TRAVELINK News

TRAVELINK, an esteemed member of the Virtuoso^® travel network, is proud to announce its participation in the 2025 Virtuoso Chairman’s Event, recognizing top-performing travel agencies and advisors from around the world.

Held at the Grand Velas Los Cabos located at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, this invitation-only gathering celebrates Virtuoso’s most successful partners for their excellence in travel sales, service, and client experience. TRAVELINK's inclusion among this elite group highlights the company’s continued commitment to personalized service and exceptional travel design for our clients.

"Being part of the Virtuoso Chairman’s Event is a tremendous honor,” said Michael Dixon, President and Managing Partner of TRAVELINK. “It reflects the trust our clients place in us and the dedication of our advisors to crafting journeys that inspire, connect, and elevate every travel experience.”

As a Virtuoso member agency, TRAVELINK offers clients access to exclusive benefits, VIP amenities, and bespoke travel opportunities across the globe through Virtuoso’s premier network of hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and destination specialists.

For more information about TRAVELINK and our array of travel services, visit www.travelink.com.

The Virtuoso Chairman's Event is an annual recognition trip, designed to reward Virtuoso’s most productive and engaged Member Agencies across several categories. The invitation-only event allows Agency Management from diverse agencies across Virtuoso's global Network, to have a shared experience in a unique destination, network with each other and collaborate on industry issues and opportunities, and discuss best business practices and ways to engage today’s travelers.

At the Virtuoso Chairman’s business meeting, members reflect on performance and emerging trends, while giving members dedicated time to brainstorm, share ideas, and offer feedback. Their insights are invaluable, helping shape future strategy, strengthen connections, and guide the continued growth of Virtuoso's global community. 

TRAVELINK, a Virtuoso member agency, is pleased to announce we have been named to Travel Weekly’s 2025 Power List. This acknowledgment highlights the dedication of our advisors, the loyalty of our clients, and the strength of our partnerships, especially within Virtuoso and GBTNetwork. As a Power List honoree once again, we’re energized to deliver unparalleled service, elevated travel experiences, and exceptional value for every journey we craft.

The annual Power List, which ranks agencies that report annual travel sales in the previous year of $125 million or more, ranked TRAVELINK #69 on the prestigious list this year.

To read more about Travel Weekly’s 2025 Power List click here.

About TRAVELINK:

TRAVELINK, a proud member of Virtuoso® and the GBT Network, is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and serves business, leisure, and group travel clients through a national network of experienced travel advisors. As a Travel Weekly Power List of themost influential leaders for 2024, we specialize in creating exceptional leisure travel experiences from luxury getaways and family vacations to milestone celebrations and bespoke journeys. At the same time, we remain a trusted provider of corporate and group travel management for Fortune 500 companies, mid-sized businesses, entertainment professionals, sports teams, and nonprofit organizations. With a commitment to personalized service and industry expertise, Travelink is your partner in navigating both the professional and personal sides of travel.

About Travel Weekly:

Travel Weekly and TravelWeekly.com are the most influential B2B news resources for the travel industry. Via a multimedia portfolio of products, Travel Weekly and TravelWeekly.com deliver all the late-breaking news, analysis and research that travel professionals need to succeed.

In a rapidly changing and competitive marketplace, Travel Weekly and TravelWeekly.com provide travel professionals with a necessary global perspective through in-depth coverage of every business sector, including airline, car rental, cruise, destination, hotel and tour operator as well as technology, economic and governmental issues.

Through its leadership events and key industry alliances, Travel Weekly extends its position as the most influential business publication in the industry.

Each year, Travel + Leisure’s Advisory Board (a group of top-tier travel professionals) selects a new collection of Rising Star travel advisors. These are emerging talents who serve high-end, affluent clients and push boundaries with personalized, transformational experiences. The chosen advisors attend an exclusive Rising Stars Lunch at ILTM Cannes, gaining mentorship by shadowing board members and expanding their networks. Through this, they gain visibility, industry insight, and tools to scale their businesses and client impact. 

This year, TRAVELINK is proud to announce that Jonathan Pilkington has been selected as a Travel+Leisure and ILTM Rising Star.

Jonathan founded Pilkington Travels, an independent affiliate of TRAVELINK, a Virtuoso agency. Drawing on his background as a professional singer, Pilkington integrates artistry and meticulous attention to detail into crafting itineraries for his clients. His specialties include the creation of customized European itineraries, as well as luxury all-inclusive experiences, such as river and ocean cruises, rail journeys, and resorts.

Why nominated: Jonathan Pilkington is not only on the rise in the Atlanta area, but he is also starting his own travel podcast. Jonathan is unique in that he’s a professor of music at Emory University in voice and is an award-winning tenor who is simultaneously succeeding at orchestrating amazingly creative itineraries for his clients. A true Virtuoso.

