Changing your travel niche is easier than you think

Have you ever thought “I’d really like to be selling more of _______ instead”?

If so, join the club!

When you first start your travel business, it’s normal to be excited about selling the world.

Most people don’t start by saying “I’m going to sell __________”. Well, unless it’s Disney and let’s just not go there.

Almost everyone knows that firsthand experience makes it easier to confidently sell specific destinations.

So you’ve done all the right things and intentionally invest in your travel business by traveling more.

And the more you travel, the more likely you are to find places you absolutely love selling.

Which means as you see more places and do more things, you start to realize something.

You really love a specific destination, or type of travel.

Maybe you’ve fallen in love with all-inclusives in Mexico. Or maybe you love Scotland. You could travel more in the United States and find that US travel is really your thing.

Maybe you find that adventure travel, solo travel, cruise travel, accessible travel, or sustainable travel is totally your jam.

Whatever the place is that’s captured your heart, or whatever type of travel you’re excited about, it’s more specific than what you originally planned to sell.

So now what?

Ask yourself what you want people to think of when they talk about you or your business.

If it’s something that you aren’t currently known for, it’s time for a change.

You can niche down, or change your niche if you already have one.

But then you start thinking about all the things you’d need to change and figure out. It can even feel like so much that you might even stop yourself before you ever get started.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Changing your niche isn’t nearly as complicated as most travel advisors imagine.

I think we make it harder than it needs to be.

If I change my niche, do I have to stop selling what I sell now?

Nope, this is probably the biggest misconception!

Can you stop selling what you sell now? Absolutely.

Do you have to? Absolutely not.

Changing your niche, or narrowing down what you’re currently selling, starts with thinking about what you want to be known for.

Changing your niche can mean that you stop selling what you’ve sold previously. 

It’s an easy way to hone in on exactly the types of clients you want to plan trips for.

But if that’s not part of your plan to niche down, and someone is looking for the type of trip you’ve always planned, there’s no reason not to do it.

I think advisors assume they have to stop selling what they’re already selling because they think advisors who specialize in something only sell that specific thing.

Sure, some do. It can be built-in calendar control if you get an inquiry for something you don’t specialize in and don’t want to sell.

But most advisors I know who specialize will occasionally book things outside their niche too. 

They’re just known for one specific thing, more than anything else.

I need to change everything right now!

Nope, you really don’t.

Some advisors want to do a total business makeover. If that’s your jam, go for it.

But it’s not a requirement, or a necessity, when you’re narrowing or changing your niche.

More often than not, niche changes happen gradually. That usually means months, not days.

Your website gets updated, and maybe you change the format of the emails you’re sending out.

Your social media content starts to change too.

Your business evolves gradually instead of flipping a switch. That’s normal!

After changing your niche, maybe the first thing you update is your website, especially if it’s where you’re sending people from your marketing.

The following month, you start talking more intentionally about your niche on social media. 

A little while later, you create a new lead gen to go with the travel blog posts you’ve been writing and capture more email addresses from people interested in your niche.

It doesn’t all have to be done in one fell swoop!

If I change my niche, that means I’m starting over

Nope, it doesn’t.

It can feel that way, especially if you’ve spent years building your travel agency.

But your travel experience goes with you.

You know how to work with clients and handle the unexpected. You know how to sell travel, close deals, and service clients through the entire process.

The biggest change is what you’re choosing to focus on.

Everything you’ve built goes with you. All your time, experience, background…all of it.

You’re heading in a new direction, not losing where you’ve been.

At the end of the day, you’re changing your destination knowledge, not relearning how to run your travel business.

That doesn’t seem so hard now, does it?

If I choose a specific niche, I’m stuck with it

Nope, you aren’t. 

This can get a lot of advisors stuck because they’re afraid of making the “wrong” choice.

Guess what…there is no wrong choice!

Businesses (and people) change. All. The. Time.

Pick something you’re excited about. If your interests change five years down the road, your niche can change again too.

You don’t have to change the trips you’re booking. They only change if you want them to. That means you keep booking that summertime Mexico all-inclusive extended family vacation. And that retired couple’s annual road trip? Yep, you can keep planning that too.

You get to choose what you book and what you don’t.

So what actually changes?

I’m so glad you asked.

Marketing your niche is how you become known for something specific.

That’s why the first thing that changes isn’t usually what you book.

It’s how you market your business.

You start talking about different places and sharing different experiences. You update your website when the time comes. And you may mention your specialization when you network or when you’re talking with potential clients.

Let’s say there are two advisors here, both of whom love Scotland.

One travel agent keeps marketing themselves as someone who plans all kinds of travel. She still loves Scotland, but she barely talks about it. 

The other advisor goes all in. She starts writing about Scotland on her travel blog and in her emails.

She’s sharing photos from Scotland in her travel content, talking about Scotland and its unique experiences, and updating her website to focus on Scotland.

Which one do you think people are more likely to remember when it comes to planning a trip to Scotland?

When you talk about what you’re doing (and I mean really talking about it, not just an offhanded mention in the middle of a conversation), that’s when you start attracting more of it.

The thing to remember is that changing your niche doesn’t mean you have to change what you plan and book.

Changing your niche means changing what you market by intentionally focusing on what you want people to associate with your business.

The actual bookings and trips you’re planning can take longer to change.

Existing clients still know, like, and trust you, and probably will continue coming to you for the same type of trips they always have.

Remember, they’re coming to you because of the experience they’ve already had with you and the trust that’s been built. Not because you put different words on your website.

Some of your current clients may be interested in your niche. They may even hire you to plan a different type of trip than the norm. 

And you’ll start attracting other clients who are more aligned with your niche.

The Bottom Line: Changing your travel niche isn't big and dramatic

Most travel agents aren’t rebuilding their business from scratch when they start to specialize in something.

You don’t have to either.

Gradually move your marketing towards what you want to be known for. You can do it while you keep serving the clients you already have.

As your new direction gets clearer, the types of inquiries you’re getting will generally change too.