In the past few decades, service provider businesses have innovated themselves into true economy shapers. The global economy may not favor manufacturing powers as precisely as it used to about a century ago. Lifestyle – and above all, technology – are the prime movers, especially in demographics with higher levels of disposable income.
Therefore, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that the three top service sector entities – financial, travel, and technology, have come together to create some unique business models; from offshore weekend gateways to elaborate, month-long, customized tours of distant parts of the world.
In the United Kingdom, the inbound and outbound travel industry is much bigger than most people give it credit for. In 2018 alone, for instance, the industry contributed over £200bn to the UK economy. These figures are certainly comparable with other service industries like health and wellness.
Only in July 2018 (according to the latest data sets made available by the ONS), nearly 4 million overseas visitors visited various tourist destinations in the country. Note that these tourists were estimated to have spent over £2 billion during this one-month window.
The tourism and travel industry is also estimated to have employed over 3 million UK residents. This accounts for over a tenth of the entire UK workforce. Deloitte estimates this number to touch 4 million, come 2025. The rising clout of travel franchises in the UK has, no doubt, played a pivotal part in creating these employment opportunities.
Even though domestic and inbound travel accounts for the biggest share of the overall travel and tourism pie, it’s necessary to consider the outbound travel segment too. Britons spend over £40 billion each year on overseas trips (70% of which are to Europe). On an average, brits are among the most frequent vacationers in Europe.
A simple look at these numbers above should convince anyone that there’s a wide, deep pool of opportunities available for tourism and travel agency franchises. That they have been among the consistently efficient performers in all franchising sectors shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Note that since travel agency franchises are service providers, they tend to cost a lot less because there’s no extravagant spending involved in getting a franchise unit up and running. Have it in mind that much of the costs that you – as a franchisee – should be aware of will revolve around the franchise fees, staff salaries, utilities and marketing.
During the first few months, most travel agency franchises spend a great share of their budget on marketing and networking. Advertising online through PPC ads is the most common technique used by travel and tourism franchises, followed by social media marketing, referral marketing and local (offline) advertising.
If you work with a reputed franchisor, you will have their native marketing system to benefit from (for a fee, of course). If you wish to operate in a competitive territory, you will need to pour in additional funds of your own to stir up enough buzz and attract a steady stream of customers.
Nothing can compare with the pleasure of having your beloved activity giving you profit. Plus many travel agency franchises often require lower start-up value and lets you operate your business right from your home. If you decided to start this type of business, here are the best travel agency franchises in the UK.
6 Travel Agency Franchise Opportunities in UK and Their Cost
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The Travel Franchise – £11,000
The Travel Franchise & Not Just Travel is one of the UK’s leading travel companies. It is an independent travel company offering a friendly, one-to-one travel service, knowledge and experience of more than 700 caring travel professionals all over the UK.
The Travel Franchise is the franchise arm of the multi award-winning travel company Not Just Travel. It was established in 2001 and the franchise side of the business was launched in 2010. Note that they have seen over 700 people sign up to run their own business under the support and brand of Not Just Travel.
Their business model has been proven time and time again and the proof is in the pudding. The company’s aim is to take away the hassle and hardship from its franchisees, ultimately allowing you to get those sales in and earn an unlimited income.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £11,000
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GOCRUISE – £13,000
With a network of over 60 franchisees & backing of Fred! Olsen Travel, GoCruise & Travel is a premier UK cruise agent. Cruising has become a more common activity as more and more people choose to cruise for the holidays and even weekends.
GoCruise has the latest offers from all the top cruise lines. The company is a member of major travel organizations: ABTA, ATOL, CLIA, and BFA. As a GoCruise franchisee, you will be assigned your own territory with around a quarter-million of potential customers.
In addition, they will provide you with a dedicated head office support team, stationery start-up packs, joint funding assistance with marketing activities, franchise meetings, ongoing training, free ship visits to familiarise yourself with their major cruise lines, and of course, unrivalled support by their proven team of seasoned franchisors. You can sell and invest with confidence knowing that you are backed up by a legitimate brand.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £13,000
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Global Travel Group – £17,560
The Global Travel Group franchises and operates travel agencies in the United Kingdom. This company offers business opportunity to start, develop, and operate travel agency from home and business premises to its members. Having been standing for over 20 years, The Global Travel Group inspires people to run their own successful business within the dynamic world of travel.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £17,560
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The Holiday Franchise Company – £13,745
The Holiday Franchise Company has been created by travel professionals to open up this exciting industry to those with a passion for travel, who want the freedom of running their own business.
The business was created after recognising a need to welcome and support people into the industry who didn’t have experience but amazing skill sets and a passion for travel, so they created a unique franchise model which allows them to utilise and build on their own travel experiences. As part of Hays Independence Group, they have access to 500+ suppliers so they can tailor all franchisees business to their preferred area of specialism.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £13,745
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Explorer Travel – £5,996
Explorer Travel is the UK’s largest and most successful travel franchise. The company offers a unique opportunity to run successful internet travel franchise using proven successful formula. Becoming an Explorer Travel franchisee gives you the flexibility and freedom to live the life you want, while managing your own successful travel agency business from your own home.
Explorer Travel is a member of the Hays Travel Independence Group, the UK’s largest independent travel agent with an annual turnover last year of £900 million. As a member, they can offer you some of the best prices and commissions in the industry.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £5,996
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MTC Travel – £1,495 (plus VAT)
With the massive growth of the travel market over recent years, MTC Travel is delighted to offer you the opportunity to join its team of franchise partners, where with great experience and expertise, you will be able to start your own specialist travel business offering your clients a variety of travel destinations at some unbelievable prices.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £1,495 (plus VAT)
Everyone needs to travel every now and then. People spend more and more money on traveling. This makes the travel agency business a beneficial opportunity for future franchise owners.