Starting your career as a travel agent: what do you need to get started?

As a travel agent, or online travel agent or ZRA, you first find out exactly what your customer wants. You then propose a travel offer based on that. When you work as a travel agent, certain skills and character traits work to your advantage. In addition, read carefully before you start working with customers. This way you avoid being left speechless. You then gradually learn the trade of being a travel agent through trial and error.

You can also follow appropriate training. However, this is not a requirement to become an independent online travel agent. In the Netherlands you do not need a permit or diploma to start a travel agency. However, training as a travel consultant or training related to tourism, for example, can work to your advantage. Then you know what you are talking about from day one. It also helps to be and stay up-to-date with all facets within the industry.

Do you want to be sure whether becoming a travel agent is something for you? Then you can compare yourself with the job profile of a ZRA or online travel agent. So you are a real travel agent through and through if:
● You enjoy traveling
● You love helping others organize the trip of a lifetime
● You are a star in personal contact so that customers trust you
● You have great organizational talent, which means you work neatly and orderly and keep agreements
● You can work independently and at various locations

In addition to the right skills, knowledge and character traits, a variety of tools can make the difference when you start your career as a travel agent. To give you a helping hand, we share examples of tools that can give your career as a travel agent the right boost.

Systems and software to work in

To organize certain types of trips you need access to reservation and booking systems. A well-known example of such a system is Amadeus. Major airlines such as KLM use this system to share their flight schedules. In addition to access to such a reservation and booking system, it is also useful if you can read the flight schedules. That is why there are various courses available where you study different systems so that you can use them efficiently and effectively.

In addition to reservation and booking systems, there are also useful tools that make contact, planning, invoicing and organization a lot easier when you become a travel agent. Then take the time to delve into the possibilities. Keep a strict eye on your budget. These types of software systems can sometimes be on the expensive side, making them something for the future.

Whether you really need these types of systems as an independent travel agent obviously depends entirely on your business plan and the type of travel you are going to offer.

Before you start working as an independent travel agent (ZRA), perhaps the most important decision you have to make is whether you will do so completely independently or whether you will join a franchise company for independent travel advisors.

Advantage of joining the ZRA organization

The advantage of joining a ZRA organization such as The Travel Club, Personal Touch Travel or Your Travel is that you can use their back-office systems for invoicing/administration, etc. and that they collectively manage hotels, tours, transport, cruises, etc. .can purchase. Sometimes you can also receive training as a travel agent through them.

Disadvantage of joining an organization for independent travel agents

The disadvantage of joining a franchise organization for independent travel agents is that you incur quite a lot of costs and do not actually have the freedom to really do business yourself and put together your own special trips.

In addition to a fixed amount per year, you must pay a commission (percentage of your turnover) to the ZRA franchise per booking and you are tied to the purchasing partners of the franchise, which means you are often tied to more standard and large-scale offerings such as large hotels, cruises, etc. If you, as a travel agent, want to put together your own special small-scale trips and want to work with your own contacts, nice small hotels, etc., then this is not possible, because you are bound to the fixed purchasing of the franchise.

The franchise does not do any marketing for you
Another disadvantage of working through a franchise is that they help you organize the trips themselves and the back office systems, but they do not really do the marketing for you. Be aware that you really have to build your customer database yourself and since more than 70% of travelers now book their trips online, this means that you as a travel entrepreneur really have to ensure your online visibility. You will of course get a spot on a franchise’s website, but that does not mean that travelers will find you there en masse every month.

The ZRA organization will occasionally do a general promotional campaign for the company or highlight a particular product such as their cruises for example, but realize that you will often not be helped with your own marketing. In fact, most organizations for independent travel advisors do not allow you to have your own website and you only get your own short mention on the franchise website. Customers may have the option to book with you, but before they do so you will have to inspire them and show them what special trips you offer and why they should book with you and not with one of the other affiliated ZRAs. So you really need your own marketing for this (e.g. regular posts and interaction with followers on social media, blogs or sample trips on your website that you can share, sending email newsletters, etc.).

Indispensable as a ZRA: gaining knowledge about online marketing and promotion
The ZRA courses and training offered by the organizations are often training about destinations or about specific travel products such as cruises or hotels that they have purchased, but you receive little training about internet marketing. While the internet is the place where people book their trips nowadays and where you as a travel agent have to find your customers and do your marketing.

When you start as a travel agent (even if you join a franchise), keep in mind that you may want to increase your knowledge of internet marketing. For example, you can download the free marketing manual for small-scale travel organizations from our own marketing expert Wendy. She also regularly organizes free marketing training for starters and more experienced travel agents (including in collaboration with the VVKR). You can of course also take an online marketing course for small-scale travel specialists.

Marketing courses/topics to learn about when you start as a ZRA :
o What are the requirements for a good website for a travel agent
o How do you do smart email marketing as a travel agent
o Create social media calendar and sample posts for travel agents
o Blogging for more bookings as a travel agent

Printing and brand building as an online travel agent

In terms of marketing, you may currently mainly be thinking about things such as business cards, brochures and leaflets and these are certainly important not to forget if you become a travel agent. You still need this type of printing, especially when you attend holiday fairs or organize live inspiration evenings. However, before you have paper printing made, it is wise to take a moment to consider your other marketing and brand building.

Which target group will you appeal to if you become a travel agent? Will you become an all-round travel agent or ZRA and will you sell ‘anything people want, for everyone’, or will you specialize in a specific destination or type of travel for a specific target group or type of traveler?

These choices have to do with your marketing strategy and you must make these choices first before you have marketing material such as a website or printed matter created. What style do you want to use, so that travelers recognize you as an online travel agent and also become enthusiastic about your offer? By answering these types of questions you can easily develop your marketing plan.

Would you like help choosing your target group, developing your corporate identity, reaching your very first customers and translating your marketing strategy into good texts and designs for your own website as an independent travel agent? Then take a look at this marketing course, which we developed especially for small-scale (or starting) travel agents. This covers all choices for your marketing strategy.

Of course, potential customers must be able to find you. The search for a travel agent or travel agency often starts online. That is why a good website that works flawlessly is not an unnecessary luxury if you become a travel agent: your own website is your online ‘booking magnet’. Even within the travel industry, a positive first impression can make a difference. With a well-functioning, professional website you can easily get 300% more bookings. After all, your website is the place where you can inspire travelers to start their adventure, so that they book with you and not with your competitor.

Have your website built

Don’t worry: you don’t have to create your own website if you become a travel agent. We love to create a travel agency website for you that perfectly matches your wishes and requirements. There is already enough on your plate when you just start as a travel agent, so we are happy to take this task completely off your hands, so that you can focus on other matters (putting together your first trips and quotes and organizing trips, for example) . You will then have your ideal travel agency website in no time, making you a successful travel agent!