Small Business: Travelers Destination Website and Resource

Small Business: Tourist Information Based Website

Often when people are planning a trip or vacation they may jump online in search of information and ideas on their destination. They may want to know what museums are in the area or perhaps where the best restaurants are located or directions to a known shopping hotspot. Many folks like to hunt for special deals and promotions offering discounts. Some consumers may want to get a feel for an area to see if they should even bother going. These potential tourist are all looking for a tourist information website.

What is an Information Based Web Resource For Tourist?

A Tourist Guide Website Provides the user or potential traveler with helpful information about one or more specific travel destinations designed with the perspective of a tourist in mind optimizing the usefulness of the information for the intended user.

Typical Services Provided:

• Overview of popular places and sights with in the travel destinations.
• Reviews of such places that include helpful “inside” information adding value to the user
• May include other “unknown” things to do.
• Tips for a rainy day.
• Weather forecasts as well as typical climate information
• Offer Special Deals and or Packages
• Give Recommendations
• User comments and reviews from past travelers
• Any warnings or cautionary information that may be applicable.

What’s Involved in Starting a Tourist Guide Website?

You are providing information as your product, so the quality of the information you provide is crucial to your success. If someone is going to visit the destination you cover they should be able to enhance their visit by referencing your site first.

Skills that Help Make a Tourist Guide Website Successful

• Being Extremely Familiar with the Destination
• Knowledge of Website Design and Maintenance
• Familiarity with the general demographic of the tourist that commonly vacation in your area. Some destinations have more targeted audiences then others. For instance Williamsburg VA attracts middle class families from the North (80% travelers are North of VA) and retired Caucasian upper middle class from all around.

What are the Best ways to Market Your Site?

• You are going to want to have an extensive link strategy from including links from blogs, tourism and travel related sites, as well as local Business sites
• Provide coupons and discounts for various attractions and services that will be beneficial to your users
• Newsletter is of course a must.
• Pod casts, Pictures, You Tube videos, and other type media featuring appropriate subjects and content.
• Contribute to blogs, discussion groups, and news groups related to tourism.
• PPC Advertising is a good idea.

What are the Costs Involved in Starting a Tourist Guide Website?

Website development, design, and maintenance will be a major cost of course. The more you are able to do on your own the cheaper it will be. Information gathering and creative writing, and other media and content will need to constantly updated and of course accurate so this sort of chore can create quite an expense if outsourced to contractors or employees so again the more you know the better and cheaper. For these reasons costs can vary quite substantially. You can expect to spend 3,000-35,000 dollars to start this business depending on what you need and want early on.

Last minute thoughts tips and tricks.

It is probably best to stick with a niche destination or area as the nature of this kind of website requires tons of detail and constant updates. Visit the more popular and unique attractions and restaurants so that you can really give some great information that other bigger websites may not have.

Especially in light of the current housing and foreclosure crisis the quality information you provide on your sit as well as the savings you are able to offer the consumer matters more then ever