Travel Leaders Group Creates New Parent Company, Reorganizes

Travel Leaders Group announced the creation of a new parent company, Internova Travel Group, to enhance service and support for advisors, agencies and clients. J.D. O’Hara will serve as chief executive officer of Internova; the announcement comes on the heels of the news that Travel Leaders Group is uniting its two business travel companies under the brand Altour.

The new identity signals the company’s 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 comprising only the travel brands that are affiliated with Travel Leaders Network and have a similar focus, such as leisure, cruise and tour sales. This move, according to O’Hara, aims to lessen any confusion in the marketplace around the Travel Leaders brand name. 

A detailed breakdown of Internova’s newly refined business divisions is as follows:

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. Faisal Sublaban will continue to serve as president and CEO of Bonotel.

Corporate Travel Services (CTS), led by president 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.

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. 

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