The Most Influential Travel Brands Right Now

Image: Travelers on an Intrepid tour to Pakistan. (photo via 2019 Intrepid Travel) (Photo Credit: (photo via 2019 Intrepid Travel))
Image: Travelers on an Intrepid tour to Pakistan. (photo via 2019 Intrepid Travel) (Photo Credit: (photo via 2019 Intrepid Travel))
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 1:20 PM ET, Thu June 22, 2023

American magazine company TIME released its annual list of the 100 most influential companies in the world, with several travel-related brands making the list.

The list comprises five categories—Leaders, Disrupters, Innovators, Titans and Pioneers—by TIME editors who evaluate each company based on key factors, including impact, innovation, ambition and success.

In the Leaders category, adventure tour operator Intrepid Travel made the annual list, with the magazine highlighting the brand’s environmentally and socially responsible options. Intrepid “saw record-breaking booking days after launching a flight-free program (and more than 100 Indigenous-led tours) last year.”

SpaceX also found itself listed among the Leaders category, partly due to the company’s dedication to the emerging space tourism market. Elon Musk’s company launched 61 Falcon 9 flights last year, “making it the world’s workhorse rocket.” 

“It’s fantastic to see that TIME focused on influential travel companies because they were able to showcase a well-rounded group of brands that touch the heart and soul of our culture, fashion, aspirations and experiences globally,” Travel Hub 365 CEO Stephen Scott said. “These companies and many others like them can inspire us and also fulfill the dream of travel for current and future generations.”

Disney made TIME’s Top 100 in the Titans category, with the magazine categorizing the company as a “corporate citizen” in response to the ongoing political-based battle with the government in Florida.

In May, Disney's revenue was $21.81 billion, up 13 percent from the same quarter last year, but CEO Bob Iger remained concerned about the slumping theme park division. Disney World theme park tickets have increased, but they were offset by increased attendance at Disneyland.

Two aircraft manufacturers working to build zero-emissions planes for the commercial aviation industry also made the list in the Pioneer category, Eviation Aircraft and ZeroAvia. Eviation reported orders for more than 400 planes, worth over $4 billion, while ZeroAvia already has over 1,500 provisional orders, with interest from American Airlines, United Airlines and IAG.


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