Executive Profile
Name: Jacquelyn Wilson
Title: Owner/Meeting & Events Travel Consultant
Organization: New Journeys 2 Travel
Location: Irving, Texas
Birthplace: Grapeland, Texas
Education: University of Phoenix, bachelor’s in marketing, 2013
Career History:
• Leisure Agent, Comp-U-Card International, 1989–1992
• Travel Agent, World Travel Partners, 1992–1994
• Executive Agent, American Express Travel, 1994–2001
• Senior Resolution Travel Consultant, Virtuoso, 2011–2020
• Hayes Executive Travel, Independent Agent, 2022–2023
• Owner/Meeting, and Events Travel Consultant, New Journeys 2 Travel, 2023–present
Jacquelyn Wilson’s career in travel was inspired by a 1980s and 1990s television show — “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” hosted by distinctive British host Robin Leach — that sparked an interest in seeing the world.
“He would always close out his show with ‘champagne wishes and caviar dreams,’” she said. “When he featured the Napa Valley Wine Train, I was in love. I said to myself, ‘I am going to get on that train!’ Fast-forward to me at 63 years old, and I’ve been on the train probably eight times.”
Wilson is the owner and operator of New Journeys 2 Travel, a bespoke travel agency she launched in January 2023, where she plans custom travel and events for corporate, church and family groups from 20 to 100 people.
In high school, Wilson was a successful student who earned a scholarship to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, but she left after two years to be a wife and a mother. When she found herself divorced with three young children to raise, she quickly became a licensed real estate agent. The ups and downs of the housing market proved a challenge to someone needing a steady income, however, and that’s when she answered an ad in the newspaper for a travel agent position. The company was Comp-U-Card International (CUC), a membership-based consumer services company that offered travel, shopping, dining and other services.
After about three years at CUC, Wilson moved on to World Travel Partners, which worked with large companies like Arthur Andersen on corporate travel and events. She eventually joined American Express, where she was responsible for handling the executive team’s travel needs, but her duties went far beyond just flights and hotels. Wilson helped plan complete meeting itineraries where every detail — from meals and workshops to swag bags — was included.
Wilson went to work at Virtuoso in 2011, creating the company’s resolution department, which was responsible for fixing ticket and schedule change issues. Error rates went down to less than 1% under her program.
“That was what my passion was,” Wilson said. “Virtuoso was the best company I ever worked for. I put in 12 years with them, and I learned so much, and they allowed me to do more, to get very good at what I do.”
When COVID-19 hit, departments across the company were liquidated by the end of the year, including her own. A friend of hers who had her own independent travel agency, Hayes Executive Travel, brought a small number of agents under her umbrella so the agents could retain their licenses. It inspired Wilson to want to start her own company.
Wilson’s first clients were people she knew from church, but her reach has grown in just a few short years to include many people referred from past customers and corporate clients. She specializes in coordinating every part of a meeting, event or trip, from building an itinerary to arranging transportation, booking event spaces and more, ensuring that her clients can host and attend seamless meetings.
Wilson credits her success to the knowledge she has been able to continue to build on every step of the way — and she says she’s still learning.
“I take a lot of classes,” she said. “I go to a lot of travel events. Travel changes so fast, it’s mind-blowing. It takes constantly wanting to learn, wanting to build your knowledge. I want to keep abreast of everything that’s going on in travel because I want to keep going.”
