Bucket list fillers

The trek was worth it. Mass, in fact, now claims to hold a unique first-ever in regard to the giant retailer: His franchise travel agency business, Clearwater-based Expedia CruiseShipCenters, is the only full-service travel agency in the country to have an office inside a Wal-Mart. Plus, business there has been so good the past two years that Mass recently opened a second location in The Villages. This one is across the street from a Wal-Mart. “The market in The Villages,” Mass says, “reflects our profile.”

The expansion hasn't only boosted the firm's demographics and geographical coverage. It's also ushered a growth spurt at the company, which has 120 full-time and part-time employees and offices in Clearwater and Port Charlotte, in addition to The Villages. Annual revenues are around $40 million, says Mass, and are up about 30% in 2013. The firm's revenues come strictly from fees cruise lines and other vendors pay.

Growth like that stands out in an industry in decline for nearly a decade mostly due to the rapid rise in online travel bookings. The total number of travel agents nationwide, for example, fell from 111,000 agents in 2006 to 105,910 in 2010, according to the American Society of Travel Agents. The amount of agencies in the U.S. is also down, from 18,500 in 2006 to 14,800 in 2010, the organization reports.