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Travel businesses range from travel agents to retailers to writers. Learn how to get started in the ever-growing travel industry.
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Travel has an enduring appeal. Iconic figures from Simone de Beauvoir to Anthony Bourdain have maintained that to travel is to embrace life—and to embrace life is to travel.
For more recent evidence, look to the travel industry’s rapid post-pandemic recovery. Revenues surpassed pre-pandemic figures in 2023, according to McKinsey—just three years after the global crisis erased 75% of the market’s value—and experts anticipate continued growth. The total global revenue of the travel and tourism industry is expected to reach a value of $988 billion in 2025 and $1.39 trillion by 2030.
For aspiring business owners, this means that starting your own travel company is a chance to earn money in a growing industry. Here are 11 travel business ideas to get you started (with examples)—plus tips from Cranky Concierge founder Brett Snyder to help you launch your own business. 
Starting a successful travel business allows you to set your own schedule, be your own boss, and earn money by sharing experiences that matter to you. Here are business ideas to get you started.
Travel agents support clients in planning their travel experiences. They advise on destinations, create personalized itineraries, and book flights, ground transportation, accommodations, and tours on behalf of clients. Some also offer other services, such as on-call travel support or even finding a local house sitter.
Here’s an example: Luxury travel agency GoNellie offers group trips, private trips, and preset itineraries for destinations around the globe. 
Not all travel agents offer worldwide booking. Focusing your travel or tourism business on a particular region attracts customers seeking guidance relevant to your geographic location or specific area of expertise. By focusing on a more contained area, you may also be able to benefit from local SEO for placement in customer search results, rather than competing with travel agencies on a global scale.
Argentinian agency Experience Baires offers extended group travel within Argentina, day trips from Buenos Aires, and experiences within the city, all hosted by local guides.
The best way to understand this travel business idea is through an example. Travel agency and tour operator Heart of Travel identifies itself as an advocate for “responsible tourism,” stating its mission as “creating meaningful connections, fostering positive change, and exploring the heart of every destination we visit.” Heart of Travel offers dozens of group trips to Latin American destinations each year, emphasizing hands-on experiences, connection with local communities, support for small businesses, and travel as an opportunity for personal growth.
Other purpose-driven travel business agency ideas include focusing on language immersion programs, homestays, or service projects.
Travel support businesses manage mid-trip changes, helping clients troubleshoot issues like canceled flights, missing reservations, or even lost passports. If you’ve ever tried to rebook a flight without Wi-Fi or locate an urgent care clinic in another language, you understand the need.
Brett Snyder opened Cranky Concierge in the travel support niche. “I started the business in 2009 after learning from my blog readers that there would be interest in someone helping them solve air travel issues,” Brett says. “Specifically, it was the idea of having a real live person who could help people get out of a jam. That expanded into the idea that we could help with planning, booking, and monitoring flights.”
Although Cranky Concierge has evolved into a full-service travel agency, your business doesn’t have to: You can earn money (and a whole lot of goodwill) by supporting travelers who find themselves in a pickle.
You don’t have to offer services to enter the nearly trillion-dollar travel and hospitality industry. Travelers also need appropriate clothes and accessories (and, of course, bags to put them in). You can start an online store or a brick-and-mortar retail business to curate such goods.
Ecommerce businesses Bentley and Encircled both serve a target audience of travelers: Bentley offers luggage, handbags, and packing systems, and Encircled sells versatile, high-quality travel apparel.
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If you have familiarity with a particular location and a desire to share it with others, you can also start a local tour business. Depending on the location and services offered, you may need licenses, permits, and insurance coverage, so be sure to do your research.
RockTours offers guided tours of Bosnia and Herzegovina from its base in Dubrovnik, Croatia, for example.
Business travelers have unique needs—and so do the organizations that employ them. Businesses also tend to have deeper pockets than individuals and more consistent travel needs, which could make this a particularly profitable business idea.
Business travel planners help companies arrange and troubleshoot work-related travel, minimizing the cost to the business and the disruption to work schedules. If you have the necessary skills and availability, you could also consider becoming a traveling personal assistant.
There are many ways to earn money as a travel writer. You can become a travel blogger and monetize your following by selling ad space, pursuing partnerships with brands, or freelancing for industry publications. You can also sell digital or physical guidebooks and broaden your offerings to include specialized trip planning, custom travel gear, and even branded merch.
An adventure travel company connects travelers seeking excitement and challenge with experiences like guided peak ascents, multiday sailing expeditions, or supported cycling tours. You can design and offer private or group travel experiences, start an agency focused on adventure bookings, or even start a rental business supplying equipment for snorkeling, skiing, camping, and other outdoor activities.
