Greetings From Malaysia

[meganferenc]

Hi, my name is Megan and i am from Malaysia. I am happy to join this forum and hope to learn as much as possible from Lynn and the community here

I use to drop by at Lynn's blog and i thought the best way to learn internet marketing is through here. I have in a few internet businesses that has left me with huge debt but i never want to give up.So i decided to do something that is connected with my passion which is travelling. Now i am certified travel agent under Traverus Inc. I have set up a blog (still in progress) which offers travel tips, travel destinations, family cruises and i sell travel packages, cruises and etc. My target market is families. As happy as i am with this new venture, i do have some worries too. I am not sure how true is this but i came to know that people in general dont book from an agent who is out of their country. Maybe someone has an idea on this matter.

Cheers,

Megan

[kenmac]

Hi Megan - First of all welcome.

I really don't know much about the travel industry to be able to advise you properly but my initial reaction would be to specialise in one particular market.

Try and find a niche within the Malaysian travel market (or anywhere else for that matter) . For example, you say that your target market is "Families". To me there would be a lot of competition for the "families" marketplace.

It's very broad and perhaps you should look at specialising in family tours to see a particular city or tourist area within Malaysia. Orang-utans in Sabah Borneo for example?? Even that may be far too broad. Build up a really tight niche so that you obtain a reputation for that particular niche and people will start to refer others to you for bookings .

Anyway, as I said, I really don't know enough about the travel industry and these are just some of my own initial thoughts.

[khairole]

[Lynn Terry]

[kirkward]

[meganferenc]

Hi Ken,

Thank you for the welcome message. In fact i was thinking of specialing travel in certain country . Since i am from malaysia, i thought that would be perfect. However the agency that i am engaged with doesnt have a licence in Malaysia yet because there are not many agents in Malaysia compared to other countries . That is the disadvantage. I also could just concentrate on the Asian market . I havent decide yet.

The other idea that i had was to concentrate on cruises and i came to know there are alot of money to be made there and it is popular too.

Thanks for the suggestion Ken

[meganferenc]

Hi Khairole,

Thanks for the welcome message. I am from Penang Island

[meganferenc]

Thank you for the welcome message Lynn.

For example, i am from England and i want to travel so i look for an agent who lives in England . The advantage is that it is easier to communicate even through the phone. But it doesnt mean i cant look for an agent who lives out of England. Different agents quote different prices... but this is not because of the price but where the agent operates from. This is what i read online. So Lynn how can i stand out from the crowd and even get people to book through me even though i am from different locations.

[meganferenc]

Thank you for the welcome message Kirk

I am planning to target the families by offering them all the family related destinations, activities (nature and adventure) plus providing them with some suggestions on family friendly hotels and etc.

I am engaged with an host agency and yes i do cruises as well. I was also thought of doing family cruises. Yeah i came to know aslo a few of the cruise line companies are coming up with newer and larger ships and in fact it is this year. I guess cruise is the area that i should concentrate in.

Thank you for the suggestion Kirk

[Lynn Terry]

[kirkward]