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Business Plan
Enriching experiences

6 Marina Way
#19-10 OUE Marina East
Singapore, 068809
+65 8365 7761
exploremas@student.gess.sg
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Table of contents

Executive Summary ​3

Company overview ​4
● Mission statement ​4
● Goals and objectives ​4
● Company strengths ​ 5

Products and services ​5

● Our Solution to the problem ​5
● Roadmap/Future Plans ​ 7

Market Analysis ​7
● Market Segmentation ​7
● Target Market Segment Strategy ​ 8
● Competition ​ 8

Strategy and implementation ​9

● Marketing plan ​9
● Sales plan ​10
● Location and facilities ​10
● Technology/ Equipment and tools ​10
● Milestones ​11
● SWOT analysis ​11

Company and management structure ​13

● Organizational Structure ​13
● Management Team ​14

Financial plan ​14

● Expenses ​14
● Sales Forecast ​15
● Projected Cash Flow ​15

Bibliography ​16

Appendices ​17
Appendix A: ​Survey results (only selected responses have been chosen) ​17
Appendix B: ​Start up tools and equipment ​18
Appendix C:​ Gantt chart ​19
Appendix D:​ Payroll ​19
Appendix E: ​Start-up cost ​20
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Executive Summary
The tourism industry is rapidly growing over the past few years, with travelers seeking
new adventures on every trip. With the numbers increasing annually, more tourists are
believed to travel to the most tourists destinations across the globe. But the cost of this
can be pretty hefty for anyone willing to travel on a budget. The world is also a big place.
There are hundreds of underrated locations that have yet to catch the eye of tourists. Our
travel company can give advice on destinations and even keep to all the requirements that
is asked of us from the client, while providing them with their ideal getaway.

The current trend indicates there is no stop for tourism in the future, which opens up a
great opportunity for us (​Blackall, Molly)​. Exploremas will take this opportunity into hand
and establish its own firm helping explorers plan out their trips to get the best adventure
they deserve. Our company has the potential to open many new doorways to places not
visited often by tourists. This could promote their overall economic growth, which is not
only beneficial for them, but also for us in terms of success. Our company will offer travel
advice for travels in the following continents: Asia, Europe and Oceania, which are the
continents where most travelers from Singapore go to.

The target market for our firm will be all individual or group travelers that are of any age
group. Since we are based in Singapore, we are hoping to attract all the different
nationalities living here by recruiting a diverse set of employees for our company. There
are four official languages spoken in Singapore, and therefore we hope to hire recruits
that are able to speak some of these languages, which could mean they can converse in
the client’s mother tongue. Providing our customers with quality service is essential and
we hope to create a safe space for our clients when visiting our head office for
consultation.
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Company overview
Exploremas is a travel agency that helps create an enjoyable and memorable vacation for
all the thrill seeking travels hoping for a getaway. We hope to relieve some of the stress
that comes with traveling for many people with our services. We offer advice on travel
destinations, plan trip itineraries, and lastly, make travel arrangements for both individual
or group trips. With more tourists approaching travel agencies, we believe that if our
travel agency is a success on the market, our company can even expand internationally.

1. Mission statement

Exploremas aims to create a healthy working environment for our employees who
will be encouraged to respect our clients and their needs. We would like to In
addition, we seek reasonable profit that is enough to keep the company financially
capable for a long term period.

2. Goals and objectives

Our ultimate goal is to become a well known travel agency across Singapore. This
could be attained by launching advertisement campaigns to help promote our
company. But most importantly, the only way to strive in this business would be by
providing quality service to our customers. In order to do so, the following principles
will be followed by Exploremas:

● Providing a quality and enjoyable vacation based on the clients

specifications.
● Attending our clients with a positive attitude.
● Creating a healthy working environment for our employees.
● Help in boosting the tourism economy in less touristy locations.
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3. Company strengths

Being based in Singapore is itself one of our strengths, because it gives us the
opportunity of having a diverse client base. Singapore is known to have one of the
most diverse populations in the world that is made up of chinese, Malays, Indians,
Eurasians and westerners all residing here. This not only makes our agency unique,
but the diversity allows us to go beyond targeting only one particular group of
people. This factor contributes to another one of our strengths, which is the diverse
set of employees we intend on hiring. Since a number of languages are spoken in
Singapore, we intend on hiring people that are fluent with preferably two languages
so that our clients are able to easily converse with our agents.

