Bursch Travel

When tracing the path to greatness, some corporate histories are a little hard to follow. Like the restaurant ... that became a bus stop ... that became the largest privately owned travel company between the Twin Cities and Seattle.

Bursch Travel was founded in 1956 by M.W. "Pete" and Audrey Bursch with a single office in Alexandria, Minnesota. Originally, the business was operated as a restaurant, where patrons could also purchase a Greyhound ticket. Over time, selling bus tickets gave way to offering a full range of travel services.

Forty-eight years after starting the business, its hard to imagine Bursch Travel's restaurant/bus station heritage. Now an American Express Travel Representative, the company has grown to 12 branch offices and 2 satellite offices with over 60 employees. Bursch specializes in corporate travel management for all sizes of corporations, and manages group and incentive travel programs. In fact, Bursch has handled travel groups as large as 12,000 participants.

But size doesn't mean their business approach is less personal. Bursch Travel caters to many small towns in rural Minnesota, where they can know their customers on a one-to-one basis. Bursch caters to organizations of all sizes, including churches, colleges, businesses, and trade organizations. Bursch managers and employees are actively involved in community service in these towns. A charter member of the Minnesota Keystone Program, Bursch Travel commits 5% of their pretax earnings to community programs and needs.

With a mix of local, long distance, DSL internet access to a myriad of locations, Integra Telecom strives to maintain a similar, personal service approach to Bursch Travel. According to Lee Hurd, Vice President of Operations, "Our biggest concern about changing providers was the hassle with the conversion. I was amazed at the ease of conversion to Integra. Our sales rep took care of everything!"

Please select your Service Area:

Meet Our Customers

Bursch Travel