Founded in 1982, the Enniskillen-based firm is Norad’s latest addition following its takeover of West Country-based Howard Travel in January 2015, which has been shortlisted in TTG’s Top 50 Travel Agents.
The deal comes as Erne Travel founder Ciaran O’Hare announced his retirement after almost four decades in the Northern Ireland travel industry.
He said: “Norad is a perfect fit for Erne Travel as they utterly get the importance of local conversations and local identity in delivering a first-class travel service.
“It was time to become part of a bigger organisation in order to give our team better tools, more purchasing strength and a chance to do an even better job for our customers as a result.”
Speaking about the deal, Norad chief executive Mick Gibbs, praised his company’s newly acquired outfit for their “outstanding technical and personal service expertise.”
Gibbs, who is also the organisation’s chairman added: “We have a crystal clear perspective as to the sort of businesses that we want to acquire in order to further build the reputation of the Norad Group.
“Erne Travel fits that template completely; it’s had continuous success based on outstanding technical and personal service expertise coupled with long-standing community presence and commitment.
“Businesses like this are sadly few and far between today, so Erne Travel was a perfect opportunity to add further value to our brand and take a strong step into an important regional marketplace at the same time.”
