15 Pages
3800 Words
Introduction Of Top Trips Business Plan: Travel Agency Strategy, Market Research And Insights
In the UK, the market for travel and tourism is huge. It has many industries, businesses, jobs, and commercial activities which attract tourists worldwide and provide new opportunities for businesses to grow. In 2021, the tourism and travel industry in the UK contributed about 131.5 billion British Pounds to the Gross Domestic Product of the country alone (Travel and Tourism in the United Kingdom - Statistics & Facts, 2021). New businesses can take place in areas like accommodation, luxury services, travel agencies, entertainment, food, etc. There is a wide range of opportunities in this sector. Starting from casual jobs like working as a bartender to high-level professions like working in an art gallery or a museum. Other types of jobs are tour guides, travel planners, hotel managers, tour operators, tourist services centres, and other tourist services. The industry is so large that anyone can find some or the other job.
Business idea
According to the facts and numbers starting a travel agency will be the best idea in this sector. The agency will offer affordable, high-quality, and inexpensive luxurious travel services to the clients. The name of the travel agency is ‘Top Trips' and it will be located in London.
The reason behind choosing this idea is to promote tourism in the UK by enticing help for travellers, travel management, and easy passport and visa services. As the tourism industry in the UK is growing at a fast pace it will generate huge profits in future. Another reason is that as Britishers believe more in tour planners while travelling within the country or abroad this will give hype to local businesses (McKeever, 2018). Top Trips will serve a variety of services to travellers like trip planning, scheduling travel, visa application, accommodation, food, and a good affordable and customizable package. Top Trips will provide all leisure and travel-related services to the customers and also will guide the customers with steps.
A business is an entity which is indulged in doing commercial, professional, and industrial activities. The purpose is profit maximization which is related to the economic production of goods and services. On the other side, business research means research on the business which can be used for applying new ideas and help in acquiring business-related information and market trends. With business research, Top Trips can expand its network within the sector and can determine services and products which are in demand. To make the business more popular within London Top Trips will have to do deep business research to operate.
The objectives and aims of the business plan are to generate huge revenue and to make Top Trips a leading company for travel planning. Another is related to giving customers world-class facilities and the best travel experience so that they will always choose Top Trips for their every travel. The main aim is to change the market structure and give competition to the existing firms. Another aim is to generate employment in the sector.
Stakeholder Analysis
Considering that their activities have an effect on the business, stakeholders might be a collective of people or a single person with a particular interest in it. External stakeholders and internal stakeholders are the two categories. External stakeholders include financiers, clients, and suppliers, whereas internal stakeholders include employees, directors, and managers.
Workers
Due to their direct impact on the business, workers act as internal stakeholders. However, when staff members notice that the business is having trouble, they might depart. They receive benefits when the company is profitable, such as bonuses or income increases. Security of employment and pay are important to them.
Entrepreneur
Their top priority in a firm is profit maximization (Madura, 2007). The entrepreneurs' responsibility is linked to increasing profits. An entrepreneur strives to boost staff morale and productivity while implementing long-term strategy and organizational goals.
Executives
Entrepreneurs and employees are not the same as executives. Instead of the long-term, they focus on the short-term stages. It is their responsibility to inspire the workers when they are having a difficult time at work. Both generating income and upholding the business culture are important to them.
Customers
Stakeholders who are external in the business are the customers. The corporation must alter its products and services to better suit customers' tastes and preferences. Trends, behaviors, availability, prices and consumer income all vary throughout time, which leads to changes. Quantity, quality and pricing are what they are most concerned about.
Vendors
In a corporation, a vendor is crucial since they provide the raw materials needed for subsequent manufacturing. The importance of exceptional services and goods from suppliers cannot be overstated for a corporation. The objective of the vendor is to increase profits from sales.
Investors
Since they loan their funds out, investors are crucial to a firm. As they have already made an appropriate amount of investment in the company, investors merely seek to make a profit. They assist the business in paying off any debt that has been incurred.
Market Research
Definition
In the tourism sector market research helps businesses to identify and understand customer behavior related to tourism and travel (Saunders, et al., 2012). Top Trips can analyse the expenditure, travel volume, consumer purchasing power, availability of flights, online booking trends etc.
