Florida Travel Agency Owner to Run for Congress

Managing a busy, growing travel agency in one of Florida’s most famous tourist destinations, John Upchurch wants to bring his desire to serve his community and experience as a business owner to Congress. And while he may be a longshot, if he is elected, Upchurch would be the first true agency owner to hold an elected office at a national level.

Based out of Ormond Beach, Florida, Upchurch is a registered Democrat who lives in Congressional District 6, where incumbent Republican Representative Ron DeSantis decided to run for Florida Governor. Seeing an opening, Upchurch said he chose to run for office because the district’s residents and business community are facing difficult challenges, including a high cost of living and poor infrastructure.

“I want to do everything in my power to make my community the best it can be. As a small business owner, I enjoy seeing the success of my employees and associates, much like seeing the success of my community,” Upchurch said.

Having taken over his mother’s agency, Odyssey Travel, about five years ago, Upchurch also wants to promote the multiplier effect of tourist dollars spent in the region and put more money in the pockets of the district’s business owners and their employees.

Local tourism and senior support part of his platform
“I would like to see the tourism industry in District 6 thrive again,” he said, noting how Daytona Beach is an economic engine for the community. “At one point in time, we were the most famous beach in the world,” he said, but a failure to invest locally contributed to the destination becoming a tourism laggard.

“When you look at the investments that places like Myrtle Beach [South Carolina] have made, like the approaches to their tourism areas, we’re at a disadvantage. People drive [Daytona’s U.S. Route 92] from the airport to the beach, and it’s a concrete canyon. We need to make Daytona more attractive to tourists.”

At the beginning of May, Summit Hospitality Management Group celebrated the opening of the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach, which included a $40 million renovation of the former Desert Inn hotel, which Trip Advisor once rated as one of the dirtiest hotels in the U.S.

“We’re on an upturn. I want to see us continue that because I know how much tourism can help a community prosper,” Upchurch said.

While the tourism economy is important, the difficulty senior citizens have trying to afford living in the area is also high on his platform. Inflation has outpaced local seniors’ cost of living adjustments, he said, forcing them to “live on a lot less than before, which also impacts us. We’re losing out on millions of dollars in economic activity because of that,” Upchurch said.

Lawyer turned agency owner could be a first in Congress
Born in nearby St. Augustine, Upchurch moved to Ormond Beach when he was two years old and has lived in Volusia County for most of his adulthood, serving as a prosecutor and a private attorney.

About ten years ago, when he had a chance to work with his mother, who started her travel agency in 1985, he took the opportunity. For a few years, he continued his law practice and worked at the agency part-time. Five years ago, he began working full-time at Odyssey, orchestrating the purchase of the 4,000-square-foot building the agency currently operates from, and doubling the agency in size.

Odyssey also now is a host for independent contractors and operates a travel agent school.

If elected, Upchurch would be the first travel agency owner, according to a group of long-time travel industry observers contacted by Travel Market Report. Previous national officeholders may have had travel agency ownership stakes, they said, or family members who owned and managed an agency, but it is their belief that Upchurch would be the first actual owner/manager.

Upchurch said he will carry the banner for pro-business issues to Capitol Hill, like ensuring the Small Business Administration serves entrepreneurs more efficiently and effectively. “I’m fiscally conservative, and want to see small businesses succeed,” he said.

He said he also will champion key agent issues, including harmonization of independent contractor definitions and rules; and protecting agents from having to read the growing volume of travel industry disclaimers to clients, something Upchurch did when he attended the American Society of Travel Agents’ (ASTA) Legislative Day in May. 

“I understand these problems and I will address them forcefully when I am elected,” he said optimistically. Upchurch said he has received “tremendous support” from the travel agency community, including the members of his TAMs group and ASTA.

Uphill battle
While he is optimistic, Upchurch faces two better-financed candidates in a Democratic primary election scheduled for Aug. 28.

The frontrunner, according to most observers, is Nancy Soderberg, who once served under the Clinton administration and has taught at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Soderberg was recently endorsed by former Vice President Joe Biden. The other candidate is Stephen Sevigny, a radiologist.

If Upchurch wins the August primary, he would then need to win on Nov. 6, in a district that has voted Republican in the last two presidential elections, including a 17-point victory margin for President Donald Trump in 2016, and a 6-point victory margin for Mitt Romney in 2012.