TORONTO, ON –July 8, 2016 – Worldview Travel, headquartered in Toronto, Canada is pleased to announce the acquisition of Century Travel based in Atlanta Georgia, effective July 1, 2016.
Century Travel is a leading luxury travel advisory company operating from Atlanta, Georgia with sales in excess of $54million and is a member of the Virtuoso organization.
Cheryl Nicholson, executive vice president, Leisure and Loyalty and responsible for the company’s extensive retail network in Canada, the United States and Bermuda, comments: “The acquisition of Century Travel fits perfectly with our team of top luxury agencies and renowned travel advisors. Worldview has steadily built world-class booking tools, finance and HR support, an air ticketing team, and strong industry relations. This has created a win-win opportunity for agency owners who want to stay engaged in the business, but take a step back from the day to day operational challenges. We’re thrilled to partner with a company that represents the highest quality in luxury leisure travel.”
“Century Travel is comprised of an amazing group of talented travel advisors specializing in corporate and high end leisure travel. The executive team (consisting of Belinda Crews, Gene Lashley and Peter Lloyd) see our new association with the Worldview Travel Company as a great assimilation of minds and talents” states founder Gene Lashley. “The entire Century team is excited to have new parents who can offer us many industry leading innovations as we continue to grow and prosper. Our advisors will now have amazing new tools to enable them to work smarter, maximize their earnings, and benefit from the extensive resources available only through being a member of the Worldview Travel family. We evaluated our future growth options and easily made the decision that Worldview could offer us the best future for our advisors. One of the most important components for us as well was that we, (Belinda, Peter and Gene) will continue our full involvement and run the day to day operations at Century Travel.”
Adds Mike Dawson, newly appointed Chairman of Worldview Travel, “We have long admired the talent and the expertise at Century Travel and know how highly regarded their executive team is. We are delighted to welcome them to our burgeoning Worldview Travel family and are committed to continued growth, amplified support of our preferred relationships and exciting times ahead.”
About Worldview Travel
With over $500 US million in sales, Worldview Travel is the world’s 2nd largest Virtuoso agency. Specializing in both corporate and luxury leisure travel, Worldview has offices in Canada, the United States, and Bermuda. Worldview is rapidly expanding its 500-strong network of IC’s, investing in new verticals and actively acquiring agencies. Cutting-edge technology is a key focus at Worldview Travel and an important driver of growth. Worldview is supporting the development and testing of a new state-of-the-art booking platform that will substantially increase an advisor’s efficiency and profitability. Built by travel agents for travel agents, the platform’s seamless and intuitive booking environment is a game-changing addition to a travel professional’s toolbox.
About Century Travel
Century Travel was founded by Gene Lashley in 1985. With the initial focus on corporate travel, Century quickly grew to be among the top 10 travel agencies in Atlanta by the early 1990’s. Peter Lloyd joined the organization in 1994 and Century Travel became a member of Virtuoso in 1998. With a continued emphasis on high end leisure, Century has consistently grown to currently over 70 associates. With a focus on specialization, several agents have been recognized as international experts on travel by Travel + Leisure as well as Conde Nast. Gene and Peter serve on several Hotel Advisory boards, Cruise Line boards and have participated on several Virtuoso committees.