Posted by Simeon Stanford
Last updated 24th February 2020
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For travel agents, things get a little tricky when it comes to putting together niche travel choices for specific groups and verticals.
There is a strong likelihood that you are not doing enough to achieve a high-income stream, especially when it comes to producing relevant web content that has the potential to convert readers into your long-term customers.
In this transformational article, we examine 5 ways in which you can prop up your business, which include:
Whether you're a virtuoso serving the needs of luxury tailored holidays, or can better serve a wide range of requirements, you’ll first want to list out all the communities you can work with.
Once you've done this, you will have to identify topics which are meaningful to these collectives and build a proposition which encapsulates their demands. Here is an opportunity to truly exercise your creativity, and position yourself as the travel agency that spearheads a clear-cut style of tourism. Doing this will put you way ahead of others who attempt to latch onto your successes down the line.
We’d encourage you to watch out for one-of-a-kind markets, alongside the niches you can create. Look at individuals ranging from sporting extremists, health enthusiasts and genealogy trackers to unlock fresh spaces to work in and win business. Move to make these a success, and use the testimony of these out-of-the-box commuters to accelerate your grip on unconquered terrain.
Have you investigated who are the fastest-growing ethnic groups in your area? Have you observed which populations are near flourishing in and around you? As a travel agent, we’d push you to continually keep an eye on statistics linked to these markets, whilst tracking the value of their spend.
One of the opportunities which rest with this demographic is in the links they have with their homelands. This is where you’ll want to diarise important festivals, religious ceremonies, commemorations and national celebrations (e.g. independence days), and secure offers to cover these periods.
Besides your locale, it would be sensible to understand which nationalities are dominant in the surrounding metropolitan areas to where you operate. This is because in some instances there’ll be speedier access to capital which can be used towards travel. In this, contemplate multi-generational packages which take into account an entire family!
Finally, on this point, it’s crucial not to skip out the youth generations of these communities who are open to travelling independently. In numerous cities worldwide, these youngsters will be looking to make connections with the lands of their ancestors. With the strengthening buying power they present, you can distinguish activities which support reunions and get-togethers alongside promoting the likes of attractions, theme parks, restaurants etc.
London (United Kingdom) ranks first place amongst world cities with the largest born foreign populations with just over 3.3 million persons.
UK Local Area Migration Indicators, Office for National Statistics
If in doubt as to the direction you can take to pushing special options for unique groups, you could look at hiring a multicultural marketing expert to assist you with gaining a deeper knowledge of their purchasing habits.
Becoming aware of where and how to approach these people will only stand to benefit you in the long run. What you’ll want to do is ensure you’re at a minimum a consideration over a period of time. Also, what is the best method of informing them about what you do?
It might be wise to use these consultants to help you in employing specialists from amongst these segments of the population, who’ll have ties and an understanding of these markets. Such momentum helps to speed up your growth in this space, and even if you’re a lone wolf, begin to broaden your reach by seeking associates and advisors who can promote you along the way (and refer you to their broader networks).
An unusual pattern has occurred a few times, which made me think we may be witnessing an interesting new cycle in Multicultural Marketing business: corporations that are asking their agencies to work on campaigns targeting Latinos as potential employees.
Today, your travel agency may not have the resources or capacity for satellite trading posts around the world. Even the largest players in the industry do not always have the wherewithal to foot operations in every region they service.
In respect to cultural sensitivities and perceived political shifts in different parts of the world, it becomes vital to have on-the-ground partners who give a layer of security to your customers.
At times, it is easier to refrain from presenting travel to certain destinations across the world. However, for slightly daring tourists, the chance to see the globes finest wonders puts the word "boycott" far away from their vernacular.
With the aforementioned type of scenario, here is where you should press your trade association for assistance. A recent example of this is with ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents) who set up a chapter in Myanmar to endorse a tourism drive in the country.
The cost of requesting help from your trade bodies is nothing but your time (and membership fee), and knowing what they can do in this sense makes you a more clued up consultant when dishing out your ideas.
You already have the whole world to hand, so simply go on to check out the mother of all web forms. We promise that it will get you more qualified leads, whom you can instantly convert to customers.
All over the globe, history is made by the second. We’ll grasp issues close to us immediately, whereas the significance of others could take many decades for us to fully comprehend.
In the realm of arts and culture, new landmarks are constantly created, both complementing that which already existed and correcting historical injustices. Some travellers will want to be somewhere, or besides an object which acts as a timestamp of something memorialised for years to come. As a travel agent, we say play this to your strength.
With this, check for key significant events which either are or have significantly shifted perceptions, and start to think of adding a travel dimension to this. In researching this piece, we’d stumbled upon two travel agents, namely Henderson Travel and Palace Travel who tout their specialities in catering to the travel requirements of African American markets.
In the case of Henderson Travel, they famed themselves on what was termed genealogical travels to the descendants of Africans trafficked to the Americas during the controversial era of enslavement, as a means of discovering reconnections.
Where Palace Travel has been exceptionally good in providing excursions for groups of retiring African Americans who’ve accumulated disposable income and are happy to engage in seeing the world at large.
Crafting this space for yourself will aid with your development as a travel agent. It might just springboard the various solutions you offer, as you’ll be able to channel appropriate traffic with well-tailored web pages, which don’t interfere with the other travel related services you sell.
Have our recommendations piqued your interest? Why not experiment with these ways of getting additional targeted categories of clientele on your books? If you know that this is useful to other folks in your field, then, of course, roll on to our sharing buttons and spread the love among your social followers.
As ever, please comment below with your own thoughts on how we can expand and improve on this topic. Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated!
Simeon is a founder at Sites Done Right and heads up the company's sales and partnerships. His experience across business intelligence, data and websites make him a force to be reckoned with.
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