Every year the tourism ecosphere develops and popularizes by 10%. Statistics prove that humanity is increasingly focusing on the need to maintain the nature and ecology of our planet.
This area of activity may be of interest to modern entrepreneurs, who, focusing on "green business", will be able to move forward very quickly.
Consider a business idea for organizing eco-tourism, which is intended for those who really love nature. For optimal development, the amount of costs that will be proportional to the number of related activities will be required.
Ecotourism is...
Ecological tourism is a direction of tourism activity, which is aimed at improving and preserving the natural and cultural heritage of the planet in different territories.
As a rule, nature reserves and other protected areas that need care and funding are meant. On the other hand, ecotourism is a journey into the depths of nature, involving close unity with it, as well as the study of animals and flora without harm or harm to them.
However, ecotourism does not involve making extra profits. If in the traditional tourism industry, first of all, attention is paid to profit, and only then to nature, then in ecotourism everything is exactly the opposite. This type of recreation or work is ideal for people who sincerely care about the state of nature and strive to contribute to preserving it in its original form.
Thus, this business can be considered what you need if you are ready to devote all your time to nature with the deduction of most of the profits to funds for the enrichment of protected areas, and also if you gravitate over the beauty of wild forests, untouched fields, clean rivers and crystal lakes.
Variety of activities in the ecotourism program
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One of the features of ecotourism is the refusal to use different equipment. In this regard, entertainment such as jeep trips through the forests or other Bus tours unsuitable. After all, for ecotourism, events that are safer for nature, but at the same time very interesting for clients-travelers, have been developed. These include horseback riding through local fields and forests.
In this case, it is very important to develop a safe route to avoid unwanted injuries to customers. You can also provide the services of an experienced guide. The best candidate would be a local resident who is well versed in the surroundings. The high-quality assistance of a riding instructor is also important, because not every client will freely control a horse.
Hiking tours stretching through the mountains and forests are no less exciting. Again, you will need the services of an experienced guide from among the “locals”, as well as a high-quality route map. It is important to develop several routes that differ in complexity and length, which will certainly interest customers. At the same time, the presented choice will certainly please travelers. different ages and various health conditions.
Cycling can also be quite a fun activity in ecotourism. Extreme but safe walks include boating, kayaking and canoeing. The main thing is not to forget about the presence of a team of experienced rescue swimmers. Entertainment can be more standard - from banal fishing from the shore or boat to hiking for mushrooms and berries, accompanied by a mushroom picker. AT winter period good skiing.
How to organize
When organizing ecotourism, such resources as a beautiful natural area will be required, which will certainly be virgin and untouched by human hand. Most of these areas are in Far East or in Siberia. It is also important to arrange places for travelers to rest, for example, recreation centers or cottages. by the most budget option is the organization of a campground.
The advantages of such a holiday are environmental friendliness, tranquility of places and full enjoyment of life in wild environment. On the other hand, tents are a seasonal way of spending the night, because in winter it is impossible to sleep in them. For the winter period, cozy and comfortable wooden houses are perfect, which are not connected to electricity, gas and water, since the specificity of ecotourism lies in the rejection of the gifts of civilization in favor of unity with nature.
However, a team of support staff is always needed in the form of local guides, instructors, fishermen, rescuers, medical staff, because the laws wildlife nobody canceled. When including foreigners in the composition of vacationers, it is worth including an interpreter in the group.
If there are multiple events different kind and categories, you must first purchase the necessary equipment: if it is fishing, you will need fishing lines, baits, spinning rods, etc .; if these are trips for berries, then baskets; if horse riding, then harness and horses.
Hello dear readers. We continue to look at various interesting business ideas that will help you find your niche in business and finally leave the stuffy office for "your own bread".
In this article, we will consider the business plan of an ecotourism agency that will offer outdoor recreation services to its clients, and at the same time we will all study all the intricacies of this line of business.
The theme of a healthy lifestyle, environmental friendliness and, in general, the unity of man with nature is becoming quite popular among young people, which promises a huge demand for your services. There are just a lot of examples of people quitting smoking and starting to ride a bike, it is these young people who build families and will be your potential buyer.
