I don’t know about you, but when I scroll through my Google Photos app or see that “revisit the moment” notification of a trip I went on ages ago pop up, it still gives me that weird spark.
You know that feeling I’m talking about, right?
And now, when it comes to travel, people are hitting the road (and skies) again.
Even numbers show that in 2024, global travel was almost back to pre-COVID levels, reaching 99% according to recent stats.
But on the other hand, many people also want to try remote work or escape their usual routine for a bit.
So, is there room to start a travel business now? Let’s just say I wouldn’t rule it out.
The thing is, most people think you need a huge budget, or a travel agency license, or some secret list of contacts.
But if you get that out of the way, we literally can see some creative, different ways, even in a digital way.
You can start small, you can start scrappy, I’d say there’s a real chance.
So, if you’ve thought about starting a business that leans into travel this year and want some travel business ideas, let’s see what you can try in 2025.
Is a Travel Business Right for You?
Alright, who is this really for? It’s not just for “travel influencers” or people with thousands of miles on their airline rewards cards.
It’s for anyone who loves planning, organizing, sharing cool spots, or just making things easier for other people or travelers. That could be you, your neighbor, or that one friend who always makes the Google Maps for group trips.
And there are a lot of myths that stop people from even thinking about any kind of business.
Like, “You need a ton of money.” No, for many, most ideas here can be started with what you already have.
Another thing is, “You have to know the travel industry inside out.” Definitely not. Or, “Only real travel agents can make money.” Again, no.
Some of the best travel businesses right now are run by people who just had one good idea and ran with it, and we have to think about how things have changed after COVID-19.
So if you really like helping people, you’re organized (or at least try to be), and you don’t mind using digital tools, you’ve already got a head start.
And maybe a little patience. Actually, maybe a lot of patience. Without even giving it a try, it’s hard to tell if starting a travel business isn’t right for you.
The Best Travel Business Ideas for 2025
Here are 12 travel business ideas that you can start. Some are pure digital, some you can do in your own city, and some you can scale up over time.
(A few you can do with nothing but a computer and a little creativity for a small start, yes, some easy travel business ideas. Others you’ll want to build as you go, which means they need some serious work.)
1. Travel Planning Templates & Checklists
You know all those little things you need to remember before a trip? Someone out there wishes they had a printable checklist for exactly that.
Try making fill-in-the-blank templates for planning, budget tracking, or packing. In other words, here I’m talking about creating a printable or a digital product.
These types of digital products are simple to create with tools like Canva or Notion, and you can add as much detail as you want to make them more helpful.
For example, if you like using Google Maps, you can also go to google.com/mymaps and make custom maps that show the best photo spots or hidden food places in a city to make your product more useful.
You can make a PDF or whatever format you want to deliver your digital product in and then put them on Etsy, Gumroad, or even your own Payhip site for $3 to $10 each.
Also, don’t forget that there are many such products on the market, so do some research, understand some pain points, and do something that is really going to be helpful for travelers.
It’s not something that will bring you a steady income, but if you really have a passion for travel, it’s a fun, small-scale thing to try.
2. Local Experience E-books or Mini-Guides
This is also a type of digital product, but this one is for people who love writing. Maybe you have already traveled and know the Pyramids in Egypt well, or you spent a summer exploring Kandy, Sri Lanka, with your family.
You can put that knowledge, tips, and insights into a nice PDF guide.
It doesn’t need to be an e-book with 300 pages; it just needs to be useful, like what you can see there, the stories behind them, what to avoid, and maybe even the best restaurants there to have lunch.
If you’re not sure where to start, ask locals about their favorite spots and add them in. Yes, do some research and pack your findings.
What makes these guides useful is honesty; people want real recommendations, not the same “Top 10” lists they can find anywhere.
And the fun part is you get to share your own little discoveries while helping other travelers.
Again, this is not likely to give a steady income unless you make many guides, promote them well (Pinterest, blog, email list), or pair them with other products.
It’s more of a small side income idea than a full travel business.
3. Travel Blogging or Vlogging
This takes our last idea a step further, and this one also gets a lot of hype, but the truth is, this is still something you can start small, meaning you don’t need to be famous or have expensive gear to start a travel blog or YouTube channel.
