President & Owner
Royal Travel & Tours
Winnetka, IL
Kendra Thornton is President and Owner of Royal Travel & Tours (www.royal-travel.com), a high-end leisure agency founded in 1972. The company is headquartered in Winnetka, IL, with employees in the surrounding Chicago area as well as in New York City, Palm Beach, Nashville, Denver, Columbus and Kansas City. Royal Travel is frequently featured in national press and has graced the cover of numerous magazines as well as The New York Times. The agency is a proud member of ASTA, Signature Travel Network, A&K100 Club and is a Four Seasons Preferred Partner Agency.
In addition to overseeing Royal Travel, Kendra is a nationally recognized travel expert with weekly appearances on the Tribune Media broadcast network as well as local programing in Chicago, New York and Los Angles. Kendra is also a contributor to the Fox News network, CNN, and MSNBC with regular appearances on Fox and Friends, Hannity, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Headline News, and MSNBC Live. In addition to her on air responsibilities, Kendra is sought after by print and online media to provide expert commentary on travel trends, breaking industry news and top destinations.
Prior to taking over the travel agency in 2016, Kendra ran her own PR and media strategy company that represented leaders in travel including, among others, Kayak, Expedia, and the Choice Hotel Group. Kendra was also selected to exclusively oversee all communications and media relations for Cathay Pacific Airways as well as the prestigious Michelin Guides when they made their entrée into the Chicago market. Before starting Thornton Public Relations in 2005, Kendra was the Director of Corporate Communications for Orbitz.com. In this role, she was responsible for the company's external communications strategy and acted as company spokesperson for four years during the early critical growth years of online travel.
Kendra is a member of a number of industry and charitable boards including the British Virgin Islands Travel Advisory Board, The Travel Corporation's STN Board, The United Nations Association of Chicago, The Chicago Botanic Gardens and The Wood Family Foundation.
Contact Kendra Thornton:
Royal Travel & Tours
1001 Greenbay Road
Suite 310
Winnetka IL 60093
Kthornton@royal-travel.com
Office: 815-217-0608
www.royal-travel.com