Sun World Travel

What Sun World Travel does

Sun World Travel, Inc. is a privately held, full-service travel agency headquartered at 1120 E Tennessee Street in Tallahassee, Florida, operating continuously under the same ownership since its founding in 1981. The company serves individual leisure travelers and corporate group clients, arranging cruises, tours, hotels, vacation packages, Amtrak train reservations, and corporate meetings and conventions. Its primary sales motion is phone- and email-driven, with a static informational website that directs customers to contact agents rather than complete transactions online. The agency is approved by the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and IATAN and is certified as a minority-owned business.

The agency monetizes exclusively through supplier commissions earned on bookings placed with cruise lines (Carnival, Holland America, Viking River Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Royal Caribbean), tour operators (Pleasant Holidays, Travel Club), and resorts (Sandals), with no booking fees charged to customers. Distribution is built on long-standing reseller relationships with major cruise and tour brands and consortium memberships that provide access to thousands of travel suppliers through a single point of contact. Operational scale is small, with four agents (Gloria Wallace, Sue Johnson, Jennifer Nichols) and owner Gil Gamache, who is multi-lingual in English, Spanish, and French.

Technology is limited to standard travel reservation systems and supplier GDS connections; no proprietary platform, mobile app, online booking engine, or AI-enabled tooling is disclosed. The company's value proposition centers on personalized service, lowest-fare guarantees at time of booking, advance seat assignments, individual client profile management, and specialization in group travel and corporate meeting planning, positioning it as a relationship-driven local intermediary in a market structurally shifting toward direct online booking.

Name

Sun World Travel

Legal name

Sun World Travel, Inc.

Website

https://sunworldtravel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sun World Travel is a privately held, full-service travel agency in Tallahassee, Florida, founded in 1981. It sells cruises, tours, hotels, and vacation packages from major suppliers to individual leisure travelers and corporate groups on a commission basis, with no online booking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Agency Services

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510)

akta.pro primary industry

Cruise Travel Agencies & Specialist Cruise Consultants (THAEAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Luxury & Premium Leisure Travel Agencies (THAKABAC), Island, Beach & Resort Travel Agencies (THAKAFAL)

Keywords

• Travel agency services
• Cruise vacation booking
• Group travel planning
• Corporate meeting planning
• Leisure tour packages

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallahassee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Travel Agency Commissions: Agency earns commissions from cruise lines, tour operators, hotels, and other travel suppliers for bookings made on behalf of customers. No booking fees charged to customers for cruises, tours, hotels, and vacation packages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Sun World Travel is a full-service travel agency that books cruise vacations, tours, hotel reservations, and vacation packages on behalf of individual travelers and corporate groups. The agency earns commissions from travel suppliers (cruise lines, tour operators, hotels) rather than charging booking fees to customers. It also arranges Amtrak train reservations, car rentals, and executive meeting/convention planning, with group cruises and tours as a stated specialty.

Product overview

Sun World Travel is a full-service travel agency offering cruise bookings, tours, and vacation packages. The company serves as an intermediary between travelers and travel suppliers, providing access to six partner cruise lines (Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Viking River Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Oceania Cruises) as well as land-based tour operators including Pleasant Holidays and Sandals resorts. Services include individual and group travel planning, convention and meeting planning, car and hotel reservations, and Amtrak train bookings. No booking fees are charged for cruises, tours, hotels, and vacation packages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carnival Cruise Line Bookings Bookings for Carnival Cruise Line vacations including destinations in the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Bermuda, Canada/New England, and Alaska with all-inclusive pricing covering food, entertainment, and accommodations. Sold to individual travelers and groups.
• Holland America Line Cruise Bookings Bookings for Holland America Line premium cruises to the Caribbean, Bermuda, Alaska, Europe, Mexico, South America, Panama Canal, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Amazon, Antarctica, and Grand Voyages, featuring spacious ships and five-star dining.
• Viking River Cruises Bookings Bookings for Viking River Cruises across Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, Southeast Asia, and Egypt aboard Viking Longships with fine dining and panoramic views.
• Disney Cruise Line Bookings Bookings for Disney Cruise Line family-oriented vacations to the Bahamas, Canada/New England, Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and Pacific Coast with Disney entertainment and dedicated spaces for kids, tweens, and teens.
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises Bookings Bookings for Regent Seven Seas luxury cruise vacations through a dedicated booking portal, offering all-inclusive worldwide itineraries with inclusive air, shore excursions, and gratuities.
• Oceania Cruises Bookings Bookings for Oceania Cruises upper-premium offerings featuring fine cuisine, spacious accommodations, and worldwide itineraries.
• Group Cruises and Tours Arrangement of group cruise and tour packages, identified by the agency as a specialty service. Group travel department coordinates bookings for groups of varied sizes.
• Tour Packages (Pleasant Holidays) Booking of Pleasant Holidays land-based tour operator vacation packages for customers.
• Sandals Resorts Bookings Booking of Sandals Resorts Caribbean all-inclusive beach vacations.
• Hotel and Car Reservations Hotel and car rental reservations honoring all corporate rates, provided as part of the agency's full-service offering.
• Amtrak Train Reservations Booking of Amtrak train reservations as part of the agency's full-service travel offering.
• Executive Meeting and Convention Planning Planning of executive meetings and conventions for corporate groups of any size, including coordination of travel, accommodations, and on-site logistics.

