Starting Out
“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.”
- Thomas Alva Edison
This section can also be a valuable diagnostic tool for reviewing your existing businesses.
Tourism is one of the world’s fastest growing and most competitive industries. It is multi-faceted and is constantly changing because of economic conditions, cultural and social trends.
It can appear deceptively simple – after all, it’s all about ‘people’ and simply meeting their needs for rest, recreation, entertainment and education. However, even at the micro-business level a successful tourism operator requires a mix of business management, marketing and technical skills, with a heavy dose of customer service ability and consumer psychology as well !
Check list of desirable personal attributes to become a tourism busines(69 kb)
The hours can be long and irregular and you are often required to work when others are at play. Because of this, it can affect relationships and family dynamics, so it is important that your decision to enter the tourism industry is fully supported by those close to you. Generally speaking, it’s not an industry that generates large incomes for business owners. A significant percentage of businesses are what are termed ‘lifestyle’ businesses and they generate little profit at all.
Having said all that, the business of tourism can be one of the most exciting, challenging and personally rewarding industries to be involved in. The aim of this module is to provide some important building blocks to maximise your chances of success. However, it is no substitute for professional advice: from legal and accounting experts, industry specialists, other tourism operators and regional/local tourism staff.
Contact Tourism Alliance Victoria for a listing of Victoria’s major regional and local tourist associations
As a starting point, you should consider enrolling in Tourism Alliance Victoria’s ‘Starting Up in Tourism’ short course. It is a small outlay in resources to learn some fundamentals before committing often substantial time and money to your next career choice.
Learn more about the Victorian Government’s ‘Under New Management’ training programs, which are held across Victoria
The Office of Small Business has developed a useful online step-by-step guide to starting a business. It’s a free tool to assist in thinking through all the key elements you should consider
Access the Step by Step Guide to Starting a Small Business.
The following sections provide information in response to some of the most commonly asked questions and to issues facing newcomers to the industry:
- What research should I do ?
- What planning should I do ?
- How should I plan my marketing ?
- Should I buy an existing business or establish a new one ?
- How much should I pay for a business ?
- What permits/ licences do I need ?
- What insurances do I need ?
- What skills do I need ?
- Who should I be talking to ?
This section, ‘Starting Out’ is also valuable to existing business as a diagnostic tool for reviewing your business.