Brennan History
Robert F. Brennan, Founder
In early 1978 Robert F. Brennan, then a ten-year veteran of the travel
industry, founded Brennan Tours with a clear vision: to create a deluxe,
escorted tour company that would feature in-depth experiences in select
destinations while providing the very best in value, quality and personalized
service.
Robert Brennan first became interested in tour operations while serving as
National Sales Manager of Westin Hotels in Seattle from 1968 to 1973. After a
period as Director of Operations for Princess Tours, in 1975 he became Vice
President of Sales & Marketing for Johansen Royal Tours, which specialized
in the Canadian Rockies. When Princess Tours acquired Johansen in 1978, Mr.
Brennan decided it was time to launch his own tour company, and Brennan Tours
was born.
In the Beginning
In April 1978 Brennan Tours began offering five, deluxe escorted motorcoach
vacations to the majestic Canadian Rockies, mostly originating in Seattle.
Through the early years Brennan built its expertise in western Canada -
Alberta, British Columbia and Vancouver Island. By 1983 conditions were ripe to
expand into eastern Canada, and two tours were added. These new vacations
showed our guests the cities and countryscapes of Ontario and Quebec, plus a
journey through the Maritime provinces of Atlantic Canada.
The 1990s
In 1990, Brennan moved south into the United States to offer two exciting
vacations focusing on America's Old West history and grand national parks. The
highlights of these new adventures focused on Yellowstone National Park and the
Grand Canyon.
We moved still further south in 1993 by adding a vacation to Mexico's famous
Copper Canyon in the wild and rugged Sierra Tarahumara. This vacation brought a
new mode of integration for Brennan Tours by adding a full two-day rail
experience to the motorcoach portion of the tour. This fostered considerably
more internal-modal travel experiences throughout the Brennan product line -
rail, motorcoach, Snocoach, riverboats, cruise ships…
By 1999, Brennan Tours offered over 20 premier escorted motorcoach vacations
throughout North America. Now a year-round tour operator, Brennan created
unique escorted snow-season vacations in both Yellowstone National Park and
Western Canada.
Into a New Century
Brennan Tours became Brennan Vacations and expanded its vacation offerings
outside the borders of North America for the first time to include Ireland, the
Emerald Isle, Egypt and the Galápagos Islands.
There was much more to come! Our guests are ever seeking exciting new
experiences, and we rely on their feedback to develop new destinations and new
ways to meet their desires. Thus was born "Canada a la Carte, Independent
Vacations." We took our experiences and contacts to create an independent
vacation division covering all of Canada. A la Carte guests craft their own
custom vacation experience through a wide variety of destinations, hotels,
transportation modes, even sporting activities.
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Tour met our expectations in that we were very pleased with seeing so many fall colors and it was a good introduction to New England. Room-to-room baggage handling was awesome—worry-free, flawless. THANK YOU!
