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Diversification key to agent’s success
Her one-person travel agency founded more than 30 years has since become one of the biggest travel management companies in the US. How does Gloria Bohan account for her success despite a sometimes tough market?
“A combination of great people and some luck along the way,” she said. She added that other elements in her company’s growth have included her constant diversification and her emphasis on small, customer-friendly offices.
“The small office concept has really carried us,” she said.
Ms Bohan is president, CEO and founder of Omega World Travel. With more than 1,000 employees and billings in excess of $1.2 billion, the company is the 5th largest travel management company in the US.
Ms Bohan recently received the Travel Agent of the Year Award from the American Society of Travel Agents.
She started her company after she and her husband noted how well travel agents were treated on a cruise.
“I started to learn the travel business. I even took a correspondence course,” she said.
A hands-on owner, Ms Bohan has put Omega into serving all major areas of corporate, leisure and government travel. Along with personalized service in small offices, she has emphasized high-touch, high-tech service centers in selected areas.
Her agency lost some business after 9-11, she admits, but most of it came back. She thinks travel agents will continue to have a role in the future despite inroads from the internet.
“Sure, we’re seeing more people go on-line, but most travelers really don’t like playing travel agents. It gets to be old. We’re seeing if people get good service and you keep your fees reasonable, people really want our business.”
Report by David Wilkening
David
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