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10 Best Travel and Tourism Franchises [Cost, Fees]

Do you want to start a tourism business by buying a franchise? If YES, here are 10 best tourism franchise opportunities for sale and their cost. Tourism is a very big industry in the United States. People travel for various reasons and chief among them is to relive the pressures of the work year. With convenient online tourism destination sites, people now find it easy to make all their travel arrangements at the click of a mouse.

People like to vacation, and tourism businesses help make these dreams a reality by simplifying the often difficult task of planning a trip, whether for solo travelers, group travel, family travel, or more. Tourism agencies can help tourists plan entire vacations and find amazing deals on accommodations and activities in the process thus making the whole process easy for would-be tourists.

If you want to carve a niche in the tourism industry, we have listed out a few of these businesses to help you out.

Travel & Tourism Franchise Opportunities

A. Hotel Franchises

B. Travel & Tour Agency Franchises

C. Amusement Park Franchises

D. Water Park Franchises

10 Best Travel & Tourism Franchise Opportunities for Sale and Their Cost

  1. Dream Vacations/Cruiseone

Founded in 1992, Dream Vacations is the leading home-based travel and tourism franchise in the United States. As part of World Travel Holdings (WTH), they have maintained the position as the world’s largest seller of cruise vacations.

Beyond their growing clientele base, they have mastered the art of unrivaled buying power, innovative marketing programs, and dedicated franchisee support. Undoubtedly, their network of 1300+ home-based travel franchise owners stand out above the rest!

Dream Vacations franchisees sell travel packages, including travel protection, shore excursions, hotels and tours to individuals, couples, families, businesses and groups. The company offers in-house financing to cover only the franchise fee, so franchisees are required to seek financing for other requirements.

Financial Requirements

  • Initial Investment – $3,245 – $21,850
  • Initial Franchise Fee – $495 – $9,800
  • Ongoing Royalty Fee – 1.5-3%

Veteran Incentives – 20% off franchise fee; training fee waived for business partner; training fee waived for first veteran/military spouse associate, reduced by 50% for additional associates; marketing assets.

  1. Expedia Cruiseshipcenters

Expedia CruiseShipCenters launched in 1987 and it is a leading seller of cruise travel in North America. Their travel agency franchise is rapidly expanding, with over 290 locations open or under development.

The growth is driven by three overarching factors: their proven business model is affordable to start and extremely scalable, their focus on cruise vacations makes them a trusted resource among cruise customers who overwhelmingly prefer to book with a travel/tourism agent, and the cruise industry is growing quickly.

In addition to cruises, Expedia CruiseShipCenters franchisees sell vacation packages, tours, excursions, travel insurance and more. The company has been franchising since 1987 and is part of the Expedia Inc. family of brands. The comapny has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover
franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable and payroll.

Financial Requirements

  • Initial Investment – $165,495 – $281,990
  • Net-worth Requirement – $300,000
  • Liquid Cash Requirement – $100,000
  • Initial Franchise Fee – $39,000 – $39,000
  • Ongoing Royalty Fee – 9%
  • Ad Royalty Fee – $600/mo.
  • Veteran Incentives – 15% off franchise fee
  1. Cruise Planners

Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Services Representative, is a home-based travel agent network. Cruise Planners travel agents work from home selling full-service travel packages, including cruises, land-based vacations, travel insurance, car rentals and more.

Cruise Planners has been named the nation’s number one home-based travel franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 16 straight years. Their unmatched training, marketing, technology and individualized coaching allow franchisees to work from anywhere, be your own boss, and travel the world.

Cruise Planners offers in-house financing to cover just the franchise fee, so franchisees are required to seek financing for other requirements.

Financial Requirements

  • Initial Investment – $2,295 – $23,367
  • Initial Franchise Fee – $695 – $10,995
  • Ongoing Royalty Fee – 3%
  • Liquid Capital Required: $10,995
  • Total Investment: $2,295 – $23,617

Veteran Incentives – 28% off franchise fee, free training for co-owner/associate, $250 marketing credit, $60 design credit, 3 months free technology access, free software license, 1 year free errors & omissions insurance.

  1. Cruise Holidays

Cruise Holidays, a cruise travel franchise, was founded in 1984. It is part of Travel Leaders Group, a travel services parent company comprised of multiple operating subsidiaries. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cruise Holidays is made up of retail locations as well as home-based franchise owners concentrated in the United States and Canada.

Cruise Holidays is a highly-respected travel franchise company with over 200 locations internationally. Travel is a booming industry with strong earnings potential, and franchisees can set their own hours and have the added benefit of discounted or free cruise and hotel stays. Cruise Holidays offers a national marketing program and both home-based and retail models are available.

Cruise Holidays has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover just franchise fee and startup costs, so franchisees are required to seek financing elsewhere for other requirements.

Financial Requirements

  • Initial Investment – $10,350 – $160,350
  • Net-worth Requirement – $15,000
  • Liquid Cash Requirement – $10,350
  • Initial Franchise Fee – $9,500 – $30,000
  • Ongoing Royalty Fee – Varies
  • Veteran Incentives – 10% off franchise fee
  1. All About Honeymoons

All About Honeymoons is a home-based travel agency franchise that provides and ensures your dream honeymoon destination meets your social, recreational and environmental desires. All About Honeymoons is an award winning travel company that specializes in creating romantic vacations for newlywed couples.

