InteleTravel (No. 26 on Travel Weekly’s Power List) has acquired a majority stake in U.K.-based tour operator Major Travel with plans to integrate Major’s product into its booking platform. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
“With our core business firmly established in the U.K., our goal is to become an integrated powerhouse in the U.K. and U.S. travel industry in leisure sales, business travel, product, meetings and other services,” InteleTravel co-founder and president James Ferrara said.
Major Travel joins two other recent InteleTravel acquisitions: events company McVeigh Global Meetings & Events and Hickory Global Partners. While those acquisitions brought the meetings/incentives and business travel markets to InteleTravel, the Major Travel acquisition expands its offerings into product.
According to InteleTravel, Major Travel got its start 50 years ago as an air consolidator and North America specialist. Today, the tour operator has a global product offering.
With the acquisition, the tour operator will grow, InteleTravel said. The plan is to double its team by the end of the year. Major Travel has plans to enter the U.S. outbound market by next year.
Major Travel will continue to sell exclusively through travel advisors.
InteleTravel plans to integrate Major Travel’s inventory into its booking platform, “expanding its product range and creating new revenue stream opportunities for its network,” the host agency said.
Major Travel managing director Qasim Gulamhusein will continue to lead the company. No changes will be made to current staff and employees.
“Our vision is to become the leading trade-exclusive tour operator in the U.K. within the next five years,” he said in a release.
The acquisition will give Major Travel better negotiating clout with airlines and hotels, Gulamhusein said, and enable more investment in booking platform Major Go.
Ferrara said InteleTravel chose Major Travel because “we believe it is uniquely positioned to become the leading trade-only operator in the country. We believe it can also be a leader in the U.S. based on the support of InteleTravel advisors there alone.”
He added that Major Travel will remain a separate business from the host agency.