Keep in mind that the niche of ecotourism also includes recreation in the countryside, this is also a fairly new direction. Its essence is that urban residents come to the village, where they spend several days and perform part of the work related to agriculture, go to the bathhouse, drink moonshine. This allows a person to completely disconnect from the bustle of the city and rebuild a little his thinking about material values in his life.
Business Format
You can start with a small service sector and develop it in the future. Below we look at the most popular species ecotourism.
1.) Rest in the mountains. The basis is that you will look for people who rent housing in these places, settle your clients there and give them excursions to the most popular places in those parts. There can be several such directions, and dozens of routes and interesting hikes can be organized. Promising niche. Additional services can be a sauna, rock climbing and more.
2.) Weekend tours. Here you can turn on your imagination and select options for cycling, it is possible to organize kayaking, family hiking trips.
3.) Hiking for mushrooms, fishing is also quite a promising niche. Answer the question, how often do city dwellers pick mushrooms or go fishing? The answer is simple, yes, almost never, and the main reason is that they are simply too lazy to find out everything, organize and spend their nerves and time on this whole process, but if you offer them turnkey solution I think you will not be left without customers.
4.) Trips to healing springs. For example, in places for taking mud baths or hot natural springs. Such ecotourism is mainly organized for people of the older generation. Of course, working with such a clientele is a little more difficult, but still quite realistic.
5.) A few days of living in a village house.
6.) A full-fledged recreation center in the forest.
Of course, when considering the business idea of ecotourism, you need to start small, for example, cycling excursions or trips for mushrooms and berries, in the future you can buy a house in the village, build houses, gazebos with barbecue facilities on the site, and organize the entire structure for outdoor recreation.
From additional services can be distinguished: horseback riding, ski routes in winter time and walking tours in summer.
What do you need to start?
The ability to build the right business model will directly depend on your goals and perseverance to start earning. The promotion of this area of activity is taking place gradually. You will have to work hard until you develop permanent routes, find transport for transporting clients, housing in each of the regions and agree on a discount, guides, and other specialists who will cooperate with you. The advantage of this activity is that you do not need to keep all this staff on staff. It is enough to sign a contract for the provision of a specific service.
You still have to find the starting capital, but the funds are quite lifting, and if everything goes according to plan, then you will quickly recapture them.
In your region, you can find a house in the village. The main requirement is large plot land and beautiful views around. It is desirable that there is a forest and a lake or a river right next to it. Next, you will need to build a hotel-type house with all communications, organize places for fishing, find mycelium and start bringing people on vacation. In the future, you will build other residential complexes on your site, and expand your eco-tourism business. In this article, we do not provide an estimate and all items of expenses for opening such a company, since in each separate case amounts will vary greatly.
The second point in this business is equipment and fixtures. In addition to the cost of the recreation center itself, you will need to buy all the equipment for outdoor recreation: bicycles, fishing rods, baskets for mushrooms and berries, boats for walking, skis and other accessories and equipment that will provide comfortable conditions stay with your customers. Usually people don't care about these things when they go on vacation, and you have to foresee all this in advance.
How to attract the first customers?
Internet, mass media, thematic forums and clubs. Create your website and start promoting it online. Print business cards, let's advertise in local media. You can hang ads in a residential area.
Conclude cooperation agreements with travel agencies, they will bring a good flow of customers for their percentage of the ticket sales. If you mean a serious approach to ecotourism as a business, then we recommend placing a special emphasis on your website with contextual advertising, this is very effective tool. Plus, you can promote groups in social networks, decorating with colorful photos, detailed information and cost of tours. All this works. If you provide services to high level, then over time, customers will find you themselves. You will be recommended to friends and acquaintances, and the business will gradually expand.
Findings. Ecotourism is a new direction in business that is in demand and will undoubtedly develop in the future. Starting such a business, be prepared to work hard and build a business model with a long-term return on investment format.
Do you have experience in this niche? We look forward to your feedback and recommendations below in the comments.
* Calculations use average data for Russia
100 000 ₽
Investments
6 months
Payback
50-100%
Profitability
The organization of horse and hiking trips is a relatively new direction in the field of tourism in our country, which, nevertheless, is estimated by experts as promising and beneficial for start-up entrepreneurs.
The main disadvantage of this type of business is its pronounced seasonality. But, on the other hand, such a business, as a rule, "grows" out of a hobby, which allows you to combine business with pleasure. And, besides, it does not require a large start-up capital to start it. So at first it can be combined with work and considered solely as a hobby.
