Doug Gollan Appointed Management Board Member at Travel Market Report
Travel Market Report has announced that media veteran Doug Gollan, CTC, has joined its team as Management Board Member, focusing on developing and implementing strategy for all aspects of the business. Gollan has served in a variety of editorial, sales and management positions in travel publishing: As co-founder of Elite Traveler, an award-winning consumer luxury lifestyle magazine with global distribution aboard private jets, where he served as President and Editor-in-Chief until leaving in February. At Travel Agent Magazine he started as an Associate Editor and rose to Managing Director/Group Publisher from 1987 to 2000.
“We are thrilled to have Doug join our team. His 28 years of experience, knowledge and leadership will be a tremendous asset to Travel Market Report. We look forward to Doug leading the team in our role as the voice of the professional travel agent,” said Rick Mazza, chairman of TMR parent American Marketing Group.
“Since launching in 2010, Travel Market Report has successfully carved out a niche as ‘the voice of the travel professional’ by providing high-quality editorial content our readers trust,” Gollan said. “Readers of Travel Market Report represent a deep cross-section of travel sellers who are top producers of luxury, cruise, group and experiential travel, and include owners, managers, staff advisors and independent contractors. Over 70 percent of our readers have worked in the travel industry for over 10 years, and over 50 percent for more than 20 years.”
During Gollan’s nine-year tenure in management at Travel Agent, sales grew from $9 million to $27 million. He also helped launch Travel Agent University, which offered the first-ever professional certification programs from a trade publisher and pioneered online supplier training of travel advisors.
“I had the great fortune to learn from and work under industry icons such as Eric Friedheim, Dick Friese, Carl Ruderman, Marty Deutsch and Jerry Landress. Many who were part of that team have gone on to top positions around the business, including Mark Murphy, who owns TravAlliance; James Shillinglaw, his editor; Stacy Small, who is founder of Virtuoso-agency Elite Travel International; Daniel Wade, who co-founded Elite Traveler with me and many more,” Gollan noted.
He continued, “I am excited about the opportunity we have at Travel Market Report. The Mazza family has a vision, goal and long-term commitment to make TMR the preferred B2B source of news and information for travel agents. Our objective is to be the place advisors come on a daily basis. Needless to say, I am excited about the challenge and about working with the TMR team. I am looking forward to re-connecting with old friends from the travel industry and meeting and making new ones.”
Recent research from Portrait of Affluent Travelers re-affirmed that today’s consumers are turning to professional travel advisors more than ever to help plan their vacations, which can often include complicated multi-generational family travel and experiences. The fastest growth segment for travel advisor use is time-pressed Millennials who are not well served by OTAs.
Gollan is also co-author of The Sky’s the Limit: Marketing to the New Jet Set and 23 Ways to Create More Sales Opportunities in 25 Minutes. He is working on his next book, Sales Superstars: Secrets of Selling to the Super Rich. Recently, he was named to The Travel Institute’s Professional Educators Program. He also writes about private jets, yachts and luxury travel for ForbesLife.com.
In the past five years, Travel Market Report has built its reach to nearly 40,000 travel professionals.