About TRAVELINK:

TRAVELINK, a proud member of Virtuoso® and the GBT Network, is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and serves business, leisure, and group travel clients through a national network of experienced travel advisors. As a Travel Weekly Power List of the most influential leaders for 2024, we specialize in creating exceptional leisure travel experiences from luxury getaways and family vacations to milestone celebrations and bespoke journeys. At the same time, we remain a trusted provider of corporate and group travel management for Fortune 500 companies, mid-sized businesses, entertainment professionals, sports teams, and nonprofit organizations. With a commitment to personalized service and industry expertise, Travelink is your partner in navigating both the professional and personal sides of travel.

About Travel + Leisure:

Travel + Leisure is the preeminent voice for the sophisticated traveler, serving up expert intelligence and the most immersive travel lifestyle content anywhere. Travel + Leisure captures the joy of discovering the cultural pleasures the world has to offer, from art and design to shopping and style to food and drink. Travel + Leisure connects with its audience across platforms including the U.S. flagship and four international print editions, digital channels, the annual World's Best franchise and more.

Travel + Leisure has a print circulation of 955,896, an affluent audience of 11.4MM consumers,  digital uniques of 14.7MM, and 17.1MM social media followers.

About ILTM Cannes:

A global collection of invitation-only events that bring together leading international buyers and agents to discover and meet with the world’s most luxurious travel experiences. ILTM Cannes is the end-of-year show that is the place to be as the industry reveals exciting new itineraries, building business as well as lifelong bonds. 

Following the Spring 2022 announcement by American Express Travel that it would dissolve its Representative Network at the end of this year, Travelink embarked upon a deliberate and in-depth analysis for a new vacation consortium partner who would share in our strong brand principles and innovate with us to improve processes, training, and technologies for our travel advisors and customers.

We quickly narrowed our prospects to three industry giants, all of whom responded with impressive detail and tremendous insights into their organizations. We are thankful to each of the consortia we engaged in this effort for their patience and support as we completed our due diligence.

We are pleased to announce that after 23 years with American Express, we have chosen to become a Member of Virtuoso^®, whom we believe is best suited for Travelink’s next chapter and will complement our American Express Global Business Travel Network affiliation.

Travelink and its advisors now have direct access to a portfolio of more than 2,200 of the world’s finest hotels, resorts, spas, cruise lines, airlines, tour operators and premier destinations. As a network, Virtuoso’s combined annual sales of $25–$30 billion allow the group to negotiate enhanced traveler advantages. For clients of Travelink, this means complimentary upgrades, daily breakfast and Wi-Fi as well as additional perks that enrich the overall stay, such as private airport transfers, special dining experiences, and spa treatments. These traveler bonuses are valued up to $550 per stay at over 1,500 properties in more than 100 countries. 

 

“This is the most important business decision we’ve made coming out of the pandemic,” shared Sandy Schadler, CMO & EVP of Vacation Travel Services, “We are thrilled to launch the next evolution of our global leisure business with the Virtuoso team by our side.”

 

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Virtuoso is the leading and most recognized of global network agencies, specializing in luxury and experiential travel, with more than 20,000 advisors across 50 countries. Virtuoso partners with over 2,200 of the world’s best travel suppliers such as hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, and destination specialists. Virtuoso advisors use their personal connections and firsthand expertise to craft bespoke trips for discerning travelers, including unique VIP experiences, special values, and rare access.

Travelink is a privately held travel agency headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with a national virtual network of hosted and employee business, group, and leisure travel advisors servicing clients globally. Travelink’s client base includes a range of Fortune 500 Corporations and small to mid-market companies, as well as VIP clients from the entertainment industry, sports teams, religious, and non-profit organizations. Travelink has been a winner of the prestigious American Express Rep Excellence Award for the past 22 years, been twice named the prestigious AMEX Agency of the Year, and has been a perennial on Travel Weekly’s Annual Power List.

ALG Vacations^® (ALGV), the nation’s leading leisure tour operator and part of the Apple Leisure Group family of companies, has honored Travelink as a 2022 ALGV Elite Diamond travel agency. This highly coveted honor is based on achieving exceptional sales in 2021 with ALG Vacations, whose highly respected brands include Apple Vacations, Funjet Vacations, Travel Impressions, Southwest Vacations, Blue Sky Tours, and United Vacations. Less than 10% of travel agencies nationwide selling leisure travel have been honored with the ALGV Elite distinction, which consists of several tiers: Sapphire / Sapphire Select, Emerald, and Diamond / Diamond Preferred.

