02 Aug Internova Travel Group Celebrates Milestone Travel Reopening With UK Delegation
Delegates from Internova Travel Group in the US arrived into the UK to mark the first phase of the reopening of the Transatlantic route
NEW YORK (August 2, 2021) – A delegation from Internova Travel Group, one of the world’s largest travel services organizations, has landed in London to celebrate the reopening of the UK to fully-vaccinated US travelers. The group, consisting of two members from Internova Travel Group’s executive leadership team alongside four of their top travel advisors, arrived in London Heathrow onboard Delta, Virgin and British Airways flights and entered the UK as leisure travelers for the first time since the global pandemic.
-Internova Travel Group CEO J.D. O’Hara
Internova Travel Group marked the occasion, which they said was “a significant milestone” for travel recovery, with a champagne reception at Corinthia London. Industry leaders from airlines, associations, trade media and tourist boards attended the event to toast the opening of the Transatlantic route and to discuss next stages of travel recovery.
The travel industry in the UK and the US have been advocating for an urgent reopening of the Transatlantic route since early 2021. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, US visitors to the UK contribute more than £4 billion to the British economy with over 4.5 million US citizens visiting the UK during 2019.
“When you consider just how important the US/UK flight routes are to the entire industry – not least, the global economy – this is a pivotal moment,” said Peter Vlitas, Executive Vice President of Global Airline Relations at Internova Travel Group. “The industry has been waiting 17 months for this news.”
“Being able to bring our senior leaders and independent contractors over to the UK signals the start of a real and sustainable recovery period,” said J.D. O’Hara, Chief Executive Officer of Internova Travel Group. “The United Kingdom is a vital market for all of our sectors within the travel industry and we hope this reopening can now pave the way for a laser-focused approach to reciprocating the arrangements for UK travelers heading to the US.”
“The decision to allow fully vaccinated travelers from the US is a hugely important step in the right direction for the travel industry,” said Thomas Kochs, Managing Director of Corinthia London. Corinthia London, one of the UK’s top luxury venues and a popular Internova Travel Group client. “We are absolutely delighted that the first milestone step in transatlantic travel between the USA and the UK has been taken. Not only from a commercial standpoint, with the US being our largest market, but also on a human level, we are genuinely happy to welcome US guests back to the hotel after such a long and tumultuous period. Over the years, we have built some of the strongest relationships with these travel partners, independent contractors and of course the guests themselves. We have really missed our American friends.”
The Internova Travel Group delegation returns to the US later this week. The group intends to continue its advocacy work on both sides of the Atlantic to promote the importance of reopening the US for UK travelers as a matter of priority.
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About Internova Travel Group
Internova Travel Group is one of the largest travel services companies in the world with a collection of leading brands delivering high-touch, personal travel expertise to leisure and corporate clients. Internova manages leisure, business and franchise firms through a portfolio of distinctive divisions. Internova represents more than 62,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations predominantly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries.