It Started With a Single Step...

1000 Mile Travel Group’s Founders, Ben Ross and Nicola Veltman, truly ‘walked the talk’. Ben founded 1000 Mile Travel in 2015 as the business’s first-ever independent travel expert. With 15 years’ experience working for a mega global travel management company, Ben was burnt out and believed there must be a better way to do the work he loved while finding balance in his personal and professional life.

As he honed his own independent travel business, Ben developed a unique business blueprint that would form the foundation of 1000 Mile Travel Group’s global success; a blueprint which provides experienced, independent travel agents with access to the best buying power, technology, and support they need to manage their business and their clients’ travel needs while living a lifestyle as unique as they are.

About 1000 Mile Travel Group

Our Vision

To combine traditional travel management services with all the benefits the “work from anywhere” host agency model has to offer within one independent travel agency network, made up of experienced, passionate travel professionals committed to delivering personalized service, exceptional travel knowledge, innovative technology solutions, and value for money.

Our Values

At 1000 Mile Travel Group, our people are our greatest asset. We are a team of collaborative, innovative, and future-focused professionals, passionate about delivering market-leading services, products, and experiences for our customers and partners around the world. Our values guide our decision-making, actions, and behaviors; creating a culture where everyone can contribute, grow, and thrive.

Connect
We build strong relationships where people feel valued, listened to, and celebrated.

Deliver
We bring the energy, hold ourselves accountable, and get stuff done.

Evolve
We are adaptable, we embrace change, and celebrate innovation.

Our Growth Story

Founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2015, 1000 Mile Travel Group expanded into the UK in 2017, establishing a second head office in London.

Motivated by a desire to bring the 1000 Mile Travel Group blueprint to the world, Ben and Nicola initiated a technology partnership with CTM in 2021 to provide its agent network with access to CTM’s award-winning proprietary travel booking technology, Lightning. Recognizing a strong alignment in business vision and values, alongside a fast-rebounding travel industry and strong demand for travel management expertise in the small business sector, CTM acquired 1000 Mile Travel Group in July 2022 to further expand the successful host agency model into the North American market.

With a long history in the US vacation travel market, CTM’s independent host agency network, MTravel, was integrated into the 1000 Mile Travel Group business in late 2022, forming a combined network of more than 500 independent global travel experts under the 1000 Mile Travel Group brand.

Following this, 1000 Mile Travel Group launched two distinctive brands catering to luxury travel enthusiasts with 1000MTG Vacations in North America and 1000MTG Escapes in Australia.

Shared values, common technology systems, and partnerships mean that 1000 Mile Travel Group’s travel advisors and their clients collectively benefit from the resources, scale, technology, and global buying power offered by the CTM Group while still maintaining the family-business feel they’ve grown accustomed to.

Our Future

At 1000 Mile Travel Group we believe ‘the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’ – Laos Tzu.

That’s why even though we’re growing, we will always value experience, service excellence, and quality over quantity and give our travel advisors the ability to build their dream life and business while doing what they love – helping their customers experience the world.

Awards and Recognition

With the support of its talented independent travel advisor network, supplier, partners, and team, 1000 Mile Travel Group was chosen as a finalist in the prestigious 2024 Virtuoso Travel Award in North America in two categories, ‘Highest Annual Growth Speciality Award’ and ‘Top Producing Tour Award’.

1000 Mile Travel Group was chosen as a finalist in the Australian Travel Industry Association‘s National Travel Industry Awards 2023 for ‘Most Outstanding Mobile Advisor Network’.

In 2023, 1000MTG CEO and Co-Founder, Nicola Veltman and Global Marketing Manager, Mahala Summers made it onto the Travel Weekly 2023 Women in Travel Awards shortlist in the categories: Entrepreneur of the Year, and Marketer of the Year.