youtube world travel holdings

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My Portfolio
• Stock Market
• Biden Economy
• Stocks: Most Actives
• Stocks: Gainers
• Stocks: Losers
• Trending Tickers
• World Indices
• US Treasury Bonds
• Top Mutual Funds
• Highest Open Interest
• Highest Implied Volatility
• Stock Comparison
• Advanced Charts
• Currency Converter
• Investment Ideas
• Research Reports
• Basic Materials
• Communication Services
• Consumer Cyclical
• Consumer Defensive
• Financial Services
• Industrials
• Real Estate
• Mutual Funds
• Credit Cards
• Balance transfer cards
• Cash-back cards
• Rewards cards
• Travel cards
• Personal Loans
• Student Loans
• Car Insurance
• Options 101
• Good Buy or Goodbye
• Options Pit
• Yahoo Finance Invest
• EV Deep Dive
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

Yahoo Finance

World travel holdings secures five coveted 2023 travel weekly magellan awards.

Four gold and one silver for its innovative brand awareness campaign, leading-edge technology, custom marketing assets, and top-notch resources for its franchisees.

WAKEFIELD, Mass. , Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Travel Weekly, a top travel industry trade publication, recognized World Travel Holdings with five Magellan Awards. Many of the winning entries are incredible initiatives and programs from the Dream Vacations travel agency franchise .

"We are immensely proud of our achievements in the 2023 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards," said Drew Daly, senior vice president and general manager for Dream Vacations. "These awards are a testament to our ongoing commitment to innovation and excellence within the travel industry. We are dedicated to providing our network of travel advisors with the tools and support they need to succeed, and these wins reflect our unwavering commitment to their success."

Gold Winners

The Associate Onboarding Toolkit provides Dream Vacations franchise owners a beautifully branded kit that assists them in providing a seamless onboarding process for their associates. By providing customizable resources and activities, this toolkit ensures that associates receive comprehensive training and support from day one.

The groundbreaking Agent Directory is a transformative lead generation tool for Dream Vacations travel advisors. Designed to showcase their expertise, increase online visibility, and enhance credibility with prospective customers, the Agent Directory allows the Dream Vacations network to reap all the SEO benefits.

Dream Vacations has harnessed the magic of Personalized Videos, collaborating closely with a professional videographer to deliver captivating content that forges deep connections with clients and prospects. The most unique aspect of these videos is that Dream Vacations franchise owners and associates can customize the videos with their own travel advisor call-to-action information.

Cruises.com, another prominent brand within World Travel Holdings, added to the trophy case with a Gold win for their remarkable Countrywide Innovative Marketing Campaign. The initiative included the use of creative placements in key highway networks to drive ports and serving as a proud sponsor of collegiate athletics through partnerships with the University of Florida and the University of Houston .

"We're so proud of the work the team has done to build brand awareness for the Cruises.com brand," said Rosemarie Reed senior vice president for World Travel Holdings who oversees the marketing for Cruises.com." I know their immense creativity is what earned them this award and we are so honored to have won Gold in the 2023 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards."

Silver Winner

In February 2023 , Dream Vacations launched its highly anticipated Groups Application, which has contributed to the highest group sales the B2B division has seen since 2017. The award-winning online interface allows agents to manage the entire life cycle of a group easily and effectively. Three standout features include:

Group Registration: Allows agents to auto generate and customize a website page to promote each group. The best feature is the ability it provides for customers to easily register into a group, creating a frictionless customer experience while minimizing an agent's effort.

Group Share: A unique set of features weaved in every part of the suite of applications that allows agents to share their group inventory with all agents in the Dream Vacations network, so everyone benefits from the price and amenities of group travel.

Block Groups: Allows Dream Vacations headquarters the ability to manage corporate held group space and gives the network the ability to book into these group types effortlessly, while comparing prices to FIT to ensure their clients get the best deal.

The Magellan Awards honor outstanding design, marketing and services in a broad range of industry segments including Hospitality, Travel Destinations, Cruise Lines, Online Travel Services, Airlines and Airports, Travel Agents and Agencies, Tour Operators and Ground Transportation.

"Now that travel has come roaring back, it's clear that those who provide travelers with vacation opportunities were inspired as never before," said Arnie Weissmann , editor in chief of Travel Weekly. "We had a record-breaking number of entries this year, and the creativity and innovative approaches really wowed the judges. The entrants' collective desire to exceed consumers' expectations was never more evident."