You can write or film about local adventures, weekend trips, or even the planning side of things.
When you build an audience around you, monetizing comes later (ads, affiliate links, sponsored posts), but the real win is getting comfortable sharing your point of view.
It is not a secret that there are a lot of travel bloggers and vloggers, so you need a way to make your content look different, like sharing hidden street food spots no one writes about or doing short video clips of local stories.
The trick is to start, even if your first video is just “what I packed for a weekend in Manali.” But focus on a clear niche.
4. Travel Affiliate Website (Niche)
Some people build a small business just by talking about travel gear they use, giving easy tips for RV travel, or suggesting nice glamping spots where people can relax and enjoy nature.
In other words, they focused on a specific niche.
If you can focus on one theme or region, it makes things easier to stand out because there is an audience there for that niche, too.
This is a good example of one of the best online travel businesses.
You can start a website or blog, write good reviews, compare, and add affiliate links for products, maybe on Amazon or any booking site.
For example, take the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
As they mentioned, you can earn at least 50% of the commission they receive from their hotel booking partners when users come to Tripadvisor via your affiliate link and then click out to their partners.
It’s super competitive, not to mention that we also now have AI tools that recommend such things in seconds, but if you enjoy research and sharing your real human experience, you can still find your lane.
5. Social Media Account Manager for Travel Businesses
Believe it or not, there are over 5 million hosts on Airbnb globally. On top of that, nearly 85% of their hosts are located outside of the U.S. The countries with the most hosts are France, Brazil, Italy, the U.K., and Spain.
Also, in their 5 million hosts, over half identify as women, and more than one in three are over the age of 50.
Why am I saying this?
Not every local tour guide or Airbnb host knows how to make Reels or post ideas on Pinterest. If you’re good with Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, you can help run social pages for small travel businesses.
Not only that, if you look at freelance platforms like Fiverr, you can see that there are so many gigs out there for such work, like Airbnb promotions, listing, social media management, or even editing videos for travel businesses.
So if you have some creative skills, experience, and knowledge in social media, you can start by reaching out with a small package, like making a few posts each week for a business, or you can try offering your services on Fiverr to get your first clients.
6. Virtual Local Q&A/Consults
Maybe you know your city inside out, the best cafes, street food, pizza places, and local markets, or you just love answering travel questions.
If we take that as a travel business, you can offer virtual “Ask a Local” sessions for a small fee. This could be on Zoom or even through email or chat.
Travelers get personalized tips, and you get paid for your knowledge. It’s a win-win, plus you don’t even have to leave your house (unless you want to double-check something).
And you can use some online marketing strategies to promote your business.
7. Language or Travel Prep Classes
In Sri Lanka, most people speak Sinhala, and about three out of four people use it.
Most of the tourists who visit here, I see, speak a few Sinhala words like “Sthuthi” for thank you and “Ayubowan” (may you live long, literal meaning) for hello.
People really want to know how to at least survive when they visit another country that doesn’t even speak their main language, right?
The idea here is to teach basic language, travel hacks, or “what not to do” sessions. You can start with YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and then host workshops online or locally.
You can even turn your lessons into digital products. It doesn’t have to be a full course; even a “Beginner’s Guide to Surviving Tokyo’s Subway” is valuable for someone out there.
But the downside is that there is already a lot of content out there on the internet, and tips alone won’t bring any income at all. You’ll need a clear focus, like picking one city, culture, or type of traveler to talk to.
To make it work better, you can start as a creator and add more value with simple things like digital guides, workshops, or affiliate links, since these can bring in extra income and help your content get noticed.
8. Travel Subscription Box
I’ve always liked the thought of getting a box full of snacks or small souvenirs from a city I’ve never been to.
The idea here is, if you enjoy picking and mixing things that people love, try putting together themed boxes from different regions.
You could start small with just one idea, like a box called Taste of New Orleans or Pacific Coast Road Trip Snacks.
If people like it, you can make more later. It’s always a good idea to test it out on a small level first, see what works, then grow from there.
Or maybe you can even start a subscription box-based business with Shopify since it comes with everything you need, from website setup to accepting payments without hassle.