Positive and negative trends
Three positive trends are first, increasing tourism in the UK results in job creation which is about 11 per cent in total (Tracy, 2014). Secondly, with tourism, the economy is boosting because it increases the spending level directly. Third, tourism in the UK contributes about 10 per cent to the GDP.
Three negative trends are the first is a significant decline in traditional employment as people are moving towards working in the tertiary sector. Second, over-dependency in terms of travelling. Third, high communication and technical services costs result in high expenditure.
Potential clients
Top Trips' potential clients are first those clients who do not like making itineraries. They need someone to plan their trip (Madura, 2007). Second, for those customers who only put emphasis on booking their flights and hotels, the rest want to plan under a package which includes food, sightseeing, and travelling. Third, customers who do not want to hassle with the visa application process and travel insurance or other formalities.
| Cities |
Number of visitors |
| London |
19,090 |
| Edinburgh |
2,363 |
| Manchester |
1,408 |
| Birmingham |
1,100 |
| Glasgow |
837 |
| Liverpool |
803 |
| Bristol |
598 |
| Cambridge |
547 |
| Oxford |
526 |
| Brighton |
459 |
Source: Condor Ferries
The forecast of the tourism industry is about £257 billion by the year 2025. This is because the employment rate in the UK has been increasing since 2010 (Visit Britain, 2023).
The need, want & demand of the market
In London, the demand for travel agencies is on hype because of high business trip planning in the corporate sector. Businesses prefer their travel to be well-organized and well-managed. They do not want to waste their time on planning the whole tour.
Top Trips needs, want and demand in the local market are high as the company has expanded its connections with other travel suppliers and has introduced some amazing deals for business travel (Fullen and Podmoroff, 2006). Top Trips have attracted its potential customers by changing its plans according to its customer's preference and need so that they can come to Top Trips for every tour planning.
Designing a good logo for the company, social media marketing, and putting images of customers who have travelled with Top Trips earlier can help to attract new customers (Murray, 2008). Similarly, Top Trips will put reviews of their customers on its website online by this the clients who are planning a trip can read the reviews and can decide about Top Trips.
Competition analysis
For the travel agency business competition analysis is important as it helps in making a marketing strategy by observing others. It also helps in planning and identifying strengths and weaknesses.
| Services Offered |
Top Trips |
Crystal Travel |
| Local guides |
It offers local guides. |
It offers local tour guides with excellent services. |
| Pre-bookings |
Pre-bookings are available. |
Pre-booking is available with pre-assistance. |
| Medical care |
Medical services are not available. |
It offers free on-demand medical care. |
| Cancellation fees |
No money is charged for cancellation |
100 per cent amount is charged for last-minute cancellations. |
| Fees for credit and debit cards |
No amount is charged with payment through credit and debit cards. |
It charges an amount on payments done through credit and debit cards. |
| Best deals |
Top Trips offers the best deals to attract customers. |
It offers competitive deals with others. |
| Early bird advantages |
It offers travel vouchers and coupons to clients who come first. |
It offers no discounts on early bookings. |
Business Strategy
To gain a competitive advantage in the market, to create value for the company, and to generate revenue a business strategy is needed (Griffin, 2015). Business strategy contributes to the company's success in future. Top Trips can implement social media marketing, customer retention, brand attraction etc. to increase its consumer base.
Long term strategy
Long-term strategies will help Top Trips to set up a long-lasting vision for the business. Top Trips will achieve its long-term organizational goals and future objectives with long-term planning (MarketLine Industry Profile, 2023). Top Trips can build a 5 to 10-year advance planning to expand its business, find stakeholders and investors and can also evaluate its profit maximization process.
Top Trips will use a marketing strategy to grow in the long run. Marketing strategies will include the promotion of the business on social media, email campaigns, etc. to gain consumer views. To grow in the long run Top Trips have to build an essential bond with its suppliers so that nobody can change at the last minute. The business also has to increase its capital and team to grow fast in future. With the increase in capital, the business can easily finance itself in need. With the increase in the team, Top Trips will have a larger team to handle more customers.
