Altour Buys The Travel Authority to Create $800 Million Agency

07 September 2009 9:10pm

In another example of the travel agency consolidation trend, Altour has entered into an agreement to acquire The Travel Authority (TTA).

Together, the agencies –which will continue operating under their own names- have more than 60 locations around the globe, with sales volume exceeding $800 million.

Both are American Express Travel Representatives and Altour said the combined entity will be the dominant agency within that network. Alexandre Chemla will continue as president of Altour and will become chairman of TTA.

Tom Lumley, current president of TTA, will remain on its board of directors and continue in an advisory capacity while the agency’s current executive vice president, Lee Thomas, assumes the role of president.

A veteran TTA executive, Thomas joined the agency in 1994 and also serves as president of SwiftTrip, a software development company that evolved out of TTA’s 2005 acquisition of TravWell.

Since it was established in 1991 by Chemla, Altour has grown to become an agency with a travel volume of more than $500 million. It has 23 offices and more than 700 travel professionals throughout the United States and in Europe.

Altour also has developed a family of companies, including Altour Limousine, Altour Air, Altour Travel Master, Altour Incentive Management, and Altour Management Technology.

In 2009, Altour signed a joint program with American Express Travel. The agreement is designed to strengthen and expand services for American Express U.S. Representative Travel Network and Altour’s travelers around the globe.

Founded in 1970, TTA was originally based in Louisville, Ky. Over the next 35 years, the company expanded throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Florida. TTA joined the American Express Consumer Travel Network in 2005.

Today it offers a full array of services including corporate travel management, online travel, vacation travel stores, meetings and incentives and Champion Sports Tours, its collegiate and professional fan travel division.