Products and services

1. Our Solution to the problem

Planning a trip can be really time consuming. Especially for working adults who hope
to create a perfect getaway from their daily stress at work. Ultimately, it requires a
lot of effort in finding the perfect destination that is under budget and fulfills all
their needs. For this, we offer a solution for all the travelers looking for enriching
experiences.

The services provided in our upcoming business will include making all travel
arrangements for our clients based on their needs. Our agency will be customizing
the trips based on the customers requirements which includes the following
preferences:

● Budget
● Destination
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● Attractions
● Eco-friendly trip (environmentally friendly)
● Season of travel

After identifying each of their preferences, which would be done in person with one
of our travel agents, we will then choose destinations that suit the clients needs
best. We are not including the option of a questionnaire online because we feel it is
best that agent and client interact with one another for the sake of having a better
understanding. Depending on the season of travel, our team would give a few
suggestions on the activities available in the chosen place. If our customer is fond of
the idea, our team will collectively make arrangements for them, taking into account
their requirements of budget and whether the trip should be environmentally
friendly etc.

Below is a table of the two packages we provide:

Packages Description Consultation Additional

fees (SGD) fees (SGD)

European package This includes travel to all 80 An additional

geographical regions: Western charge comes
Europe, Eastern Europe, up when:
Northern, and Southern Europe.
destination
Asia package This includes travel to all 80
area is rural-
geographical regions: Central
hard to
Asia, East Asia, South Asia,
connect with
Southeast Asia and Western Asia.
people,

Oceana package This package includes countries: 80

New zealand, Australia, Fiji, types of

Marshall islands, Nauru and activities can

Kiribati. also affect the

cost.
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We were able to price each of the products with the help of a survey which was
conducted and can be found in ​Appendix A.

2. Roadmap/Future Plans

In setting the company together, we are delighted to offer a range of services to our
clients that are just enough to keep us in demand. The most important factor is to be able
to further develop future services and products a few months after the launch. Our
understanding of the target market will be the greatest advantage we can have in the
future to build the right new services in the future for our clients. We will be looking to
expand our packages to go beyond just Asia, Europe and Oceania, and perhaps include
Africa as well. Southern Africa especially has shown increase in the tourism rates in
recent years.

Market Analysis
1. Market Segmentation

Our company will be based in Singapore, with our target audience being not only
Singaporeans, but all the expat families seeking to travel around Asia. There are 1.3
million expats living in Singapore today, and the number continues to grow (​Jones, Marcus
Turner.​). Most expatriate families are Europeans wanting to explore Asia, for which they

contact travel agencies due to their lack of knowledge on the country itself. Singaporean
citizens on the other hand seek to travel across Europe, to popular destinations such as
Paris, Barcelona and Rome.

The two packages of Asia and Europe have been mentioned in the products and services
section, along with their pricing. By specializing in these two different categories, we are
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able to target a wide range of people, rather than just one. This can help Exploremas gain
more clientele in just a few months after its launch.

2. Target Market Segment Strategy

Our marketing strategy, as previously stated revolves around making quality services for
all our clients. We will take into account people's budgets, preferences and give them a
quality vacation. To get a clearer image directly from potential customers on what is
expected in travel companies, a survey was conducted and sent out to 20 high school
students. The survey results can be found in ​Appendix A​.

After reviewing the survey results, I concluded that Exploremas could be a success in the
travel market. For the last question, in which I asked the reader whether they believe our
company could be a potential success, 80 to 90% of the responses were positive. With
many claiming the same thing, that tourism is an industry that keeps on growing, and
people want to explore new places. A few of the responses also said that people approach
travel agencies when exploring a new place, because they want to be ‘organized’. Even
though we were able to draw some conclusions through the survey, one of the downsides
was that it was only sent out to grade 10 students, and our target audience goes beyond
that age group.

