Travel enquiries arrive at the worst possible times: late in the evening, on weekends, and all at once when a holiday season opens. A traveller asking about a package may call three agencies, and the one that answers first and follows up well gets the booking. A travel agency call centre does not need to be large. It needs a clear call flow, every enquiry captured, and quick follow-up on WhatsApp, where most travellers already are. This guide shows how tour operators and travel agencies can set one up.
The calls a travel agency handles
| Call type | What the caller needs | Who should answer |
|---|---|---|
| New enquiry | Package details, availability, a quote | Sales consultants |
| Existing booking | Changes, payment, documents | Booking support |
| Travelling now | Pickup missing, hotel issue, flight change | Priority support or duty manager |
| Corporate travel | Employee bookings, invoices | Account manager |
| Partners and vendors | Hotels, transport, local guides | Operations team |
The most important line is the one for customers who are travelling. A family stuck at an airport at night should never wait behind someone asking about next year’s holiday.
Building the call flow
One number, a short menu
Publish one number and use an IVR menu to split callers:
- Press 1 for new holiday enquiries.
- Press 2 for an existing booking.
- Press 3 if you are travelling now and need help.
With Voxdial Contact Center, each key press goes to its own inbound group, with hold messages and a maximum wait. The “travelling now” group can ring a duty manager’s mobile out of hours using follow-me. If you advertise packages for different destinations, you can also publish separate DID numbers per campaign, so you know which advert made the phone ring.
Opening hours and after hours
Time conditions route calls one way during office hours and another way after closing. After hours, new enquiries can go to a message and a callback, while travelling customers still reach a person. See time-based call routing for examples.
Never lose an enquiry
Every unanswered enquiry is a booking that may go to a competitor. Voxdial’s undialed missed call list shows callers who have not been called back, and auto callback can dial them from an idle agent’s console during the hours you set. Our guide to reducing missed customer calls covers the routine.
Capturing and following up leads
A travel enquiry rarely closes in one call. The consultant needs the dates, number of travellers, budget and destination, and must follow up.
- Lead forms and custom fields in Voxdial let agents record these details during the call.
- Dispositions such as “Quote sent”, “Call back”, “Booked” or “Not interested” show where each enquiry stands.
- CRM integration in the agent console shows the customer’s record when they call and lets agents click to call from the CRM.
Our guide to lead management in a call centre explains how to keep follow-ups on track without chasing people with repeated calls.
WhatsApp for travel agents
Travellers want to see photos, itineraries and hotel options, which a phone call cannot show. The BitVoice Social Media Platform runs on the official WhatsApp Business API with one shared inbox for the whole team.
- Send itineraries and documents as media messages after the call.
- Answer WhatsApp, Instagram and website chats from one inbox, so enquiries from social media are not missed.
- Chatbot for common questions such as visa basics, office timings or payment options, with handover to a consultant.
- Booking reminders through your own system using the HTTP API and approved templates, for example document reminders or a pickup time the day before travel.
- WhatsApp calls answered by agents in the call centre, just like phone calls.
Only message customers who have opted in, and use approved templates outside the 24-hour customer service window. See WhatsApp template messages for details.
Handling the season rush
Holiday seasons bring sudden peaks. Plan for them:
- Add temporary agents, who can log in to the agent console from home with a softphone. See work from home call centre softphones.
- Send busy callers a WhatsApp or SMS chat link so they can continue in chat.
- Use a BitVoice AI voice agent as backup when every consultant is busy. It can answer simple questions in 22 Indian languages, take the caller’s details and pass the call to the next free consultant with a summary. Your consultants still handle the sale.
What to measure
- Enquiries per day by source number, to see which campaigns work.
- Missed calls and time to call back.
- Dispositions, especially how many enquiries become bookings.
- Abandoned calls in the “travelling now” queue, which should be close to zero.
Want a phone and WhatsApp setup that turns more enquiries into bookings? Talk to BitVoice.
FAQs
Does a small travel agency need a call centre?
Not a large one. Even three or four consultants benefit from a queue, missed call callbacks, lead forms and a shared WhatsApp inbox, so no enquiry is lost.
How do we support customers who are travelling at night?
Give them their own IVR option or number that rings a duty manager, using follow-me to reach a mobile out of hours.
Can we track which advert brings the most calls?
Yes. Publish a different number for each campaign and map each one to your sales queue. Reports then show calls by number.
Can consultants send itineraries on WhatsApp?
Yes. Agents can send documents and images from the shared inbox, and your system can send booking reminders using approved templates.
