If you have a passion for the tourism industry, particularly in curating experiences, you don’t have to run it physically. You can start a tourism business from the comfort of your home.
To execute this successfully, you’ll need to establish good relationships and have access to the internet. There are other aspects to running this business, but this is where you need to start.
Here, we’ll highlight the essentials needed to start and sustain a remote tourism business.
1. Identify a Problem and Provide a Solution
Successful businesses are those that provide solutions. Analyse the South African tourism market, or the specific market in the location you’re targeting and spot out problems and gaps that you can fill with your business. To identify these gaps, study what competitors are doing and how they are serving the market in unique ways. Then, think about how you can do it even better.
For instance, if you’re interested in starting a township tourism business, it’s an in-demand business, as many tourists want to experience various sides of South Africa, including the township. However, you might notice that existing township tourism businesses aren’t necessarily providing a full authentic township experience.
What you need to do is strategise on how to provide a full township experience. This could mean collaborating with local businesses, as well as everyday people in the township.
2. Create a Business Plan
A business plan is the foundation of your business. By creating an in-depth business plan, you’re able to outline how your business will achieve its goals, and since you’re planning on starting a remote tourism business, it’s important that you outline how you plan to do that, what your business goals are, and how you’ll get there.
What exactly does a business plan include? Especially one for a tourism business that you’ll run remotely. Here’s an overview of what you can include:
Executive Summary
Include a short overview of your business idea where you’ll explain what your business does and what you hope to achieve.
Business Description
Describe your remote tourism business in more detail. Include your niche and explain what problem it solves.
Market Analysis
Share what you know about the tourism industry in South Africa. Talk about your target audience and how you identified them. Additionally, highlight the trends in the tourism industry.
Outline Your Services
List the types of travel experiences or packages the business will offer. Explain how you’ll deliver them remotely.
Collaborations and Partnerships
Working with others will be key to running your business successfully. You may need to partner with the following parties:
- Local guides to deliver real experiences.
- Accommodation providers and transport services for complete travel packages.
- Regional tourism offices or associations for compliance.
- Digital partners like web developers, software providers, marketing professionals, and more.
Operations Plan
Explain how your business will operate. Describe the technology, booking tools, and communication systems you’ll use to manage clients and partners.
Marketing and Sales Strategy
Outline how you’ll attract and retain customers. Mention the need for digital marketing tools, SEO, and social media to reach your audience.
Financial Plan
Include your startup costs, what you expect to make over time, how you’ll scale and how much you need to scale, and how you’ll manage your budget.
Implementation Timeline
Show a clear plan for when and how you’ll launch and the projected timeline for business growth.
3. Prepare Your Business for Collaboration
The tourism industry thrives in collaboration. When businesses collaborate, it not only serves the businesses but also greatly benefits tourists. This is due to the nature of tourism, where tourists will experience a range of services in a set timeframe – making it hard for brands to work in silos, especially with the growing demand for expansive tourist packages.
There are many roles you fill on your own in the early days of your business, but once you scale, you may need:
- A virtual assistant to manage bookings and enquiries.
- A marketing specialist to handle your social media and online visibility.
- A customer service representative is to respond to clients.
- Local tour coordinators to manage activities in destination areas.
- A content creator to produce blogs, videos, or social media posts that showcase your experiences. However, you can find creative ways to encourage user-generated content.