Classification of tourist routes
So, if you are going to make a living by conducting hiking trips in the format of a “weekend tour” or a multi-day trip with a rich program, first of all, you need to decide on the routes. There are several various classifications tourist routes for various reasons.
thematic routes, which provide for excursions and, in general, cognitive orientation prevails;
physical culture and health-improving with the mandatory inclusion in the program of sports and health-improving events (they also include yoga tours that are now fashionable);
combined, which combine elements of the above types of routes.
The routes are also divided according to seasonality into year-round, or off-season and seasonal (for a certain time of the year - skiing, mountain, water, etc.). According to the structure of the route, routes can be divided into linear ones with a mandatory visit to one or more points along the way from the place of departure to the place of destination; radial (stationary) with a visit to one point on the route; circular (crossing tours) with the coincidence of the points of the beginning and end of the route and visiting several points on the route.
In addition, experts divide routes by duration into multi-day (from two weeks to a month), weekend routes (1-3 days) and excursions (lasting several hours). On the route, you can use your own transport, as well as transport rented from other organizations, or personal transport of tourists (for example, if we are talking about cycling trips, it would be quite expensive to provide each tourist with a bicycle).
Depending on the types of transportation, there are walking tourist routes or walks, the length of which can be from 2 to 50 km, depending on the preparation of the participants; routes with movement on animals (for example, horses, less often - deer and dogs); railway routes (the least common option now, when travelers live on the train, spend the night in cars, and visit places of interest during the day); air transportation (the most expensive tour option), water routes by boat various types, yachts and other small boats, as well as watercraft, including rafts and rowing or motor boats. meet and combined types transportation using within one tour several various kinds transport.
It is desirable that your campaign had one goal, clearly and clearly articulated. This can be, for example, hunting or fishing, visiting certain memorable places, relaxing in the mountains, etc. One of the promising, albeit difficult areas for work is extreme tourism, which involves active modes of movement ( sport games, rock climbing, rafting, underwater tourism, safaris, etc.).
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The difficulty lies in the increased risks - danger to the health and even life of the participants in such a tour. Adventure travel is one of the varieties of active tours. Such tours are rare in our country, due to the complexity of their organization. These include, for example, visiting various exotic places, often using non-traditional Vehicle. Of course, in our country there are many options for adventure tours. The basis for developing a program for such a trip can be taken folk tales, legends and legends, local legends, etc.
Depending on the main goal of the trip, you can name the following types tours: hunting tour, fishing, trips to nature or to nature reserves to observe animals in natural environment their habitats, photography; tour with visits to military facilities, training grounds, prisons, etc.; disaster site tours; tours to search for various treasures (refer to adventure and entertainment tours).
Ecotourism program
Compose detailed program its implementation up to the hourly schedule. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to withstand it as accurately as possible, but your participants will have an idea of what they will get in the end. Adequately assess the level of training and capabilities of people. We must strive to ensure that this level was approximately the same for all participants.
In practice, this turns out to be hardly achievable, especially when it comes to trips with a more general theme (for example, to places of interest or in the case of weekend tours). Among your clients will be both young active people and the elderly; more enduring and physically fit and people who are not accustomed to increased stress. You also need to try to make sure that both of them are equally interested in participating in your hiking trips.
Weekend tours are usually held either in the same area where you yourself live and where you will recruit like-minded clients, or in nearby regions (so that the road to your destination does not take more than 3-5 hours). "Full-scale" hikes are carried out with a trip outside a certain region and usually take ten days or more. The latter option requires more serious preparation, as well as a good knowledge of the chosen routes and / or a reliable guide.
Tour groups are recruited in two main ways. In the first case, the purpose of the trip is first determined, and then the search for participants is carried out. You can search for them through travel companies, by placing ads in printed publications(not the most effective and at the same time quite expensive way), through local websites, forums, groups in social networks ( best option). In the second case, one or more groups are first recruited, goals for each of them are outlined, and a schedule of campaigns is drawn up. This option is suitable, if you have several partners - conductors who can replace you. In this case, you perform mainly the functions of the organizer.
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Your tour program should include detailed information about the purpose of the trip, route, duration, conditions and, of course, cost. In amateur hikes there is, as a rule, one organizer, and the participants at the same time have equivalent responsibilities. In commercial trips, the organizer not only takes care of all organizational issues, but also tries to provide the most comfortable conditions for the trip participants.