Quantifiable outcome

• No booking fees for cruises, tours, hotels, and vacation packages
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Carnival Cruise LinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSun World Travel sells Carnival Cruise Line vacations to customers. Carnival offers travel to Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Bermuda, Canada/New England, and Alaska with all-inclusive pricing including food, entertainment, and accommodations.
• Holland America LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency sells Holland America Line cruises. With 139+ years of history, Holland America offers spacious ships, award-winning service, five-star dining, and worldwide itineraries including Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, and unique voyages to Amazon, Antarctica, and Grand Voyages. $566-million Signature of Excellence commitment.
• Viking River CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency sells Viking River Cruises offering European, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Egyptian river voyages. Viking Longships feature fine dining, panoramic views, and modern amenities.
• Disney Cruise LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency sells Disney Cruise Line vacations to destinations including Bahamas, Canada/New England, Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and Pacific Coast. Features Disney entertainment, family spaces, Kids' Club, Tween club, and Teen areas.
• Regent Seven Seas CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency sells Regent Seven Seas Cruises luxury cruise vacations through dedicated booking portal.
• Oceania CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency sells Oceania Cruises premium cruise offerings through dedicated booking portal.
• Royal CaribbeancoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency sells Royal Caribbean cruises including Anthem of the Seas vessel.
• Travel ClubminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConsortium partnership providing access to Travel Club travel products and services for customers.
• Pleasant HolidaysminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTour operator partnership providing vacation package options to customers.
• Sandals ResortsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCaribbean resort partnership for beach vacation bookings.
• AmtrakminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency provides Amtrak train reservations as part of full-service travel offering.
• Travel Agents (ARC/IATAN)coreTechnology or IntegrationAgency is approved by Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and International Airlines Travel Agency Network (IATAN), providing accreditation to issue airline tickets and access to GDS systems.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Expedia Group: Global online travel agency and platform operator serving as the dominant direct-booking alternative to traditional retail agencies. Represents the structural headwind Sun World Travel faces as consumers increasingly book cruises and tours online rather than through human travel agents.
• Travel Leaders: Large US travel agency brand and consortium serving leisure and corporate clients through a network of franchised/affiliated agencies. Comparable to Sun World Travel as a full-service retail travel agency with cruise, tour, and corporate travel offerings, but operating at materially greater scale across multiple US markets.
• American Express Travel: Major travel agency division offering cruises, tours, hotels, and vacation packages with both consumer-facing and corporate travel capabilities. Overlaps with Sun World Travel's full-service retail agency offering and corporate meeting/convention planning, but at significantly larger scale and with a card-member customer base.
• World Travel Holdings: Large multi-brand cruise and vacation company operating retail agency brands (Dream Vacations, CruiseOne) and direct-to-consumer cruise businesses. Comparable as a multi-brand cruise-tilted travel retail platform competing for the same cruise-booking wallet share as Sun World Travel, but at national scale.
• Liberty Travel: Established US retail travel agency chain selling vacation packages, cruises, tours, and group travel to leisure customers. Comparable to Sun World Travel in retail cruise-and-tour focus, though Liberty Travel operates a multi-store footprint rather than a single local office.

Direct peers

• Dream Vacations: Cruise-centric retail travel agency franchise under World Travel Holdings selling cruises, tours, and vacation packages through independent agents. Closely comparable business model to Sun World Travel in that both are cruise-tilted retail agencies relying on supplier commissions and personalized booking service.
• Avoya Travel: Independent travel agency network specializing in cruise and vacation packages with a network of agents selling multiple cruise line brands. Comparable to Sun World Travel's multi-supplier cruise reselling model and commission-based revenue approach.
• Cruise Planners: Cruise-focused travel agency franchise network selling cruises from multiple major cruise lines to individual leisure customers. Highly comparable to Sun World Travel's cruise-specialist retail model, though Cruise Planners operates via a franchise/home-based agent structure rather than a single storefront.

Others

• Sandals Resorts: Caribbean all-inclusive resort brand sold through travel agents and a listed partner of Sun World Travel. Represents a supplier-side relationship rather than direct competition, but relevant to understanding Sun World Travel's beach/island vacation channel.
• Pleasant Holidays: Tour operator packaging vacation packages to Hawaii, the Caribbean, Mexico, and other leisure destinations, and a listed partner supplier of Sun World Travel. Relevant as a supplier/upstream relationship rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SunWorldVaca
• Facebookfacebook.com/SunWorldTravelFL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sun-world-travel

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sun World Travel