3. Competition

With the rapid increase in tourism across the world, many travel agencies have been
established in Singapore. In a market as such, in order to be recognized by a larger
audience, we intend on establishing networks with various hotels and travel agents in
most touristic locations. To do so, we will be providing high quality and comfortable
services, ensuring a steady stream of customers.
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Strategy and implementation

1. Marketing plan

The marketing expenses of our company will be relatively high since we want our
name to be recognized in the travel planning market. To spread the word about
our company and gain recognition after its launch, the following measures will be
fulfilled:

● Quality customer service: ​Since Exploremas is a new company on the

market, our main focus would be to nurture our clients demands and
provide them with quality service. This will help us gain better reviews,
and ultimately we would get more clients approaching our agency.
● Advertisement: ​It is essential that adverts are put in locations with large
crowds so more people take notice of our company. We will be using
posters for the promotion of our brand. They are likely to be placed in
locations such as: crowded MRT stations (orchard, marina bay etc); near
schools; and around Clarke quay, which is a popular drinking hub.
● Events: ​Launching events is a great way to interact with people that could
potentially become our clients.
● Internet marketing:​ Using the internet for advertisements is the most
efficient way in getting recognized globally. Therefore, an additional video
promoting our brand will be published on youtube ( popular video-sharing
platform).
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2. Sales plan

Our company will be granting special offers to all long term clients during the
most popular holiday seasons. During winter holidays (december-january), a 10%
promotion on the European and Asia package. Same accounts for the summer
holidays, where our brand will be grating a 20% promotion. The summer
promotion occurs twice every year, because local singaporean schools and
international schools in Singapore have summer vacation at different times.

3. Location and facilities

Our office will be located in Marina East, which is around the central singapore
area. The workspace we are looking into is 40’​x 50’meters​2​ and the rent costs
4,000 SGD monthly. The location Marina East is comparatively a more expensive
area and utility costs will be quite pricey. However, seeing as how the office space
is not big in size, our company would be able to pay these bills easily. This
location is ideal because not only is it located near one of the most popular places
in singapore ( marina bay area) but t​he office is only 5-10 minutes away from the
promenade MRT station, making it easily accessible. We are aware the office is
currently relatively small, but in a few years time, depending on the success of our
travel company, we will start expanding our business across Singapore.

4. Technology/ Equipment and tools

The essential equipment and tools to start the business have been listed in
Appendix B​, along with their prices. Putting the start up equipment aside, one of
the key elements that will be used on a monthly basis in our business will be the
use of technology. All travel arrangements for our clients will be done online, and
therefore desktop computers will be used frequently in our workplace.
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5. Milestones

In order to start up the business successfully, it is essential to plan out every step
in the process. This includes the advertisements, recruitment, and launching of
the company. It highlights the measures that will be taken for each of the steps to
be completed and the different teams that complete them. The gantt chart that
was created for this project can be found in A
​ ppendix C.

6. SWOT analysis

To have a clearer picture on our company’s strength, advantages and even potential
threats, a full SWOT analysis has been conducted.

Strengths ● Diverse client base: ​As stated previously, this will help
us not just depend on one particular target market.
● Language skills in employees: ​Singapore has four
natuve languages. Although the majority of the
population is able to speak english, it is not always
their first language. By hiring recruits that speak a
variety of languages, our customers will not be
obligated to speak english, and can have the
opportunity to converse in their mother tongue during
consultation.
● Advertising: ​We intend on promoting our company
name and services by displaying posters across
singapore's busiest locations.
● Location: ​T he head office is expected to be located in
Marina East, which is only 5-10 from the MRT station
Promenade. Not only does it make this easily
accessible, but Marina East is generally a busy place
filled with office workers willing to go on vacation
during their time off.
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Weaknesses ● Lack of reputation: ​T his is a weakness for almost all

new starting businesses, especially if their market is
competitive. But this will be addressed through
advertisements as seen in the marketing section.
● Limited financial base: ​T his is another factor that
comes with starting new businesses. This is especially
a weakness in our case, because we have a limited
financial base in comparison to others in the same
industry.

