What do I need to set up an online travel agency?

I'm inclined to agree with the other 2 answers - don't do it. But if you insist: 1) Your IATA licence is just a starting point.   Talk to IATA about how to go about it (their website will give you contacts - last time I looked the UK was run from an office in Madrid!).   It is in their interests that you understand what you are getting in to so they will walk you through what you need.   You will need to post an insurance bond so you will need a business plan to given them some idea of projected turnover. 1a) Once you have your licence you can start approaching airlines to get authority to issue their tickets.   You can't just issue tickets on any airline because you have an IATA licence. 1b) At the same time you might want to negotiate with the airline about what access they will provide you to consolidator fares.   In fact you might want to have that in your back pocket before you apply for the IATA licence otherwise your pricing isn't going to be competitive. 1c) Agents don't earn commission any more.   You need to add a fee to the fare the airline chanrges to make any money. 2) Go to the CAA and get an ATOL - another bond and the same business plan. 3) Find someone to build your website for you.   There are a whole range of companies out there who have differing levels of expertise.   Some are UK based, some are based in India, at least one is based in Germany.   The cost will depend on what you want to do.   Many people find the only way to make money these days is by selling ancillaries like hotel and car hire and insurance and suitcases and car parking and ..... 4) Make sure your website developer can work with the GDS you choose.   All the GDS have APIs but some developers only know one (although they claim to know them all).   Negotiating your GDS contract is going to be interesting. 5) Find an accounting package 6) Find a mid office/booking management package (one developer might provide them all but you might find different ones best for your environment 7) Arrange banking particularly wth regard to credit and debit cards.   Be sure you understand how much you will pay the card companies and what your exposure to fraud is - travel is an area that fraudsters target. 8) Get a limited company 9) Decide on a trading name.   Make sure you can secure ALL the URLs you will need - not just http://yourname.co.uk but http://yourname.org.uk http://yourname.com etc etc. I'm going to stop because much of what I'm writing now is just about business but I'll go back to the beginning DON'T DO IT.   There's too much competition and not enough profit.

Don't do it - there are enough OTA's out there and it's like swimming with sharks. Integrate with an OTA as an affiliate partner and create something unique. It'll cost you serious hundreds of thousands $ to create your own OTA and by you asking the question to start with, that means you don't have the experience from prior start ups in OTAs. :)

For starting online travel agency [OTA], I strongly recommend using Trawex’s OTA Services. Earlier to start any travel agency very high investments were needed,but now Trawex has made it simple and affordable. To create an http://www.trawex.com/travel-tech/ota-solutions.phpyou must have to contact to a http://www.trawex.com/travel-website-development.php who will provide you the http://www.trawex.com/third-party-integrations.php also. The travel portal design helps to attract customers and travel portal API integration helps you to get all travel portal functionalities and maintain the data base of your website which helps to maintain the timing of bookings of clients.

is perfectly correct - just don't do it. Too much competition and you have to be an absolute expert in the travel industry to understand what's going on. If you insist, you can contact one of the GDS companies - Sabre, Travelport or Amadeus and have a little chat with their reps. All three offer online integration so that you can sell online and offline. I can tell you right now - it's very expensive. If you want to go the cheaper route, try The Travel Store Maker (http://travelstoremaker.com) where they will build a site for you at a minimal cost and then you share profits with them according to bookings made through your site. You decide how much to add to each booking.

Check local and state lawsThe first step to be taken before starting any business is to check with state and local laws.Your business should comply with all applicable of Travel Industry. Depending on where you live, you may have to file paperwork to get your business registered.Develop a Business PlanThe next step before starting out is to thoroughly plan out the business scheme. Have a clear picture in mind of what you want your business to be like and what exactly you want to provide your customers.A thorough business plan also helps in securing funding from investors if you need additional capital to kick start your business.Identify Target AudienceIdentifying the target audience of your Travel Startup will surely streamline all your business processes.Put some online research to figure out what demographic is more likely to be interested in the services you are providing and plan accordingly to target them.Predict Business RequirementsMake a check list of whatever you will be needing – any equipment, stationary, supplies, number of employees.Calculate Projected Cash FlowConsider all your possible financial obligations which might include insurance premiums, business registration, and various taxes. Also, consider your projected income.Don’t forget to consider various recurring costs.Cash flow information is a critical component of any business plan which also helps you to figure out whether your Travel Startup will be viable.Get a Space for your StartupGet a dedicated place to work, be it a small cabin or just a small room in the home.Getting a dedicated space will give you a sense of work, while keeping away all the random distraction.Dedicated space also increases your dedication to work.Build a Website/Mobile AppWhen your Startup prototype is ready and all things are planned, the next step is to get a website/mobile app or both (depending upon your business) built for your Travel Startup.Make sure, you hire an experienced and prominent http://www.enukesoftware.com/travel-portal-development-services.html Company to do all the technical tasks for you, since an experienced and prominent company is well aware of all the constraints of startups.Spread the WordStarting a Travel Startup and getting a website/mobile app is not enough to make your business a success.With so much competition, you need to spread the word pretty well to make yourself visible to the people looking for the services you are providing.Plan out some great digital marketing and social media strategies to reach out more and more people. However, do not spam!If you outsource your project to a prominent and experienced company in India, it will cost you $10k to $50k. However, the precision depends on services you want to provide and features you want to implement.Hope this helps you with your startup! :)

OTA means Online Travel Agency all related travel packages region wise allow the tickets . If you want to go about it first you want to become an agent or otherwise you are able sell your own products in the market. http://www.trawex.com/travel-tech/ota-solutions.php

You only need $99 to set up your online travel agency. http://quicktravelaffiliate.com/start-own-online-travel-agency-under-100-dollars/. Selling Air is not profitable and doesn't give you good commissions either. Sell hotel and you can start making decent money even while you sleep.

For starting online travel agency, i will recommend using TravSell Services. Earlier to start any travel agency very high investments were needed, but now TravSell has made it very affordable with its new pricing packages. Now you can just have travel affilate setup at $50. TravSell has built many custom travel affiliate websites and they are generating much profits in their business. Visit the link, if you want to http://travsell.com/ with low investment and high profits.

To create online travel agency you must have to contact to a web designing company who will provide you the travel portal api. The travel portal api helps you to maintain the data base of your website which helps to maintain the timing of bookings of clients. The api helps to manage it. Livepro softech Pvt ltd  have already created many travel oriented websites. We also provide payment gateway facilities in your website. Which helps client to pay the payment from online. For more details visit http://www.livepro.in