Travelopia, the world’s largest collection of specialist travel brands, is delighted to announce that it has agreed to acquire Enchanting Travels, a German headquartered tailormade luxury travel specialist.

Founded in 2004 by Parik Laxminarayan and Alex Metzler, Enchanting Travels is a tailormade luxury travel specialist which provides exclusive, customised travel experiences for guests primarily from North America, Western Europe and Australia. The company has six offices across four continents and has provided transformative travel encounters to 30,000 guests, visiting 44 countries with a 98% satisfaction rate. Enchanting

Travels has developed a leading technology platform which enables it to provide its guests with exceptional service and truly authentic experiences. The business has a strong track record of growth as it’s forecasted to double its revenue in the three years to FY19. Future expansion will be realised through the development of its new and existing source markets and destinations.

Andy Duncan, Travelopia CEO, said “We are delighted to welcome Enchanting Travels to the Travelopia Group.

Parik and his team have created an exciting and innovative business that utilises the latest technology to help redefine tailormade travel and offer life changing holidays. We look forward to working with the team to expand Enchanting Travel’s destination and luxury travel offering, and to support its growth in its primary source markets of Germany and the USA.”

Parik Laxminarayan, Enchanting Travels CEO, said “The opportunity for us to join Travelopia and embark on a much bigger journey with a much larger vision is something we are very excited about. Travelopia holds a very inspiring vision of being the best collection of travel specialist companies in the world and we look forward to starting our new journey, driving Travelopia’s growth and vision forward, as part of a very exciting next phase for our company.”

Completion of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in certain jurisdictions and agreement from Enchanting Travels’ minority shareholders.

Travelopia, headquartered in the UK, is one of the world’s leading experiential travel platforms, providing customers with unique experiences, such as private jet travel, polar expedition cruises, cycling and trekking-based holidays, sailing adventures and high-end, tailor-made holidays. Travelopia has a large, international customer base of over 750,000 travellers each year and serves over 70 destinations globally through its collection of brands.

Highly experienced Chief Executive with strong track record in consumer marketing and digital  

London, 20 March 2018 – Travelopia, one of the world’s leading experiential travel platforms, today announces the succession of Will Waggott by Andy Duncan as Chief Executive Officer.

Andy is a highly experienced chief executive with a strong background in growing consumer businesses, building brands and driving digital transformation. Prior to joining Travelopia, Andy served as CEO of Camelot UK, the National Lottery operator, building the company into the world’s largest digital lottery.

Prior to this, Andy was CEO of H.R. Owen, the UK’s largest luxury car business, and of Channel 4, where he introduced a range of digital channels and services including the successful 4oD. He also spent three years at the BBC, as Director of Marketing, Communications and Audiences, including leading the launch of Freeview, of which he was the founding Chairman. Andy began his career at Unilever, where he gained over seventeen years’ experience including in a variety of senior executive roles running International brands and businesses.

Will Waggott, CEO of Travelopia, said: “Travelopia has achieved a significant amount over the past few years, building a firm foundation for future growth following the separation from TUI. The business that I hand over to Andy is in a strong place, with a portfolio of leading brands, a loyal base of customers across the world, and a great team. His expertise in consumers, brands and digital transformation will be a real asset.”

Andy Duncan, incoming CEO, said: “I’m delighted to be joining Travelopia at such an exciting time. Will has done a fantastic job in steering the business through its separation from TUI. In a changing world,  I look forward to working with everyone in the business  to further develop and adapt our consumer platform and brands, enhance our digital offering, and maximise the growth opportunity of one of the major global trends of this age, the demand for amazing travel experiences.”

Travelopia, headquartered in the UK, is one of the world’s leading experiential travel platforms, providing customers with unique experiences, such as private jet travel, polar expedition cruises, cycling and trekking-based holidays, sailing adventures and high-end, tailor-made holidays. Travelopia has a large, international customer base of over 800,000 travelers each year and serves over 70 destinations globally through its 53 brands.

-ends-

About Travelopia

Travelopia is one of the world’s leading specialist travel groups. A pioneer in the experiential travel sector with a portfolio consisting of more than 50 independently operated brands, most of which are leaders in their sector. From sailing adventures, safaris and sports tours, to Arctic expeditions, each brand is diverse and focused on creating unforgettable experiences for customers across the world.

Travelopia brands pride themselves on offering a seamless and dedicated customer journey. From the exceptional service and in-depth knowledge of the sales teams, to best-in-class tour guides and concierges around the globe.

With a multitude of awards to their name, just some of the collection includes; Quark Expeditions, TCS World Travel, Hayes & Jarvis, Sovereign, Exodus Travels, Citalia, Austravel, Gullivers Sports Travel, Flexiski, American Holidays , The Moorings, Sunsail, and Headwater. www.travelopia.com

Media contacts

Finsbury: +44 207 251 3801

About Andy Duncan
Andy has been appointed as the new CEO of Travelopia from 21^st March 2018. He brings a wealth of commercial, consumer and brand marketing, and digital experience to the role.

EXECUTIVE ROLES

2011 – 2017 –  CAMELOT UK LOTTERIES

2014 – 2017 – Chief Executive Officer

2014 – 2017 – World and European Lottery Associations, ExCo member

2011 – 2014 – Managing Director
During his 6-year tenure total sales grew by 30%, and returns to good causes grew by 25%, including developing the online business into the world’s largest digital lottery

2010 – 2011 – HR OWEN

2010 – 2011 – Chief Executive Officer
Re-focused the company around a ‘luxury positioning’, returning it to sales and profit growth.
 

2004 – 2009 – CHANNEL 4 TELEVISION CORPORATION

2004 – 2009 – Chief Executive Officer
Grew TV viewer market share from 10% to 12%, and TV advertising share from 21% to 25%. Introduced a portfolio of free to air digital TV channels including E4, Film4 and More4, and launched 4OD in 2006, the world’s first full TV on demand platform.

2001 – 2004 – BBC

2001 – 2004 – Director of Marketing, Communications and Audiences

2002 – 2004 – Founding Chairman of Freeview
Launched a suite of new digital services. Led the launch of Freeview, the UK’s biggest TV platform.

1984 – 2001 – UNILEVER PLC

1999 – 2001 – European General Manager – Spreads and Cooking products

1984 – 1999 – General senior management and marketing roles

NON-EXECUTIVE ROLES

 2014 – PRESENT – ADVERTISING ASSOCIATION, President

2006 – PRESENT – MEDIA TRUST, Trustee (and Chairman from 2006 to 2014)

2009 – PRESENT – OASIS, Social action and education charity – Trustee

2009 – 2013 – HMV GROUP PLC, Non-Executive Director

2008 – 2014 – BRITISH MUSEUM – member – Marketing Advisory Group

2002 – 2004 – CHILDREN IN NEED, Trustee