American Vacation Tours was established in 1982 by co-founders John Peragine and Ben Gold.
John Peragine
was formerly the owner of a successful New York City travel agency and sought to build on his expertise in the travel industry and develop a new company focused on providing affordable, high-quality group travel. John has his Masters Degree in Guidance and Counseling, has attended the world-renowned American Airlines and Delta Airlines training schools, and has been a long-standing member of ASTA, IATA and other major travel organizations.
Bennett Gold
In 1975, after working as an independent tour escort for several years, founded Americana Youth Tours, specializing in educational group tours for the students and faculty of public and parochial schools in the New York area. Ben holds a Masters Degree in Education and his focus on creating fun, informative school trips was a natural outgrowth of his background as a Social Studies teacher. In 1982, he joined forces with John Peragine as an advisor to American Vacation Tours and in 1984 became a full partner in the business.
Since that time, American Vacation Tours (AVT) has crafted a solid reputation for offering the highest quality, affordable group travel experience available to educational institutions, summer camps and adult groups and organizations. AVT is proud to boasts an 85% customer return rate, which very few in the group travel industry can claim. We believe that it is our unique combination of ITMI-certified tour directors, quality lodging and dining packages, and superior transportation choices that keep our customers coming back year after year.
In 1998, the corporate offices of American Vacation Tours were relocated from New York City to Manalapan, NJ. The new location and larger office space has allowed AVT to better serve our constantly expanding local, national and worldwide customer base.
American Vacation Tours is proud to be an active member of both the National Tour Association and the American Bus Association. These organizations mandate a standard of professionalism that has remained the foundation upon which AVT has built its reputation for outstanding group travel services.
Why Our Customers Keep Coming Back
“American Vacation Tours has been our tour operator for more than 20 years. We’ve been as far as Alaska and as near as Atlantic City. We’ve flown to New Orleans and Las Vegas and been on multi-day bus trips to Missouri, Canada, Niagra Falls, Maine, Cape May and Lancaster, PA. Every trip is jam packed with great tours, wonderful shows, good restaurants and always led by well-informed tour guides. Our group enjoys every aspect of our trips with American Vacation Tours.”
Connie P., Social Coordinator
Our Lady of Grace Church
