For Immediate Release
Contact: Randi Becker
Vice President of Industry and Public Relations
414-934-1163

The Mark Travel Corporation Anticipates Positives in 2003

MILWAUKEE, Jan. 17, 2003 - The Mark Travel Corporation's vacation companies are experiencing a winter booking season ahead of last year, with a positive 2003 summer anticipated. The destinations that continue to do well are Las Vegas, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. "While 2003 looks to be a strong year, we are preparing for 2004 as the real growth year, with our continued focus on providing travel agents with a high-end product and superior customer service. One way of accomplishing this is through technology to be more efficient and responsive to our customer's needs," said Bill La Macchia, president and CEO of TMTC.

TMTC will be further enhancing its promotional efforts through VAX VacationAccess, a Web based booking system for use by travel agents from Trisept Solutions. Trisept Solutions is one of the leading full-service travel technology solution firms in the country, providing the industry with technology for the electronic distribution of leisure travel.

TMTC's family of vacation companies continues to offer promotions through VAX that are exclusive to travel agents. Agents can control the booking, make changes and administer bookings no matter how the original booking was made, making VAX an even more versatile tool.

The 16 vacation companies that make up TMTC have their unique niche and marketing strategies for the upcoming season. Here are some of their thoughts for 2003.

"The peak booking season is upon us, and we are very encouraged with the positive booking trends pulling ahead of last year," said Ron Jacobs, general manager and vice president of Funjet Vacations. "We will continue to launch one-day promotional sales in several markets as a way to drive business back to our agents through VAX. We enlarged our sales force to provide even greater service, and took dramatic steps at improving our group department for our owned brands, which include Funjet Vacations, Adventure Tours USA, TransGlobal Vacations and Mountain Vacations," said Jacobs.

Blue Sky Tours, a tour operator specializing in Hawaii, expects its Hawaii business to continue to grow. For 2003, Blue Sky Tours commitment to retail travel agents remains. "We believe retail travel agents will continue to book a significant portion of all travel to Hawaii, therefore we continue to distribute exclusively through travel agents," said Dennis Odom, vice president and general manager of Blue Sky Tours. "To make sure agents get the sale, we continue to offer lower prices than travelers can get from any other source," said Odom.

US Airways Vacations will again focus on the Caribbean in 2003. US Airways Vacations is seeing the most growth and the highest demand in this area and is expecting this trend to continue.

"Our customers still want to get away and spend quality time with loved ones," said Kris Potter, vice president and general manager of US Airways Vacations. "The Caribbean is exotic enough to feel like an escape from the everyday, but close enough to home to feel comfortable. We want to ensure they have a good experience from beginning to end, and to be confident about the investment they are making," added Potter. AeroMexico entered back into the Chicago O'Hare market in November with daily service to Mexico, which has been extremely positive. Also new was the addition of Loreto as a Mexico destination for AeroMexico Vacations. Loreto is known for spectacular whale watching, water sports and sport fishing. This is a popular destination especially out of the west coast markets.

With additional United Airlines lift in Denver to both Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii, United Vacations is seeing continued growth in 2003 to Hawaii. "We will be aggressive with consumer and agent promotions throughout the year," said Rick Karnes, vice president and general manager of United Vacations.

"Agents are embracing VAX and really starting to see the value of this new and improved booking system. United Vacations will continue to offer our highest commissions for business booked electronically and will be aggressive throughout the year offering special incentives for using VAX," said Karnes.

Southwest Airlines Vacations is also pleased to see a continued increase in VAX bookings as a portion of its total business, and has set a goal to continue to increase VAX bookings in 2003. "With aggressive pricing, Southwest Airlines frequent flight service, and a diverse product offering, we have great expectations for 2003," stated Rich Basen, vice president of sales and marketing at TMTC, tour operator for Southwest Airlines Vacations.

New for MexSeaSun in 2003 includes new multi-stop opportunities. Customers now have the option of flying to multiple cities within Mexico on Mexicana Airlines as a part of their MexSeaSun vacation. This flexibility gives customers the ability to experience the culture of the Colonial Cities of Mexico and a beach destination as well. The focus for 2003 includes competitive group pricing for agents and specials through VAX.

"TMTC is made up of the finest quality vacation companies. We are thrilled with the tremendous support we receive on a daily basis from our suppliers throughout Mexico, Caribbean, Las Vegas and Hawaii," said Bill La Macchia, Jr., COO of TMTC. "Now, more than anytime before, travel agents need to align themselves with companies that can take them into the future with the technology and end to end service for their customers," said La Macchia, Jr. "Together, we can make 2003 a positive year in travel."