Great Southern Travel acquires Olathe, Kan., agency

Great Southern Travel on July 1 announced its acquisition of Pathfinder Travel and Cruises in Olathe, Kan., and the deal is official today. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Pathfinder Travel and Cruises' former owner John Craig will remain with Great Southern Travel as the Olathe office manager at 2111 E. 151st St., according to a Great Southern Travel news release. Two travel consultants also will continue in their current positions with the company, which serves both leisure and corporate travel, the release said.
 
“(Pathfinder Travel has) developed excellent client relationships through the years, and we are excited about the contributions this agency and its employees will make,” Great Southern Travel Managing Director Kris Conley said in the release.
 
A division of Great Southern Bank (Nasdaq: GSBC), Great Southern Travel was founded in 1977. The agency operates full-service offices in Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas, with headquarters at 3424 S. National Ave.

In May, the travel agency began running the Springfield-Branson National Airport's online reservation system, www.flyspringfield.com. The airport pays Great Southern Travel $3,000 a year in an "open-ended contract," airport officials have said.

While Springfield's is the first online reservation system Great Southern Travel is managing for an airport, Conley has said the company hopes to secure similar contracts.[[In-content Ad]]