Travel Agency Business
ट्रैवल एजेंसी व्यवसाय · ट्रॅव्हल एजन्सी व्यवसाय
Sell holiday and pilgrimage packages, hotel bookings, flight, train and bus tickets, and visa help from a small office or from home.
Investment
₹3.3 lakh
Profit a month*
₹28,000
- Space
- 150 sq ft
- Staff
- Just you
*Operating profit before the loan instalment in year 2, at the assumed sales level. Change the assumptions in the calculator below.
A travel agency plans and books trips for customers: tour packages, hotels, flights, trains, buses, cabs, travel insurance and visa assistance. The agent earns a margin on packages and hotels and a service fee on tickets, buying through consolidators and B2B travel portals. It needs little equipment: a computer, a phone and working accounts with suppliers, so it can start from home. It suits someone who knows destinations well and is trusted by a circle of families, groups or companies. Plain ticketing earns very little because airlines pay almost no commission and online sites compete on price. The money is in packages, group tours and niche trips. The numbers here assume the owner works alone at first, with no paid staff. The hard parts are customers' advance money and supplier payments passing through your hands, cancellations and refunds, and seasonal demand.
Skills needed: Destination knowledge, careful costing, customer handling and comfort with booking portals. Short courses in travel and tourism help but are not required.
Profit calculator
Change the numbers to match your town68 ₹100 of sales/day: Packages and hotel bookings (per ₹100 sold) · 3 ticket/day: Ticket booked (service fee)
Total investment
₹3.29 lakh
Your own money
₹32,861
Subsidy
—
Bank loan
₹2.96 lakh
Mudra Kishore
A typical month in year 2
| Sales | ₹1,96,560 |
| Raw material & packing | −₹1,49,877 |
| Electricity | −₹922 |
| Salaries | ₹0 |
| Rent | −₹8,400 |
| Other running costs | −₹9,450 |
| Operating profit | ₹27,911 |
| Loan instalment (EMI) | −₹6,896 |
| You keep each month | ₹21,015 |
After the loan is repaid, the EMI becomes your income too. Your own salary is not counted as a cost: the profit is your income.
Need this for a bank loan?
Turn these numbers into a full project report: cost of project, means of finance, 5-year profit and loss, balance sheet, repayment schedule, DSCR and break-even.
Make my project reportInvestment breakdown
| Machinery & equipment | Price |
|---|---|
| Computers with printer and internet set-up × 2 | ₹90,000 |
| Office furniture, signboard and destination displays | ₹60,000 |
| Inverter / UPS | ₹20,000 |
| Machinery & equipment (without add-ons) | ₹1,70,000 |
| Business registration, GST and other paperwork | ₹15,000 |
| Deposits and wallet balance with booking portals | ₹50,000 |
| Rent deposit | ₹24,000 |
| Website, brochures and launch advertising | ₹30,000 |
| Working capital 0 days of raw material, 5 days of credit to buyers, 1 month of expenses | ₹39,605 |
| Total project cost | ₹3,28,605 |
Typical market prices as of October 2026, from supplier listings. Prices vary by brand, capacity and city; always get 2–3 quotes.
Cost and margin per unit
| Packages and hotel bookings (per ₹100 sold) (per ₹100 of sales) | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Cost paid to hotels, transporters and tour suppliers (margin about 15%) | 85.00 |
| Material cost | 85.00 |
| Selling price | 100.00 |
| Margin before running costs | 15.00 (15%) |
Capacity is ₹15,000 of package sales a day. A 2026 guide gives indicative margins of 10–20% on domestic packages, 15–25% on outbound packages and 8–15% on hotels.
| Ticket booked (service fee) (per ticket) | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Payment gateway and portal charges | 10.00 |
| Material cost | 10.00 |
| Selling price | 300.00 |
| Margin before running costs | 290.00 (97%) |
Only your fee is counted here, not the fare. The same guide puts air ticket commission or service fee at ₹150–800 a ticket.
Space, power and staff
150 sq ft
Rented shop · rent ≈ ₹8,000/month
Small-town rent for a small office. A home start saves the rent; set it to zero in the calculator. Guides put a home-based set-up at ₹1.3–3.7 lakh and a small office at ₹4–8 lakh in all.
1 kW, single-phase
Bill ≈ ₹1,500/month at full capacity
You alone
Licences and registrations
Business registration and Shop and Establishment registration
mandatoryWhen: Before taking customers' money · Cost: Published guides quote about ₹8,000–30,000 depending on the structure
GST registration
if applicableWhen: When your own income crosses the registration limit; suppliers and corporate clients often expect it earlier · Cost: Free
GST for tour operators and ticketing agents has special valuation rules, and tax collected at source applies to overseas packages. Take a CA's advice before your first package sale.
IATA accreditation
if applicableWhen: Not needed to start · Cost: High; needs financial guarantees
Small agencies issue air tickets through consolidators and B2B portals instead.
Ministry of Tourism recognition
recommendedWhen: After a few years of operation · Cost: Varies
Voluntary; it adds credibility with customers and suppliers.
Authorised agent registration for rail tickets
if applicableWhen: Before booking train tickets commercially · Cost: As set by the railway's e-ticketing arm or its principal agents
Booking rail tickets for customers on a personal ID is not allowed.
