As you probably already know, we at TravelFuse specialize in online travel agencies. We are among those who can help you reach even more tourists in the shortest time, from even more corners of Romania, in an efficient and professional way. We have been doing this for many years and it is a pleasure to help both experienced travel agents take more decisive steps online and start-ups at the very beginning.
So if you have decided to open an online travel agency or an "online holiday shop", we are the ones who can help you! In addition, the degree of trust and the number of online transactions in the travel market in Romania are constantly increasing. Not to mention the fact that most of the number of online transactions in the world is in the travel area.
Tourism, although it is a delicate sector and sensitive to both micro and macroeconomic developments, is experiencing significant growth. The number of orders completed online is increasing, and the number of tourists choosing to book "remotely" is increasing every year.
To get started, you'll need a very well-prepared plan, which is why we thought of asking you a few questions, the answers to which will help you make the best decision.
- Will you act as an organizing or intermediary agency?
Currently, according to the order of the Ministry of Tourism, you have 2 licensing options: organizing agency or intermediate agency.
The organizers are the agencies that design, combine, sell and offer for sale travel service packages and related services, under quality and safety conditions for tourists. The social capital of the organizers is much larger and it is mandatory to create a bank guarantee document or to have an insurance policy in case of bankruptcy.
Intermediaries are the agencies that resell the packages designed by the organizing agencies or individual tourism services against a service commission.
Knowing these details, you will have to consider all these aspects before deciding to open an online holiday store.
- What documents will you need to comply with the law?
When you decide to switch your activity from offline to online, you will have the obligation to present on the website a series of documents (which you must have in the agency anyway). Below we leave you the most important aspects that you should not miss:
- Tourism license
- Diploma or graduation certificate
- Insurance policy (if applicable)
- Unique registration certificate
- The guarantee contract for tourist packages
- The contract with the tourist
- Privacy Policy
- Cookies policy
- Terms and conditions of use of the website
- ANPC icons with link
- Conditions for exiting the country
- Complaints procedure
- What costs will you have to consider?
In order to be able to calculate an investment budget for the first year of activity, you will have to consider the following aspects:
- Domain purchase
- Domain hosting and email addresses
- Branding (online visual identity design)
- Promotion budget (either you will manage it or an agency will manage it)
- Photos (own production or purchases from stock photo sites)
- Content (sourced from organizing agencies, from a service provider or in-house editorial)
- Website development and maintenance (monthly subscription or software service fee)
- What structure will your website have?
If you have already chosen your niche of interest and have in mind who will be your target audience, you will also have to consider the way in which you will present the packages to your potential tourists.
Here are some ideas for splitting deals:
- Charter packages by plane or bus
- Tourist circuits by plane or bus
- Stays without transport or Accommodations in the world
- City Break Packages
- Early Booking offers
- Last Minute Offers
- Special Holiday Offers
- Agency recommendations
- How will you do SEO?
Due to the fact that the internet is such a vast world, you have the opportunity to learn on your own and develop yourself when it comes to SEO optimization for your online travel agency. You will have to go through a steeper or smoother learning curve depending on your own inclinations, and you will probably have to make a decision about the skill set you bring to your travel agency.
If you can bring more value to your company by maximizing the impact of your travel knowledge, you can choose to outsource other services to specialized agencies, including SEO. In this way, you will have the guarantee of quality services and the relaxation that things are done by specialists.
- Will you have a bidding, consulting fee or will you not opt for this artifice?
To ensure that the work you do offline is remunerated, I advise you to resort to a consulting fee in situations where you need to deliver personalized offers for a specific client or group, offers that require a long time to prepare.
In principle, customers should be able to place orders on your website, but if they need assistance, you can provide them with a live chat where they can ask for help. If they abuse (for documentation purposes only) this function, you can resort to a bidding fee.
- To what extent will you encourage card payment on the site?
In general, travel agencies that make the transition from offline to online perceive the commission of online payment processors as a cost. Admittedly, you may feel the same way, but it's something you need in more ways than one.
Your customers will be more and more accustomed to paying by card, and you will have to offer them this payment method. For most, paying by card online has now become the digital normal.
Customers will want to pay with shopping cards that have interest-free rates negotiated with the bank. Given that it is increasingly difficult to radically differentiate a tourist offer (your competitors may always have something similar), the client will choose the agency that offers the desired payment method.
You have the guarantee of the payment made in advance and you can guarantee and book the room immediately, without waiting for the transmission of the tax invoice, payment by money order or "to see the money".
- How will you increase your communication?
Frequent posting of articles on your agency's blog or information on social media is a real must. The content you create, in addition to providing value to every tourist who arrives at your online agency, helps index in search engines and makes you easier to find. Over time, growing your brand online by positioning it as both a source of information and a booking platform will help you optimize costs and build trust with your tourists.
Then after you create a database you can take this communication to newsletters, thus managing to keep in touch with your tourists all year round, offering them useful information, news and, in general, attractive content.
Whatever communication option you choose, you must take into account the following: consistency is more important than volume. The more you will communicate constantly and organized, the more you will achieve long-term results and build a relationship with the tourists you communicate with. Always give value and you will always get value in return.
We hope that we have given you a good enough starting point on the journey you are about to embark on and you can confidently call upon the services of our colleagues to help you launch your online holiday store.
Good luck!