The Magellan Awards are judged and overseen by a one-of-a-kind panel of top travel professionals representing the best names and most accomplished leaders from the industry. In determining winners, entries do not compete with one another, instead they are judged against a standard of excellence based on the long experience of Travel Weekly. To uphold this high standard of excellence, a category may have multiple winners, or may have no winners at all. For a complete list of silver and gold winners, please visit http://www.travelweeklyawards.com .

About Dream Vacations Travel agents with the top-ranked home-based travel agency franchise Dream Vacations have the resources to plan and create seamless vacation experiences for their customers while offering the best value. A member of the International Franchise Association, Dream Vacations is part of World Travel Holdings and has received franchise partner of the year, a top-ranking status, by all the major cruise lines as well as national recognition for its support of military veterans. For more information about Dream Vacations, visit http://www.DreamVacationsFranchise.com . Like Dream Vacations on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamVacationsFranchise , follow on Twitter at @Dream_Franchise and watch its videos at http://www.youtube.com/DreamVacationsBusiness .

About Cruises.com Cruises.com is the smart way to book. With a team of Travel Experts, customers can easily find their dream cruise through a stress-free booking experience and enjoy all the cruise line offers on top of an exclusive bonus. For more information, visit Cruises.com, like them on Facebook at Cruises.com, or follow them on Instagram @cruisescom.

About World Travel Holdings World Travel Holdings is the nation's largest cruise agency and award-winning leisure travel company with a portfolio of nearly 40 diverse brands. In addition to owning some of the largest brands distributing cruises, villas, resort vacations, car rentals, resort day passes and luxury travel services, World Travel Holdings has a vast portfolio of private-label partnerships comprised of top leisure travel providers, including almost every U.S. airline, leading hotel brands and prominent corporations. The company also operates a top-rated travel agency franchise and is consistently recognized as an industry leader in employee engagement and work-at-home employment. Its global presence includes operating multiple cruise brands in the United Kingdom . World Travel Holdings has offices in Wakefield, Mass. ; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. ; and Chorley, England . For more information, visit WorldTravelHoldings.com.

About Travel Weekly Travel Weekly is the most influential provider of news, research, opinion, and analysis to the North American travel trade marketplace. It reaches a broad industry audience in print, online and with face-to-face events throughout the year. Travel Weekly is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey -based Northstar Travel Media, the largest travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.

About Northstar Travel Group Northstar Travel Group is the leading B-to-B information and marketing solutions company serving all segments of the travel industry including leisure/retail, corporate/business travel, corporate and sports meetings, incentives, hospitality, and travel technology. Northstar is the owner of leading brands serving these travel segments. The company produces more than 100 face-to-face events in 13 countries in retail travel, hospitality, corporate travel, travel technology, sports travel, and the meetings & incentive industry. In addition, Northstar owns Phocuswright, the leading research and event producer serving the travel technology industry. Northstar Travel Group owns the BHN Group, the leading producer of hotel investment conferences. Northstar is also the majority shareholder in Inntopia, the leading SaaS e-commerce software business serving the mountain destination, golf, activities, and hospitality markets. Based in Rutherford, NJ , the company has seven offices in the U.S., UK, and Singapore . Northstar Travel Group is owned by funds managed by EagleTree Capital.

Media Contact: Michael Cadigan , Public Relations Manager Dream Vacations 954-958-3627 [email protected]

View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prweb.com/releases/world-travel-holdings-secures-five-coveted-2023-travel-weekly-magellan-awards-301960017.html

SOURCE World Travel Holdings

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

Booking.com Launches Cruises in the U.S.

Dennis Schaal , Skift

November 9th, 2023 at 10:51 AM EST

There doesn't seem to be much of a downside for Booking.com getting into cruises. As with flights, which it launched in 2019, we can only say — what took you so long?

Dennis Schaal

Known for many years as primarily a Europe-focused accommodations business, Amsterdam-based Booking.com on Thursday launched cruises in the U.S. through a partnership with cruise agency World Travel Holdings .

For Booking.com, which is the flagship brand of Booking Holdings, the deal to offer a white label cruise site powered by World Travel Holdings in the U.S. punctuates the company’s commitment to be a larger force in the U.S., where it competes with Expedia and Airbnb. The U.S. is the largest cruise market in the world, representing 58% of all cruise bookings, the company said.

