Focus on theme parks pays off for agencies: Travel Weekly

Jamie Feast

In recent years, travel agencies that have a focus on theme park vacations — mainly to Disney and Universal’s domestic theme parks — have come into their own.

A quick look at Travel Weekly’s Power List proves that. For years, Small World Vacations (No. 42 in 2022) was the only Disney-focused agency on the list. This year,  Marvelous Mouse Travels (No. 45) joined the list at No. 45, and at least several more have said they expect to hit the milestone in the coming year.

These agencies don’t just sell Disney or Universal. Of course, other Power Listers sell theme parks, and for many agencies the parks are a strong focus.

Travelmation’s notches a milestone of its own

Another recent success story: This month, Fort Lauderdale-based Travelmation signed its 1,000th independent contractor amid of its 10-year anniversary.

In the past two years, Travelmation said, its ranks of advisors has doubled.

“Travelmation” is a combination of travel and animation, founder and president Adam Duckworth said. He started the agency in 2012, when there were few agencies focused primarily on Disney.

Related: Disney says park attendance often exceeds 2019 levels

Duckworth himself was originally a travel advisor.

He attributed some of his agency’s recent growth to its expansion beyond just Disney during the pandemic, when Travelmation launched a marketing campaign focused on both Disney and Caribbean and Mexico vacations.

Travelmation also sells several tours to Europe. It is a full-service agency with roots in Disney, Duckworth said.

From the beginning, he said, his goal has been to be “the very best home that a travel agent could ever have.”

Travelmation’s 1,000th agent, Matt McKee from Cumming, Ga., signed with the agency last week. Duckworth said in a release he was both humbled and thankful.

“From the onset, we created Travelmation to be the very best travel agency on the planet,” Duckworth added. “From a generous mindset with dollars, to minimal agent fees and a supportive community of agents unlike anything I’ve seen in the industry, Travelmation is simply the best.”