Nairobi,Express Travel Group, one of East Africa’s premier travel management companies has joined Travel Leaders Network, North America’s largest travel agency organization with more than 42,000 travel advisors, as part of a major expansion of Travel Leaders’ international presence. Express Travel Group remains locally owned and will continue to service existing clients while anticipating new opportunities for expansion as part of the international network.
Express Travel Group is one of several dozen travel management firms around the world that have signed on as part of the ambitious international expansion as Travel Leaders extends its footprint across several continents.
“This expansion allows us to offer a highly-personalized service model to our international travelers with the backing of a leading travel industry company and represents a fantastic strategic fit to grow our corporate and leisure business in East Africa,” said Alastair Addison, CEO of Express Travel Group. “We will continue to service our clients in a highly personalized manner while providing them with the benefits of Travel Leaders vast suite of technology solutions and other travel management tools.”
“We, at Travel Leaders Network, are excited about our new partnership with Express Travel Group and the opportunity to expand our services to travelers in East Africa,” said Roger E. Block, President of Travel Leaders Network. “Travel Leaders offers a comprehensive array of programs, combined with innovative thinking and proven best industry practices that will allow travel advisors at Express Travel Group to seamlessly offer their clients additional services and improved access to international partners.”
Officiating the launch of the new partnership, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala welcomed Travel Leaders Network to Kenya saying the move amplifies Kenya’s status as a preferred destination. “Without doubt this new partnership will promote traveler arrivals into Kenya both for business and leisure purposes helping to achieve our goal of increased tourism arrivals,” he said.
“This agreement aligns with and supports Tourism Agenda 2018-2022 in many areas most notably in boosting air travel infrastructure, increasing the competitive position of Kenya in the sales system and providing improved access for international tourists to Kenya’s tourism products,” added the Cabinet Secretary.
Travel Leaders’ comprehensive suite of programs includes online booking tools, marketing tools, hotel programs such as SELECT Hotels & Resorts and Worldwide Hotel, an international destination marketing company (DMC) network and a vast array of education and training resources. In addition, an end-to-end technology suite will support both international corporate accounts and local customers, including profile management, online trip authorization, data consolidation and analytics, meetings technology and customer reporting.
“While we’re joining forces with Travel Leaders, one thing won’t change — our customers will continue to receive the highest level of personal attention and service that they’ve come to expect,” stated Addison. “We’ll continue to lead the way in travel by offering innovative travel options for both business and leisure travelers backed by leading technology and industry expertise. Additionally, we’re pleased that our new Travel Leaders Network affiliation will provide our customers with a proven level of unparalleled travel industry experience and relationships that will further increase the array of travel options available to them.”
Travel Leaders Network and Travel Leaders Corporate are part of Travel Leaders Group, which is among the top-ranked travel companies on Travel Weekly’s Power List and Buying Business Travel’s top travel management firms.
Express Travel Group (www.expresstravel.co.ke), is one of East Africa’s premier travel management companies and a member of Hemingways Hospitality group of companies. Established in 1955, it offers both corporate travel management services and leisure travel services through its Destination Management arm, Hemingways Expeditions. Express Travel Group differentiates its service offering through a focus on technology, traveler satisfaction and exceptional value.
Travel Leaders Network (www.TravelLeaders.com), assists millions of leisure and business travelers annually, and is one of the largest sellers of travel products and services in the travel agency industry. Representing approximately 6,000 travel agency locations across the United States and Canada. Travel Leaders Network’s award-winning Agent Profiler agent locator, marketing, technology, supplier partnerships and educational programs empower member agencies to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, grow their business and lead the industry.
