NextTrip Appoints John McMahon as Chief Operating Officer - Travel, Expands into Cruise Industry with Five Star Alliance
Rhea-AI Summary
NextTrip (NASDAQ:NTRP) has appointed John McMahon, CEO and majority shareholder of Five Star Alliance (FSA), as Chief Operating Officer of its Travel Division. This appointment follows NextTrip's recent acquisition of a 49% stake in FSA.
The company is expanding into the cruise industry through FSA's network, gaining access to the top 35 cruise lines globally. NextTrip plans to launch its cruise booking engine in the first half of 2025, targeting the cruise market projected to reach $53.49 billion in revenue by 2029.
Since launching its Group Booking platform in July 2024, NextTrip has already secured a significant corporate contract for 180 travelers through FSA's referrals. FSA is now directing all group booking inquiries to NextTrip, leveraging their combined capabilities to capture growth in the group travel segment.
Positive
- Strategic 49% acquisition in Five Star Alliance provides immediate access to cruise industry
- Secured first major contract of 180 travelers through group booking platform
- Access to top 35 global cruise lines for real-time offerings
- New revenue stream from FSA's group booking inquiries
- Entry into $53.49B projected cruise market by 2029
Negative
- Cruise booking engine launch delayed until first half of 2025
- Minority stake (49%) limits full control over FSA operations
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, NTRP declined 13.55%, reflecting a significant negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Proven Industry Leader Brings Deep Relationships and Extensive Expertise Across all Facets of Leisure, Travel and Tourism
Five Star Alliance Now Directing Group Booking Inquiries to NextTrip
NextTrip to Launch New Cruise Booking Engine in the First Half of 2025
SUNRISE, FL / ACCESS Newswire / February 25, 2025 / NextTrip, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRP) ("NextTrip," "we," "our," or the "Company"), a leading travel technology company, today announced the appointment of John McMahon, Chief Executive Officer and majority shareholder of Five Star Alliance ("FSA"), as NextTrip's Chief Operating Officer - Travel Division. With a proven track record in the leisure, travel, and tourism industry, McMahon brings extensive expertise in management, marketing strategy, digital marketing, online distribution, social media, and business development. His deep industry relationships, spanning from C-level executives to on-the-ground professionals, positions him as a valuable addition to the NextTrip leadership team.
In a strategic move to expand its offerings, NextTrip recently announced the purchase of a
NextTrip launched its Group Booking platform in July 2024, and with the Five Star Alliance investment, FSA has begun directing all its group booking inquiries to NextTrip for service and follow-up. These leads have already started to convert with NextTrip securing a significant corporate group contract, consisting of 180 travelers contracted and booked, and a couple of other large leisure groups utilizing NextTrip's group booking tool are in for contract negotiations from the first leads introduced by Five Star. Historically, Five Star Alliance received dozens of group booking inquiries each month but lacked the resources to manage them effectively, often outsourcing leads to third-party agencies for follow-up. This collaboration highlights the synergies of the NextTrip and Five Star Alliance relationship, underscoring the immense growth potential in the group travel segment.
"We are excited to welcome John McMahon to the NextTrip leadership team and expand our capabilities with the Five Star Alliance investment," said Bill Kerby, Chief Executive Officer at NextTrip. "This strategic move strengthens our position as a full-service travel solutions provider and is expected to accelerate our entry into the high-growth cruise industry. With our enhanced cruise booking platform and group travel capabilities, we believe that we are poised for meaningful expansion and revenue growth."
About NextTrip
NextTrip (NASDAQ: NTRP) is a technology-driven platform delivering innovative travel booking and travel media solutions. NextTrip Leisure offers individual and group travelers' vacations to the most popular and sought-after destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and around the world. The NextTrip Media platform - Travel Magazine - provides a social media space for viewers to explore, educate, and share their "bucket list" travel experiences with friends. Additionally, NextTrip is launching an end-to-end content ecosystem that utilizes AI-assisted travel planning to capture advertising, build brand awareness, reward loyalty, and drive bookings. For more information and to book a trip, visit www.nexttrip.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (which Sections were adopted as part of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "prospects," "outlook," and similar words or expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "should," "would," "may," and "could" are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are risks relating to, among other things, the company's development efforts and anticipated launch of its NextTrip Cruise Division; changes to NextTrip's relationship with FSA; acceptance of NextTrip's products and services by FSA's customers; changes in travel, and in particular group travel and the cruise, trends; changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the company and/or FSA; the overall level of consumer demand for NextTrip's and FSA's products/services; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence, preferences, and behavior in the travel industry; disruption and volatility in the global currency, capital, and credit markets; the financial strength of NextTrip's customers; NextTrip's ability to raise additional capital to fund its operations; NextTrip's ability to implement its business strategy; changes in governmental regulation; NextTrip's exposure to litigation claims and other loss contingencies; stability of consumer demand for NextTrip's products and services; any breaches of, or interruptions in, NextTrip's information systems; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of products as well as foreign currency fluctuations; NextTrip's ability to maintain its Nasdaq listing; and changes in tax laws and liabilities, tariffs, legal, regulatory, political and economic risks. NextTrip disclaims any intention to, and undertakes no obligation to, revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, a future event, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. For additional information regarding risks and uncertainties that could impact NextTrip's forward-looking statements, please see disclosures contained in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2024 filed with the SEC on September 4, 2024 and our other filings with the SEC which may be viewed at www.sec.gov.
Contacts
Chris Tyson
Executive Vice President
MZ Group - MZ North America
949-491-8235
NTRP@mzgroup.us
www.mzgroup.us
SOURCE: NextTrip, Inc.
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
FAQ
When will NextTrip (NTRP) launch its cruise booking engine?
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