How to Start a Travel Agency in Nigeria in 2018 | 18 Steps to Follow
If you really want to know how to start a travel agency in Nigeria and make real money while contributing immensely to the growth of your country Nigeria, take your time to read thoroughly. This is not one of the articles you want to just skim through – this could be a life changing article for those who want to setup an international travel agency in Nigeria. In this article, I’ll tell you why you should consider starting a travel agency and also how to start a travel agency in Nigeria.

To begin with, It’s a multi-billion dollar industry in Nigeria! Multi-billion dollars, not Naira! This is the worth of the travel industry in Nigeria alone. On a global level, the figure revealed a $7 Trillion Dollar industry as at 2016 ! What is really exciting is the fact that the travel industry in Nigeria is in an upward growth! While some would travel for the purpose of tourism, fun or pleasure, others might be for business, education and so on. The sad thing is, it is largely untapped yet first and foremost because many do not know how to start a travel agency in Nigeria.

Wise business men invest in products or services that are in high demand and that are in an industry that has shown a consistent growth path. The Travel Industry, including travel products, services and packages in Nigeria, is ever growing, and that, in untold leaps and bounds. Are you ready to be guided on how to start a travel agency in Nigeria? I bet you are!

What is a Travel Agency?

If you know what a travel agency is; how profitable a travel agency business can be; and how to start a travel agency in nigeria, then you will be better positioned and prepared to take advantage of the ever increasing opportunities that avail in the travel industry. A travel agency delivers travel and other associated services, tourism for example, to the public while a travel agent is one that makes the travel process easy, seamless and comfortable for his clients ensuring they get the best trip possible at the most affordable prices. Everyone wants good value for their money!

A travel agent must provide relevant information on customs regulations, he must ensure that passports, visas and certificates of any kind are accurate. You do not want to get yourself into any legal trouble. You should also be able to make arrangements for good transport services, hotel reservations, and car rentals and so on

Models for Travel Agencies in Nigeria

There are two models to look at here: The online travel agency (OTA) model and the traditional/offline travel agency model. In our research course on how to start a travel agency in nigeria that makes really good money, we came across reports released by American Tourist. It states that 62% of travelers from Nigeria usually purchase their travel related requirements online. So it means one can take advantage of this! I will be showing you how to exploit this opportunity by setting up your travel agency with a strong online advantage. In a little moment, I will be showing you how to start an Online Travel Agency OTA. Before then, you need to have an overview of how travel agencies in Nigeria make money.

How to Start a Travel Agency in Nigeria | 18 Steps to Follow
The following 18 steps will put you through on how to start a travel agency in Nigeria – a highly profitable one at that!

#1. Decide on your travel agency business scope
In setting up a travel agency, you need to decide whether or not you want to operate a widespread online travel agency. Do you want to offer a combination of flight reservation services for travelers, flight booking and air-ticketing, tour packages, hotel reservation and booking services, car rentals and so on, or you just want to focus on air-ticketing? This strategic decision is pivotal to the development of your travel agency business plan and winning strategy as a whole. This is the first you have to decide on in learning how to start a travel agency in Nigeria that works.

Secondly, decide whether you want to start as a freelancer (partnership on a commission basis with an existing International Air Transport Agent (IATA ) or on your own as a licensed IATA travel agent. Actually, going for the latter is not as easy making a decision for it, you have to be qualified for it. We will discuss that in a later points.

A freelancer cannot issue tickets directly without being hooked to an IATA agent because he simply isn’t licensed to do that. In order to do business with IATA, you must be registered with IATA as an IATA travel agent. As a freelancer or non-IATA, you can buy and sell tickets from licensed IATA agents and also get deals directly from airlines by partnering with them. IATA however has a whopping 83% market share of all sold air tickets globally.

#2. Choose a brand name and register it
By all means, let the name you decide to choose for your travel agency should be professional. You could make it catchy and creative. I know many people say that we should not judge a book by its cover, but the truth is, we unconsciously do that with the first impression we have about anything.

Someone said: ‘You never get a second chance to make a good first impression’. Your company name, logo and brand identity will go a long way to create a perception of what your agency represents. Perceptions, once created are hard to change so get it right the first time. What am I saying in essence? This is it: you cannot use the name you used to registered your ‘aluminium and steel rod business’ . Hahaha…in other words ‘Olalomi and Chukwu Ventures” won’t fly for your travel agency business, so don’t even attempt it. You need some cool and professional brand name like “Avea Travels and Tours Ltd”. Don’t ask me what ‘Avea’ means cos I don’t know. It was just a quick coinage – I hope the name doesn’t exist. You get? The following article will help you tremendously with your branding

Check: Branding Basics For Small Businesses and Startups | 16 Things To Do

#3. Write a travel agency business plan.
Your business plan is your blueprint for success. One of the first and most important things to do when starting any business is to come up with a winning strategy and a well-documented business plan. If you don’t win on paper, chances are that success will remain far away. For you to achieve a goal, you must have a guide – a road map, a blueprint. A travel agency business plan in essence is a written and planned course of action that is set to guide you in starting, running and managing your startup travel agency.

When writing a business plan, you should be realistic. Do not religiously exclude challenges because the truth is they are an inevitable part of your journey. Let your plan be able to anticipate and forestall inherent challenges. Do not overestimate in your business plan financials otherwise you will have some rude shocks. Know when and where to have conservative estimates in your financials.

Your business plan should cover the road blocks and the challenges you will probably encounter; it should have a strategy to analyze and avoid possible drawbacks. Your business plan should be such that when it is subjected to reality tests, it will come out better. In two words, be objective!

Your plan should show your travel agency’s vision and mission statements, the concept and description, competitive analysis, market analysis, target customers, costing, advertising, start-up capital, etc. once this is done, you do not need to labor hard convincing sponsors, banks and even investors in investing in your agency.

LivePlan is one of the top leading business plan software companies that can help you quickly get the best of your company business plan and strategy. It’s easy and fun to use with its intuitive guide and catchy presentations. This is their promise “your plan’s financial tables and charts will be error-free and your final plan will look polished, customized to your needs, and ready to impress investors, business partners, banks and SBA-lenders”. What is more profound is that they have a sample business plan template for starting a travel agency. You will however need to make it more relevant to your regional focus. We strongly recommend LivePlan .