On Wednesday, First Choice Expeditions made the decision to dissolve Intrav,
its education-focused land and sea product, absorbing some of the itineraries
to other tour companies under the First Choice umbrella. Beginning April 1,
2008, small-ship expedition cruising to Antarctica
and the Artic will lie with Quark Expeditions. Land and safari journeys to the
Galapagos, Egypt and Africa, plus the "Wings Over" series, will fall
under International Expeditions and Park East. Meanwhile, luxury small-group
escorted tours to such places as China,
India and Morocco, will
fall in with Travcoa, while worldwide private jet tours find a home with TCS
Expeditions. Back in May, Intrav announced it had sold its Clipper Odyssey
(pictured) and Clipper Adventurer ships to International Shipping Partners, in
a move that Intrav said better reflected its business plan, which, at the time,
was to focus more strongly on the educational products offered by Intrav, such
as its luxury river voyages and land and safari journeys. (The Adventurer will
complete all Intrav scheduled departures through February 2008, while
Intrav-affiliated Clipper Odyssey sailings will continue through September.)
However, that focus has now shifted to streamlining North American operations
by reassigning the signature programs of Intrav to First Choice's other tour
companies. Intrav's president, Randy Durband, is now set to succeed Jerre Fuqua
as president of Travcoa on October 1, freeing Fuqua to pursue other strategic
priorities for First Choice Expeditions, a release said. Until April 1, Doug
Walbert, vice president of product operations and product development for
Intrav, will manage the Intrav operations following Durband's departure.
"Intrav's signature products and experiences will go to sister companies
where they will be handled with the same expertise that has made Intrav one of
the great names in travel," Fuqua said in a statement. "That
tradition of excellence and many of its most successful programs will live
on." Visit [www.intrav.com].
