Travcoa President Jerre Fuqua was promoted
to the newly created position of president of First Choice
Expeditions, a division of First Choice that includes five major,
U.S.-based tour operators.
Travcoa, Intrav,
TCS Expeditions, International Expeditions and Country Walkers are
part of First Choice Expeditions.
First Choice
acquired the U.S. tour businesses in December and January. All but
Intrav were part of Grand Expeditions. In February, First Choice
dropped the name Grand Expeditions and restructured its 18 U.S.
brands into four divisions: First Choice Expeditions, First Choice
Marine, First Choice Student Travel and First Choice
Independent.
Fuqua will remain
based in Newport Beach, Calif., and will report to First Choice CEO
Peter Long in London.
He also will retain
his title and responsibilities as president of Travcoa but will
work with the other companies on "common initiatives and brand
positioning," according to Long.
During a breakfast
meeting in New York last month, Fuqua told Travel Weekly that he
will be looking for opportunities for synergy and "meaningful
dialogue" among the companies.
Each of the First
Choice Expedition brands, Fuqua said, is "best in class of what it
does. Each has a clear and direct understanding of what business
they are in, what they do."
However, Fuqua
added, "You can always get to the next level in anything in life.
That's the sort of challenge I like, to look deeply at what the
fundamentals are. Many businesses have the ability to be
refocused.
"What we do is the
life experience business," Fuqua said, "not the 'I went to this
place' business. That's what we do. We're not a commodity player
that takes people to the same old places. There's specialization
and personalization. That's what travelers, not tourists, want. We
cater to travelers."
Fuqua grew up in
Colorado but got his start in the travel industry in Alaska in
1984, working in sales and marketing for the Alyeska Resort in
Girdwood.
"I went to Alaska
with a friend and was charmed by its vastness, its wildness," he
said. "You get bitten by it."
He later became a
partner in Aadland Marketing Group in Anchorage, doing strategic
planning, advertising and public relations work for travel and
tourism clients.
In 1994 he joined
Alaska's Glacier Bay Tours and Cruises as vice president of
marketing, sales and reservations and held a similar position with
Cruise West from September 2001 to January 2005, when he was
offered the job of president of Travcoa.
Fuqua said First
Choice Expeditions will be putting forth "some exciting
initiatives" in the coming weeks.
To
contact reporter David Cogswell, send e-mail to [email protected].