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9. Micro-Influencer for Your Area
You don’t need to live in New York or LA to do this kind of thing.
Maybe if you’re living in a small village area or on a farm, you can simply start an Instagram or TikTok page about your own area, showing the best places to eat, nice hiking spots, or little hidden corners that people often miss.
Even if your town isn’t well known, there are always people searching online for what to do in your town. If you keep sharing helpful stuff and get a small but active audience, local restaurants or event organizers might start inviting you.
Before you know it, you could become the person everyone looks to for what’s new around your city.
And not to forget that it can take time to grow, and you’ll rely on social media while needing to keep posting new stuff.
You can either try adding more nearby places, turning your posts into mini vlogs, and later try affiliate marketing or teaming up with brands, or running local tours.
10. Travel Experiences for Tourists
If you’re good with a camera, you can offer photo shoots for people visiting your city.
For example, you might have seen that people in Bali often walk up to tourists at nice scenic spots and offer to take photos using the tourists’ phones.
Many do this every day, and it simply helps tourists get a better shot while they earn a small fee or a tip.
But you can take it a step further than that.
What I mean is, you can start by talking to people on Instagram, travel pages, or local Facebook groups, or even put your service on Airbnb Experiences so more travelers can find you easily.
All you really need is a decent camera, have some good skills to capture beautiful photos, and a bit of practice to edit your photos nicely.
And it’s not just about taking photos, even a TukTuk ride in Kandy, learning traditional cooking, exploring Kuala Lumpur with a local uncle, or riding e-bikes; these are the real things you can see on Airbnb Experiences.
Not to mention that each listing gets reviewed first to make sure it’s safe, hands-on, and gives guests a real local experience, so yes, there is a process.
11. Travel Gear Rental
If you have some camping gear, a GoPro, a scooter, or any travel stuff just sitting at home, you can rent them out to travelers who want to pack light.
You can start small with what you already have, like strollers, tents, scooters, or even bike helmets. In Sri Lanka, there are even tuk-tuks you can hire and explore the country peacefully.
You can try posting on Facebook Marketplace or local travel groups, or even a small ad campaign to see if people are interested.
If it goes well and people start asking for more, you can slowly buy extra gear and grow from there.
12. Niche Travel Agency (Online or Boutique)
This one’s for people who want to start a travel business a little bigger, or maybe the step where you can land after getting started with any of the above travel business ideas.
I’m talking about planning special kinds of trips, like wine tours in Napa, hiking trips for solo women, or fun food road trips.
Simply put, the idea here is that your job is to connect travelers with meaningful, well-planned experiences rather than just basic and boring vacation packages.
You can literally start from home by working online, teaming up with local guides, drivers, or small hotels, and using easy booking tools to handle everything.
But remember that you should have a reason to make those things happen, like why someone is partnering with you? Got some social media followers? Already got some experience?
Or you can even list your trips on places like Airbnb Experiences, Viator, or GetYourGuide to reach more traveling eyes (each may have different reviewing processes).
As you get more clients and beautiful stories to share, you can slowly grow it into something much bigger over time. Why not, huh?
On the other hand, don’t forget that, based on your area, you’ll also need to follow basic legal steps like registering your business and making sure you and your travel partners have the right licenses and insurance.
Final Words
Look, nobody starts as an expert. Not me, not even the “big names” you see online. Everyone messes up at first.
What really matters is just getting started. Try something, even if it’s something stupid simple, like a digital product, play around with it, fix it if it doesn’t work, and learn as you go.
That’s how every real business story actually goes.
And when it comes to finding your first client? Yes, that part always feels like climbing a mountain. But it’s not something that’s impossible.
You can try posting in your local Facebook groups, pop into travel forums and Reddit, or simply share your tips in places where things happen in your niche.
And don’t ignore Google My Business; it’s kind of boring, but it helps people find you when they’re searching for tours or rentals in your city.
Also, some ideas here can grow big (like Travel Experiences, Travel Agency, and might pull in more revenue depending on where they are).
Others, like selling digital guides or checklists, might start small but add up over time, at least as a good start, and bring a nice, small side income.
Anyway, if any of these travel business ideas sound right, pick one. Try it out. And if this post helped you, share it with someone else who’s still stuck thinking about it.
