In a small office in Times Square, a big idea was born. Fred Kassner and Gilbert Haroche, founders of Liberty Travel, developed the one-price "package vacation" and took it to market.

The year was 1951, and America was booming. As the economy expanded, so did the outlook of millions. In this climate, the affordable vacation package started to attract fans. Like Henry Ford before them, Kassner and Haroche brought mobility – and a fresh expression of fun – to everyday Americans.

The first "deluxe economy package" to Miami sold well. By the end of the 1950s, Liberty Travel dominated the Florida market. The Catskill Mountains were another key destination with wide appeal in New York and New Jersey.

By 1959, commercial jet travel became the norm. Kassner and Haroche expanded their destination offerings to include the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Americans soaked in the tropical pleasures of the Caribbean.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, travelers explored Aruba, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, and beyond. The cultures of these hot spots wove themselves back into American pop culture. Surf music, reggae, and Latin American rhythms rose in and out of vogue like the tide.

The Love Boat dramatized the adventure of cruise travel and, by the 1980s, Walt Disney World tugged at the imaginations of children everywhere.

During the latter decades of the twentieth century, destination offerings exploded. Americans hit Europe, Asia, Central America, and Canada. Desire to travel to Tahiti sprung out of the blue like her own 118 islands. The American appetite for sun, sand, surf, and ski adventures was – and still is – insatiable.

Through Liberty Travel vacation packages, friends have sightseen, couples have honeymooned, retirees have toured, and families have created lifelong memories in more than 200 destinations on four continents. Today, Liberty Travel has retail stores in 204 neighborhoods along the East Coast and in Florida. And although technology and the Internet have transformed the way agents book vacations, one tradition remains: Liberty Travel is where the travel dreams of millions of Americans begin.