Designed to restore traveler confidence and drive economic recovery.
WASHINGTON, DC – Travel Again – an independent, not-for-profit project focused on restoring traveler confidence, driving travel recovery and rebuilding the global travel industry – officially launched. Co-founders and long-time travel industry executives Mike McCormick and Ed Silver are leading the organization as one of multiple initiatives to boost the hard-hit travel industry.
Travel Again will advocate for efforts to unite the global travel industry in order to restore consumer and corporate confidence in traveling and to encourage responsible government policy, both domestically and internationally. The project will focus on efforts that both promote short-term recovery and help ensure longer-term sustainability in a post-vaccine world.
Immediate priorities for Travel Again include:
- launching a monthly consumer and corporate traveler confidence index
- supporting efforts to build traveler confidence
- ensuring that travel industry priorities are included in any additional COVID-19 relief legislation this year
- aggregating the fragmented travel industry advocacy efforts to prioritize key issues needed to drive industry recovery
This project will facilitate the global exchange of information and best practices related to travel policy, safety, and traveler experience. McCormick and Silver encourage travel industry members to join Travel Again to stay informed and participate in collaborative efforts to drive the recovery.
“Decimated by the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic, the travel industry is suffering a record economic setback,” McCormick said. “Rebuilding the travel industry will be crucial to rebuilding our global economy. We created Travel Again to answer the call for a coordinated global campaign. It is imperative for the recovery of the travel industry to begin preparing and implementing this effort immediately.”
“We heard from many industry colleagues about the need for better coordination of the many recovery efforts. We decided to launch Travel Again as a way to give back to the industry and colleagues we care so passionately about,” explained Silver.
Travel Again complements another initiative McCormick and Silver are implementing to bring much-needed funding to travel management companies (TMCs), an essential service provider for the traveling public. They are aligning private funding sources and other resources to enable TMCs to maintain service levels in the near-term while upgrading their capabilities to meet the changing needs of their clients.
Michael W. McCormick served as executive director and chief operating officer of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) from 2009 through 2019. During his tenure, the organization tripled membership and doubled its revenues. He also previously served as Managing Partner of Hudson Crossing, LLC and as Executive Vice President of the Cendant Hospitality & Leisure Group, where he was responsible for the strategic direction and operations of global hospitality brands Travelport, Orbitz, Lodging.com, and WizCom. Prior to that he was Chief Operating Officer of PhoCusWright, President of Biztravel.com, and Senior Vice President of Global Supplier Relations for Rosenbluth International. He has served on advisory boards for Google and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Ed Silver is an entrepreneur and strategic executive who helps companies accelerate their growth by maximizing their use of technology. He most recently assisted Flight Centre Travel Group in a major effort to enhance its technology infrastructure and integrate it into its daily operations. He previously helped rebrand iCARS and oversee its successful acquisition of Limos.com. Silver also worked as SVP of Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer for GBTA, where he helped revolutionize the member experience at the business travel industry’s largest annual convention. Silver’s first foray into startups involved creating Lodging.com and growing it to one of the top competitors in the merchant hotel space.
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She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
