Luxe + Wander Travel Co selected to attend elite travel event

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South Carolina – Travel Weekly and TravelAge are proud to announce that local Travel Agency Owners, Meredith Merritt & Stacy Painter, were selected from among hundreds of applicants to attend a national Travel Marketplace Events in summer of 2023. Meredith Merritt of Greenville, SC attended the attend the eleventh-annual Global Travel Marketplace (GTM), which took place at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale, Florida June 1-3, 2023. Stacy Painter of Columbia, SC attended the tenth-annual Global Travel Marketplace West Event (GTM), which took place at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa in Las Vegas/Henderson, Nevada July 11-13, 2023. GTM is a two-and-a-half-day invitation-only event for top-producing travel advisors in North America and leading cruise, hotel, tour and destination suppliers seeking to conduct business face-to-face.

Only a select group of 125 travel advisors were chosen to participate from several hundred applicants. “A GTM advisor embodies the profound understanding of cultivating new business relationships while nurturing existing ones,” explains Jacqueline Hurst, Director of Trade Recruitment and Engagement at Travel Weekly Events. “These exceptional individuals, who exhibit an unwavering commitment to meeting the surging demand for travel, possess the complete toolkit to curate personalized and unforgettable experiences for each client, aligning precisely with their distinct travel preferences.”

Travel suppliers representing the depth and breadth of the industry engaged with travel advisors through a variety of one-on-one pre-scheduled meetings, exclusive Boardroom presentations and networking events.

Agency Co-Owner, Meredith Merritt commented “The connections and networking opportunities established during GTM will enable our advisors to forge strong partnerships with key individuals from hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and destination organizations. These relationships will open doors to unique and premium travel options that were previously inaccessible, allowing our clients to benefit from special amenities, upgrades, and preferential treatment.” Agency Co-Owner, Stacy Painter added “As our advisors build their expertise and knowledge through GTM, they will be better equipped to stay ahead of emerging travel trends, identify hidden gems, and offer innovative travel solutions. This heightened level of competence will inspire greater confidence among our clients, assuring them that their travel plans are in the hands of experts who are deeply attuned to their needs and preferences.”

GTM advisors exhibit unparalleled industry expertise and come to GTM to build relationships with key individuals in hotel, cruise, tour and destination organizations, allowing them to best meet their valuable clients’ needs.

“The advisors chosen to attend this event represent the best in today’s travel business. The knowledge and experience they offer their clients is second to none and is undoubtedly enhanced as a result of attending the event,” said Alicia Evanko-Lewis, Executive Vice President, Travel Group Global Events, Northstar Travel Group. “GTM provided the platform for these travel professionals to network with like-minded individuals who all have the same goal: To build and grow their business.”

ABOUT LUXE + WANDER TRAVEL CO
Luxe + Wander Travel Co is a South Carolina based Travel Agency with over 10 agents, providing curated travel packages to their clients. Agency Owners Meredith Merritt and Stacy Painter launched the agency in the Summer of 2019, after many years in the Travel Industry. The owners found one thing was certain, uncertainty about travel. Travelers are overwhelmed by choices on the web, opinions, and reviews from every point of view leaving travelers with nothing but questions. Enter the rise of the modern-day travel agent. Out of this Luxe + Wander was born, bringing together years of travel industry experience and supplier relationships to create an exceptional vacation experience for clients with a commitment to making travel dreams a reality without the stress of sifting through misinformation.

ABOUT TRAVEL WEEKLY:
Travel Weekly, the national newspaper of the travel industry, is the most influential provider of news, research, opinion and analysis to the North American travel trade marketplace. In addition to a weekly print publication, TravelWeekly.com, updated several times daily, is the most-visited industry website. Travel Weekly is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.

ABOUT TRAVELAGE WEST:
For more than 50 years, TravelAge West has been the trusted voice of the travel industry in the Western U.S. With award-winning writing and design, the publication brings the best of travel to life for readers. The magazine’s first-hand, on-site reports and fresh destination coverage is a valued resource for travel advisors. TravelAge West is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.