A travel agency website sells two things at once: the wish to go and trust in the people who organize the trip. It therefore has to show the destination large, let visitors search for a trip in three fields and put an adviser within reach of a phone. This page presents two travel agency websites, then the points to plan for when you create your own.
What a travel agency website has to do
- A search from the home page. Destination, departure city, date, length: visitors should be able to start a search without opening a menu. On Selectour, it is the first interactive element on the page.
- Complete trip pages. Photos, a day-by-day program, what is included and what is not, departure conditions: visitors compare, so they need enough to decide without calling.
- A visible adviser. A phone number at the top of the page, access to the agencies or the advisers, a quote request form. For a made-to-measure trip, human contact is what gets people to book.
- Online booking or a quote request. Depending on the agency: booking and payment directly on the site, or a request form that triggers a call back.
- The details that reassure. A travel agency must be registered with Atout France and show its registration number on its site, along with the details of its financial guarantee and its insurance (see the Atout France page on registration, in French).
- A site that reads well on a phone. A trip is often prepared in several sittings, on several screens: the site has to stay simple to use with a thumb, from the first tap to the form.
Two examples of travel agency websites
The first is an independent agency in Saint-Barthélemy, which is in our portfolio. The second is the website of a large network of agencies, which we show to compare two ways of presenting a trip. Each card shows the home page as it appears today on a desktop computer.
Elan Voyages St Barth
Made-to-measure travel agency · Saint-Barthélemy
The website of an agency that sells made-to-measure trips does not need a catalog: it needs a signature. The home page opens on the runway of the Saint-Barthélemy airport, with the promise “Votre voyage, notre signature” (your trip, our signature) and a “Je cherche” (I’m looking for) field to enter by theme. The menu separates the agency’s lines of business: cruises, made-to-measure trips, flights, trains and hotels, business and corporate, and visitor services in Saint-Barth.
Key takeaways
- A full-screen photo of the place rather than a search banner: the agency sells a destination and a know-how.
- A menu by line of business, so that each clientele (travelers, companies, visitors to the island) finds its page.
- Type
- Made-to-measure travel agency
- Location
- Saint-Barthélemy
- Booking
- No online booking: search by theme and contact
- Languages
- French
Selectour
Network of travel agencies · France
This is the website of a network, not of a single agency: a destination photo changes at the top of the page and, just below it, four fields to search (destination, departure city, date, length). The top of the page links to the agencies, the advisers, the customer account and a phone number, which keeps a human face on a site that has a lot of trips to show. The menu sorts the offer: stays, tours, cruises, last minute, deals, flights, gift card.
This website is not one of our projects: we show it to compare two ways of presenting a trip.
Key takeaways
- The search is the first interactive element on the page, before any text.
- Links to the agencies (“Nos agences”) and the advisers (“Nos conseillers”) at the top of the page: the physical network stays visible.
- Type
- Network of travel agencies
- Location
- France
- Booking
- Trip search on the site; access to the agencies and the advisers
- Languages
- French
Two approaches side by side
The two sites do not have the same mission: the Saint-Barthélemy agency designs made-to-measure trips, while the Selectour network puts its search and its offers first.
| Website | Location | Type | Booking | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elan Voyages St Barth | Saint-Barthélemy | Made-to-measure travel agency | No online booking: search by theme and contact | French |
| Selectour | France | Network of travel agencies | Trip search on the site; access to the agencies and the advisers | French |
Large catalog or made-to-measure trips
Travel company websites such as FRAM or Promovacances offer an extensive catalog, sorted by stays, tours, cruises or campsites: visitors choose their type of trip before reading a single text. That approach suits a wide catalog; a small agency that sells few trips, chosen one by one, does better to do the opposite: large photos, texts that tell the story of the destination and direct contact, as at Elan Voyages.
Booking directly on the agency’s website
When the agency sells accommodation (stays, rentals, partner hotels), the site can take bookings itself rather than sending visitors to a platform. There are two solutions:
- The booking engine you already use. We integrate the main engines on the market into the site: D-Edge, Reservit, Misterbooking or Roomcloud (the Reservit and Misterbooking pages are in French).
- The Booky booking engine, which we develop. Bookings taken with Booky carry no commission. It suits an agency that offers accommodation itself and wants to collect payment on its own site.
Getting found: one page per destination and per type of trip
People search for a destination (“trip to Iceland”), a type of stay (“tour”, “cruise”) or a specialist (“travel agency in Nice”). The site needs a page for each of these subjects, with a precise title, a text written for that destination and photos: a home page alone is not enough. Also think of the agency’s Google Business Profile, which must carry the same address, phone number and opening hours as the site. Our page on website creation for travel agencies and tour operators (in French) explains the approach, and our article on search engine optimization (in French) explains the method as applied to accommodation.
After going live
A travel website changes often: new destinations, departures, seasonal offers. It needs an HTTPS certificate, regular updates and monitoring of its availability. To see other websites we have built, browse our portfolio (in French), or read our examples of booking websites and of a concierge service.
Questions about travel agency websites
What should a travel agency website include?
A search or a clear entry point by destination and by type of trip, detailed trip pages with photos, a way to reach an adviser (phone, quote form), the agency’s legal notices including its registration number, and a version that reads well on a phone.
Does a travel agency have to sell online?
No. A made-to-measure travel agency can limit itself to a showcase website with a quote request: online booking only makes sense for trips sold as they are. The site can move on to booking later.
How can a travel agency take bookings on its website without going through platforms?
By integrating a booking engine into the site: the one you already use (D-Edge, Reservit, Misterbooking…) or the Booky booking engine. Bookings taken with Booky carry no commission.
What legal notices does a travel agency website need?
The agency must be registered in the register kept by Atout France and show on its site its registration number, along with the details of its financial guarantor and its insurer. Check the obligations on the Atout France page (in French).
How can a travel agency website get known on Google?
Through pages dedicated to each destination and type of trip, with their own title and text, through a site that is fast on mobile and through a Google Business Profile consistent with the site. Our page on website creation for travel agencies (in French) explains the approach.