For example, instead of camping in the most suitable place, camping sites are rented or even guest houses. Don't be put off by the fact that professionals who have a lot of experience in hiking consider such events more like a parody of a real hike. In most cases, your clients will be beginners and amateurs who have been hiking in their youth and are not ready for anything. difficult conditions residence, nor to serious physical exertion.
After you decide on the purpose of the trip and the composition of your group, you need to choose and develop a route. If you don't have great experience in organizing trips, it is better to start with short excursions and trips around your native land. To begin with, carefully study the tourist resources along the selected route of your route, determine the type of route, build its sketch model and route, draw up calendar plan travel and timetable of the group. Think about where your group will stay, where you will cook and spend the night. Be sure to make a trial trip along the chosen route, making changes to the program of your tour based on its results.
Start with routes that go along good roads, does not require special equipment and cartographic material (so that there are enough road signs and survey schemes for orientation on the ground), without long halts. In the future, it will be possible for more experienced travelers to offer routes laid along forest paths and clearings, river banks, through swamps, mountains and passes with long halts and overnight stays.
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Carefully approach the issue of compiling your itinerary. To do this, you can and should use several sources at once - reference books, guides and cartographic material. Even if you are already using ready-made schemes, try to find some of your additional "chips". The routes you choose must necessarily be consistent with the traffic schedule, the opening hours of museums, admission to nature reserves, etc. If you decide to open your own travel company, then you will need to agree and approve the route passport, which is used in the formation of tours.
Rules for organizing a successful trip
First of all, the route you have chosen for the day trip should correspond in complexity and length to the strengths of all members of your group. Ideally, it's best to use your own transport to move between sites (this will help avoid annoying misunderstandings and overlaps), but you can also use local transport.
Places for long halts and overnight stays should be equipped with a supply of fuel and food, and it should also preferably be equipped with communications in case of emergency. If possible, give preference for long stops to guest houses and hotels where you can relax. When planning a route, be sure to take into account the reserve of time in case of various unforeseen circumstances and delays on the road.
To organize trips, you will need special equipment, which is divided into personal, group and special. Personal equipment includes wearable items - bedding and washing accessories, other items for individual use (backpacks, mugs, bowls, spoons, etc.). Group equipment includes tents, tools (for example, axes), cooking utensils, trail materials, etc.
Specialty equipment includes items specific to your chosen route, from life jackets and ropes to ice axes and insect nets. You will have to purchase group and special equipment on your own based on the number of group members plus 1-2 people (in case something gets lost or breaks down during the trip).
Take care of the safety of your participants, especially if you are hiking in regions where dangerous people live. wild animals. However, people can also be dangerous, which must also be taken into account. If you are doing multi-day hikes, you will need at least one (preferably two) assistants.
As your business grows, consider expanding your workforce. So, you may need lifeguards, medical staff, additional guides, translators, experienced hunters and fishermen. Will be required additional expenses to provide means of transportation - from SUVs and boats to bicycles and horses. All this, as a rule, is rented at the start of the hike.
The most promising place to start such a business is in villages near closed protected areas. Some companies organize campsites or even entire mini-villages for tourists with log cabins, the rental of which can become an additional (and very significant) source of income.
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To open your own travel agency, you need to have at least 500 thousand rubles, which will go only to insurance funds, but at the same time, the entrepreneur needs at least another 200-300 thousand rubles for organizing ...
Every year, the ecotourism sector shows growth of at least 10%. The growing interest in this kind of pastime provokes the interest of entrepreneurs in this area. The advantage of this direction is that the business can be organized different ways and with minimal investment.
The concept of ecotourism
The main idea of ecotourism is leisure in the lap of nature with minimal harm environment. Travels are made on foot, on bicycles, rafts, skis, horses, non-motorized boats. From this point of view, the entrepreneur has significant savings on the organization of vehicles.
Walks can have a different thematic focus. You can organize trips for berries or mushrooms, collecting medicinal herbs, sightseeing walks with local nature. In any case, for walks you need a guide who will talk about the features of the area.
The concept of ecotourism also covers rural tourism. It means living in country house several people who will have the opportunity to experience rural life on their own, to independently participate in agricultural work, and so on.
