The Travel Corporation Appoints Havas as Global Agency of Record

The Travel Corporation (TTC), the global portfolio of market-leading travel brands such as Trafalgar, Uniworld and Contiki, has appointed Havas as its first agency of record following a competitive, holding company-level pitch. Havas beat a number of agency groups in the final stage and now joins as TTC’s primary strategic partner on its agency roster. The process was managed through the AAR Group.

Powered by group-wide operating system Converged.AI, Havas’ integrated, multi-market ‘Village’ solution brings together agencies from Havas Creative Network and Havas Media Network, as well as Havas’ AI-powered global content-at-scale network, Prose on Pixels (POP), to collaborate on the account. It will be led out of London, New York and Sydney, with activation across TTC’s core selling markets of the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa. Havas’ first work for TTC will launch in March 2026. The Publicis role in the Oceania Markets as creative partner on Contiki is unaffected by this appointment.

The appointment sees TTC transition from a predominantly in-house marketing model to a strategic partnership structure across all key marketing disciplines, including creative, media and content production.It represents a core component of TTC’s ongoing strategic transformation following its 2024 acquisition by asset management firm Apollo.

In line with this transformation programme, Havas has been tasked, among other things, with growing several TTC brands, including Trafalgar (guided travel), Uniworld (luxury travel) and Contiki (youth travel) – each with its own distinct proposition, customer base and growth ambition. TTC currently spends a combined $30m on media per annum, with significant planned investment through 2029.

Duncan Robertson, OA chief customer officer at The Travel Corporation said, “2026 marks an important chapter in TTC’s more than 100-year history, as we embark on a bold strategic transformation and reimagine how our brands connect with millions of travellers worldwide. In Havas, we have found the ideal partner to deliver the scale, capability and innovation required to compete in an increasingly complex travel market and achieve our ambitious growth goals.

“More than anyone else, Havas showed real empathy and recognised the nuances of our unique brands – demonstrating an ability to deliver cross-brand efficiency while respecting the strategic and executional differences between each.”

​Tamara Greene, chief client officer, global brands at Havas Creative Network said, “What an exciting opportunity The Travel Corporation is for an agency network. The travel industry is on a journey of disruption and innovation. Partnering with TTC on these great brands – each with their own unique challenges and opportunities – is a real privilege. We are very thankful that TTC have placed their faith in Havas at such a pivotal moment for them, we are thrilled, and we can’t wait to get started.”