Destination wedding planners act as travel agents and event planners, helping clients navigate the difficulty of planning a party in a remote or overseas location (and sometimes in multiple languages, too). You’ll help clients choose and book venues and coordinate with vendors, either providing full-service planning yourself or connecting clients with trusted local event planners.
Destination travel businesses also facilitate guest travel with options like hotel blocks, recommended airlines and routes, and prearranged ground transportation services.
Travel photographers document experiences and destinations on behalf of a client. You can seek assignments from publications, but think beyond National Geographic. You might target an audience of travel businesses, for example, capturing images for websites, marketing materials, and social media campaigns.
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Starting a business is a major undertaking. These four tips can help you validate your idea, get your travel business off the ground, and start making money on your terms.
The best structure for your travel business depends on your business type, business model, and goals. When it comes to legal business entity type, many travel business professionals operate as limited liability companies (LLCs). For some travel agents, the trickier structural choice is whether or not to work with a host agency—a company that hires individual agents as contractors.
Partnering with a host agency can help you access better deals for clients and higher commission rates for yourself. It may also reduce your startup expenses. Brett recommends partnering with one if you’ll handle any client bookings. “If you’re talking about skipping a host agency and starting from scratch, I would think twice,” he says. “That is a Herculean effort.”
He also acknowledges that choosing a host agency can be tricky. “It’s hard to know which is the right host to pick,” he says. “They all have very different personalities and will charge for their services in different ways.”
Research candidates, seek recommendations from other small business owners, and read reviews in travel industry publications to vet potential partners.
A business plan is a formal document that outlines a business’s products or services and its plan for making money. Writing one can help you validate a business opportunity, chart your path to profitability, and approach potential investors.
Business plans typically include information about your target market, target audiences, business structure, operational plan, estimated startup costs, and marketing strategy. Use a business plan template to expedite the process of drafting a plan for your travel business idea.
Relationships are critical for travel industry businesses. If you’re a travel agency, they’re essentially your product. Clients hire you because you know where to go and who to work with. Ideally, you’ve built mutually beneficial partnerships with a range of travel service providers—including travel insurance companies, tour guides, and hotel owners—that allow you to secure exclusive deals and other perks for your clients.
Relationships matter for other travel service providers and retailers, too. A strong industry reputation can help you earn referrals and raise your business profile. “Over time, I learned it was a lot of relationships that made the difference,” says Brett. “I was brought on to the Conde Nast Top Travel Specialists list more than a decade ago, and we met a lot of people there who don’t like dealing with air travel,” he adds. “Now [we] handle it for their clients as a partner.”
You can attend industry events, join online communities, and tap your host agency’s network to build relationships with industry professionals.
Brett reminds prospective travel business owners that once you’ve found a way to help your target audience, you have a business idea. “Companies often spend too much time overthinking,” he says. “There are always problems out there. Once you identify them, then you can coalesce around that problem and build something to solve it.”
Instead of getting stuck in the planning phase, Brett recommends testing your ideas in the real world. “The first thing I did was ask for volunteers to test a process at no cost and see if there really was something there,” he says, adding, “Once that happened, I set up an LLC and was on my way.”
This strategy also allows your business idea to grow into market needs. “We weren’t an agency from the start, but it didn’t take long to evolve from there,” he adds. Brett suggests leaning on agency partners to hit the ground running. “Don’t think, just do,” he says. “If you find a good host agency, they will help you to develop your knowledge, and you can get started in no time.”
Travel and tourism industry revenue is expected to exceed $988 billion in 2025 and $1.39 trillion by 2030. Whether it’s trip planning services, retail ecommerce, or guided tours, starting your own travel business can help you earn money in a growing industry.
In general, luxury products and experiences earn higher profit margins than mid-market offerings, but your earnings will depend on your business model, marketing strategy, and industry relationships.
Here’s how to start a travel business in 7 steps:
1. Set business goals.
2. Research your target market.
3. Choose your niche.
4. Write a business plan.
5. Form your business.
6. Build your website.
7. Market your business.
A travel business idea is any business idea that meets a need in the travel and hospitality industry. Examples include, group travel businesses, regional tour guides, wellness retreat booking agents, travel agencies, adventure tourism businesses, ground transportation services, and destination event planners.
Here’s how to choose the best idea for your travel business:
1. Set goals for your business.
2. List your unique skills, interests, and areas of expertise. 
3. Conduct market research.
4. Identify market gaps you are uniquely positioned to fill.
5. Outline a business idea that addresses each gap. 
6. Select the business idea that best aligns with your goals.
7. What should you consider when starting a travel business?
A few things to consider when starting a travel business include your goals; unique skills, interests, and expertise; relevant travel industry niches; market demand in each niche; your existing travel industry relationships; and your budget for startup costs.
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