Professional Services 2023: GLORIA BOHAN

In May, Bohan received the 2023 Hall of Fame Cruise Industry Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cruise Lines International Association, the latest of many honors recognizing her work leading one of the largest woman-owned businesses in the Washington, D.C., region.

Bohan, who also received a lifetime achievement award from Travel Weekly magazine in 2021, started Omega World Travel with one employee in 1972 after being inspired by her honeymoon cruise on the Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner. Today, Omega has 486 employees, with offices worldwide. Its family of brands includes Cruise.com, TravTech, Omega MICE (meetings, incentive travel, conferences and exhibitions) and Luxury Travel Team. It serves corporate and leisure clients throughout the U.S., Europe and Middle East.

In a 2022 Travel Weekly interview, Bohan said, “It’s like I got on the treadmill and never got off, and I’ve just kept on it for 50 years.”

Bohan earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Marymount Manhattan College, where she served on the board from 2003 to 2013.

Omega is a supporter of Junior Achievement and women’s leadership groups, including the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, National Association of Women Business Owners and STEMConnector.