Liberty Travel
TypeTravel Agency
IndustryTravel
FoundedNew York, New York; 1951
FounderFred Kassner and Gilbert Haroche
Headquarters
Montvale, New Jersey, US
Area served
New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Illinois, California
ServicesTravel Agency
Number of employees
2,200
ParentFlight Centre Travel Group
SubsidiariesGogo Worldwide Vacations
Websitewww.libertytravel.com

Liberty Travel is a retail travel and cruise company headquartered at 5 Paragon Drive in Montvale, New Jersey, United States.[1][2][3] In 2016, Liberty Travel had over 125 stores in 14 states, and a total of 2,200 employees. Today, Liberty Travel has 4 stores.[4][5]

Liberty Travel is a sister company of GOGO Worldwide Vacations, which markets vacation packages wholesale to independent retail travel agencies.[1][2]

In 2008, Flight Centre Ltd., the largest travel company in Australia, acquired Liberty Travel and GOGO for $135 million.[2][6][7]

History

Liberty Travel was co-founded in 1951 by Fred Kassner and Gilbert Haroche, New York University classmates who started as a two-man operation in New York City.[1][8] Initially, they focused on travel to the Catskills and Miami.[1] They offered vacation packages intended to be affordable to the general public.[1]

Gilbert Haroche has been called the originator of the package vacation with the company's "deluxe economy package" offered in the early 1950s.[9] Thereafter new destinations were added one by one and the concept took off alongside the age of jet travel. Haroche expanded the stores and became responsible for the retail side of the business (Liberty Travel) whereas Fred Kassner, his founding partner, became responsible for the wholesale business, Gogo Tours, which sold packages to agencies. Notable Alumni : Steven E. Heydt.[10]

As of 1998, Liberty Travel had 200 stores in the Northeastern United States and Florida, and was the largest privately owned leisure travel chain in the U.S., with over one million customers annually.[1][11]

Liberty Travel was featured on ABC's Nightline in September 2011 on the subject of Travel Agencies and how this business model is still relevant to today's travelers.[12]

In May 2012, Emma Jupp came on as Liberty Travel's CEO.[13]

In 2012, they opened a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York City, with plans to open ten more similar storefronts as large as 8,000 square feet (740 m2) around the United States in the next five years.[14]

In 2013, they partnered with USA Today on the publication's yearly 10Best award in travel.[15][16]

In February 2018, Liberty Travel launched new “Home-Based” Travel Agent Brand to give travel consultants more control over their business.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Edwin McDowell (October 8, 1998). "Fred Kassner, 71, Who Made Travel Affordable for Many". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Wins Two Flight Center USA Awards". South Florida Caribbean News. October 19, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2013-01-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "About Liberty Travel". Libertytravel.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Liberty Travel, Inc. – Company Profile by Insideview". Insideview.com. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ "The travel industry's long, strange trip – The Deal Pipeline". Thedeal.com. November 11, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  7. ↑ Marx, Anthony (December 20, 2010). "Flight Centre buys US travel outfit". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  8. ↑ Tharp, Paul (October 7, 1998). "Liberty Travel Founder Dies". The New York Post. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Barry Popik".
  10. ↑ "Fred Kassner, cofounder of Liberty, Gogo, dead at 71".
  11. ↑ Arney, June (August 22, 2000). "Travel chain coming to Maryland New Jersey-based Liberty Travel plans 12 more branches; Travel". The Sun. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  12. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Travel Agencies Flying High. YouTube.
  13. ↑ "GOGO and Liberty Get New Presidents | Travel Agent Central". www.travelagentcentral.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-28.
  14. ↑ Levere, Jane L. (November 20, 2012). "Liberty Travel Opens a Flagship in Midtown Manhattan". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ "Best all-inclusive resorts for romance". USA Today. October 27, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Israel group tours". 26 November 2019. Friday, 16 August 2019
  17. ↑ "Liberty Travel Launches New "Home-Based" Travel Agent Brand | Travel Agent Central". www.travelagentcentral.com. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
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