Posted by Joseph Reyes in 
Promoting a travel business in today’s economy is a rough job. If people have the money to travel, they may be afraid to fly. If they’re not afraid to fly, they may consider the extra security at the airports too much of a pain. But if the whole flying thing is OK with them, their destination could be the next nation to be in turmoil. What do you do?
Let them Know you’re There
Get yourself listed! There are opportunities for free listings. The same companies that list attractions, restaurants and accommodations can list your business just as well. Tripadviser is only one of the free listing services available on the Internet. You can post videos, photographs and reviews of your service and give people a chance to respond as well. Don’t forget to monitor those responses; because that’s going to be the way you find out just exactly what your reputation is. Check to see what it is there saying about you on the Internet. Travel forums are full of intense conversations and discussions; use them. By keeping up with these forms you can acquire implementation ideas and become more educated regarding your target market.
Be Self Assured, But Watch your Self-Promotion Ethics
Promoting your business is absolutely OK. If you take advantage of Tripadviser however, seeding the websites is a great way to really anger anybody who might have had an interest in your business. You want to be careful of the kind of reputation you build. Use your professional travel knowledge to offer advice or answer questions on the travel forums. Be the nice guy. And by all means if you have any satisfied customers, make sure they get on the travel forums, or blogs, or Tripadviser and let everyone know what a great time they had after booking with your service.
Giving away a promotional folders, pens, pencils, and T-shirts is also a great way to bust business.