Short term strategy
The short-term strategy in the business for Top Trips includes advertisement via social media like Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads etc. Another is giving extra discounts on pre-bookings of travel like early bird reservation discounts, couple discounts, or even business trip discounts (Fletcher, et al., 2018). Coupons and special deals can be given to customers who are using the services for the first time. With displays and video setting, advisements can be done so that Top Trips can hype demand in the market.
Control can be executed on Top Trips with some control strategies. With control, Top Trips can achieve its goals for the future and can evaluate its performance based on trends and patterns. Control strategies will also help Top Trips to identify any risk involved in the business.
Generation of wealth for Top Trips is generated with the help of supplier's pay, rental vehicles, hotel commission, cruise facilities, commission on tour guides, etc. all are sources of income. Top Trips wants to achieve huge profits in the future like its competitors. For this Top Trips is giving its services at a competitive price.
Financial plan
In order to fulfill funding requirements Top Trips will undertake both internal and external sources of finance. This in turn mainly includes personal savings and bank loan which helps in establishing business successfully.
| Particulars |
Figures (in £) |
| Personal savings |
50000 |
| Bank loan |
100000 |
| Total |
150000 |
Swot Analysis Of Travel Business
| Strengths |
Weakness |
Opportunities |
Threats |
- Personalised vacation approach: By developing customized holidays based on the objectives and needs of each client, this offering will help Top Trips differentiate out from competitors.
- Wide Variety of Services Offered: Top Trips can be considered to satisfy all of its customers' needs and establish itself as a one-stop shop for itineraries planning and advice by providing a wide range of services.
- The significance of Specifications: Top Trips' focus on creating comprehensive plans is going to give customers an environment of confidence and information, leading to a generally more pleasant holiday.
|
- Dependency on outside variables: The accomplishment of Top Trips is heavily reliant on variables outside of its administration, among them climate, stable politics, and currency exchange rates. This may impact the demand for trips and cause changes in income.
- Increased administrative costs: Operating a travelling organization can grow expensive since it needs facilities for offices, staff, and materials. Additionally, costs like certification as well as safeguarding may add up very quickly.
- Travel demand may vary greatly throughout the year, peaking around Christmas and the summer. As a result, Top Trips may have to make modifications to its annual expenditures for plane tickets.
|
- Customizing: As more travellers want unique travels which have been tailored to their distinct needs, there's been a rising demand for individualized experiences while travelling.
- Adventure: Adventure-related tourism, which embraces activities like biking, surfing, and nature walks, is becoming far more and more popular. Top Trips, a company that specialises in outdoor activity, may be able to take advantage of this growth and give clients an unforgettable vacation.
- The UK tourism market rise is a big opportunity as it contributes to the GDP as well.
|
- Stiff competition: Top Trips faces competition because there is no strong point of differentiation in their work.
- External factors: Factors like a natural calamity or an attack by terrorists can result in a loss of profits due to the cancellation of trips.
- Change in travel pattern: Nowadays clients are changing their tastes and preferences and are travelling to new destinations ns. Top Trips needs to remain updated so that they can serve their customers.
|
Political factors
Political aspects include legislative decisions relating to taxes, international trade, the rights of workers, and the general wellness and safety of the workforce. Top Trips may run in several nations and boost its growth in the tourism business if there is political stability in those nations.
Economic factors
Economic considerations including spending among consumers, purchasing capability, interest rates, and economic growth aid Top Trips in planning its short- and long-term objectives (Fullen and Podmoroff 2006). Sales of travel have been more popular due to rising consumer spending power and rising income levels.
Social factors
Social considerations enable Top Trips to put its supply and demand model into action. It includes things like cultural customs, beliefs, and values. Top Trips may expand its customer base by putting these ideas into practice.
Environmental factors
Top Trips needs to establish waste management as well as recycling policies to keep up its reputation in towns and cities. Following neatness and rightful recycling of waste will help conserve the ecosystem.
Technological factors
Technology factors are creative thinking and progress, computerization, etc. The transportation services provided by Top Trips must be improved for its customers (Altinay, et al., 2016). Other technology including the availability of online reservations, payment, and accounting is also helpful.
Legal factors
It covers things like precautions for consumers' rights and health and product issues. Top Trips has to place a priority on the overall wellness and safety of its consumers by providing them with medical facilities. For the sake of saving its clients time, Top Trips must provide simple visa services for application.
