looking for managers. To determine how many people you need in the state, you need to understand how large your client base is and how many people will come to the office. Most often, 1-2 managers work in a travel agency. One of them attracts clients, calls, invites to the office, processes applications, the other sells tours in the office, works with incoming tourists, leads further work on sale. You need to understand that tourists, when they come to the office, do not always immediately buy a tour. More often than not, they simply learn information, and in order to complete the transaction, it is necessary to maintain communication with them.

Businessmen should not take on the sale of tours on their own. An entrepreneur must think strategically, promote the travel agency, follow developments, see what the business lacks, and so on. If you go headlong into the sale of tours, then it will be impossible to manage the business.

In a modern travel agency, it is important to automate the processes associated with the search and booking of tours and the processing of incoming applications. Travel agency managers have to search for suitable tours hundreds of times a day. To do this, you can use the "search engines" that are on the site of every self-respecting tour operator. In this case, the manager will actually have to work manually, open many sites and tabs to find a suitable tour from different providers, and during this time the price may change. In addition, it will take too much time to work with one tourist.

Today, there are special search engines that "collect" offers from all tour operators. They allow you to accumulate all information in one information space and save time for managers. When choosing such a service, you need to be careful: it can “limp” relevance and reliability. The system should download and update information about the composition of the package and its price online, instantly update data on places in the hotel and on the flight.

Personal experience

Sletat.ru has developed a tour search system that contains offers from all major tour operators and updates tour data in real time. The agency can install the service on its website and promote it on social networks. In this case, the lion's share of the work of finding a tour is done by the tourist himself. As a result, the time for a manager to work with one client is reduced from 2 hours to 40 minutes.

Another important point is booking a tour. It is much more convenient when the agency does not communicate with tour operators on its own, but uses the services of a booking center. Sletat.ru has created its own Central Bank, which simplifies the work of a travel agent, increases the speed of customer service, allows you to store data on all applications in one place, increases the security of tourist bases and provides more high percent from sales and additional bonuses when the plan is fulfilled.

The issue of accommodation of a travel agency should be given special attention. First of all, analyze the city in which you plan to open and the specific location. At first glance, the most successful option is an office in the city center. However, this does not always guarantee success, as well as opening in a residential area.

It all depends on specific place. If you open in a budget area remote from the center with new development, things may not work out. The bulk of the population here are young families, who often bought housing on a mortgage and do not have extra money for travel. Therefore, try to choose areas of the middle and elite class for accommodation.

You can open on the first floors of residential buildings, in separate buildings or shopping centers. In the latter case, it is better to choose modern buildings and try to avoid old low-class buildings. But again, this depends on the specific shopping center, its location, the freshness of the repair, and the brands represented.

It is also worth looking at the surroundings. For example, you can open next to a grocery store. This does not have to be an institution of a well-known network, but it is worth focusing on the price segment above the average.

Another tip: it is best to open where it is possible to place an illuminated sign.

A sign is 20–30% of the success of a travel agency. Without it, it will be difficult to find you even for those who go to your agency purposefully. And the sign will also allow you to “lure” those who are just passing by.

As for the premises itself, there are also certain requirements for it. First of all, you need to focus on the convenience of the tourist. It is desirable that the office be square in shape: this way it will be easier to brand and create in it comfortable conditions. It is important that there are windows in the room, otherwise the atmosphere will “put pressure” on the client. Basements and semi-basements are not the best choice.

Do not open on the upper floors. If the building has an access system, it should not be complicated. If a tourist, in order to purchase a tour or get documents, needs to take a passport, write down his data and go up to the 11th floor, then he is more likely to refuse the trip altogether - few people want to overcome so many obstacles.

It is advisable to provide a waiting area in the office. When all managers are busy, the customer should be able to wait in line comfortably. Otherwise, he will simply go to another agency. In the waiting area it is worth placing coffee, tea, a cooler with clean water.

Another important point is the children's corner. One of the key client types of the travel agency is a 30-35 year old woman with one child. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a play area in which children can do something while parents choose a tour or wait in line.

The documents

To start a travel agency, you need to register an LLC or IP. Everyone chooses the preferred form for himself, it is only necessary to make a reservation that the owner of a registered IP is liable for obligations with all his property, and LLC - in the amount of the authorized capital. Also, the owner of the tourism business needs to decide: he will work with an imputed or simplified taxation system.

Many are confused by the issue of licensing a travel agency. Previously, in order to sell tours, a travel agency really needed to obtain a license. But under the current rules, licensing is not required. At the same time, a unified all-Russian register was created for travel agencies on the basis of the Turpomoshch Association. It is not yet clear whether participation in it is mandatory or the registry is advisory in nature. This issue should be clarified by additions and amendments to the law on tourism, which was released in 2016.