How it works
- Understand the traveller's dates, budget and interests.
- Cost the trip with suppliers and quote in writing, with inclusions, exclusions and cancellation terms.
- Take an advance; book transport, hotels and local services; send confirmations.
- Collect the balance before travel and hand over vouchers and contact numbers.
- Stay reachable during the trip; settle supplier bills and ask for a review.
Loan route
Mudra loan (Kishore)
Own money ₹32,861 · Loan ₹2.96 lakh · EMI ≈ ₹6,896
No collateral, no subsidy.
How Mudra worksPMEGP (new units)
Subsidy ₹49,291 (general, urban) to ₹1.15 lakh (special category, rural). EMI ≈ ₹5,746–₹4,597.
Own money 5–10%. Subsidy is held as a 3-year deposit, then adjusted against the loan.
How PMEGP worksAssumes 10.5% interest, 5 years including a 6-month moratorium. PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
No collateral and no third-party guarantee (covered by the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units).
Who buys and how to sell
Buyers
- Families and honeymoon couples
- Pilgrimage groups
- Schools, colleges and clubs (group tours)
- Companies (staff travel and incentive trips)
- Senior citizens' groups
Ways to sell
- References from past travellers
- WhatsApp and social media with real trip photos
- Tie-ups with societies, temples and associations for group tours
- Corporate accounts
- A Google Business listing
Season: Peaks in school summer holidays, Diwali and Christmas breaks, and pilgrimage seasons; quiet in the monsoon.
Competition: Online travel sites, big tour companies and many local agents. A local agent wins on trust, personal planning and being reachable when something goes wrong.
Risks and how to handle them
A supplier fails to deliver or a portal blocks your wallet after you have taken the customer's money
Use established suppliers, keep written confirmations and do not prepay unknown operators.
Cancellations, refunds and disputes
Give written cancellation terms before taking any advance and pass refunds on promptly.
Income from plain ticketing is too low
Build packages, group tours, visas and insurance, where margins are better.
Mixing customers' money with your own
Keep a separate bank account for customer advances and supplier payments.
Tips from the trade
- Pick two or three destinations or trip types and become the local expert on them.
- Group tours earn more per departure than individual bookings for the same effort.
- Travel with your first few groups; you learn what goes wrong and customers remember it.
Questions people ask
Do I need an IATA licence to start a travel agency?+
No. Published guides agree that a registered business, a bank account and GST registration where required are enough. Air tickets can be issued through consolidators and B2B portals.
How much does a travel agent earn on a flight ticket?+
Very little from the airline. Agents mostly charge a service fee, which a 2026 guide puts at roughly ₹150–800 a ticket. Packages and hotels carry better margins.
How much investment is needed to start a travel agency business?+
About ₹3.29 lakh for a small unit: ₹1.7 lakh for machinery and equipment, ₹1.19 lakh for set-up costs and ₹39,605 as working capital (stock, credit to buyers and one month of expenses). Prices as of October 2026.
How much profit can a travel agency business make per month?+
At 45% of capacity, sales are about ₹1.97 lakh a month and operating profit about ₹27,911 before the loan instalment. After an EMI of about ₹6,896, the owner keeps about ₹21,015 a month until the loan is repaid. These are estimates; your prices, rent and sales decide the real figure.
Can I get a Mudra loan or PMEGP subsidy for travel agency?+
With a project cost of about ₹3.29 lakh, the bank loan of about ₹2.96 lakh falls under Mudra Kishore. Mudra has no subsidy. As a new unit you may instead apply under PMEGP, where the subsidy is 15–35% of the project cost (up to about ₹1.15 lakh here for a special-category applicant in a rural area). PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
What licences are required for travel agency?+
Mandatory: Business registration and Shop and Establishment registration. Depending on your set-up you may also need: GST registration, IATA accreditation, Ministry of Tourism recognition, Authorised agent registration for rail tickets.
Similar businesses
Catering Service Business
कैटरिंग सर्विस व्यवसाय · केटरिंग सर्व्हिस व्यवसाय
Cook and serve food for weddings, functions, corporate events and religious gatherings on a per-plate rate with your own team and equipment.
Investment
₹7.9 lakh
Profit*
₹51,000/mo
Space
600 sq ft
Driving School Business
ड्राइविंग स्कूल व्यवसाय · ड्रायव्हिंग स्कूल व्यवसाय
Teach learners to drive a car in a dual-control vehicle and help them through the licence process, with a transport department licence.
Investment
₹5.4 lakh
Profit*
₹23,000/mo
Space
150 sq ft
Coaching Classes Business
कोचिंग क्लासेस व्यवसाय · कोचिंग क्लासेस व्यवसाय
Teach school or competitive-exam students in batches from a rented hall or a room at home. Income depends on results and reputation.
Investment
₹3.4 lakh
Profit*
₹24,000/mo
Space
600 sq ft
Sources
- DMCQuote: how to start a travel agency in India in 2026
- The Munim: how to start a travel agency in India
- LegalWiz: how to open a travel agency in India
- Udyam Registration
Prices as of October 2026. Prices here come from online listings and published guides and have not yet been confirmed with local suppliers. Profit figures are estimates from the assumptions above, not a promise of income.
Spotted an outdated price? Tell us. Data for this page: HowIndiaEarns.