Apple Leisure Group CEO Says Mark Travel Merger Is Win-Win for Travel Agents
Skift Take
Many travel agents will have the benefit of selling a wider variety of packages from one distribution channel because of this deal, but will this industry giant really want to give travel agents, and their clients, the best rates if agents don't have anywhere else to turn? Time will tell.
Fresh off Apple Leisure Group's merger with Mark Travel earlier this month, Apple Leisure Group CEO Alex Zozaya said combining both businesses will only bring good news and firm footing for travel agents.
Zozaya spoke to Skift at the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, earlier this month, where issues such as tourism employment and automation were hot topics during various panel discussions.
The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2018, and Zozaya said it will allow travel agents a much wider product offering to sell, at a time when technology increasingly threatens some aspects of travel agents' roles.
"The type of experiences where the travel agents actually add more value, that's exactly the type of product that we have now with both of our companies, Apple Leisure Group's as well as Mark Travel," said Zozaya.
Zozaya said shared technology from both companies will create
