Industry Tourism Headquarters Jenkintown Type Tour operator | Website www.friendlyplanet.com Founded 1981 | |
 | ||
Key people Peggy Goldman, Founder and President
Ilan Fink, Vice President Profiles | ||
India nepal tour by friendly planet travel
Friendly Planet Travel is an international tour operator offering small group tours to Asia, Africa, Central America, South America, Europe, the Mediterranean, Australia, the South Pacific and Cuba. In addition to scheduled small group tours, Friendly Planet Travel also offers independent vacation packages, as well as custom tour packages for individuals and private groups of any size.
Contents
History
The company was founded by Peggy Goldman, who at the time was a schoolteacher and single parent of two small children. After taking a job at a local travel agency and organizing a journey to Israel for 200 Holocaust survivors, she founded Great Touring Adventures in 1981 which became Friendly Planet Travel in 1995. The company is based in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. It serves travelers throughout the United States and Canada. Friendly Planet is owned and managed by Peggy Goldman and her husband, Ilan Fink, the former General Manager of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Together, Peggy and Ilan have decades of experience in the travel industry.
Friendly Planet is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the International Association of Travel Agents Network (IATAN).
Cuba
In 2011, Friendly Planet was among the first US-based tour companies to receive a People-to-People license from OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control). This license allowed Friendly Planet to operate educational exchange programs for American travelers wishing to visit Cuba. Friendly Planet Travel offers four different scheduled Cuba packages plus customized programs for individuals and groups.