Opportunities ● Growing tourism rate: T

​ he rapid growth rate in the
tourism industry is a massive opportunity for our
business to be able to grow in the market. This will
allow many travel seekers to approach our agency
when looking into travelling to a new place.

Threats ● New firms: ​T he growing tourism industry encourages

other firms to establish, which could be a potential
threat to our already established agency.
● Existing competition: ​In singapore itself, there are just
over a 1000 travel firms (CITE). Some of them are
relatively small, but offer unique services, while others
have a big name in the market, therefore, pose a threat
to our company.
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Company and management structure

1. Organizational Structure

Travel agencies depend heavily on the employees to deliver good customer service.
Therefore, all employees in our company have been carefully evaluated and we have
given them the role best suiting their credentials.

Since we are a new company on the market, we will be starting off with a total of
seven employees. This includes the CEO (Diya Mathurr), two people in marketing and
sales, two agents for the consultation and research, a full time watchman, and lastly, a
part time cleaner. Their payroll, which indicates the salary of all employees along with
their wages, can be found in Appendix D. This is a relatively small group of people, but
this will obviously expand once our business grows. This will allow us to hire more
recruits in the future and assign them a supervisor, which could make tasks easier to
undertake. Our organizational structure will be depended upon the importance that our
staff puts to each of the clients needs.

As previously stated in the mission statement, we aim on creating a healthy work

space for our employees that have strong morals, are motivated, and can undertake
tasks set forth.
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2. Management Team

Because we do not have that many recruits to begin with, the agents and Sales &
Marketing team will be managed by the CEO. Along with this, so will the
watchman and cleaner. In the future however, once more recruits have been hired
for the company, we will be employing new people and assigning them a
supervisor which will essentially be the manager of that department.

Financial plan
The financial planning is an essential part to meet our objectives for the company. Cash
flow should be our main priority after launch. Following the growth, and the profit.

1. Expenses

Before starting the business, as written previously in this report, there will be a start
up cost that will be used for the payment of expenses such as the buying all the
equipment needed for the workspace and the rent of the office itself. To afford this,
there will be a small loan taken from the bank, for which we will have a two year
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period to repay. We have been able to make predictions of the first year cost of our
travel company, which can be found in ​Appendix D. ​Based on the predicted cost
(​$​284,900), we will be taking a loan of 300,000 SDG from the bank.

2. Sales Forecast

In the first year of launch, 3-4 clients each day during peak season (summer and
winter), and possibly none during school days, we will be making about 320,000
SGD. In the second year, we predict a 12%* growth rate, which would land us with a
total of 358,400. The massive increase in number is the result of establishing
networks with various hotels that compete with small fees if we advise our clients to
book with them. There are also a lot of other factors that affect the total cost, these
include the increased client base. By the end of the third year, we are predicted to
have a total of 401,408.

All the calculations were calculated by the flat fee of consultation, which is 80 SGD.
There are other factors that make this number bigger, but for the first year, it is best
to predict with only this direct cost.

*The reason for setting this particular standard for our company is because through research I was able to find that well
established travel agencies are likely to grow from the range of 8-12% by the second year of launch.

3. Projected Cash Flow

In the first few months of launch, the balance at the beginning will decrease by a
huge measure. This is for the obvious reasons of the fact that we are a new
establishment. But by month six, which is August, we guarantee the number will
increase. This is because august is the time of the year when schools have summer
vacation, and so many families take this opportunity to travel. Two months after, our
clients will decrease as the new school year opens around this period. The predicted
cash balance once again increases as soon as it hits december, because winter
holidays come near. The numbers might change in the second or third year of launch,
but the pattern of cash flow will remain the same for all years due to the fact that
holiday season is always the same.
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Bibliography

Blackall, Molly. “Global Tourism Hits Record Highs - but Who Goes Where on Holiday?” ​The Guardian​, Guardian

News and Media, 1 July 2019,

www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jul/01/global-tourism-hits-record-highs-but-who-goes-

where-on-holiday.

