In order to focus on the “strong leisure and corporate growth opportunities in the large U.S. market,” Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) announced it is closing its GOGO Vacations brand. GOGO, first founded in New Jersey in 1951, was acquired by FLT in 2007. The news follows on the heels of FLT’s announcement that it’s launching a new brand, Envoyage, which will focus on the independent and luxury sectors.
“Effectively, we are playing to our strengths and doubling down in our best-performing sectors and where we see exciting future growth potential,” said Flight Centre Travel Group Americas President Charlene Leiss. “We are also bringing the U.S. business into line with the leisure and corporate structures we have elsewhere in the world.”
She added: “It was a difficult, but logical decision to close GOGO. With the wholesale model struggling in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to justify the high costs of maintaining this brand. With that said, a transition team will remain in the business to service the existing GOGO bookings and support our customers throughout this period with the complete backing of Flight Centre Travel Group.
“While we regrettably have to part ways with some of the GOGO staff, we thank all affected employees for their dedication, service, and commitment over many years to the GOGO business and remain committed to supporting them during this time.”
In addition to its new Envoyage brand, FLT will be focusing efforts on its Scott Dunn brand, which recently opened a New York office. Following this expansion, the company made two key appointments on its U.S. leadership team, Susan Duffy as executive vice president and Jade Lynch as director of brand marketing. Duffy brings 14 years of experience in the luxury space, having most recently worked at Global Travel Collection. Lynch most recently served as Corporate Traveler USA’s brand marketer.
Good to know: FLT will also maintain its existing Liberty Travel wholly owned business models of storefronts and group travel, as well as continue to serve the student population globally via its Massachusetts-based Student Universe OTA.
FLT says it has valued, long-term leisure partnerships that have been historically distributed through its retail and wholesale business models. With the launch of Envoyage, however, the company is “excited to share plans for its new and growing distribution channel for these partners.”
On the business travel front, FLT will be fast-tracking its expansion in the SME corporate sector through a new regional structure for the Corporate Traveler USA business. By adopting a more regionalized approach, through new East, West and Central hubs, located around Boston/New York, Southern California and Chicago, respectively, the company is now better placed to capitalize on the opportunity to expand its footprint across the U.S.
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