“I would highly recommend agencies that have earned the status of ALGV Elite to any traveler in the market for a domestic or international vacation,” said ALGV’s Jim Tedesco, Vice President, Sales. “Achieving the required level of sales to be an ALGV Elite agency is a strong indicator that the agency not only is highly familiar with the ALG Vacations brands, but offers superior service, knowledgeable and experienced travel advisors, and a high percentage of client satisfaction,” he added.

ALGV Elite agencies are rewarded with a variety of benefits and perks from ALG Vacations, including in-resort training, exclusive promotional codes to pass on to their customers, and access to a VIP support desk, enabling them to deliver superior service to the end-consumer.

During the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) Global Convention in August, it was announced that Travelink President and Managing Partner, Michael Dixon, would be joining the Executive Committee of ASTA’s national Board of Directors. This assignment is in addition to his current role as Chair of the ASTA Corporate Advisory Council (CAC). Mr. Dixon will serve a two-year term as Chair, completing his seven-year commitment to helping guide the CAC. 

Formed in the early 2000’s, the CAC is made up of the heads of the largest travel agency/TMC, consortia, franchise organization, host agency and supplier members of ASTA to provide a support system for ASTA’s federal, state, and industry advocacy efforts.

The CAC focuses on issues of common interest to the travel agency community, formulating a strategy to speak with one voice before federal regulators, Members of Congress, state legislators as well as other industry groups.

The Travelink family is proud to have Michael’s voice as a critical part of the efforts to move our agency and the travel industry as a whole into the future.

See the full press release here.

We are pleased to announce Travelink has once again been named an American Express Travel Representative Excellence Award Winner for 2019! This marks 21 consecutive years since joining the American Express Network that we have been recognized for outstanding sales and service as an American Express agency.

Further, the award recognizes Travelink’s engagement with American Express products and programs, concentrated efforts against Preferred Supplier goals, and continued dedication to representing the pillars of the American Express brand at the highest level.

Travelink is pleased to announce Lindsay Buchanan, Meeting Planner/Group Manager, received her Cvent Event Management Advanced Certification at the 2019 Cvent CONNECT Conference at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.

Lindsay has been an avid user of the Cvent Platform for over 12 years with experience in Event Management, Abstract Management, Strategic Meetings Management, Membership Management, Sourcing Venues, as well as CrowdCompass.

The Advanced Certification allows the user to be able to demonstrate their knowledge, expertise and proficiency in leveraging the more advanced features in the Cvent platform. Some of these areas include Event Budgets, Speaker Management, Travel Management, Multi-Language Events, as well as complex event tools like advanced rules, custom data tags, and much more.

For Travelink clients, Lindsay uses Cvent's event management, supplier network, and membership management tools for about 25 groups and meetings each year. Utilizing Cvent, Lindsay is able to modernize the methods Travelink handles our event management and as a result we are more efficient in finding venues, planning the events, engaging attendees, measuring the impact of our events, and much more.  Contact us today for help planning your next major conference or meeting and put our expertise to work for you.

Travelink is pleased to announce that it is a member of the Abercrombie & Kent 100 Club, a by-invitation-only program limited to just a handful of elite travel firms. As A&K 100 Club Members, Travelink is able to extend a special benefits to our clients traveling with A&K on a private journey, tour, or extreme adventure.

A&K 100 CLUB BENEFITS

• Reduced Marco Polo Memberships
• Priority Waitlist Clearance
• Advance Notice of Special Offers, Promotions and Discounts
• Priority Mailing of A&K Brochures

TRAVELINK is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The company operates nationally with a combination of boutique business call centers, vacation travel retail locations, and a national network of experienced virtual travel advisors. Travelink’s client base includes a range of Fortune 500 Companies, small to mid-market organizations, as well as the entertainment industry, sports teams, groups, and religious & non-profit organizations. The company is an exclusive provider of consumer travel services for American Express Gold Card Members. Travelink leverages the American Express brand and buying power to offer the best value and customer experience.

Travelink, is pleased to announce we have been invited to be a member of Marriott International's exclusive STARS program. This luxury hotel program was established for an elite group of top-producing luxury travel agencies. The program provides these agencies with benefits and access to value-added amenities for their customers along with an even deeper level of service from Marriott International luxury properties.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL STARS GUEST BENEFITS

TRAVELINK, is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The company operates nationally with a combination of boutique business call centers, vacation travel retail locations, and a national network of experienced virtual travel advisors. Travelink’s client base includes a range of Fortune 500 Companies, small to mid-market organizations, as well as the entertainment industry, sports teams, groups, and religious & non-profit organizations. The company is an exclusive provider of consumer travel services for American Express Gold Card Members. Travelink leverages the American Express brand and buying power to offer the best value and customer experience.

