Travel Industry Icon: Gloria Bohan Celebrates 50 Years of Omega World Travel Success Travel Weekly

Omega World Travel President and CEO Gloria Bohan talks about her pioneering work in the travel industry, a unique background that is an inspiration for today’s travel consultants.

Gloria Bohan, a school teacher with no experience in either business or the travel industry, today chronicles how she built an international travel management company that caters to business, leisure and IS travel and has annual sales of $1 billion. Operations at the privately owned agency include multiple branches, four main entry offices and 30-plus on-site corporate offices. While continuous innovation is the foundation of the agency’s business success, it is Gloria’s generous heart and gracious spirit that is the true driving force behind Omega World Travel’s growth and impact.

Travel Weekly spoke with Bohan about her travel challenges, successes, and her strategy for continually embracing the evolution of the travel industry. Here are some highlights, read the full interview over here.

What was your vision for Omega World Travel when you started the agency in 1972?
To be honest, I didn’t have a grand vision. I thought I would sell ships because I loved sailing. While I was trying to survive, I started to figure out what to do for one of my employees and just kept doing those things, and from there I started to see opportunities arise.

How did you identify those opportunities?
Often it is the market and the market’s demand that determines what the opportunities are and what you should do. I think it’s a good way to talk about my vision. I always look at what the market needs might be and what those needs might be beyond the initial need I see. You have to keep looking for the next best thing that can happen.

When you first opened Omega Travel, did you promote or market the agency?
I realized I had to get the word out, so I created some commercials on local radio stations using some of my favorite tunes as a background, talking about agency and cruises. I was on a very tight budget so they weren’t too expensive. And I went around to local beauty parlors and doctors’ offices and downloaded brochures of beauty suppliers with my name on them. I couldn’t believe how beautiful they were.

I am not yet accredited by ARC but I could sell products to tour operators and cruise lines and bus companies. I was learning about all these intricacies. My first employee who helped me get certified by airlines was a 76-year-old woman. This time she looks young!

In the early days of the agency, did you only sell cruises?
Disney had opened in Florida a year before I opened the agency, so I decided to do a school charter. I started with a bus charter, but then the high school principals wanted an air charter. Those school charters got me involved in the community, and were a great way to get the agency going and learn about airlines. They were very popular and considered a very important event. There were many high schools in the area, and many parents knew about me that way.

I also asked representatives from cruise lines to help me do seminars at some of the top communities in the area. Carnival started some cruises out of Norfolk, Virginia, so they were very convenient for seniors. There was no air, and I could keep the prices very low.

In retrospect, things moved quickly, which was nice. It took me about six months to get air recognition.

Has your business expanded since you got air recognition?
What eventually emerged was a new focus on small business air travel, then government travel in the Washington area. We found that many people who travel for government can extend their trip and maybe add two more nights to their business trip and stay in a hotel, so I took a chance there. This opened the way for me to know how to meet government offices and government travelers.

The early years for Omega coincided with the Great Depression in the US, a period of high unemployment and high inflation. How did this affect the business?
In the year Despite the 1979 recession and spiraling interest rates, the 1970s were full of opportunity. All of them were related to computers and automation at the time. The airlines started doing teleticketing and the agents decided to see how well they handle automation, so they started providing computer systems to the agents. In 1977 and 1978 I computerized two of my offices.

Incidentally, there were some airline strikes and then industrial control. This encouraged small carriers to enter the market and opened up a lot of competition. As all of this was happening, my view of Omega Travel grew. It was a long time.

How did you manage to broaden your horizons during such challenging times?
You have to have a mindset, an attitude to test things. You have to be careful, but you can’t sit still. It was a great learning curve and I was a very busy person. It’s like I got on a treadmill and didn’t get off and just held it for 50 years. The sellers, in tough times, are also hungry. They want the agency community to continue working with them to creatively market travel. This is a win-win way to ensure a true partnership with them.

What is your strategy for hiring and developing employees?
You look for talent in people – what makes them tick, what makes them happy, what you like – and then you tell them what you see in them. I have worked closely with them over the years and helped many people grow their careers. I always have a friend by my side, maybe someone new, and we learn together. It’s a give and take relationship.

Over the past five decades, you have continuously diversified and expanded your business. What role has this ongoing diversification strategy played in your success?
I always wonder what other services would be good for a new or existing customer base. By diversifying, you’ll learn more, and you can open yourself up to new markets. Seeking new markets is a form of diversification. You are expanding your scope and your experience of how to do business. I’ve had the experience of losing a business here and there, but I’ve always felt that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. Having a backup is very important.

In your mission statement, one line stands out in particular: “To be selfless. On a practical level, what does that mean for how you run the business?
In the early 2000s, I wrote that when we should be active, we have a duty to grow and succeed, and as we prosper, we want to share as much as we can. It is important to realize that you are in a community. We want to be good citizens. That’s very important to the company’s credibility, especially if you’re entering a new market.

It is also important to understand that it is not just about making money. I tell my employees that everyone can give something, it’s not just about me giving, and it doesn’t have to be money. Supporting that event with our own energy and skills can be mentoring people, participating in community fairs. My employees love that, they love the environment and they share that way. You have to give, be involved in the community and understand the people. It means a lot, and reflects the positive nature of our mission.

In today’s world, is it possible for a new travel consultant or entrepreneur opening their first agency to achieve the success you have created?
In the year There was a certain amount of innocence in the 1970s. That’s how I felt when I first started, I had the energy. The challenges are much bigger and more difficult now but I think others can achieve a lot of success in this industry. It will just be a little different. Social media and technology have changed so much that your path to success will not be my path.

You need to know the times and how you can take this wonderful industry and make it relevant and successful in today’s world. I see people doing that now. One of the examples is the concept of mentor or advisor. New people have to use all the tools that have been developed over the years, but now they are more like advisors than order givers. They need to make journeys more personal. It’s a good test. I was telling one of my longtime clients that the old idea of ​​an independent tour where you put together a special package for someone is front and center. People want this kind of customization.

What’s in store for you and Omega Travel?
People may think I’m giving up now that we’ve reached our 50th anniversary, but I don’t think I’ll be happy about retiring. I know it will be hard for me to leave the business. Because I want to keep traveling, I want to give more energy to some people. In the future, life will go on, and we hope that what we have done in the industry will continue. I will not live forever, but we have planted a good seed here and I hope it will continue to grow and grow.