THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607040673
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 38 lines
CI Travel, the Norfolk-based travel company, said Wednesday it has been awarded a five-year contract potentially worth $45 million in sales to provide services at the area's Navy installations.
The contract - the company's third-largest - is a coup for CI Travel. It was formerly held by Sato Travel, an Arlington corporation that handles mostly government travel.
Sato will continue to handle Navy business travel. CI Travel is only handling leisure travel.
``We've been trying to get this one for quite a while,'' said Joseph Good, CI Travel's vice president of government and military operations. ``These things are usually highly competitive.''
Under the contract, CI Travel will provide vacation planning for Navy personnel, retirees and their families at nine Navy locations in Hampton Roads. The travel offices are expected to open in September.
Recently, CI Travel was awarded a contract for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It has service contracts with Langley Air Force Base in Hampton and several other military bases.
In Hampton Roads, CI Travel plans to open three offices at the Norfolk Naval Station and one each at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach and Atlantic Fleet Headquarters in Norfolk. The other sites are at Little Creek Amphibious Base in Norfolk, Fleet Combat Training Center at Dam Neck in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth Naval Medical Center and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth.
CI Travel, a privately held company, had more than $124 million in sales last year. With the local Navy contract, it will have 51 locations in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida.
The company, headquartered at the World Trade Center in downtown Norfolk, is a division of Cruise International.
KEYWORDS: U.S NAVY CONTRACT by CNB