Last week Travel Leaders Group announced that it would be uniting its two business travel companies under the brand ALTOUR. Today, Travel Leaders Group is announcing the creation of a new parent company, Internova Travel Group, created to enhance service and support for advisors, agencies and clients. Heading the new company will be J.D. O’Hara who will serve as chief executive officer of Internova.
The new identity signals the company’s strategic reorganization, which will group similar brands into a portfolio of distinctive travel divisions, each with a specific area of expertise and focus.
Going forward, the Travel Leaders Group name will refer exclusively to the division of Internova comprised only of travel brands that are affiliated with Travel Leaders Network and have a similar focus such as leisure, cruise and tour sales. This move will lessen any confusion in the marketplace around the Travel Leaders brand name, said Internova CEO O’Hara in press materials.
Protravel International and Tzell Travel Group will be part of a new, yet-to-be-named, division centered around the high-service independent advisor business. ALTOUR will become Internova’s division focused primarily on corporate travel management.
Bonotel Exclusive Travel will operate as it has in the past and will also oversee the company’s Worldwide and SELECT Hotels & Resorts platforms across the broader portfolio of Internova travel divisions. Additionally, Corporate Travel Services (CTS) will continue its focus on the Latin American market. Your Event Solutions (YES) will continue operating as the company’s global specialty Meetings and Incentive business.
“This revamped structure will enable us to redefine the experience and provide an optimal home for every advisor, agency and traveler, while delivering the greatest value to our supplier partners through a more cohesive and focused structure,” O’Hara said in a press statement.
O’Hara noted that he had been contemplating the integration plans for some time, but the recent downturn caused by Covid-19 makes them even more critical.
“Our goal is to create a more empowered and agile organization to accelerate recovery and offer the best-of-breed tools and programs,” said O’Hara in a press statement. “When travel begins to rebound, we will be in the strongest position ever to hit the ground running and provide our advisors and agencies with maximum support and service in their return to profitability.”
Internova’s newly refined business divisions will consist of brands with common areas of focus and business models.
- Travel Leaders Group will encompass the franchise and consortia business, host agency operations and brands predominantly focused on leisure, cruise and tour. This includes Travel Leaders Network, Nexion Travel Group, Barrhead Travel, Roadtrips, Travel Leaders Vacation Center, CruCon Cruise Outlet and Cruise Specialists. John Lovell will serve as president of the newly redefined Travel Leaders Group division. Lovell will work closely with existing leadership on detailed integration plans.
- A new, yet-to-be-named organization including Protravel International and Tzell Travel Group will cater to high-service independent travel advisors. Angie Licea, previously head of strategic partnerships at Travel Leaders Group/Internova, will serve as president of the integrated company. Licea is working closely with existing Protravel and Tzell Travel management on integrating the new organization. Luxury brands Andrew Harper Travel and R. Crusoe & Son will also reside in this division.
- As previously announced, ALTOUR’s corporate travel business and Travel Leaders Corporate have aligned under the ALTOUR brand. The company will focus on travel management, data and insights and strategic incentive management. ALTOUR founder Alexandre Chemla will serve as CEO of the newly expanded division.
- Bonotel Exclusive Travel is a technology-focused, global distributor of luxury branded and boutique hotels to its long-standing B2B clients. Bonotel will oversee and supplement Internova’s SELECT Hotels & Resorts and Worldwide Hotel programs. This will offer hotel partners an expanded value proposition providing access to the SELECT, Worldwide and Bonotel programs. Plans call for continual enhancement of hotel offerings for advisors and their client. Faisal Sublaban will continue to serve as President & CEO of Bonotel.
- Corporate Travel Services (CTS), led by resident Jose Luis Castro, will continue to operate as usual. Your Event Solutions (YES), led by CEO Sue Gill, will continue operating as the company’s global specialty Meetings and Incentive business.
For more information, visit travelleadersgroup.com/internova-travel-group. For more industry news, click here.