Booking Holdings’ initial brand, U.S.-based Priceline.com, likewise offers cruises with World Travel Holdings, the largest cruise agency stateside, as its partner.

Booking.com Cruises’ Differentiation

Asked how Booking.com Cruises would be different from the rest of the pack, a spokesperson said: “Key differentiators for Booking.com Cruises are that customers will have access to exclusive offerings and deals on our platform as well as an enhanced onboard spend process. On Booking.com, when travelers make a cruise booking and board the ship, their onboard account will be automatically credited with the spend amount they can use to purchase food, beverages, spa treatments, excursions etc.”

Booking.com customers will be able to select from more than 10,000 sailings 30-plus cruise lines. Customers are eligible for “up to $50, $100, $500 or even $1,000” shipboard credits depending on how much money they spent to book their cruises, and on Black Friday the company is doubling these numbers.

Best Price Guarantee

Booking.com also offers a 110% Best Price Guarantee. If a customer finds a lower price on a competitor website with 48 hours of making their booking on Booking.com Cruises, then Booking.com pledges a refund of 110% of the difference.

“Additional exclusive spend at sea deals will also be offered on select cruise lines including Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and several others,” Booking.com stated.

Cruise Phone Bookings

Most cruise bookings are done over the phone due to the complexity of typical reservations and World Travel Holdings’ agents will handle the bookings, support and customer emails. There’s also live chat on the website.

For now, Booking.com’s game plan is to launch cruises in the U.S. only, a spokesperson said, although the company wants to expand its customer base across all its verticals, including stays, flights, car rentals, attractions, airport taxis, and now cruises.

Some U.S. consumers will be able to view Booking.com’s new cruise site starting today, and that percentage will grow over the next few weeks, the company said. It will be available on desktop and mobile.

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: booking holdings , booking.com , carnival corp. , carnival cruise line , celebrity cruises , norwegian , online travel newsletter , royal caribbean

Photo credit: The Carnival Liberty sailing out of Miami. Source: Mike McBey/Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/158652122@N02/49476509766/in/photolist-2io53BQ-2nVW2Hc-2oev7Co-7GSnc8-7GWio3-2nWN8RQ-2o6eeHk-2mgftPf-2nmXdoV-2omvC3i-2oiQaFW-2nNpnzz-7GWihs-2o4qFZ8-2ns6Nsf-bCzcfr-7GWioo-2ocRznN-2nH5sW5-2ogKzY7-2omb9Zh-2kep5AF-2nMUJJt-2nY5JN1-2obZsEa-2nMTM6p-7GSnbk-2obhTw4-7GWijj-7GSn58-7GSn4p-7GWisd-2nC9c5j-Boosun-2nn2DEr-2kMfNmb-2oo9EQE-2oeEUBU-2okXVjp-2oc3M3v-2md6tNq-2mfS5ZZ-2kX7Vow-2kivHQZ-2mnT7Rd-2okSNR3-2m6pStm-2nrtM3S-2mkPK8n-2meLGAZ Mike McBey / flickr

Please enable Javascript in your browser.

World Travel Holdings

Meet our parent company world travel holdings.

We are passionate about the travel industry and delivering remarkable experiences to our customers.

We’re respected as an industry powerhouse and take great pride in what we do.

Through teamwork and velocity, we always aim to deliver consistent results.

Since 2005, this has been who we are and what we continue to do.

A Global Travel Agency Franchise

New franchise owners become part of the World Travel Holdings family and benefit from our global reach as a powerhouse in the travel industry with the cumulative power of our brands. World Travel Holdings is the nation’s largest cruise agency and has been recognized three times as the Best Large Retail Travel Agency with a Travvy Award. Our shared resources leverage tremendous benefits for our travel franchise owners and position them for GROWTH. World Travel Holdings also:

• Encompasses a diverse collection of more than 40 industry-leading brands.
• Owns some of the world’s largest travel brands distributing cruises, villas, hotels, resort vacations and luxury travel services.
• Maintains a vast portfolio of licensed partnerships comprised of top leisure travel providers, almost every U.S. airline, leading hotel brands and prominent corporations.
• Features a global presence in the United Kingdom including the operation of two cruise agencies and multiple private-label brands.

