Why travel still matters
In the first episode of The Front Row, New M.O. co-founder Michael Qualantone speaks with Certares founder and senior managing director Greg O’Hara about the forces shaping travel’s next chapter.
Greg O’Hara has spent decades operating, investing in and helping build some of travel’s most consequential businesses. His career includes leadership roles at Sabre and Worldspan, investments in companies including American Express Global Business Travel and CWT, and the founding of Certares, a specialist investment firm focused on travel and hospitality.
That perspective makes him an ideal first guest for The Front Row, New M.O.’s interview series featuring leaders who have helped shape the travel industry and continue to influence where it goes next.
In conversation with Michael Qualantone, O’Hara shares why he remains committed to travel, what he sees in the flow of capital into the sector, and why rail, wellness and live events are all worth watching.
“You don’t hate what you know”
O’Hara’s route into travel began with an operating role at Sabre in the 1990s. From there, he moved to Worldspan, then into investing at J.P. Morgan before founding Certares.
Yet his case for travel is not only commercial.
Travel, he argues, has proven remarkably durable. It creates jobs, supports local economies and gives people a direct experience of places and cultures they might otherwise only know through headlines or stereotypes.
“I’ve always had a theory that you don’t hate what you know,” O’Hara says.
For him, that is part of travel’s higher purpose. Visitors learn about the places they visit, and destinations become more open to the people who arrive. He points to the changing perceptions of destinations such as Saudi Arabia and Greece as examples of how tourism can help reshape a country’s relationship with the wider world.
Travel also has a practical economic advantage. A destination does not need to build a new landmark to create opportunity. It can build the infrastructure, service and experiences that help visitors discover what is already there.
Why capital keeps coming to travel
The industry’s economics are also attracting fresh attention. O’Hara sees travel as a sector where investors can find long-term growth, operational opportunity and, in many cases, more reasonable valuations than those available in the most heavily priced technology businesses.
AI is part of that story. He sees two sides to its influence. It can help travel businesses automate labor-intensive processes and improve decision-making. It may also give people more free time, which could create more demand for travel and experiences.
The investment case, in his view, is straightforward. Travel companies can be valuable businesses that are not always valued as such by the market. Strong operators can improve them, grow them and create better outcomes for customers, employees and investors.
“A bargain’s only a bargain if it doesn’t stay a bargain,” O’Hara says.
Travel, loyalty and financial services
The conversation also explores the growing relationship between travel, payments, expense and loyalty.
O’Hara expects banks, card companies and other financial institutions to keep investing in travel. For these businesses, travel is a highly valued service for customers and a natural outlet for loyalty points. It can also deepen customer relationships, increase card acceptance and connect a wider set of services around the traveler.
At the same time, he makes a clear distinction between a company that offers travel as one part of a broader financial proposition and a business built around servicing travelers.
That distinction matters in managed travel, where experienced advisors and service teams can make a meaningful difference when plans change. Travelers do not need a search result when they are stranded or their itinerary needs to be reworked. They need someone who can solve the problem.
O’Hara believes loyalty will keep growing as companies seek ways to make their programs more useful across a wider range of purchases and partners.
Rail, wellness and the experiences people will travel for
O’Hara’s current investment interests offer a useful view of where he sees demand building.
High-speed rail is one. In Europe, rail can be a practical alternative to air travel on shorter routes, especially when it connects city center to city center. He sees the opening of rail infrastructure to more competition, combined with investment in new capacity, as an important opportunity.
Wellness is another. O’Hara describes the category as more than a short-term travel trend. Demand for longevity, fitness, mobility and learning-based stays is creating room for new forms of hospitality. People are seeking experiences that help them feel better, learn healthier habits and carry those habits home.
Live events also stand out. Sports, concerts and other major events create travel demand because the experience cannot be duplicated through a screen. People will travel for the atmosphere, the shared moment and the chance to be there.
A business where ideas can become real
For people building careers in travel, O’Hara’s advice is direct. It is an industry with room for many kinds of talent, from frontline service to technology, operations, investment and destination development.
It is also an industry where good management can have an outsized effect.
Unlike sectors where a new product may take years to reach the market, travel businesses can often move from an idea to a real customer experience far more quickly. That ability to create jobs, build places and improve experiences is what keeps O’Hara engaged.
“There’s not very many industries you can do that with,” he says. “So I like tourism, and I’m sticking with it.”
Watch the full conversation with Greg O’Hara, and look for future episodes of The Front Row from New M.O.
