Brad and Van Anderson Honored with Travel Weekly’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Avoya Travel Co-Founders Presented with Prestigious Award at 2020 Travel Weekly Reader’s Choice Awards Ceremony

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. – December 17, 2020 – Avoya Travel®, one of the travel industry’s most innovative brands, is proud to announce that Co-Founders Brad and Van Anderson have been honored with Travel Weekly’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented with the award at Travel Weekly’s 2020 Reader’s Choice Awards virtual ceremony on December 17, 2020, the highly esteemed Anderson brothers celebrated the Anderson family’s legacy in the travel industry and Brad and Van’s significant footprint on travel, including pioneering Avoya’s innovative platform model and the invention of Live Leads™, the first and only patented lead distribution system in the travel industry.

Travel Weekly’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals whose endeavors in the travel industry have led to remarkable results within an organization and who have also made substantial contributions to the industry as a whole. The Andersons were introduced at the ceremony by Frank Del Rio, President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and long-time friend of Brad and Van.

Avoya Travel remains a family-owned business that traces its roots back to a Hawaiian tour company owned by Brad and Van’s parents, Pal and Pat Anderson, in the 1960s and then Anderson Travel and Cruises in the San Diego area. With the revolutionary transformation of the dot com boom in the early 2000s, the Andersons realized they needed to embrace the change and adapted their business model from 10 brick and mortar locations in Southern California to a nationwide network of independent travel sellers, using the internet to connect travelers with specialized independent vacation planners. This new business model, operating under the name America’s Vacation Center, became a major player in the national travel agency market, propelling the company toward even greater success thanks to the Andersons’ technological innovation and marketing prowess. By 2002, under the leadership of Brad and Van, Avoya Travel had redefined the travel industry landscape as a leading marketing and technology company, truly catapulting Avoya into a category of its own.

Throughout their careers, Brad and Van succeeded in establishing Avoya Travel as one of the world’s largest and most innovative travel brands with a commitment to Integrity and Professionalism™ that places personal relationships at the core of its business model. Avoya has received numerous industry awards and accolades over the years thanks to their impressive leadership and ingenuity. The Anderson brothers were the first-ever inductees into the CLIA Hall of Fame in 2012 for Cruise Sales Innovation. They also received the first Travvy Award for Most Innovative Host Agency Leader and were recipients of the TravelAge West Excellence in Leadership Award in 2016.

Brad and Van also humbly display their compassion and leadership through their various humanitarian, environmental, and charitable efforts including personal and corporate contributions to World Vision, Make-A-Wish, Outside the Bowl, Friends & Family Community Connection, One Tree Planted, Operation Gratitude, and the Chairman’s Walk for Sea Turtles at the 2019 Avoya Conference hosted in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, an event honoring Pal and Pat Anderson.

“It is a great honor for me and Brad to be recognized for our efforts and for our family’s contributions to the travel industry,” said Van Anderson. “Travel has been in our blood since we were children and Brad and I have been entrepreneurs for as long as I can remember. The travel industry is our passion and our home; it has been devastating to see what has happened to travel and tourism this past year. However, we are more passionate than ever about the importance of travel sellers and are dedicated to help this industry thrive for generations to come. We are grateful to everyone we’ve worked with and to those who have challenged us and pushed us to never accept the status quo. Each of you has contributed to our personal journey and helped build the amazing company that is Avoya Travel.”

Since turning over the day-to-day operations of Avoya to Brad’s sons Jeff and Mike Anderson a few years ago, Brad and Van continue to focus on long-range strategic planning and providing important counsel to Avoya’s Strategic Leadership team as Co-Founders.

About Avoya Travel

Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Avoya Travel® provides services to more than 1,000 Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network™. Avoya has a longstanding reputation for providing unmatched resources and services to thousands of companies including cruise lines, tour companies, resorts, and the Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network, one of the largest and most successful independent travel agency networks in the world. Family-owned, Avoya’s Shared Success™ model is built on a foundation of Integrity and Professionalism™. Avoya has been an American Express Travel Representative for more than 30 years, and is one of their largest producers of cruises, tours, and vacations through its Network of Independent Agencies.

Some of the innovative services and resources offered by Avoya include optional marketing programs like Live Leads™, the first, the best, and only patented solution for offering new travelers exclusively to Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network; Avoya Smart Leads™; unparalleled agency business support services; fully integrated, proprietary, and patented SaaS technology, Agent Power™; award-winning professional development and education programs; American Express Travel benefits; Instant Commission™ and more.

Through Avoya’s platform travelers worldwide can be connected to an elite network of independently owned and operated travel agencies and can enjoy exclusive discounts, amenities, and first-class customer service. Highly recognized and awarded by cruise lines, tour companies, resorts, and others, Avoya Travel has received numerous accolades, including being repeatedly named Travel Partner of the Year by Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruises, American Express, Oceania Cruises, MSC Cruises, and more.

Travel agency owners, travel professionals and others interested in receiving the unmatched services, marketing, support, and technology needed to own and operate their own travel business should contact Avoya Travel at 800-521-2597 or visit www.AvoyaNetwork.com. Travelers interested in booking their next vacation with an expert Independent Agency in the Avoya Network should call 800-753-1463 or visit www.AvoyaTravel.com.