Travel Agent - September 15, 2008 - (Page 82)

NEWS IMPACT Travel Leaders Brand Name Says It All THE REBRANDING OF 500 CARLSON WAGONLIT U.S.based travel agency franchise locations into Travel Leaders is a major move for the individual agencies involved and for the Travel Acquisitions Group (TAG), Travel Leaders’ parent company. It’s also a milestone for the industry. TAG’s January acquisition of the Carlson franchise network, headed by the highly regarded Carlson veteran Michael Batt, stunned many, as did Batt’s upfront commitment to expansion of the newly formed TAG. Even more surprising was last month’s merger of TAG and New York-based Tzell Travel Group. The rebranding positions the new Travel Leaders (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates) as a division of The Travel Franchisee Group (TTFG), a TAG unit headed by Roger Block, a veteran executive and franchise manager. When combined with the other brands, including Cruise Holidays, Results! Travel and Sea Master Cruises, TAG can lay claim to being the largest franchiser of travel agencies in North America. But there is even more at stake. TAG has other strong brands under its umbrella, including All Aboard Travel, Carlson Destination Marketing Services, Connexion Loyalty Travel Services, CruiseDeals.com, Cruise Specialists, Fly4Less.com, Luxury Travel Network, Partners In Travel and SinglesCruise.com. (TAG has both owned and franchised locations.) At launch, Batt and Block made clear that they intended to sustain high levels of growth—both organic and by acquisitions, such as purchasing the travel assets of the Carlson Leisure Group (CLG). Batt noted that CLG has grown George Dooley INDUSTRY from 960 locations in 1996 to more than 1,700 in 2008. CLGowned operations had sales approaching $1 billion while travel sales made by the franchise group are in excess of $5 billion. With the addition of Tzell, that figure jumps up to nearly $7 billion. Acquisition Mode Batt also said that TAG would pur- 82 | TravelAgent September 15, 2008 http://www.CruiseDeals.com http://www.Fly4Less.com http://www.SinglesCruise.com http://www.travelagentcentral.com/newssubscribe http://www.travelagentcentral.com/newssubscribe

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - September 15, 2008

Travel Agent - September 15, 2008 Online Now Contents Agent Insider From the Editor Hawaii Europe Pacific/Asia Las Vegas US Airways Vacations - Atlantis, Paradise Island Specialist Central & South America Mexico Caribbean Cruises Cover Story: Merge Mania France by Rail Weddings & Honeymoons Gay & Lesbian Travel Tours Agent Profile Triptailor Vacations Agenda: Fam Trips, Deals & Incentives, Calendar Vegas Week Insights on Singapore Travel Leaders Builds New Alliances The Latest from the Caribbean A Sneak Peek at a New Ship Classified Marketplace In the Spotlight Editorial Index Advertising Index Trendwatch Special Supplement: Thailand Travel Planner

Travel Agent - September 15, 2008

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