446. How to Future-Proof Your Travel Business, with Andrea Ross

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Andrea Ross, Business Advisor & Executive Coach for Travel Entrepreneurs, all about what it takes to build a successful business in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. She explains why focusing on enterprise value and enterprise health is hugely important and why you should not only know what success means to you, but also know how to track it. We also dive into the three key areas that businesses should focus on: financials, process and procedures, and their team.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

How Andrea built a successful travel and tourism business in Southeast Asia by bootstrapping a bed and breakfast, launching a tour company, and ultimately scaling operations across several countries
Why business owners must create their own vision and business model
What enterprise value and enterprise health mean for travel businesses, and why focusing on these is essential for day-to-day operations and long-term sustainability
How business owners can assess the health of their company, build a roadmap for growth, and differentiate between working on what’s urgent versus what’s important
Why financials, processes and procedures, and team development are the three most common areas where travel businesses should focus to improve their enterprise health
How developing strong leadership, empowering team members, and building the right organizational structure can give owners more freedom and drive business success
What steps Andrea recommends for business owners who want to understand their financials better, even if numbers aren’t their strong suit, and how to leverage resources and networks to build financial literacy

Core Success Principles in the Travel and Tour Industry

One of the biggest challenges Andrea highlights is the sheer variety of business models in travel and tourism. With tour operators, DMOs, DMCs, and FITs, each with unique structures, founders are often left to chart their own course. Overarching business principles still apply: passion, dedication, clear vision, and hard work are the fuel for any successful enterprise—regardless of geography or sector.

Knowing your market, defining your unique value, and setting clear, achievable goals are all foundational. Andrea encourages business owners to continually ask: “What does success look like for me, and how am I tracking that?”

Treat Your Business as an Asset

A recurring pitfall is failing to view your business as the major asset it is. Many travel business owners pour years of effort and substantial financial resources into their companies, but neglect to plan for the long game. They’re not running their organization so it can be handed over, acquired, or at least run independently of their daily presence.

Andrea advocates setting a clear vision to build flexibility and freedom into the business. Whether your goal is acquisition, succession, more time to travel, or simply reducing burnout, only a defined destination can chart the course. And, critically, this vision should evolve with you.

Three Pillars of a Healthy Travel Business

Andrea identifies three areas where travel businesses most often need shoring up:

Financials: Clean, timely reporting, a growth pro forma, and cash flow planning are essential, especially in an industry marked by seasonality and complexity.
Processes & Procedures: Too many companies operate with critical knowledge trapped in someone’s head. Andrea recommends mapping your customer journey and using tools (like Tango AI) to document workflows, templates, and best practices so anyone can step in when needed.
The Team: Your people determine your company’s fate. Leaders have to empower teams, develop leadership so urgent problems aren’t always landing on their plate.

As Andrea says, “work on what’s important, not urgent”. Step back from daily fires and focus on what matters for long-term health. Set a vision, track progress, and work on big picture issues rather than constant firefighting.

Resources:

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