Travel Agency and Tourism Website Services - Business Plan Example

BUSINESS PLAN Student name Instructor name Institution Date Table of Contents Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 Travel Agency Business 4 Tourism Website Services Business Plan 5 Identification of three strongest plan components 6 Strongest plan components of Tourism Website Services 6 Identification of the three weakest components of each plan 7 Suggestions on how to improve business plans 7 List of challenges faced and how you overcome them 9 A statement of five lessons you have learnt about business planning 10 Demonstration of business plan competences 11 Conclusion 12 Sources 13 Executive summary Technological advancements are responsible for drastic changes in the world. The internet has provided connectivity for people around the globe. Technology has transformed many industries to the extent to which internet are compulsory in all industries. Transformation in the tourism industry is at initial stages. Mexican tourism segments will be the focus of the Spanish resources. World Wide Web will be destination of Mexican resorts. Clients’ websites will attract many customers to the industry. The target market for the business is market for lawyers, doctors, executives and bankers. The services are differentiated to fit in exploitative niche. The company plans to utilize marketing resources to set up business niche for Mexican tourism market. The niche will have website design to attract resort operators to tourism destinations in Mexico. Carolyn will address cultural and human resource aspects in the company. Jerry will be responsible for finance, accounting, general business guidance, legal and finance aspects in the company. The kind of services provided by the agency will depend on the wealthy class of the clients. This is in terms of affordability. The business plans will provide analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the company. The first business plan is that of Tourism website services and Travel Agency Business. Adventure Excursions United is a Travel Agency which was started to provide accommodation, celebrity services upscale accommodation, gourmet food to wealthy clients. For clarity and visualization, sales forecasts will be presented in form of pie charts. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF BUSINESS PLANS 1. Tourism Website Services Business Plan 2. Travel Agency Business Plan Introduction Travel Agency Business Adventure Excursions Unlimited is a Travel Agency which was started to provide accommodation, celebrity services upscale accommodation, gourmet food to wealthy clients. Hard adventures for the business include mountain biking, helicopter skiing, white water rafting and kayaking. The founders of the travel agency are very passionate about the agency services. The business idea was started because of the growing nature of tourism industry. The adventure travel activities in the industry are also growing at a very fast rate. Hard adventure activities are very appealing to low income clients. Appealing companies to wealthy class of people opt for soft ventures in the industry. This is because of hard physical requirements associated with hard adventures. Soft adventure activities are associated with low physical requirements and this attracts high income clients. The travel agency will attract high income customers; hard adventure sports individuals and health conscious individuals to the venture. The travel agency will provide services at prestigious prices. The target market for the business is market for lawyers, doctors, executives and bankers. The services are differentiated to fit in exploitative niche. The members will not be too sensitive to prices as they have more disposable income. The prices will be segmented to meet needs of adventure travellers in the industry luxury and value addition will determine prices in the industry. Service differentiation is necessary so as to have market dominance over service providers who offer similar services in the industry. The interaction of business, tourism and technology will propel the Tourism agency idea to great heights. The kind of services provided by the agency will depend on the wealthy class of the clients. This is in terms of affordability. Tourism Website Services Business Plan This business plan outlines services, market analysis, strategy and implantation, financial plan and management summary of the company. The business profile is about provision of website tourism destinations in Mexico. Jerry and Carolyn are the founders of the company. The founders have extensive experience and competence in running the company. The initial investment of the company is $300,000. Founders of the company engage in research and development to collect information about market conditions and appropriate destinations for tourism. Investment in sales collateral will enhance image and quality of services of the company. Since the time when the company was incepted, quality and customer satisfaction are the major concerns of the company. Selection of single operations bases will enhance efficiency of the business. The startup requirements for the business include legal fees, stationery, brochures, insurance, rent, expensed equipment, research and development, consultancy and miscellaneous expenses. The basic services of the company will be in-depth website and basic website services. There is partnership plan in the company to enhance website efficiency and innovations. Operations in Mexico, Stamford and Connecticut will widen market operations. Stamford will be the Headquarter while Mexico will offer support in direct sales, account management, sales support and web design. Identification of three strongest plan components Strongest plan components of Tourism Website Services The market analysis component is detailed. The component provides details of