News

Global Travel Group agents will be offered the chance to adopt the Harvey World Travel or Travelbag names "imminently" while new retail brands could be revealed in the near future.

The acquisition of Global by Stella Travel Services' parent company Stella Group was formally completed yesterday.

Global agents are likely to be contacted within days to see if they wish to adopt one of Stella Travel Services' two UK high-street brands.

Managing director Andrew Laurie said: "We will now offer agents the different options - it will be imminent.

"It will be their decision but we will invest significantly in these brands [Harvey World Travel and Travelbag] and my suspicion is that a number of agents will take the brands."

Travelbag will be offered despite being a lesser known high-street brand with a specific longhaul focus. It is yet unclear how many Global members will be interested in using it, added Laurie.

Meanwhile, a luxury brand launched for Stella's Australian travel agency chains before Christmas could be launched in the UK if there a gap in the market. Aliseo is a franchise high-street retail brand focused on the luxury and experiences travel sector.

Laurie added: "There was a space in the market for this brand in Australia based on customer research. We will take a similar approach here if there is a segment of the market we are not currently satisfying."

Meanwhile, Stella Travel Services (UK) is still hoping Global's acquisition of Worldchoice's 450 agencies will go ahead, despite a potential offer from the Travel Trust Association. Talks are planned with Worldchoice over the next few days.

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