WHY IT RATES: The veteran executive says she will prioritize travel advisors and their success 'above everything else.'—Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse Senior Editor
InteleTravel, the global travel distribution group built on the world’s largest host agency, announced today that Tara Minson has been named president of InteleTravel. Minson joined InteleTravel in 2008 as the executive vice president and chief marketing officer, a role in which she led marketing strategies, drove brand growth, boosted agent productivity, and produced large-scale events for sales, marketing, and customer service teams.
Minson succeeds James R. Ferrara as president of InteleTravel. In 1991, Ferrara co-founded the company with Chairman Joseph Traina Sr. and served first as executive vice president and then president over 19 years before recently transitioning to the role of CEO of InteleTravel and managing partner of INTRAVEL, parent company to a portfolio of travel holdings including InteleTravel.
“My choice of Tara for this role was unquestionable,” said Ferrara. “With 25 years of marketing & operational experience, including 15 years beside me at InteleTravel, she has been central to growing our business to over 120,000 advisors. She has also earned the respect of many in the industry for her fierce work ethic, creativity and bold thinking. For me, it’s important to recognize she represents a timely shift to a new generation of leadership for InteleTravel, with new ideas and a change to a woman in the president's office for the first time in nearly 34 years. I am confident in her ability to lead this company to new heights.”
The two executives will continue to collaborate at InteleTravel, with Ferrara taking more time to further acquisition, expansion and integration strategies across the group of companies, while Minson takes on full operations at the host agency.
InteleTravel is the world’s largest and oldest host agency and has expanded its offerings through multiple acquisitions, including Hickory Global Partners, the corporate travel alliance, MGME, a meeting, incentive and corporate events agency and Major Travel, a UK-based tour operator.
Minson has led initiatives that significantly increased agent loyalty and productivity during her time. Her most considerable accomplishments as executive vice president include over 40 annual trainings and complex events produced for InteleTravel partners and advisors. Notable among these is the annual advisor conference, InteleTravelQuest (ITQ), the largest industry event held by any single travel agency. Previous ITQ conferences have taken place in Orlando, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, Cancun, Mexico, and on chartered cruise ships. The next conference in 2025 will take place aboard the Norwegian Joy cruise ship and feature keynote speakers, a partner trade show with over 75 vendors, over 80 break-out seminars, award ceremonies for advisors and more.
“I am honored and thrilled to embrace the role of President,” said Minson. “Having been a part of our company's remarkable growth and success over the last 15 years, I am inspired by our dedicated staff and professional travel advisors. Together, we will continue to explore more innovations for InteleTravel and our advisors to lead the industry and thrive within all sectors of our global footprint. I will continue to prioritize our advisors and their individual success in collaboration with our preferred travel brands above everything else.”
Minson is a contributing member of several advisory boards and committees, including Apple Leisure Group Vacations, Delta Vacations, Collette Vacations, Norwegian Cruise Line, and more. She also sits on advisory committees for the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), and Woman Leading Travel & Hospitality. Outside of work, Tara is passionate about sustainable tourism and frequently advocates for the support of home-based travel advisors new to the travel industry.
SOURCE: InteleTravel press release.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