Travelink, an American Express Travel representative is excited to announce we have achieved the Viking River Cruises' Platinum Circle. This prestigious award is given to top-tier travel agencies that exemplify excellence in sales and provide outstanding support of the Viking River Cruises^® product.

TRAVELINK, an AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL representative is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The company operates nationally with a combination of boutique business call centers, vacation travel retail locations, and a national network of experienced virtual travel advisors. Travelink’s client base includes a range of Fortune 500 Companies, small to mid-market organizations, as well as the entertainment industry, sports teams, groups, and religious & non-profit organizations. The company is an exclusive provider of consumer travel services for American Express Gold Card Members. Travelink leverages the American Express brand and buying power to offer the best value and customer experience.

Travelink, an American Express Travel representative is pleased to announce we have been named to Travel Weekly’s 2019 Power List for the 8th consecutive year.

The annual Power List, which ranks agencies that report annual travel sales in the previous year of $100 million or more, ranked Travelink #49 on the prestigious list this year.

Travelink remains one of the exclusive American Express Travel Representative Network agencies managing the Gold Card Members travel program. The Vacation Travel Services Division deepened its engagement with luxury travelers and American Express Card Members in 2018. To read more about Travel Weekly’s 2019 Power List click here.

For the 20th consecutive year, Travelink is honored to announce we were named one of American Express Travel's Representative Excellence Award Winners.

The Representative Excellence program was established to recognize the top 25 performing agencies in the Network who have most significantly contributed to its success. These recognized agencies have demonstrated concentrated efforts against Preferred Supplier goals, engagement with American Express products and programs, and a continued commitment to representing the pillars of the American Express brand.

Travelink is pleased to announce that our own Elizabeth Hoover has been recognized in Travel Agent Central’s annual “30 Under 30” issue. Travel Agent Central covers the latest news and trends in travel. It is one of the top travel websites for travel agents seeking the latest in cruise, destination, hotel, airline and tour news. They have presented leaders of the travel industry since 2008 and Elizabeth was selected as one of the 30 for 2018-2019.

Elizabeth has been a Certified Travel Agent at Travelink, American Express Travel for the past four years with certification as a Luxury Travel Specialist, Adventure Travel Specialist, American Express Alaska Insider, and was a Travel + Leisure magazine Rising Star in 2015. She has personally traveled abroad and worked for many leading global companies including Walt Disney Company, Starbucks, Shangri-La Luxury Hotels, and a luxury dude ranch in Colorado. When it comes to adventure, she has personally accomplished quite the list; from hiking the sacred mountain Tai Shan in China to sipping champagne on top of an Alaskan mountain ridge after a helicopter flight to the summit.

President of Travelink Vacation Travel, Linda Raymer, was quoted in the article saying, “Elizabeth Hoover is curious, highly organized, goal oriented and technically very savvy. Elizabeth exceeded her sales and revenue goals in her first year as a travel advisor and is comfortable selling all types of cruises, as well as complex land vacations and managing the details of incentive groups.” The full list and more information on this issue can be viewed here.

TRAVELINK, an AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL representative is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The company operates nationally with a combination of boutique business call centers, vacation travel retail locations, and a national network of experienced virtual travel advisors. Travelink’s client base includes a range of Fortune 500 Companies, small to mid-market organizations, as well as the entertainment industry, sports teams, groups, and religious & non-profit organizations. The company is an exclusive provider of consumer travel services for American Express Gold Card Members. Travelink leverages the American Express brand and buying power to offer the best value and customer experience.

Travelink, American Express Travel, is pleased to announce being named to Travel Weekly’s 2018 Power List for the 7th consecutive year.

The annual Power List, which ranks agencies that report annual travel sales in the previous year of $100 million or more, ranked Travelink #46 (previously #50) on this prestigious list.

Contributing to the company’s 2017 success, the Business Travel Services division optimized its sales team and focus with its client roster and partnership with American Express Global Business Travel. The new team structure is set up to more efficiently bring customers onboard and enhance services to existing clients. The Privileged Journeys luxury leisure division experienced double-digit, year-over-year growth in 2017 and expects the same this year. While the Marketing department implemented a new marketing automation system for its Vacation Travel Services division to ensure emails sent from leisure travel advisers to customers are customized and personalized based upon customer preferences and purchasing patterns.

Travelink remains one of the exclusive American Express Travel Representative Network agencies managing the Gold Card Members travel program. Its Vacation Travel Services Division deepened its engagement with the American Express Gold Card travel services offering during 2017 and expects further growth in 2018 with the addition of new Gold Card partnership programs. To read more about Travel Weekly’s 2018 Power List click here.

