Travel Leaders Group (No. 9 on Travel Weekly's 2017 Power
List with $4.39 billion in sales) and Altour (No. 14 with $2.58 billion) are
merging to form one organization, the companies said Thursday.
When including the nonowned travel agencies that are
affiliated with Travel Leaders, the combined organization will have nearly $24
billion in annual sales, according to Travel Leaders Group.
Both companies' leaders will remain: Alexandre Chemla,
founder and CEO of Altour, and Ninan Chacko, CEO of Travel Leaders Group. Once
the deal closes, Chemla will join the board of directors of Travel Leaders
Group Holdings.
Neither Travel Leaders Group nor Altour will undergo "substantive
operating changes or name changes," said Travel Leaders Group.
The merger is subject to regulatory approval.
Travel Leaders Group's brands include All Aboard Travel,
Andrew Harper Travel, Colletts Travel, Corporate Travel Services, CruCon Cruise
Outlet, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, SinglesCruise.com,
Travel Leaders Corporate, Travel Leaders Network and Tzell Travel.
Altour businesses, in addition to its travel management
services, include Altour Air, Altour Tech, Altour Meetings and Incentives, and
the Altour Global Network.