BRAD TOLKIN

JEFF TOLKIN

Brad and Jeff Tolkin, Co-CEOs of World Travel Holdings

Brad and Jeff Tolkin serve as Co-Chairmen/Co-CEOs of World Travel Holdings and are its majority shareholders. They each have more than 40 years of experience as an operating executive in the travel industry. In 2005 they co-founded World Travel Holdings, and through a variety of acquisitions, innovative business practices, and developing opportunities, they have grown the company into more than a billion-dollar travel industry powerhouse. Today, World Travel Holdings owns and operates more than 35 leading travel brands including owned brands, private-label partnerships comprised of prominent companies in the United States and the United Kingdom, and two top-rated travel agency franchise brands. As a result of their significant contributions to the cruise industry, Brad and Jeff were inducted into the Cruise Lines International Association Hall of Fame in 2014. Prior to co-founding World Travel Holdings, the Tolkins owned and operated Travel Impressions, one of the country’s most successful privately held travel wholesalers, and in 1992 they acquired Empress Travel. Travel Impressions and Empress Travel were both sold to American Express in 1998. Brad holds a BS from Cornell University, and Jeff holds a BA from Columbia College and a JD from Columbia Law School.

Take the Next Step

Meet the Hathaway Family!

They are a family-owned and operated Dream Vacations Travel Franchise; each family member has a key focus area to operate a successful and award-winning home-based business.

THE HATHAWAY FAMILY, Franchise Owners

VP Harris to unveil nursing home rules in battleground state of Wisconsin

• Medium Text

Sign up here.

Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Michael Perry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

World Chevron

Widowed Palestinian doesn't expect much from US action against Israel

Omar Assad's 81-year-old widow still hopes to see justice served against the Israeli soldiers she blames for his death two years ago in the occupied West Bank, but isn't pinning hope on any action the United States might take against their battalion.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Mount Ruang Erupts in Indonesia, Spewing Lava Thousands of Feet Into the Sky

Hundreds of earthquakes were detected in the weeks preceding the eruption of the volcano in North Sulawesi province. Hundreds of people were evacuated.

By Christine Hauser

Mount Ruang, a volcano in Indonesia, erupted on Tuesday, spewing fiery lava and ash thousands of feet into the night sky and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people in the North Sulawesi province, according to the authorities and local news reports.

The volcano erupted at about 7:19 p.m. local time, Antara, the national news agency, reported. The country’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency said on Wednesday that more than 800 people in nearby villages were displaced by the eruption, many using ferries and taking shelter in churches and community centers.

The authorities said supplies such as mats, blankets, cleaning materials, and tents were needed, and that more shelters might be opening for people fleeing the volcano.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation. It is spread across what is known as the Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates clash under the surface of the Pacific Ocean and spawn earthquakes and eruptions from volcanoes.

Mount Ruang is a stratovolcano , or a steep, conical volcano that has built up over years in layers from explosive eruptions of lava, rock fragments, ash and other properties.

“It is in a part of the world where there are a lot of active volcanoes,” said Dr. Tracy K.P. Gregg , who chairs the geology department at the University at Buffalo.

Its last major eruption was in 2002, when the column of lava and ash that it spewed reached up to 17 miles, Dr. Gregg said.

She said the volcano in 2002 measured 4, a “large” volcano on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, a scale used to measure the strength of an eruption by looking at several factors, such as duration, ash volume and plume height. Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 measured 6 on the index. Mount St. Helens in the United States in 1980 measured 5.

“So it is a little bit smaller than that,” she said of Mount Ruang. Right now, it is not as violent as the previous eruption, she added, but the volcano cannot be fully assessed while it is in progress.

More than 300 volcanic earthquakes were detected over a period of at least two weeks preceding the eruption of Mount Ruang.

It is not immediately clear why the volcano erupted when it did. “Every volcano has its own personality,” she said.

In the past few years, several volcanoes in Indonesia have erupted. In December, 2023, the bodies of 11 hikers were found on the slopes of Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, after an eruption that spewed an ash column of nearly 3,000 meters — about 10,000 feet high.

In December 2022, more than 1,900 people were evacuated from the area surrounding Mount Semeru as it erupted. In an eruption there the previous December , more than 50 people were killed and hundreds more were injured.

Christine Hauser is a reporter, covering national and foreign news. Her previous jobs in the newsroom include stints in Business covering financial markets and on the Metro desk in the police bureau. More about Christine Hauser