Digital Applications/ Software
With the use of software and digital applications, Top Trip can effectively and efficiently manage its planning related to customer travel and payments. The company can also able to perform some steps related to accommodation, customization, discounts and deals, and can check its progress in terms of revenue generation. This software plays an important role in growing the business (Altinay, et al., 2016). With digital applications and software, Top Trips can easily do its planning, and processing, record travel expenditures, and make purchasing decisions as well. Top Trips can make its staff expenses and corporate budget for travel by using this software.
For accepting payments, Top Trips will use ‘Hero' which is a SaaS solution. The hero will help the business to run in terms of accepting payments from customers. The software will serve services related to online bookings, payment processing, ticketing, etc. Customers can generate e-receipts, e-tickets, and e-quotes while doing online bookings. Customers can also generate their own travel itineraries, images, descriptions, tour guides, etc. with Hero. Another software is ‘aReservation' which is also a SaaS management software. It helps in online ticket selling, payments, and even weather forecasts.
For projects and accounts, Top Trips will use ‘MYOB Essentials' which is a cloud-based software used in accounting. Features like payment processing, invoicing, payroll, inventory management, and expenditure tracking are offered by this software. MYOB Essentials also gives access to connect to other accounting software like payment gateways and customer relationship management software. Another accounting software is ‘Wave' this software is meant for startups like Top Trips. Wave is ideal for startup businesses as this software does not require a lot of money to invest. It offers tracking of expenses, invoicing, and payment procedures. Top Trips can do all its accounting and calculations by using this software.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in order to build a successful future Top Trips will need to maintain a high-quality customer experience in terms of the services it provides. Top Trips business will be successful because travellers may make use of a wide range of services from Top Trips, including itinerary preparation, flight schedules, visa applications, lodging, meals, and a decent, reasonably priced package. All leisure and travel-related services will be made available to clients via Top Trips, who will also give step-by-step instructions. Key findings of the business are related to providing customers with 24-hour customer assistance services, and medical care facilities when they are travelling. These will help Top Trips to achieve its future goals in customer acquisition. Another is following trends with market observation the business entity has to adapt to trends which are prevailing in the market. To stand out from the competition Top Trips has to focus on marketing and other management strategies to become profitable in areas where it lacks against its competitors. Other major findings are related to maintaining values and integrity in the business. The values and integrity are related to customers' trust. This helps in customer base attraction and acquiring them from the existing competitors.
References
Books and Journals
- Altinay, L., Paraskevas, A. and Jang, S. (2016) Planning research in hospitality and tourism. Second edition. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D., Wanhill, S. (2018) Tourism: principles and practice. Harlow: Person Education.
- Fullen, S.L. and Podmoroff, D. (2006) How to write a great business plan for your small business in 60 minutes or less. Ocala: Atlantic Publishing Company.
- Griffin, M.P. (2015) How to Write a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Plan That Gets Results: AMA Self-Study.
- Madura, J. (2007) Introduction to Business. 4th edn. Thomson Higher Education. Available in Additional Resources in Moodle.
- MarketLine Industry Profile: Travel & Tourism in United Kingdom' (2023) Travel & Tourism Industry Profile: United Kingdom, pp. 1–80.
- McKeever, M. (2018) How to Write a Business Plan. Berkeley, California: NOLO.
- Murray, J.W. (2008). The Complete Guide to Writing Effective and Award-Winning Business Proposals: Step-by-Step Instructions. Ocala: Atlantic Publishing Company.
- Saunders, M., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A. (2012) Research methods for business students. 6th ed. Essex: Financial Times, Prentice Hall.
- Tracy, B. (2014) Marketing. New York: AMACOM (Brian Tracy Success Library).
Online
- Britain's Visitors Economy Facts, 2023 online available through <https://www.visitbritain.org/visitor-economy-facts#:~:text=Since%202010%20tourism%20has%20been,%C2%A3257%20billion%20by%202025.>
- Travel and Tourism Statistics & Facts, 2021 online available through <https://www.statista.com/topics/3269/travel-and-tourism-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/#topicOverview>
