How to start a travel agency in India (2026): the complete guide

Starting a travel agency in India has never been cheaper or faster — you can launch from home, sell packages on WhatsApp and Instagram, and grow without an office. But the agents who last are the ones who set up the boring foundations right (registration, GST, supplier relationships) and look professional from day one. This guide walks through exactly how to start, in order.

1. Pick a focus before you pick a name

The biggest early mistake is selling 'everything to everyone'. The agencies that grow fastest specialise: a destination (Bali, Dubai, Vietnam, Europe, Kashmir), a trip type (honeymoons, family holidays, pilgrimage, corporate MICE, destination weddings), or a customer (NRIs, a specific city's outbound travellers). A focus makes your marketing cheaper and your proposals sharper.

2. Register your business

• Choose a structure — sole proprietorship is simplest to start; an LLP or Pvt Ltd makes sense once you have partners or scale.
• Register the entity and open a current account in the business name.
• GST registration — required once you cross the turnover threshold, and most B2B clients and suppliers will expect it. See our GST guide for travel agents.
• Trade licence / Shops & Establishment registration as applicable in your state.

3. Decide: package seller or commission agent?

Your model shapes your taxes and margins. As a package seller (principal) you bundle hotels, transfers and activities and sell one price — GST is commonly 5% without input tax credit. As a commission agent you book third-party products and earn commission, commonly taxed at 18% with ITC. Many agents do both; just invoice each correctly.

4. Build supplier relationships (DMCs & vendors)

• Find reliable DMCs (destination management companies) for the destinations you sell — they give you ground rates for hotels, transfers and activities.
• Get on B2B portals and join DMC WhatsApp groups for live rates and offers.
• Negotiate net rates so you control your markup, and keep a clean vendor list with contacts and payment terms.

5. Look professional from the first message

Clients judge a new agency in seconds. A polished, branded proposal sent within hours of an enquiry beats a cheaper competitor's Word document every time. This is where most new agencies under-invest — and where you can instantly look bigger than you are.

6. Get your first 10 clients

1. 1Start with your network — tell everyone you now plan trips; your first bookings are friends, family and referrals.
2. 2Instagram + WhatsApp — post real itineraries and sample packages; let people DM you to enquire.
3. 3Niche down your content — 'Bali for couples under ₹X' converts better than generic 'book your dream holiday'.
4. 4Respond fast — speed of first reply is the single biggest predictor of closing a travel lead. Read how to send a proposal that converts.
5. 5Ask for referrals and reviews after every trip — word of mouth is an agency's cheapest growth.

7. Set up the tools that scale with you

Spreadsheets and WhatsApp work for your first few trips, but leads start slipping as you grow. A travel agency CRM keeps every enquiry, proposal, booking and follow-up in one place — so nothing is lost and you can see what's actually converting.

tripOS brings AI itineraries, branded proposals, GST invoicing, WhatsApp and online payments into one platform built for Indian agencies — from ₹2,499/month with a free 14-day trial. You can be sending proposals the same day you start.