target hotels and destinations of travel. Figures of projected travel websites are provided alongside market projections. According to the market analysis summary, advertisement will provide penetration into the Tourism market. The market segmentation section is also detailed with actual figures in reference to travel destinations which are targeted by the company. The business plan component provides estimates of beach resort areas like Ixtapa, Cancun, Acapulco and Zihuatenejo. There is also visual representation using pie chart in the business plan. The sales forecast component itemizes the business pan items amounts in different years. This is an adequate forecast to inform the process of decision making in the company. The sales forecast are subdivided into various sections for clarity of the business. The costs in sales forecast have also been classified for prudence and proper presentation of information. The management summary section highlights responsibilities of company founders. Carolyn will address cultural and human resource aspects in the company. Jerry will be responsible for finance, accounting, general business guidance, legal and finance aspects in the company. Identification of the three weakest components of each plan There is lack of SWOT and PESTE analysis in both business plans. The first business plan provides a mere discussion of how the Travel website services will gain competitive advantage. The sales strategy and sales forecast sections are not fully provided with facts to support the business pan. The sales bar graph merely presents sales by year against different resorts; this forecast is shallow and can be misleading to business managers. The business plan did not identify assumptions of the business venture. Assumptions form foundations of any business venture. Assumptions will drive expense budget and sales forecast for the business. examples of core assumptions for any business is the conversion rate of currency, the expected number of front office clients, strategic assumptions, required features, customer color preferences and specific product features to be included in the business. Suggestions on how to improve business plans Business plans provides roadmaps of a company. It is a way of communication to the expected clients and guide to business growth. You should be concise as possible with the use of clear language. Most investors will like to read short business plans. Business plans need to be ‘SMART’.A good business plan need to measurable, specific, attainable, realistic and timely. We need to include realistic ideas which will provide opportunities and challenges that will face the business. Conservativeness in business plan is by use of examples to show the business growth. Visual representation of information in the business plan will enhance clarity and visual presentation of business. Visual representation in business plans includes images, graphs and charts to give life to your business plan. Visualization in business plan will break text monotony and enhance flow of ideas in the business.it is wise to include creative ideas in the business plan to steal the attention of the reader. Creativity can be in form of templates which look different and portray unique picture to the reader/target audience. Identification of plans to validate and test the assumptions in the business plan will measure realistic levels in the business. Validation of assumptions will change business strategy. There is need to response to customer feedback fast before subsequent committing of spending plan as this will deviate from the original business plan. Description of company ambitions and spelling the clear company vision will cater for the missing components of the business. Comprehensive and credible analysis of methods to which a business will get target market will improve business plans. This needs to be in a cost effective manner. Customer knowledge is very important in business planning. Knowledge of business customers will overcome barriers and cost associated with market research. Assumptions will drive expense budget and sales forecast for the business. examples of core assumptions for any business is the conversion rate of currency, the expected number of front office clients, strategic assumptions, required features, customer color preferences and specific product features to be included in the business. List of challenges faced and how you overcome them The first challenge is incredible financial projections in terms of profit and loss accounts besides projected income statements. The figures in the statements need to be consistent, credible and verifiable. The figures need to demonstrate ability of company to generate cash flows while satisfying services. The second challenge is lack of viable business idea and opportunity. Most business plan ideas lack the capacity to exploit ability to deliver the idea. Most business plan readers lack the attention to grasp the idea fully. Lack of clear market route for the business plan idea is another big challenge. There is a challenge of exclusion of significant ideas like customer base in most business plan ideas. The growth of the internet has opened up business niche for most of customers in the market. Overestimation of revenues makes business plans to be unrealistic. Sales forecast need not provide excessive optimism for business. There is a challenge in exaggeration of business opportunities. Use of conservatism and proxies in business need guidance. Most business plans do not appreciate the importance of cash flow management. There is need to understand the difference between profits and cash in a business. Poor cash management makes a business vulnerable to insolvency. Well-structured business plans will reflect reality in business losses through use of financing provisions, limiting of overdrafts and advanced cash squeezing. Inclusion of contingency