Homeworking group InteleTravel signalled plans to target travellers who want to blend business with leisure following its acquisition of Hickory Global Partners.
It says the Florida-based corporate travel alliance will provide its leisure agents in the US with a business travel education and certification programme and negotiated air and hotel products and expense management tools.
InteleTravel President James Ferrara described separate consortia for corporate and leisure travel markets as ‘outdated’.
“The pandemic, new technologies and trends have changed travellers, which requires new solutions,” he said in a statement. “This merger creates a single source of advantages and support for all travellers and the professionals who serve them—the consortium of the future.”
However, a UK spokesperson for InteleTravel said the merger of the two companies would only affect the US market, adding that there is no impact on its UK business.
Hickory will continue to trade as a wholly-owned unit of InteleTravel, while its President Chris Dane will be in charge of emerging marketing opportunities.
“We have a vision for a consortium that leads into the next decades with a modern view of business and leisure travellers, and advantages, technology and supply for our members to satisfy those needs,” he said in a statement.
“InteleTravel’s resources and reach will help us do that.”