The main directions of ecotourism
Thus, there are three main areas in which ecotourism as a business can be organized:
- Weekend trips to nature. In this case, it is necessary to organize tents for living, boat rental, a beach, a place for barbecue, horseback riding, entertainment related to nature, and so on.
- Recreation as close to nature as possible. It refers to living in the countryside in a village house. True, in this case there must be a bathhouse, a well with clean water and a tidy toilet. Everything else, including the lack of electricity, will be perceived as exotic and help to maximize unity with nature.
- Rest with the benefits of civilization. Designed for those who just want to be away from the noise of the city, but still have maximum comfort. As a rule, cottage villages with electricity, television and the Internet are organized for this.
Having decided on the direction in which there is a desire to develop a business, one can roughly imagine the level necessary costs. Obviously, the last option will be the most expensive.
Service list
Regardless of the direction in which you plan to build your business, there is a list of basic services that must be included in the plan of proposed activities. The most popular among vacationers are the following services:
- mushroom trips, medicinal plants, berries. To provide such a service, it is important to hire a specialist who would understand the collected gifts of nature.
- Swimming on rafts, kayaks, boats. Similar to the previous paragraph, in the plan staffing companies need to include instructors in the relevant areas.
- Walks on bicycles. This is a simple and fast way to travel, while being extremely environmentally friendly.
- Horse rides. It is also important to hire a riding instructor who will also act as a guide on the trip. It can also be entrusted with the responsibility of developing a walk route.
- Fishing from the shore or boat. After fishing, you can organize the preparation of fish soup on a fire from the caught living creatures.
- Hiking in the forest, mountains. The most common and cheap way pastime. It is necessary to develop a route map with stopping points. You will need an experienced guide who is familiar with the area and has experience in conducting such walks.
- Skiing. Used as an alternative to walking in winter. They will need a ski instructor who is well versed in the terrain.
It is also worth organizing some additional and unusual ways pastime based on the characteristics of the area where the business is organized. This will help you stand out from your competitors and attract a significant portion of customers.
Recreation area
Having decided on the direction, you need to find appropriate place to organize the business. Ecotourism is organized on a clean and preferably beautiful natural area. Having chosen the territory, it is necessary to agree with the local authorities on its exploitation. Perfect option when you have your own house in the village and you just need to bring the territory and housing in accordance with the requirements of the business.
But you cannot build a big business on one rural house. The most budget option would be to rent a territory for a tent camp. It is advisable to put several wooden houses, which will provide sleeping rooms and a dining room. This will help smooth out seasonal business fluctuations - in winter, especially in northern regions, few people want to relax in a tent.
Staff
The staffing plan depends on the type of business chosen and its scale. If you are organizing a vacation in a village house, you may well limit yourself to the help of relatives. Again, organizing rural tourism, you can agree with the villagers that they will receive vacationers at home for a certain fee. But in this case, one must be extremely selective in choosing people for cooperation. It is important to pay attention not only to the neatness of the home, but also to the honesty of the owners.
Organizing a small village or tent city, it is necessary to hire medical workers, cooks, rescuers, as well as guides, instructors, hunters, fishermen. The final staffing plan depends on the number and scope of services offered. Interpreters will also not interfere if you plan to take foreign citizens on vacation.
Equipment
Pay attention to such an important component as equipment. Its quantity and subject matter depends on what set of services you plan to offer. For fishing you will need boats, fishing rods, fishing line, lure and more. For hunting - bows, guns. Even for trips for berries, special baskets are needed. Remember that not all vacationers are guided by what to take with them on a hike and how to dress. Therefore, you should have everything you need ready so that everyone in need can rent all the necessary equipment, things, clothes, shoes.
Advertising
Good plan advertising campaign is the key to the success of your business. Not talking about your offer potential clients, you won't be able to run the case. The main source of customers, especially at first, is travel agencies. If you agree with them on cooperation for 10% of the profit from each client you bring, you will be provided with those who want to relax at least for initial stage. Further, the bulk of customers will come through word of mouth.
At the initial stage, you can also connect the media, but best return gives the Internet. Place information on thematic sites, forums, bulletin boards. It is advisable to create your own website, where the price list, types of recreation, tour schedules, information about guides and routes, tempting photos of nature will be indicated.
