With CEO Ady Gelber back at the helm of IsramWorld, the agent-exclusive tour operator is now laying the groundwork for an active 2008, which will see the formation of a travel agent advisory board.
The decision stems from the company's commitment to travel
agents, the best and least expensive channel for distribution, Gelber told Travel
Agent during a visit to his Park Avenue office in
Isram, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this May, is in the throes of assembling an advisory board of agency heads to routinely discuss how Isram can better serve the agent community. Invitations to join the board already have been sent—though Gelber declined to say to whom—and the first meeting is set for June.
"For our developments in 2008, I will need their input," he says. "The same loyalty that we show to travel agents, we expect they will show to us."
In recent weeks, Isram has announced a series of new tours and service enhancements.
Beginning April 17, the company will extend the hours of its
Family Travel on the Rise
Believing family travel is "no longer limited to theme
parks and beach holidays," Isram earlier this month unveiled a new series
of family-oriented vacation packages in Asia, like "Family Fun
Thailand," a seven-night vacation with stops in Bangkok, the floating
market and the Golden Triangle area. This is in addition to a new family tour
in central Europe, the 12-day "Family Discovery Tour," with stops in
He attributes about 48 percent of the company's business to
trips to