Don,

Where are you so far? Or is it still an idea in your head?

What kind of travel agent are you thinking? A Thomas Cook, or a comparator?

Are there any others out there doing the same thing?

Also - one word of warning - travel is VERY competitive online so you're gonna need to really open up your wallet for advertising.

Phil
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Philip John; Internet Consultancy
www.philipjohn.co.uk
0844 884 5419

Don,

I will echo what philipjohn says - travel is VERY competitive online!

Is this your first venture into a business of your own or have you any previous experience?

One thing I would suggest is to look at a franchise?

There is a company called Explorer Travel that offer a range of franchise options, I believe if you go for the 'Consultant' package which costs around £10k + VAT, you can become your tour operator, which allows you specialize in specific areas, in your case the Far East.

http://www.explorertravel.co.uk/franchises/consultant.htm#Become

Hope this helps, and good luck!

A good start for any business is to get your name out there in the market. Advertising yourself, with your USP as you’re for front. USP stands for unique selling point, which sets you apart from all your competition. Then find a decent good quality printer at reasonable prices. When I started out I found this new company Print24.co.uk which was very helpful for me, and very reliable.

How To Choose an Online Travel Agent

1. Acquaint yourself with the major reputable online travel agents (see "related features" below).
2. Devise a dream trip: Pick when you'd like to go, and where.
3. Test the site's flight tool to see what kind of fare it returns.
4. Note if the site brings up alternate flights and prices. (Sometimes you can save a lot of money by flying on a different day.)
5. Create a simple chart to track how several different sites perform.
6. Evaluate how easy it is to get hotel information and rates.
7. Call the site's customer-service department with a specific question, and decide how helpful the person on the other end is.
8. Subscribe to one or two free newsletters published by online travel agents, and stick with the one you like the best.
9. Acquaint yourself with the site's extra features, such as paging services, mileage benefits, vacation selection, special offers, etc.
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Internet Business Opportunities | Outsourcing | Hire your first V.A

hi thedon.

You shouldn't get into online travel unless it's something you've already been doing for a while - or at least you're very familiar with it. It could work if you focused all your energy in that niche though. Don't spread yourself thin cause you're dealing with a lot of competition but if you do 'South East Asia Travel' better than everyone than you could be successful.
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www.iva.net

A risk free way to start up is create a blog and start writing/driving traffic to it and then use an affiliate and try to make money from clicks/bookings to your affiliate site
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Yoga Poses
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Hi

I have been with travel explorer since September 2009 and have not be able to sell a holiday package, I advertise on google for £300 per click and got one customer. She enquired and said she would book later.

I phone her a couple weeks after and she said she had already booked the holiday through my site. Or a site that looks like mines. The problem i found is the site that she went back to, look exactly like mines. For example click on my site www.smoothtravelling.explorertravel.co.uk
and the other is trevstravel.explorertravel.co.uk.

Now i have spent all this money advertising can you give me any hints and tips on were i have gone wrong or tell me if this website is worth it.

DD

Hi DD,

Your site is basically a white label site for a wider organisation I assume (from looking at it).

Hopefully you haven't really been paying £300 per click. Presumably you've spent £300 on advertising so far and only had one enquiry?

Where are you advertising?
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Selling a range of items online these days - everything from a new camping toilet to other outdoor products.

As others have noted online travel is very competed. Unless you have experience to build on I'd suggest either looking elsewhere or doing as buddinghealth suggested and starting cheap with a blog, get some experience and then look at investing more.

Regards, John
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My Business Opportunities and Ideas blog.
The Business Opportunities and Ideas Forum.

I would think this would be too much competition to the sites that do it automatically for you.

__________________

construction accounting

Although an online travel agency requires less capital, you should be ready to compete with established agencies online. It's a pretty competitive niche where you would probably need professionals to work and promote your website.
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Forex Invest | Managed Forex Trading | Free Forex Signals

Even though my prices are unmatched..it still proves a struggle to win business!!

But here's an idea..Why not join forces..i can obtain Deals in those regions, and you could

sell on...No harm in looking......

Before starting your business the key point to be noted are

1. In which area you are going to start business.
2. How much fund you have in your hand.
3. Current market trend
4. Customer expectation
5. competitor product review.

Analyze above all all get into the business

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