Morris Columbus Travel is thrilled to announce that we made the illustrious Travel Weekly Power List for 2023!
Each year Travel Weekly ranks the world’s travel agencies that report $100M+ in travel sales. Executives from agencies across the globe were interviewed with regards to sales numbers, industry trends they are seeing, and more, including our own president Brent Jenson.
"Morris Columbus Travel is honored to be included on the '2023 Travel Weekly Power List' as one of the top 50 largest and most successful travel agencies in the United States!", Brent Jenson said. "The credit for this accolade goes to our employees and their willingness to continually exceed the expectations of our clients by helping them plan dream vacations & creating memories which will last a lifetime."
In Travel Weekly's illustrious 2023 Power List, which measures full-year 2022 travel sales, the travel industry saw that the overwhelming majority of travel agencies are reporting that business travel sales are on the comeback trail, complementing the leisure category, which burst back last year.
Methodology
So, how was the 2023 Power List compiled? To qualify for the 2023 Power List, a company had to have a minimum of $100 million in travel sales in 2022. For purposes of this survey, sales are defined as gross sales of travel products worldwide, whether to consumers or to corporate travelers; the company must be the agent of record on the transaction from a supplier's perspective. At least 15% of the sales volume must have been generated in the U.S.
Among the Power List are agencies with a wide variety of expertise – leisure, business, entertainment, meetings & events, and more. All those interviewed for the Power List report their mix of leisure vs. business travel sales. Within the interviews, it became very clear that agencies with a higher percentage of leisure travel were more optimistic towards recovery. Agencies that have a strong leisure focus are anticipating a “tidal wave” of business to come in over the coming year – with some even saying that 2022 levels are at or will even exceed 2019 levels.
Many travelers are inquiring about bucket-list trips, milestone trips, celebratory trips, longer than usual vacation lengths, and the opportunity to just escape after long quarantine periods.
Consolidation
Mergers and acquisitions were robust during the pandemic – highly driven by the need for technology to acquire new business, the need to expand to meet leisure travel demands, and more. Morris Murdock Travel acquired Columbus Travel in 2023 and the two became Morris Columbus Travel.
Looking Ahead
At Morris Columbus Travel, we are celebrating our 65th year in business and are always looking forward. This year we are focusing on:
- Expanding Leisure Escorted Groups.
- Resuming full-ship charter opportunities that had been suspended during the pandemic.
- Growing Meeting & Incentive business with expansion of full-time sales force and continued strategic acquisitions.
- Based on year-to-date sales and future bookings, expecting 2023 to be ahead of a very good 2022 in both leisure and meetings and incentive sales.