Rather than pitching packages, All About Honeymoons works with couples to plan a personalized, magical honeymoon that couples will remember for the rest of their lives. With travel connections, All About Honeymoons is also able to negotiate lower prices for the couple so honeymooners can have a great experience without breaking the bank.

The business also caters to couples who want to hold a destination wedding. As it can be difficult to plan a wedding so far from home, All About Honeymoons can accept the responsibility for ensuring that destination weddings go off smoothly.

They continually expand their reach to more exotic, less traveled destinations. They believe that personalized service from someone that you can speak with and even meet in person is the ideal way to plan romance travel, especially when it involves a honeymoon trip or all inclusive honeymoon package.

Financial Requirements

  • Liquid capital required – $30,000
  • Net worth required – $100,000
  • Investment – $30,000 – $75,000
  • Franchise fee – $10,000
  1. Discovery Map International (DMI)

Discovery Map International is the country’s leading provider of curated guides to top tourist destinations, cities and towns throughout North America. The distinctively colorful, hand-drawn maps are a favorite of travelers for navigating local dining, attractions, businesses, cultural experiences, ski destinations – and even the best locations to take selfies.

Discovery Maps can be found in local hotels, restaurants, shops, visitor information centers and other participating venues.

Discovery Map International began as Resort Maps in 1977. Its colorful, hand-drawn maps became such a favorite of travelers for navigating local dining, attractions, businesses, cultural experiences and ski destinations that tourists frequently made the comment, “I wish we had these in our town.”

So Resort Maps began franchising in 1992. In 2005, current CEO Peter Hans purchased the company. In 2011, Resort Maps merged with Discovery Map International. The company retained the Discovery Map International name. Discovery Map Int’l. Inc. has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover just franchise fee, so franchisees are required to seek financing elsewhere for other requirements.

Financial Requirements

  • Initial Investment – $35,250 – $44,950
  • Initial Franchise Fee – $25,000 – $25,000
  • Ongoing Royalty Fee – 10%
  • Veteran Incentives – 20% off franchise fee
  1. Hospitality International, Inc.

Hospitality International represents five hotel brands: Red Carpet Inn, an economy to mid-level hotel chain started in 1968; Passport Inn, a budget and economy hotel chain with generally small properties; Scottish Inns, an economy, limited-service chain started in 1967; Master Hosts Inns, a mid- to upper-middle hotel chain with locations primarily in resort or destination areas; and Downtowner Inns, an economy to upper-economy hotel chain with locations primarily in city centers or downtown areas.

Hospitality International, Inc. offers franchising opportunities with five nationally recognized hotel brands in the economy to mid-level markets for existing hotels and motels. Each of their brands is supported by the same corporate staff and they share the same reservations and marketing systems.

Financial Requirements

  • Initial Investment – $133,600 – $2,602,000
  • Initial Franchise Fee – $5,000 – $15,000
  • Ongoing Royalty Fee – $35/room/mo.
  1. iTrip Vacations

iTrip Vacations is a web-based vacation rental and property management company that is revolutionizing the way guests book and use vacation homes. With leading technologies and platforms for franchisees, iTrip’s goal is to become one of the most trusted brands in the vacation rental industry.

iTrip® originally started because the company’s founders had a need for their own vacation rentals and could not find an adequate solution in the marketplace. Focusing on a single territory, they have developed and are operating a multi-million dollar business in Panama City, FL. This territory allows them to continually test and perfect new innovative strategies that when successful, are ultimately shared system wide.

Financial Requirements

  • Liquid capital required – $125,000
  • Net worth required – $300,000
  • Investment – $123,400 – $152,700
  • Franchise fee – $40,000
  1. Results Travel

Results! Travel is part of the Travel Leaders Franchise Group, which also franchises Travel Leaders. Existing travel agencies can become franchisees of Results! and gain access to the company’s resources, suppliers, training and technology while maintaining their own business name.

Results! Travel presents investors with a means to achieve greater revenue for their sales. The company gives franchisees the chance to join other agencies without requiring a multi-year commitment or huge cost to join, without requiring them to change their name or lose their unique identity.

Results! Travel offers their businesses the chance to override agreements with carriers who carry over half of the U.S. air traffic; override on car rentals; lucrative commission structures with tour companies and cruise lines; and a hotel program with preferred rates and last-room availability at major hotel groups.

Financial Requirements

  • Initial Investment – $25 – $10,400
  • Initial Franchise Fee – $1,500
  • Ongoing Royalty Fee – to $300/yr.
  1. UNIGLOBE Travel

UNIGLOBE Travel is a global network of travel agencies that focuses on servicing the needs of small to mid-size corporate clients and providing leisure services to those same travelers. By harnessing leading industry technologies, they combine the best of the automation with the highest levels of personalized service. The company has agencies in over 50 countries worldwide to support the global needs of their SME clients.

UniGlobe Travel is a travel-agency franchisor designed to handle the needs of both the corporate and leisure client. The company franchisees benefit from money-saving automation agreements, exclusive territories, and top-notch incentive commission programs with major airline, hotel, car rental, tour and cruise-line companies in the $300 billion travel market.

Financial Requirements

  • Liquid capital required – $20,000
  • Net worth required – $60,000
  • Investment – $46,600 – $63,500
  • Franchise fee – $2,000