figures in business plans will address the problem of overspending which come with business expectations. There is a challenge of clear business objectives. There is imminent need to clarify investment opportunities. Most of business entrepreneurs do not undertake risk return analysis to determine issues to do with portfolio analysis. There is lack of real demand to justify sales forecast. Realistic business forecasts require use of subjective assessment in business. Assessment of demand levels will come up with sales revenues with optimistic estimates. Most business plans are inconsistent with business objectives. Inconsistencies arise due to presence of many authors of business plan and this risk will increase inconsistencies in the business plan. When presenting business plans need to recognize facts and cohesiveness of business plans. Master of facts will enhance consistent and eliminate contradictions in the business idea. Business plans fails to accept the presence of competition in generation of ideas. Business plans down play competition. Assessment of business needs will fulfill product needs. Business plans need to consider barriers to entry in the market. Demarcation of competition landscape will give advantage to competitors with good base of resources in the market. The challenge of rushing of business output will exaggerate accuracy of business ideas and implementation of estimates in the business idea. A statement of five lessons you have learnt about business planning Business planning is responsible for accurate estimates of revenue and sales forecast in the industry. Without business plans, investors make fatal miscalculations and rush to risk their money in the name of investing in business. Business planning aids to merge innovations with business realism so as to mitigate business loss. Innovations do not necessary outdo existing products in the market. Business modeling is part and parcel of business planning. Business modeling is a zero sum game. The third lesson is recognition of repeated business practices in planning to avoid costly mistakes in business. Business planning provides time frame to sell, market and expand the business. Business panning aids entrepreneurs to avoid copycatting of ideas which seem to work elsewhere. Duplication of ideas is costly for business growth. Business plans will allow equitable distribution of resource4s in a business so as to avoid overfunding. Allocation of scarce business resource4s will enhance efficient running of business.it is a disaster handling mass sellers and mass buyers at the same time. Business panning requires systematic allocation of duties and resources. Effective business planning ensures no wastage of scarce resources. The fifth lesson is improvement in business plan as a tool of prediction. Business planning will direct correct judgment of business speed and direction of investment plans. Technological innovations will enhance diffusion of ideas so as to dictate investment decisions. Business planning is a necessary process towards business success. It will assist an entrepreneur to avoid overcrowded markets and engage in constant business promotion to guarantee success. Small manageable ideas are better than large but unrealistic ideas in business practices. Business planning inculcates habit of efficiency in decision making and scheduling of businesses. To summarize, business planning acts as a yardstick to monitor business prospects and predict sales forecast. Demonstration of business plan competences Business plan core competences will lead to business diversification. Business diversification is in reference to risk mitigation tools and degree of responsiveness to global economic recession. Concepts such as operations, product management, customer service, sales and marketing, supply chain and inventory and research will demonstrate core business competences. Presence of risk analysis tools will complement market research. Market feasibility studies will ascertain the market health of business and mitigate over expectation. Strategic planning initiatives like SWOT, PSETE will showcase viability of business plan. SWOT analysis will identify core competences of business. Feasibility studies will determine strategic planning initiatives in business. Evaluation and analysis of business in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats will give an edge in strategic planning. Political, economic, social, technical and environmental analysis will assess the health status of the business. SWOT and PESTE analysis are effective tools of analysis in business. Conclusion Business planning inculcates habit of efficiency in decision making and scheduling of businesses. Business planning acts as a yardstick to monitor business prospects and predict sales forecast. . Concepts such as operations, product management, customer service, sales and marketing, supply chain and inventory and research will demonstrate core business competences. Business planning aids to merge innovations with business realism so as to mitigate business loss. Innovations do not necessary outdo existing products in the market. Assessment of business needs will fulfill product needs. Business plans need to consider barriers to entry in the market. Market feasibility studies will ascertain the market health of business and mitigate over expectation. Well-structured business plans will reflect reality in business losses through use of financing provisions, limiting of overdrafts and advanced cash squeezing. Business planning will direct correct judgment of business speed and direction of investment plans. Market feasibility studies will ascertain the market health of business and mitigate over expectation. Sources Vickers, F. (2006). The dynamic small business manager. S.l.: F. Vickers. http://www.bplans.com/tourism_website_services_business_plan/management_summary_fc.php Read More