The heart of group travel since 1980.
For over four decades, we've been the place where Group Leaders come to learn, share, and grow together.
Heritage Clubs International isn't a vendor or a directory, we're a peer community. The kind of organization where the best in the industry actually call each other on Tuesday afternoons to swap ideas, where lifelong friendships are built one Peer Group at a time, and where every Group Leader, no matter the size or stripe of their program, has a place at the table.
A community
that adds up.
The reach of HCI today reflects nearly half a century of trust, growth, and the quiet work of Group Leaders changing their members' lives one trip at a time.
Why we do what we do.
HCI exists because we believe deeply in a few things, about travel, about leadership, about the work of building communities one trip at a time.
Travel changes lives.
Real travel, the kind where strangers become friends over breakfast and a far-off place suddenly feels like home, does something to a person. It opens minds. It rebuilds connection. It's worth taking seriously.
Group Leaders deserve a community of their own.
Whether you lead a bank travel club, independant group leader or continuing education group leader, the work can be lonely. It shouldn't be. You deserve peers who understand what you do, mentors who've solved what you're solving, and friends who'll cheer for you in November when registration's slow.
Strong organizations build stronger communities.
Institutions that sponsor group travel are the cornerstones of a healthy community. When their travel programs thrive, those relationships thrive. That ripple matters.
Education is the heartbeat of this profession.
The best Group Leaders never stop learning. We're an education-first organization because the trips you'll lead five years from now depend on what you learn today from peers, from partners, from the credentials that prove how good you really are.
The first chapter, Mason City, Iowa
First Citizens National Bank, led by O. Jay Tomson and Colin B. Robinson, founded Heritage Clubs International. They were ahead of their time, using group travel as a relationship-building tool when most banks treated marketing as a transaction.
A new era under George Aker
George Aker became President of Heritage Clubs International, beginning a transformative era of growth. Membership expanded across the Midwest and beyond.
Headquarters move to Reno, Nevada
HCI relocated west, broadening its footprint and reach. New partnerships formed with destinations across the country.
Ted Nelson takes the helm
Ted Nelson, owner of Hospitality Tours and one of HCI's longtime Preferred Tour Operators, acquired Heritage Clubs and brought a renewed vision: an education-first organization built on real peer relationships.
Smithfield, Rhode Island, and growing
Brothers Andy and Michael Ziegler purchased Heritage Clubs International in 2024 and today HCI operates from Smithfield, Rhode Island, serving 200+ group leaders across 33 states. Our community now extends beyond banking, welcoming Independent Group Leaders and Continuing Education/Nonprofit group leaders from all over the country. The mission hasn't changed: providing group leaders the education, community, and the resources they need to lead travel organizations.
The next chapter is yours.
The future of Heritage Clubs is being written by the Group Leaders joining us right now. Whatever shape group travel takes over the next 45 years, this community will be at the center of it.
What we stand for.
Mission
To equip Group Leaders with the education, resources, and community they need to be the best in the industry, and to make sure no one walks the journey alone.
Vision
A North America where every group travel program, from the smallest community bank to the largest affinity organization, has access to a thriving peer community that helps it succeed.
Values
Education first. Community always. Generosity over gatekeeping. Real friendships over transactions. And the deeply-held belief that better trips make better lives.
The people
behind HCI.
A small team with deep industry roots, and an even deeper love for the work and the people we serve.
Guided by the people
who do the work.
HCI's Board of Advisors is made up of working Group Leaders, Travel Partners, and industry veterans. They volunteer their time because they believe in the mission, and they steer the organization with the wisdom only practitioners have.
Meet the Board →
Ready to find your
community?
Whether you're leading your first trip or your five-hundredth, there's a seat for you at the Heritage Clubs table.