Start a Travel Business

Start a travel business.

6 types of travel businesses you can start.

Are you looking to start a travel business? I’ve built, scaled up and sold two successful travel businesses, a ski trip operator, also called a tour operator or trip operator and a lodging property. Here are the 6 types of travel companies you can start today.

1. Travel Agency or Travel Agent – These are the easiest types of travel businesses to start but don’t make a lot of money. It’s very difficult to gain a competitive advantage over other agencies and agents because everyone is selling the same travel product or package.

2. Tour Operator or Trip Operator – This is the best type of travel business to establish as you have the ability to create your own brand, your own unique one-of-a-kind travel package. You can sell the travel product as a tour where you go on the trip with the travelers or you can sell as a trip where you don’t travel with the travelers. Selling trips is the best way because you’re not required to travel.

3. Tour Guide or Guide – This is an easy travel business to start because you are in effect the business. This type of travel business is very time consuming.

4. Travel Broker – This is easy to establish and basically you just act as a broker between tour operators and travelers by creating online marketplaces where tour operators and travelers can meet to buy travel.

5. Affiliate Travel Website –This is easy to setup but is getting harder and harder to make money at because there are so many travel affiliate websites and because the search engines only want unique, authentic content. If all you are doing is reselling Expedia’s trips it will be very difficult to separate yourself from the thousands of other travel websites.

6. Travel Blogger or Travel Writer – This is an easy travel business to start but you have to be a great writer and know about a particular destination, city or town. It’s becoming more and more easier for travel bloggers...