Franchise marketing for travel agencies brings travellers who want personal advice to the travel agency near them, for long-haul trips, tours and group travel. Our team arranges this for all locations at once, with one contract and one monthly report for the franchise brand.
What makes marketing for travel agency chains different?
Many trips are booked online, but for complex trips (tours, long-haul destinations, groups) people look for personal advice. They choose a travel agency with knowledge of the destination and good reviews.
For head office, this means keeping the brand strong nationally and helping every travel agency win locally at that moment of decision.
How do travellers search for travel agencies?
The search query reveals what the customer needs. We build the profile, location page and advert around it.
| Search query | What the location needs to be chosen |
|---|---|
| travel agency [town] | Profile with opening hours and appointments |
| tour advice travel agency | Specialisms per travel agency |
| long-haul travel agency | The team's destination knowledge |
| organise a group trip | Group travel as a service |
How the same question sounds in an AI assistant
In ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews, travellers ask longer questions, for example: "Which travel agency nearby can put together a tailor-made tour of Japan and has experience with it?" An AI can only recommend a travel agency if those details appear literally in the profile, reviews and location page. That is why we combine local visibility with profile management for every location.
What goes wrong at travel agency chains?
These are the four bottlenecks we come across most often at travel agency chains. Each one costs customers, and none of them resolves itself.
Destination knowledge invisible
Staff with travel experience are not mentioned.
Booking an appointment is difficult
Travellers cannot schedule an advice appointment online.
National offers only
Local travel evenings and promotions cannot be found.
Reviews after the trip forgotten
Satisfied travellers are not asked for a review.
Our approach for travel agencies
Our approach is organised per channel around the customer journey of travel agencies. Your team approves, we deliver per location.
| Channel | Use for travel agencies |
|---|---|
| Travel agency pages | Team with destination knowledge, specialisms and appointment booking |
| Google Business Profile | Appointment link, posts about travel evenings and offers |
| Inspiration and offers from a local sender | |
| Social media | Travel stories from staff and customers (with consent) |
| Review management | Review request after returning home |
No time or expertise in-house? Leave your franchise marketing to us.
Rules and points of attention for travel agencies
Travel offers must state the total price including mandatory costs. Only mention guarantee schemes such as SGR or the Calamiteitenfonds if the travel agency is a member.
We include rules like these in the marketing handbook for franchisees. Legal questions are checked by the franchise brand's legal adviser.
What does better visibility deliver for travel agency chains?
The NFV services sector, under which we classify travel agencies, counted 375 franchise brands with 9,721 locations and €4.7 billion in revenue in 2025. That is an average of around €483,000 in revenue per location per year. The worked example below shows from what revenue effect the Growth package pays for itself.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Average revenue per location per year | €483,489 |
| Per month | €40,291 |
| 1% extra revenue per year | €4,835 |
| Cost of the Growth package per year | €3,000 |
| Break-even point: revenue growth required | 0.62% |
Which KPIs count for travel agency chains?
In addition to the standard KPIs in our monthly report (visibility, customer actions, reviews and position in Maps), in this sector we also look at:
| KPI | Why |
|---|---|
| Advice appointments booked | Start of a booking |
| Bookings per travel agency | Result |
| Travel evening attendees | Local engagement |
When should you plan marketing for travel agencies?
January is the most important booking month for summer; autumn is the moment for winter sports and long-haul trips. That is why we plan campaigns, posts and review requests on an annual calendar that is right for each location.
How do we get started with franchise marketing for travel agencies?
Every partnership starts with the same four steps, tailored to your sector. Head office approves, franchisees provide input now and then, and we carry out the work. After three months you have a comparison between the locations on the table.
| Period | What we do |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | Baseline measurement at three locations for searches such as travel agency [town] and tour advice travel agency, plus an AI test with fixed questions |
| Weeks 3-4 | Travel agency pages: team with destination knowledge, specialisms and appointment booking |
| Month 2 | Google Business Profile and email: inspiration and offers from a local sender |
| Month 3 | Social media live and first monthly report with advice appointments booked and bookings per travel agency |
Checklist: is your travel agency franchise brand in good shape online?
- Profile with opening hours and appointments
- Specialisms per travel agency
- The team's destination knowledge
- Group travel as a service
- Review management: review request after returning home
Can you not tick off every point for every location? Then the free scan shows you exactly where the gains are.
Who works on franchise marketing for travel agencies?
You will not get a revolving door of account managers. Gijs Bodenstaff is your fixed point of contact; Angela (local SEO analyst), Elisabeth (local advertising) and Peter (local SEO and link building) carry out the work, together with ten regular freelancers we have trained ourselves. Co-author Stanley Leijnse provides research and benchmarks. More about Franchise-Marketing.nl.
Related sectors and services for travel agencies
This page is part of franchise marketing for service businesses. Comparable sectors are marketing for pest control chains and franchise marketing for training institutes. For travel agencies we focus mainly on email marketing for franchise brands and local pages for every location. You can read what it costs in outsourcing local marketing for chains; you can get started with the hybrid marketing model.
Frequently asked questions about franchise marketing for travel agencies
Why would a traveller still go to a travel agency?
Can staff be featured online with their travel experience?
Travel agencies: what if one location is already doing well on its own?
What does franchise marketing for travel agencies cost?
From how many locations is this worthwhile for travel agency chains?
Do you also work for travel agency chains that are not franchises?
When should a travel agency chain plan its campaigns?
Which rules apply to travel offers in travel agency marketing?
How does a travel agency get more reviews from travellers?
Which KPIs do you measure for a travel agency chain?
Sources
Gijs Bodenstaff
Franchise marketer, local SEO and GEO specialist, author
Curious how the locations of your travel agency franchise brand are performing? Request the free scan of three locations.