Our very own vacation travel advisor, Beverly Gallant, made Travel Agent Central‘s list of Top 25 Travel Advisors of 2017! Beverly has 25 years of experience as travel advisor and specializes in cruises, honeymoons, and destination weddings. She is an advocate for hard work, dedication, constant training, and staying on top of what’s happening, as well as staying active to give back to the community and others in need when she can. This past year alone, Beverly coordinated three volunteer events through social media that benefited people and organizations in need. You can read more about all of her extraordinary efforts in Travel Agent Central‘s article here.

We are proud to say our very own, Jacqueline Morgan, is one of these Rising Stars and is featured multiple times in the report.

ILTM is the largest luxury travel forum in the world. Each year, a select group of emerging travel advisors are invited to attend the Rising Stars Lunch at ILTM in Cannes. These advisors are handpicked from top agencies across the United States for their impressive clientele of affluent young travelers. They are then flown to the Côte d’Azur to share their insights at an exclusive lunch with Nathan Lump, Editor in Chief of Travel + Leisure magazine, and numerous travel industry executives. The advisors assist these companies in gaining a fresh perspective on staying relevant to a new generation of travelers.

Download your free copy to gain more insight from Jacqueline and her fellow ILTM Rising Stars here. 

For the 19th consecutive year, Travelink is honored to announce we were named one of American Express Travel's Representative Excellence Award Winners.

The Representative Excellence program was established to recognize the top 25 performing agencies in the Network who have most significantly contributed to its success. These recognized agencies have demonstrated concentrated efforts against Preferred Supplier goals, engagement with American Express products and programs, and a continued commitment to representing the pillars of the American Express brand.

Today several members of our team donated their time to help fight hunger in Middle Tennessee where 1 in 7 people including 1 in 5 children are at risk for hunger - not knowing when or where they will find their next meal.

Our team stats for the day:

• Morning spent sorting & packing 7,818 pounds of food, which translates into 6,515 meals.

• After lunch we moved to sort through 10,840 pounds of breakfast food and beverage packed boxes searching for bars and special baby supplement water that had been recalled to ensure safety for recipients.

• Then we packed up 245 Backpack bags of food for kids who have their lunches subsidized by the state so they have meals for the weekends.

We love and support the mission of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee and are proud of our team’s participation today! Happy Holidays y’all!!

Travelink, American Express Travel, has been recognized on the Nashville Business Journal’s “Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Nashville” list making it the sixth consecutive year the company has charted on the list.

To name the fastest-growing companies in Nashville for The List, Nashville Business Journal first ranked Nashville’s private companies by revenue in 2016 to determine the 100 largest. Of those 100, they then ranked the fastest-growing based on revenue growth from 2013 to 2016 and this year Travelink places at #41 on the list.

“Nashville is experiencing such a great growth market and Travelink is thankful to call it home for more than 20 years,” stated Michael S. Dixon, President of Travelink, American Express Travel. “The Nashville Business Journal’s recognition of our place in the growth of Nashville is a great testament to our fantastic team whose goal is always to deliver extraordinary experiences for our clients.”

Travelink, American Express Travel, is pleased to announce Vice President and Managing Partner, William Haire, has been awarded the Barbara O’Hara Advocacy Award.

The Barbara O’Hara Advocacy Award is awarded to two ASTA members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in terms of their support for ASTA’s advocacy initiatives, grassroots campaigns, and ASTAPAC fundraising. Recipients are selected by ASTA staff members in consultation with award sponsor Sabre, and the ASTA Government & Political Affairs Committee

Regarding the award, Haire accounts, "The Travel Advisor is key to helping the consumer navigate the myriad of options and suppliers in the travel industry today. We advocate for all agencies and agents on the federal and local level to make sure the consumer is treated fairly without additional indirect taxes being leveled."

Pictured left to right: Samantha Brown, Canadian Travel Blogger; Eben Peck, Senior Vice President, Government & Public Affairs, American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA); Bill Haire, Vice President, Managing Partner, Travelink, American Express Travel; Michael Hanson, Senior Director / Government  & External Affairs, Sabre.

Travelink, American Express Travel, Tennessee’s only appointed American Express Travel Representative, is pleased to announce being named to Travel Weekly’s 2017 Power List for the sixth consecutive year.

The annual Power List, which ranks agencies that report annual travel sales in the previous year of $100 million or more, ranked Travelink number 50 for the third year in a row and it is the company’s sixth consecutive year on this prestigious list.

“Our team at Travelink is focused on extraordinary customer service and a continued commitment to excellence when managing and planning travel for our clients. Our inclusion in Travel Weekly’s Power List over the past six years further validates how strong a team we have assembled over the last 20 years.  We are so appreciative of each and every individual who has been a part of making our continued success possible,” emphasizes Michael S. Dixon, President and Managing Partner of Travelink, American Express Travel.

