Travel Counsellors has agreed to a strategic internal acquisition of The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND), a leading Canadian travel agent consortium.
TTAND supports more than 1 700 independent travel agents in Canada. Founded in 2014 by Flemming Friisdahl, TTAND CEO, and two other seasoned travel entrepreneurs, the consortium has become a leader in providing personalised, premium leisure travel advice in Canada. Friisdahl will continue to lead the TTAND operation as CEO.
The acquisition will enable both businesses to benefit from enhanced scale, with over 3 900 professional travel business owners in the enlarged group, a more diversified international profile with strong brands in the UK and Canada and cross-company knowledge sharing. Additionally, over time TTAND’s growing travel agent community will benefit from migration to Travel Counsellors’ bespoke technology platform.
The combination with TTAND accelerates Travel Counsellors’ international growth strategy, with operations now in seven international markets.
“We are delighted to join forces with Friisdahl and the team at TTAND. TTAND is a business we have long admired for its strong entrepreneurial culture and leadership, exceptional internal engagement amongst its community of travel business owners and outstanding reputation for providing first-class customer care,” said Steve Byrne, CEO of Travel Counsellors.
“The deal is an important milestone in our growth strategy as we focus on leveraging our proprietary technology to build a leading global travel platform, combining the very best of the human touch and tech to deliver enhanced personalisation, care and peace of mind for customers. This deal also provides an important gateway for our company into the wider North American market, which represents a significant potential future growth opportunity.”
It marks Travel Counsellors’ third acquisition in the past three years, following the successful deals to acquire UK premium leisure travel company Holidaysplease in March 2023 and the Planisto technology platform in January 2024.
