5 Key Strategies for Building a Travel Business in 2026
1. Identify Blind Spots & Deploy Strategic Solutions
Understanding Your Weaknesses
- Conduct honest self-assessment of your business performance
- Compare current efforts to previous successful periods
- Recognize when past strategies are no longer working
The Five Main Problem Areas in Travel Businesses:
- Lead generation/marketing issues
- Sales closing challenges
- Poor customer service/retention
- Operational inefficiencies/lack of automation
- Work-life balance struggles
Action Steps:
- Hold yourself accountable for results
- Investigate what changed when performance declined
- Commit to fixing identified problems with concrete strategies
2. Master Marketing (or Hire Experts Who Do)
The Panic Posting Problem
- Agents post without strategy, hoping something works
- Posts without purpose yield no results
- Social media requires intentional planning, not reactive content
Marketing Reality Checks:
- More followers ≠ more business
- Posting alone ≠ marketing
- Business pages need paid promotion or viral strategy
- Every post needs a clear call-to-action and conversion strategy
Solutions:
- Plan content 1-6 weeks in advance (topics stay consistent even if execution changes)
- Learn marketing fundamentals or hire specialists
- Invest in testing and learning what works
- Be cautious about advice sources—ensure they understand the travel industry specifically
Warning Signs:
- Taking advice from people not running their own successful marketing
- Hiring marketers without travel industry expertise
- Following generic business advice without travel-specific context
3. Embrace Continuous Innovation
Why Innovation Matters
- Customer expectations constantly evolve across all industries
- Technology advances rapidly (compare 2016 to 2026)
- Businesses must innovate every 2-3 years to stay relevant
Areas to Innovate:
- Client service delivery and experience
- Operational systems and automation
- Technology integration (AI tools, practice models, etc.)
- Communication methods and touchpoints
- Marketing approaches and content quality
Key Principle: If clients experience cutting-edge service elsewhere (restaurants, salons, other businesses), your travel services must match or exceed that quality and innovation level.
4. Build & Engage with Positive Community
Why Community Is Critical:
- Most travel agents work in isolation from home
- Real-time crisis management requires immediate support
- Free Facebook feeds provide inconsistent, unreliable advice
- Quality matters more than quantity in your network
What to Look For:
- People running legitimate, successful businesses
- Experienced professionals who give solid advice
- Supportive environment (lifts you up vs. tears you down)
- Real-time discussions about current events and trends
The "Average of Five" Principle: You become the average of the five people you spend most time with—choose wisely. Surround yourself with people who are:
- Actively building something
- More knowledgeable than you in certain areas
- Inspiring and forward-moving
- Operating at higher capacity
5. Commit to Lifelong Learning
The Reality: Travel agents wear ALL the hats—CMO, COO, CEO, sales, service, operations, marketing. Each role requires ongoing education.
What You Need to Track:
- Political/Regulatory: Travel restrictions, airline rules, government policies
- Marketing: Platform algorithms, email regulations, trending strategies
- Destination Knowledge: Resort updates, construction, closures, new properties
- Crisis Management: Weather events, political situations, airline operational changes
- Technology: AI tools, automation systems, new platforms
Practical Learning Strategy:
- Use AI to get weekly travel industry trend summaries
- Bring information to trusted community for strategic discussion
- Learn from experienced professionals how to apply information
- Commit to regular continuing education (a few hours monthly)
The Secret to Success: Decisive Action
Two States of Being:
Crappy but Comfortable:
- Identifying same problems year after year
- Never taking action to fix them
- Staying stuck in fear
- Making no forward progress
Fearful but Forward:
- Making decisive decisions despite uncertainty
- Giving yourself grace to fail forward
- Maintaining momentum through continuous action
- Trying, testing, and learning from results
The Truth About Decisions:
- Not every decision leads to immediate success
- Making decisions and moving forward creates momentum
- The universe "rises to greet you" when you take action
- Windows and doors open when you commit to progress
- Success comes from alignment, not hustle
When You're Aligned:
- Work doesn't feel like a hamster wheel
- Each step moves you toward progress
- Opportunities appear at the right time
- Everything clicks into place
- You feel energized, not exhausted
Key Takeaways
- Assess honestly where your business needs improvement
- Invest strategically in marketing education or experts
- Stay current with technology and industry changes
- Build community with quality professionals
- Never stop learning—the industry moves too fast
- Make decisive decisions and maintain forward momentum
- Choose alignment over hustle for sustainable success
Resources Mentioned:
- Wanderlust Campus certification and training programs
- Passport to Learning continuing education community
- Goal Mapping Workshop
- AI Practice Models for skills development
- Masterclass for agency owners/CEOs