Travelink also congratulates its partners at American Express Global Business Travel for ranking in the top three and American Express Travel & Lifestyle Services for their top 10 placements. To read more about Travel Weekly’s 2017 Power List click here.

Travelink, American Express Travel is pleased to announce our Manager of Meetings, Association Management, & Groups, Lindsay Buchanan, has been awarded the Cvent Advocate of the Year title and has also completed her Cvent Event Management Advanced certification.

The Cvent Advocate of the Year award is given to the person who most contributed throughout the year to Cvent's product suite innovation through feedback, guest speaking, and participation positively impacting all Cvent users. In addition to this prestigious honor, Lindsay's completion of the Cvent Event Management Advanced certification will improve her department's efficiency within the Cvent tools and elevate Travelink's Meetings, Association Management & Groups business. Cvent Certification provides an opportunity for planners to demonstrate their expertise of the Cvent Event Management planning software. Professional and Advanced levels of certification are offered for Cvent Event Management users.

The Cvent Advocate of the Year Award and Cvent Advanced Certification were announced and rolled out, respectively, at the 2017 Cvent CONNNECT event in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. A total of 60 individuals registered for the Advanced Certification; 93% of which completed the certification. Cvent certification is designed for the most successful and proficient users who manage one or more events annually.

Travelink, American Express Travel is pleased to announce our Manager of Meetings, Association Management, & Groups, Lindsay Buchanan, has been recognized in the Connect Corporate Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Spring 2017 issue.

Connect Corporate is a national B2B print and digital magazine providing resources and ideas to planners and suppliers in the corporate meetings industry.

Nominations were received from around the world, then reviewed and evaluated by Connect Corporate’s editorial staff based on references, achievements, industry involvement and other attributes.

These individuals represented in our annual 40 Under 40 are the future of the corporate meetings industry,” said Chris Collinson, president and CEO of Connect. “They together with colleagues and industry partners, are elevating the profession and moving it forward.” The full list can be viewed here.

Lindsay Buchanan, CMP, is a Certified Meeting Planner and Manager at Travelink, American Express Travel for the past six years. She maintains a close working relationship with Cvent and is the registration site programmer for various associations, as well as the exhibit hall manager. She utilizes technology and social media to enhance communication before, during, or after events. You can find Lindsay's profile page on the 40 Under 40 List here.

About Connect
Connect is a leader in the meetings, travel and tourism industry. Specializing in destination marketing, the company produces digital programs, online and mobile solutions, meetings business and travel magazines, trade shows and consumer events, travel guides for newspapers and leisure magazines, and destination information, which is distributed through broadcast and custom programs. More information about the company's brands and services is available at connectmeetings.com.

Travelink is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Zara Tours, Tanzania Adventures. Travelink will now operate an International Air Desk focused on supporting clients of Zara Tours from the United States and Canada booking flights to and from Tanzania, Africa.

This new partnership allows Zara Tours to leverage the buying power of American Express Travel and will grant their clients access to unpublished, wholesale ticket options through the Travelink International Air Desk, which offer significant discounts on many international routes.

As a full service travel agency and American Express Travel’s 2016 Agency of the Year, Travelink will also assist Zara Tours clients with pre and post tour travel planning as well as ensuring they have support throughout their journey.

About Zara Tours:
ZARA TOURS, founded in 1987 by Mrs. Zainab Ansell, is Tanzania’s unrivalled No 1 Kilimanjaro trekking company and one of the largest safari operators in the region. The company organizes full service travel experiences in Tanzania, where they propose various choices of Safaris, the climbing of Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Meru and expeditions in Zanzibar. Own and operate 2Hotels, 2lodges and 4-tented Camps in the northern circuit of Tanzania. Provide Airport transfer, city to city transfer, VIP and regular tour services, groups and corporations from all over the world. They offer additional experiences in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. The company owns 76 4x4 Land Rovers, 4x4 mini buses, 4x4 land cruisers (all equipped with viewing roofs) and 88 registered Kilimanjaro guides, who speaks English, German, French and Spanish.

Visit Zara Tours Website.

Travelink, American Express Travel, is pleased to announce that during the annual American Express Travel Global Forum, held at the Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Phoenix, the company was named Agency of the Year.

Every year, American Express Travel presents a Representative member with the Agency of the Year award. Agencies that receive this recognition exhibit exemplary values, service and performance. The Agency of the Year award is given to an agency that provides exceptional service and value to customers, always upholding the values and standards of the American Express brand.

