Former NEST VP Launches Company

As reported by Travel Agent earlier this month, former NEST (Network of Entrepreneurs Selling Travel) Vice President Stuart Cohen has launched a new company called "worldMyWay.com." Cohen says the company will begin taking bookings for Italy in the first quarter of 2007. "We're just going to do Italy next year," says Cohen. "But [there will be] lots more to come in subsequent years." The company is the latest in a series of travel initiatives intended to capitalize on the growing demand for customized, FIT travel. Cohen says worldMyWay.com will not offer pre-packaged tours, only customized itineraries crafted to suit the desires of individual clients. But the tricky part—the new part—is doing FIT travel through the web, he says. The worldMyWay.com web site will break new ground by offering enough travel options to allow clients to craft an FIT itinerary without directly interacting with a company representative, according to the former NEST executive. "I saw a void in the marketplace. I saw this opportunity. That's the only reason I decided to fly, if you will [from the NEST]," Cohen says of his former role at the home-based agent company. Despite the web-based nature of worldMyWay.com, he says he envisions agents as a "very, very important part of the new company." "Historically, it's been very difficult for agents to book FIT tours," Cohen says. "This will be a perfect product for them to use." Cohen says he has not yet finalized the commission structure for agents booking through the site. The new company will be headquartered at 37th Street and Broadway in New York City.