Tully Luxury Travel Expands Leadership Team with Steven Salm
Salm steps into COO role as the Toronto-based firm introduces new technology tools and expands its focus on ultra-luxury sea-based travel.
Photo: Sheila Jellison / Unsplash
Tully Luxury Travel has appointed hospitality executive Steven Salm as chief operating officer, part of a refresh in operations, technology infrastructure, and leadership structure for the Toronto-based firm. In addition to announcing Salm’s appointment, the company outlined plans to introduce updated client-facing tools and expand its focus on experiential travel, including small-ship cruising and yachting.
Salm, founder and CEO of the Planta restaurant group and a former executive at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, joins the company following decades in hospitality and lifestyle ventures. His role centers on modernizing the business’s operational backbone while maintaining the relationship-driven approach that has defined the company since its founding more than three decades ago.
“We’ve always been about people first—our clients, our designers, and our teams—and that remains our North Star as we evolve,” said Salm. “Our goal is to make Tully an effortless extension of our clients’ lives: seamless connectivity to designers, real-time access to itineraries, and a highly personalized approach that matches each traveler with the right product and partner. In luxury travel, trust is the ultimate currency, we will earn it, protect it, and elevate it in everything we do.”
The leadership expansion comes as Tully Luxury Travel introduces new technology to simplify booking flows and provide real-time access to itineraries. According to the company, these updates are intended to complement, rather than replace, the human-led planning model that has long shaped its client relationships. Alongside the digital rollout, the firm plans to deepen its involvement in expedition cruising, branded yacht programs, and other sea-based travel experiences that have gained traction among high-spend travelers.
Founded in Toronto more than 38 years ago, Tully Luxury Travel has built a global footprint through bespoke itineraries spanning safaris, small-ship voyages, and luxury hotel stays. The company’s leadership emphasized that Salm’s background in design-forward dining concepts and large-scale operations will influence how the business manages supplier relationships and trip execution, from cabin and suite placement to curated experiences for multigenerational travelers.
Mary Jean Tully, founder and CEO, framed the appointment as an extension of the company’s long-standing ethos. “Steven is a builder with exquisite taste and exacting standards,” she said. “His leadership accelerates our vision while honoring the trust our clients place in us—the essence of the Tully Difference.”
A refreshed digital presence is expected to roll out in the coming weeks as well.
