Vice President, Travelers Advantage
Travel Industry Expert

Julia Ryan, who currently serves as vice president of Travelers Advantage, an Affinion Group company, began her career in 1992 with CUC Travel, Inc. as a travel agent, advancing to manager of product development for the company. She was also director of North American Marketing for Global Refund, an international VAT refund company. In this role, she achieved a 39 percent year-over-year growth in American VAT refunds in 1998 and 24 percent year-over-year growth in 1999.

After more than a decade as a travel professional, Ryan has traveled to all but one of the Earth’s continents. She is an enthusiastic traveler who can discuss:

• Last minute travel tips for getting away on a holiday weekend or for a special vacation


• Travel trends and how a consumer can get the best value for their dollar


• Last minute travel deals


• Answers to travel questions. Ryan is an expert in advising travelers were to go for the perfect vacation, especially when they are planning at the last minute. She can help find a parking space at the airport during peak travel periods, find the ideal cruise for the family, offer best tips for sailing through airport security or buy the right kind of travel insurance. To see her recent travel comments see: http://www.affinion/media/press_release.cgi/Corporate.

Ryan is an informed and engaging source of travel trend information and sound travel advice. She is a good source if you are looking for someone to explain where to find today’s best travel deals or provide time-saving tips when facing airport security or avoiding the hassle of searching for an airport parking space on a holiday. Julia is also a last minute travel expert. Backed by ten years of experience in the travel business, she knows where to send people who waited until July 1 to plan their July 4th holiday. She can tell you &#45 or your readers, viewers, listeners &#45 were to go, how to get there, what it should cost and what you can do while you travel.

She draws on her 10+ years experience in the travel industry to give travel tips, last minute travel deals and answer travel questions. Ryan has appeared live on CNBC-TV, featured on CNN and appeared on numerous radio shows (talk and AM drive).  Ryan also writes about travel issues in a syndicated column called “Ask Julia.”

Ryan is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) and the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA).  She graduated from Oklahoma State University, with a double major in German and Russian and a special certificate of East European Studies.