Contributing to the selection of Travelink for the recognition this year included the company’s unique engagement level for the Gold Card Member travel services program, active participation in several influential industry advisory boards, including American Express Travel, Departures Magazine, Travel + Leisure Magazine, Trump Hotels, Sabre, and ASTA CAC where Michael Dixon, President & Managing Partner of Travelink, was recently appointed to the leadership role of Secretary, serving three successive 2-year terms ending as CAC Chairman.

Michael Dixon accepted the award from American Express EVP & GM, Claire Bennett and Vice President of American Express Travel, Tanuj Suri, Vice President, American Express Travel. “I am grateful for this public acknowledgement recognizing Travelink.  This tremendous honor is a culmination of the collaborative efforts of our entire team.” says Mr. Dixon

Travelink was also recognized as Agency of the Year in 2011.

Travelink, American Express Travel, is pleased to announce that during the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) Global Convention in Reno-Tahoe on September 27, 2016, the ASTA Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) set its Executive Committee leadership roster and Michael Dixon, President of Travelink was elected by his peers to an Executive Leadership position.

This leadership role is a six-year commitment to the Executive Committee with ascension in role and responsibility every two years leading to the role of Chair.  Michael begins his first two years effective immediately in the role of Secretary. With his appointment, Denise Jackson (Balboa Travel) rises to Vice Chair, and Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg (Valerie Wilson Travel) is now Chair, leading the Executive Committee for the CAC for the next two years.

The ASTA CAC is made up of the largest travel agency (corporate and leisure) consortia, franchise, and other members of ASTA with annual travel sales of at least $50 million. The CAC works on issues of common interest to the travel agency community, formulating a strategy to speak with one voice before federal regulators, Members of Congress, state legislators and other travel industry groups.

Travelink, American Express Travel, ranked #50 on the Travel Weekly 2016 Power List, is pleased to
announce that Linda Raymer, President, Vacation Travel and Sandy Schadler, Vice President, Marketing made Travel + Leisure's 15th Annual A-List.

The T+L A-List showcases the best specialists in the business—destination authorities, honeymoon planners, family-reunion whizzes, cruise experts—helping take client trips to the next level. This year the A-List featured 137 individuals, two coming from the Travelink, American Express Travel's Nashville headquarters.

Raymer is featured in the Europe Experts portion of the A-List for her creative approach to must-see destinations and tried-and-true itineraries, like touring London in a Mini Cooper or taking a personalized walking tour through the city's up-and-coming neighborhoods.

As President of the Vacation Division of Travelink, Linda has developed the luxury division of our leisure business, Privileged Journeys, which enjoys continued growth ahead of plan. Linda formerly owned her own agency, WorldClass Travel, which was acquired by Travelink, American Express Travel in 2000. During her time as an agency owner and now in her current role at Travelink, Linda has served on the American Express CTN Advisory board as well as the American Express Vacations Advisory Board and the Departures Luxury Council. 

Sandy Schadler, Vice President, Marketing is featured in the Travel + Leisure Advisory Board portion of the A-List. The Travel + Leisure Advisory Board is a select group of owners and operators of the country's most important travel agencies. They share with T+L editors and advertisers their expert opinions on the latest developments in the travel industry and their read on ever-evolving consumer trends.

Sandy is responsible for executing a digital, social, mobile, CRM, traditional media and regional advertising strategy for Travelink and its sub-brands, Employee Vacation Programs and Privileged Journeys, across a national network of retail and virtual offices. In addition to her advisory board position for Travel + Leisure magazine she is also sits on the advisory board for the German National Tourism Office in the USA.

Travelink, American Express Travel, Tennessee’s only appointed American Express Travel Representative, is pleased to announce Tim Barton, Vice President, Finance has been nominated for Nashville Business Journal’s CFO Awards.

The CFO Awards, presented by Vaco, honor Middle Tennessee’s top financial professionals for outstanding performance in their roles as corporate financial stewards. The public submitted nominations and a panel of independent judges comprised of past CFO Award winners selected a group of based on outstanding performance for their companies based on financial information submitted.

Tim leads the finance, HR, and administrative areas of Travelink. He brings a broad range of progressive senior finance management experience with successful organizations in several industries, including 'big four" public accounting, media & entertainment, publishing, global manufacturing, sports entertainment, and higher education. Tim has worked with familiar iconic brands such as Coca-Cola, Southern Living at Time Inc., Gibson Guitars, and most recently, as the Senior Finance Director for Technicolor, a manufacturer and distributor of DVD/blue-ray discs for 20th Century Fox and other movie studios.

Tim has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting as well as an MBA from Auburn University. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and a dynamic leader for Travelink’s finance, HR, and administrative departments.