Budget Direct Insurance. “Singapore Tourism Statistics 2019.” ​Budget Direct Insurance​, Budget Direct Insurance, 22

Jan. 2020,

www.budgetdirect.com.sg/travel-insurance/research/singapore-tourism-statistics.

Jones, Marcus Turner. “Where Do More than One Million Expats Live and Work in Singapore? • Singapore Expats.”

Singapore Expats​, Singapore Expats, 1 Mar. 2017,

www.singaporeexpats.com/resources-in-singapore/articles/64/where-do-more-than-one-m

illion-expats-live-and-work-in-singapore.htm.

“Travel Agents.” ​STB​, 2019, www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/industries/travel-agents.html.

“WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION.” U

​ NWTO​, 28 June 2019,

www.unwto.org/international-tourism-growth-continues-to-outpace-the-economy.
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Appendices
Appendix A: Survey results (only selected responses have been chosen)

This 17 question survey was sent out to 20 GESS grade 10 students, who are mostly the
children of expats.

The question below that was asked helped in creating the different price ranges for our
services. The first question revealed to me that there is a large group of foreign expats
willing to pay money for the right services, seeing as how none chose the option of always.

The question below was a direct indicator to what price the services should be.

The responses below gave me the understanding of whether people themselves actually
believe that travel agencies can be a success.
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Appendix B: Start up tools and equipment

Material Quantity Cost (SGD)

Office area 1 3000 rental

Desktop computers (apple) 4 6000

Desks 5 1200

Chairs 5 600

Decor (e.g. artificial plants) Keeping under 100

budget of 100.

Basic stationery items Keeping under 50

budget of 50.

Coffee machine 1 250

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Appendix C: Gantt chart

The gantt chart marks all the progress that will be done in the first year after
establishing. Each of the steps are completed by the appropriate member ( marketing,
CEO etc).

Appendix D: Payroll
Average Hourly Pay (to Estimated
Number of Owners 2 decimal places, ex. Hrs./Week (per Estimated
Employee Types /Employees $15.23) person) Pay/Month (Total)
Owner(s) 1 18 45 $3,510
Full-Time Employees 3 20 34 $6,000
Part-Time Employees 3 9 12 $2,000
Independent Contractors N/A N/A N/A N/A

Total Salaries and Wages 7 $47 91 $11,510

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Appendix E: Start-up cost

Fixed Assets Amount (SGD) Depreciation (years)

Real Estate-Land 3000 Not Depreciated

Real Estate-Buildings 20

Leasehold Improvements 7

Equipment ​11,510 7

Furniture and Fixtures 5

Vehicles 5

Other 5

Total Fixed Assets 14,510

(Some of the costs have been rounded up to the nearest tenth)

Operating Capital Amount (SGD) Notes

Pre-Opening Salaries and Wages 180,000

Prepaid Insurance Premiums 2,000

Inventory 4,900

Legal and Accounting Fees 4,000

Rent Deposits 36,000

Utility Deposits 1,000

The charge for this is high because desktop computers make up the
Supplies ​11,000 up the cost of most supplies.

Advertising and Promotions 6,000

Licenses 40,000

Other Initial Start-Up Costs N/A

Working Capital (Cash On Hand) N/A

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Total Operating Capital $​284,900

Total Required Funds $ 328,900

Sources of Funding Percentage Totals Loan Rate Term in Months Monthly Payments

Owner's Equity 0.00%

Outside Investors 0.00%
Additional Loans or Debt
Commercial Loan 100% 300,000 9.00% 84

Commercial Mortgage 0.00% 9.00% 240 -

Credit Card Debt 0.00% 7.00% 60 -

Vehicle Loans 0.00% 6.00% 48 -

Other Bank Debt 0.00% 5.00% 36 -

Total Sources of Funding 0.00% $300,000

$
Total Funding Needed -