The Top 21 Most Powerful Travel Agencies in 2021

Travel Weekly has released its annual Power List ranking the travel agencies that report $100 million or more in travel sales. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Travel Weekly made the decision to freeze the rankings since many agencies wouldn't be able to meet the traditional minimum sales threshold to even be considered. Therefore, the 2021 Power List looks almost identical to the one released in 2020 as it's based on gross travel sales in 2019. With travel rebounding heading into the second half of 2021, though, it's worth taking a look at the most powerful agencies as the industry begins its recovery.

Salt Lake City-based Christopherson Andavo Travel is up one spot from 2020's list but saw gross sales decrease 66 to 70 percent last year amid the pandemic, forcing layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts. The privately-owned business has reported seeing a resumption of travel but notes that bookings are still less than 25 percent of 2019 volume.

Luxury travel specialist Travel Edge, which features multiple leisure division offices in the U.S., Canada and Bermuda, reported a similar sales decrease last year and responded to the pandemic by introducing a limited-time signing bonus program, right-sizing office locations, furloughing a small percentage of staff and investing in digital event platforms. Travel Edge is optimistic for recovery as it's seen an increase in interest for Europe and North American travel for the second half of 2021.

COVID-19's impact on business travel was felt hard by ATG, which reported a gross sales dropoff of 81 to 85 percent. The 26-year-old privately owned travel management company responded to the recent challenges by building new product solutions and internal technology, right-sizing staffing and working on billable projects for some clients.

Formerly ICE or International Cruise and Excursions, Arrivia used the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to rebrand. The Signature Travel Network member saw its employee count reduced from 2,100 to 1,572 during the pandemic but has seen promising signs of improvement in 2021, with booking levels reaching 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

A member of Radius and Virtuoso, World Travel is an employee-owned private company out of Pennsylvania dealing primarily with corporate travel (90 percent). The company was recognized at the 17th Annual International Business Awards for its impressive response to the pandemic, which included retaining 100 percent of staff.

Not to be confused with World Travel, Inc., World Travel Holdings is a privately held leisure travel company with 40 brands distributing cruises, villas, resort vacations, car rentals, resort day passes and luxury travel services. The Massachusetts-based business also operates the CruiseOne/Dream Vacations agency franchise and the Cruises Inc. host agency and owns the cruise review site Cruiseline.com.

GlobalStar Travel Management member and Cruise.com owner Omega World Travel is owned and led by CEO Gloria Bohan and spent the pandemic shifting to virtual operations where possible, reducing staff, streamlining account management and front- and back-office operations and renegotiating supplier contracts.

Recently acquired by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), Ovation Travel Group currently operates as a separate division of GBT under previous leadership and staff. The Virtuoso member operates a host agency business working with 112 independent contractors.

Signature Travel Network member Frosch saw corporate travel decline to 27 percent of total sales due to the pandemic and reported a gross sales decrease of 76 to 80 percent last year. Frosch acquired Valerie Wilson Travel last month and anticipates the return of leisure travel to fuel the industry's recovery later this year.

AAA's sales diminished 56 to 60 percent last year as the company instituted a work-from-home model for most travel employees and even moved some travel staff to other business lines during the peak of the pandemic. AAA notes that demand is extremely strong for the second half of 2021, with the impending return of cruising expected to further boost interest.

Omaha-based Corporate Travel Management (CTM) recently acquired Travel and Transport, which ranked number 13 on the 2020 Power List. CTM hopes to bounce back from a gross sales dropoff of 76 to 80 percent in 2020 with business travel expected to pick back up later this year.

Fareportal is a travel technology company that deals primarily with leisure travel, enabling consumers to book online, from a mobile app, by phone or chat. Its brands include CheapOair and One Travel. Looking ahead, the company predicts increased interest in shorter trip lengths and short-distance destinations as more people take their work on the road.

Direct Travel, a Virtuoso member that works with as many as 700 independent contractors, saw gross sales plummet 61 to 65 percent in 2020. The privately held company relies mostly on business travel, which accounts for 83 percent of sales compared to 10 percent for leisure.

New York-based American Express Travel works to provide American Express Cardmembers with access to benefits through a vast network of partners spanning lodging, air, cruise and destination experiences. Notably, during the pandemic, the company partnered with Hilton and Marriott to donate hotel stays for healthcare professionals across the United States.

Internova Travel Group's sales is a near 50/50 mix of business and leisure travel but the privately held company is approaching the second half of 2021 with optimism as it expects to see leisure travel start to surge in the coming months, pointing out that clients have expressed interest in bucket list trips, longer stays and working remotely.

Flight Centre Travel Group, a public company with wholly owned operations in nearly two dozen countries and licensee network in more than 90 countries, reported a 36 to 40 percent decrease in gross sales in 2020 but expects "significant traction" by the end of the third quarter of 2021 with leisure travel bouncing back faster.

CWT has been awfully busy in its pandemic response, increasing liquidity through debt and equity financing, adapting its call center system, introducing new tools and launching a travel consultancy. However, CWT doesn't anticipate travel meaningfully resuming until at least 2023 in what is one of the industry's more gloomy forecasts.

BCD Travel put its newfound downtime to good use amid the pandemic, developing a digital resource for travel managers to rethink their program's return to active travel and launching a COVID-19 information hub detailing the latest travel restrictions and requirements. In the end, the corporate travel management company was able to add $1.9 billion in new business and retain 99 percent of its clients.

American Express Global Business Travel saw gross sales decrease 76 to 80 percent last year but has been making moves to maintain if not improve its place on the Power List by acquiring Ovation Travel Group-which ranks 14th on the 2021 Power List-in January and agreeing to acquire Expedia's corporate travel division, Egencia, last month.

Booking Holdings worked through diminished sales during the COVID-19 crisis by reducing marketing expenses by as much as 56 percent and cutting staff by 23 percent. The publicly traded online travel agency also raised roughly $4 billion in loans through the sale of senior notes.

Expedia Group remains the most powerful travel agency in 2021. With brands including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Trivago, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, among many others, Expedia put its size and power to work during the pandemic by making a $275 million commitment to assist hotel and destination marketing partners through credits, financial relief and funds. Expedia Group plans to move forward with a focus on simplifying its business.