Travel enthusiasts who want to work in the industry may feel themselves limited to working at a travel agency. Design and Launch an Online Travel Business in a Week offers many opportunities for working in the trillion-dollar travel and tourism industry beyond just travel agencies, and tells readers how to set up this business at home in just a week’s time.

In addition to booking airline tickets, cruises, and hotel rooms, the book suggests expanding into other areas of travel services. These might include creating itineraries and travel schedules, ferreting out the best prices and schedules, arranging for rental vehicles and ground transportation, serving as a tour leader, arranging customized tours, offering travel insurance, and acting as a travelers’ advocate when problems arise.

Once the type of service is established, author Charlene Davis then suggests finding a niche to determine where to direct specific marketing efforts. A helpful listing includes these sub-niches as potential markets: families, singles, retirees, business travelers, luxury travelers, gays and lesbians, honeymooners, and special needs travelers. The book also provides sidebars, "Words of Wisdom," worksheets, forms, sample press releases, warning messages, and "Click Tips" for starting this new travel business, whether as a fun part-time endeavor or as a full-time revenue source.

The guide is divided into 14 chapters covering topics that include finding a niche, choosing a business model, creating a website, building Internet presence, understanding essentials of e-marketing, using affiliate marketing, providing successful service, and learning about online travel entrepreneur case studies. Back matter features an abundance of useful tools such as an Internet Resource Guide, Additional Resources, Glossary, and Index. In troubled financial times such as these, Design and Launch an Online Travel Business in a Week provides a helpful way to jump-start a whole new career in worldwide travel and tourism.