Role and Scope of Travel Agency

Travel Agency –
Role, Scope and Challenges
SUBMITTED -BY
SUBMITTED- TO
SHIV RAJ
DR KUSUM
REG.NO-4189
Today, Travel Agencies have been recognized as a vital component of
travel and tourism and have become an integral part of the travel and
tourism industry at global. They account for more than 90% of international
and 70% of domestic tourist traffic
Further, more than 60% of all travel agency revenues are derived from
business travel. Most travel agencies sell both commercial and leisure travel
but there are many travel agencies which only specialized in one sector or
the other.
Size of the Indian market:
India is the second most
populous country in the world. At 1.35 billion people, the size
of the market is immense. In 2018, India generated $210
billion in revenue from the tourism sector alone which
accounted for 9.4% of India’s GDP. The size and strength of
this market makes it a flood with opportunities.
The industry is also becoming stronger as the population

spends more money on tourism, ensuring that the time is rife
for budding businessmen.
With over 9 percent of the GDP coming from tourism, even
the government has started initiatives to expand this industry.
As a result, there are career opportunities in the public and
private sector as well.
A large percentage of the country has started showing interest

in pursuing a career in this field thanks to the excellent travel
and tourism scope and salary in India.
 Demographics:
When you analyse Indian demographics, you can
see that there’s an upward trend in the travel industry. In other words, it’s
booming right now. 10.4 million individuals arrived in India from across the
world in 2017. As the lifestyle and spending power of Indians improved over
time, 23.94 million Indians travelled abroad. Domestic travel was higher than
ever, with 1652.49 million Indians travelling to other states. The signs are
promising. A travel start-up would thrive in such an environment.
 Travel is Becoming a “Lifestyle”:
The biggest change travel
and tourism, especially in the younger generation, is the
perception of what travel means to them. In addition to a
source of recreation and a means to unwind, travel is now
seen as a mode of soul searching, of finding oneself and of
broadening one’s horizons. Travel has gone from what was
once a luxury, to a lifestyle choice. It is an experience that
helps one grow and mature, to discover themselves.
Top Challenges Facing the Travel Industry
Competitive pricing from Big Players:
Established travel
businesses can present competitive rates to a customer that a
start-up may not be able to match at least during its initial
phase. It is because of this reason that a lot of start-ups take
massive financial hits from the very beginning.

Marketing costs:
The cost of marketing in the realm of
‘tours and travels’ is significantly more expensive than almost
any other domain. Established players have access to
important ad words that are integral to marketing that start-
ups may not be able to afford because of the costs involved.
And unless you’re spending on marketing, there’s no way for
a new player to get noticed by their prospective customers.
Window shopping:
While many start-up travel businesses
may have interested parties knocking on their doors to
find out about prospective travel deals, the customer
may decide to go with an established party in the end.
This is because of the spotless track record of the
bigger, far more established OTA business
Social Media and Reputation
Management
or most of us, booking a holiday is a huge expense and an event that we

wait all year for. If you’re anything like me, it also entails painstakingly
planning every detail of your itinerary right down to the minute. Anything
that remotely jeopardises this has the potential to provoke a highly
emotional reaction (we’ve all seen those old episodes of Airline).
Suddenly, we were able to share our bad experiences and dissatisfaction

with airlines, hotels and tour operators on a large, public platform.
To some extent, we’ve come to expect the usual, low level, everyday
complaints, such as flight delays, made via social media and often, these
social outbursts aren’t enormously damaging to the reputation of the
company in question.
The Decline of High Street Travel
Agents
The Continued Popularity of Sharing Economies
& Peer to Peer Travel
According to cmo.com “the sharing economy has

disrupted the travel and hospitality industry almost as
much as the arrival of the internet affected the way
airlines and travel agencies do business”.
Also known as swap and share experiences, the sharing

economy refers to the collaborative consumption of
goods using a peer to peer service. It is often significantly
cheaper than purchasing a similar product/service from a
well-known business.
Voice Search
Digital marketers have been drumming this stat (now a

classic) into the brains of anyone who will listen for the
past couple of years: By 2020, at least 50% of all
searches will be voice orientated.
There’s no doubt that if you’re not already prepared

for voice search, then you should be. The travel sector,
in particular, need to be well equipped for this. Why?
Many reports are emerging which suggest that voice
search is especially relevant to those planning or
researching a holiday.
Thanks

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Travel Agency –

Role, Scope and Challenges

The industry is also becoming stronger as the population

A large percentage of the country has started showing interest

Competitive pricing from Big Players:

or most of us, booking a holiday is a huge expense and an event that we

Suddenly, we were able to share our bad experiences and dissatisfaction

According to cmo.com “the sharing economy has

Also known as swap and share experiences, the sharing

Digital marketers have been drumming this stat (now a

There’s no doubt that if you’re not already prepared

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