Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions Execs Cite Agent Benefits of New Arrangement

 

Gorga
Gorga: Agents remain crucial to Travel Impressions’ success.

 

The acquisition of Travel Impressions by Apple Leisure Group (ALG), parent company of Apple Vacations, could mean new marketing and service tools and a solid commitment to the agency distribution channel by Apple. American Express Travel Related Services spun off the tour operator to ALG last month. Tim Mullen, co-president, Apple Vacations, offered Travel Agent an upbeat appraisal of the acquisition.

“Our plan is that everything agents liked about Apple and enjoyed with Travel Impressions will be combined and offered in the future by both companies, thus agents get the best of what both companies have to offer,” he said. As co-president, Mullen oversees the marketing, sales, e-commerce, revenue management, reservations and customer service responsibilities for Apple Vacations from the company’s Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, office.

“If anything, agent relationships with Travel Impressions will grow as [it] adds more products to offer agents and additional marketing and service tools to even further assist agents in their business,” Mullen said.

Steve Gorga, president and CEO of Travel Impressions, weighed in on what agents can expect going forward. “Travel agents have been and will continue to be critical to the success of Travel Impressions and we do not expect our valued relationships with the agent community to change,” he said.

‘Business as Usual’

“This is the right next step for our company,” Gorga added. “With respect to current TI marketing initiatives, we will continue to conduct business as usual, and that includes continually reviewing and improving our marketing and outreach efforts.”

“Travel Impressions enjoys a tremendously positive relationship with travel agents,” Mullen said. Nothing will change that, he added. “Incentives, commissions, procedures and policies all remain in place,” he said. What may change, for the better, Mullen believes, is a heightening of agent awareness of other ALG products, which include destination management capabilities and AMResorts. “Being a part of Apple Leisure Group, our new colleagues at Travel Impressions will become more familiar with the people, products and services offered by AMResorts and Amstar.”

The deal with American Express is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. Apple will acquire Amex’s global tour operator business, including Travel Impressions (TI), as well as American Express Vacations International, Amex’s international tour operator businesses in Europe and Mexico, which is managed by TI.

From what Travel Agent has learned of the agreement so far, Travel Impressions will be a preferred supplier of American Express Travel, Amex’s travel agency network. It will license the American Express Vacations brand and will remain the exclusive supplier of packaged vacation products and services sold through the brand to American Express Travel’s customers.