Business Travel News Ranks Travel Leaders Group First Among Travel Management Companies

Minneapolis, MN (Vocus) June 9, 2009 -- In its latest issue, Business Travel News ranks Travel Leaders (http://www.travelleaders.com/) Group number one among American travel management companies in its Business Travel Survey 2009, an annual compendium. Business Travel News is considered "the voice of authority for corporate travel buyers throughout North America for over 20 years." The rankings are based on the reported volume* of airline transactions for 2008 verified by the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), which is the premier financial transaction processing and settlement corporation that facilitates the distribution of travel products and related information.

Travel Leaders Group's reported ARC volume was primarily attributed to its New York-based Tzell Travel Group division, which standing alone would have ranked first on the Business Travel News list. However, added to that was data from Travel Leaders Corporate - another of the Travel Leaders Group companies.

"While the Travel Leaders name may be new, the long and distinguished history of providing outstanding service to all of our valued clients is not new to Tzell or any member of the enterprise," explained Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben. "I'm particularly thrilled that the hardworking agents who are the core of the Tzell Travel Group would have alone achieved our enterprise's top ranking, so I salute them for making this distinction possible. We are also truly humbled when we consider that this top ranking directly results from the high level of trust our growing roster of Tzell and Travel Leaders Corporate clientele places in us to deliver exceptional travel management. We're more committed than ever to providing a level of service and care that's a departure from the ordinary."

While Travel Leaders franchisee sales were not included in the Travel Leaders Group data, four Travel Leaders franchisees throughout the United States enjoyed sufficient sales volume to also merit inclusion on the comprehensive survey. They include:

•    #35 - Travel Leaders in Colchester, Vermont

•    #37 - Travel Leaders in Fort Wayne, Indiana

•    #39 - Travel Leaders in Memphis, Tennessee

•    #41 - Travel Leaders in Spokane, Washington

With combined wholly-owned and franchised sales of over $7.1 billion last year, the relatively new Travel Leaders Group enterprise already ranks as the eighth largest travel company in the United States, as well as among the top five brands with a national retail presence. "Now, we're pleased to include an important 'number one' to that growing list," added Liben.

Schaumburg (IL)-based Travel Leaders Corporate may be found online at www.TravelLeaders.com. New York City-based Tzell Travel Group may be found online at www.Tzell.com.

Travel Leaders is transforming travel with a new name that boldly embodies our commitment to our vacation and business travel clients via a progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Having already assisted millions of travelers, our strong roots - through our beginnings as Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates (which itself began as Ask Mr. Foster, North America's first travel agency network established in 1888), TraveLeaders and Tzell Travel Group - have now joined together to form one of the industry's fastest-growing and robust networks of travel agents.

With Travel Leaders serving as the company's flagship brand, Travel Leaders Group consists of five divisions:

•    Travel Leaders Corporate (David Holyoke, President)

•    Travel Leaders Franchise Group (Roger E. Block, CTC, President), includes Travel Leaders, Results! Travel and Custom Destination Marketing Solutions.

•    Travel Leaders Leisure Group (Tom Baumann, President), includes All Aboard Travel, CruiseDeals.com, Cruise Holidays, Cruise Specialists, Luxury Travel Network, Partners In Travel, SeaMaster Cruises, SinglesCruise.com and company-owned leisure locations for Travel Leaders

•    Connexions (Eric Burdon, President), includes Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions, Connexions Travel Solutions, Connexions Fulfillment Solutions, Fly4Less.com, Distinctive Departures and Insignia Personalized Products

•    Tzell Travel Group (Barry Liben, CEO)

*Business Travel News reports that several mega-agencies declined to participate or release 2008 ARC data.

Contact:    

Steve Loucks

952.914.6969

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