The CFO Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place October 4, 2016. Finalists will be honored at the awards dinner, and one winner in each category will be revealed live. In addition, the finalists will be highlighted in a special Nashville Business Journal printed publication and on NashvilleBusinessJournal.com. Nashville Business Journal will also honor the Lifetime Achievement Award winner: Anthony Crudele - Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Tractor Supply Co.

Travelink, American Express Travel, ranked #50 on the Travel Weekly 2016 Power List, is pleased to announce that effective immediately, Mike Viars has been promoted to the new role of President, Travelink Global Business Travel, reporting to company President & Managing Partner, Michael S. Dixon.

This new role within Travelink combines the management of Business Travel Services, Employee Vacation Program sales, and Client Management. Mike will also continue to serve as the primary relationship manager for American Express Global Business Travel.

Viars’ Business Travel Division accounts for 80% of the gross sales for the entire Travelink organization and he has been in leadership at Travelink for the past 10 years. Prior to Travelink, Mike spent 15 years in the Aircraft Manufacturing and Hi Temp Metals Processing Industry. He held Director Level positions in Sales, Marketing and OEM Client Contract Management in the United States and Europe.

Travelink, American Express Travel, Tennessee’s only appointed American Express Travel Representative, is pleased to announce being named to Travel Weekly’s 2016 Power List.

The annual Power List, which ranks agencies that report annual travel sales in the previous year of $100 million or more, ranked Travelink number 50 for the second year in a row and it is the company’s fourth consecutive year on this prestigious list.

 “Our team at Travelink is focused on extraordinary customer service and a continued commitment to excellence when managing and planning travel for our clients. Our inclusion in Travel Weekly’s Power List over the past four years further validates how strong a team we have assembled over the last 20 years.  We are so appreciative of each and every individual who has been a part of making our continued success possible,” emphasizes Michael S. Dixon, President and Managing Partner of Travelink, American Express Travel.

Travelink also congratulates its partners at American Express Global Business Travel for ranking in the top three and American Express Travel & Lifestyle Services for their top 10 placement. To read more about Travel Weekly’s 2016 Power List click here.

Travelink is pleased to announce Lindsay Buchanan, Meeting Planner/Group Manager, is now a Certified Cvent Event Management Professional.  Lindsay successfully passed the certification exam, which is only earned by elite level event professionals who use the Cvent Event Management software tools to maximize event effectiveness.  She has been using the Cvent software for the past eight years.

For Travelink clients, Lindsay uses Cvent's event management, supplier network, and membership management tools for about 25 groups and meetings each year. Utilizing Cvent, Lindsay is able to modernize the methods Travelink handles our event management and as a result we are more efficient in finding venues, planning the events, engaging attendees, measuring the impact of our events, and much more.  Contact us today for help planning your next major conference or meeting and put our expertise to work for you.

For the 17th consecutive year, Travelink is honored to announce we were named one of American Express Travel's Representative Excellence Award Winners! The Representative Excellence program was established to recognize the top 17 performing agencies in the Network who have most significantly contributed to its success. These recognized agencies have demonstrated concentrated efforts against Preferred Supplier goals, engagement with American Express products and programs, and a continued commitment to representing the pillars of the American Express brand.

Travelink's very own Vacation Travel Advisor, Bev Gallant, is helping celebrity landscaper, Ahmed Hassan, build a germ-free playground for a 2 year old cancer patient.  Daniella Collazo has been battling neuroblastoma stage III cancer, a type of cancer that develops in the nerve tissue with a high relapse rate, for almost a year.  For the past 10 months, she went through six chemotherapy cycles, multiple blood and platelet transfusions, a bone marrow transplant and many hospitalizations.  Once Daniella was released from the hospital, she soon realized everywhere was a dangerous environment due to her weak immune system – including her neighborhood playground.  As a result, the Mystic Force Foundation, which raises money for childhood cancer research to find safer and less toxic therapies specific for children, reached out to celebrity landscaper Ahmed Hassan and asked him to help build Daniella a germ-free playground.  After Ahmed said yes, he quickly contacted Bev Gallant to help coordinate all of the travel logistics involved with doing a two-day landscaping make-over in Miami.  Bev commented, "This has been the most inspiring project I've EVER been a part of.  It's so wonderful to see everyone collaborate from all over the USA to help spread childhood cancer awareness and help Team Daniella. In my 23+ years as a Travel Advisor, I've been involved in many projects but this one has touched my heart and so many others."  To find our more about how you can help, please visit Daniella's website. 

Inc. magazine ranked Travelink, American Express Travel NO. 2772 on its 33rd annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America's independent entrepreneurs.

For more information on Travelink, American Express Travel and the Inc. 5000 please visit the following link.