starting my own business
By blueviva
@blueviva (2)
Mauritius
November 24, 2006 12:38am CST
I have started my own Tour Operator agency. Ihave received very good rates from hotels, and now the toughest, is to slook for travel agents and tour operators who are willing to promote Mauritius island which is an exotic destination
1 response
@airnavigator (369)
• United States
24 Nov 06
Does Mauritius Island have a government tourist board that promotes the island's tourist attractions? Do the hotels that you are working with have any connections with travel agents? Have you checked the Internet to find travel agents who are looking for exotic island destinations for their clients? Do you have a website or know of websites (operated by the government tourist board, a local tourist trade group, local hotels, etc.) that have pictures and information about the island's attractions?
Check these sources out to see what avenues are currently open for you to make contact with travel agents outside the country. If such avenues do not exist they you many have to invest in building an informative website that promotes not only your business but the island's attractions as well. You will also have to produce some glossy brochures promoting the island and your business to send to travel agents. But carefully select the travel agents you send them to as you want to target those who are most likely to refer travelers to the island.
If I recall correctly, Mauitius is located in the Indian Ocean so I would suggest that you first target Middle Eastern and European tourists. Since it is winter in Europe now (which makes it dark and somewhat gloomy as well as cold) I would target travel agents in places like London, Paris, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, etc. all of which have large populations, tend to have people who could afford the trip and could take time off in January - April to travel to Maitius. If you start now you might be able to get people coming after the holidays. Check the Internet for information and email address of travel agents in these areas as well as try to find newspapers from these cities on the internet and read the travel sections. You might even try writing articles about Mauritius and its attractions for tourists and send them to the newspapers in these cities as well as to travel magazines and the airlines for their inflight magazines. Include good pictures with the articles (the hotels might even pay for professional photographs for you if they can expect more business as a result.
Good luck.
