History

Founded in Alexandria in 1956, Bursch Travel was “born” in a restaurant in Alexandria called the Bus Depot Café. In those days, 30-40 buses a day traveled through Alexandria going to Minneapolis or Fargo, Chicago, Seattle and all points in between.

M.W. “Pete” and Audrey Bursch purchased the Bus Depot Café and began serving meals and selling bus tickets. Occasionally a traveler would ask about making airline reservations and would rely on ”Pete’s” travel advice, gleaned from his years as a business traveler. Eventually Bursch Travel became an appointed travel agency helping travelers with tours and cruises throughout the world.

Pete and Audrey loved showing the world to travelers. Group tours to Hawaii, Europe and Scandinavia became the staple product that helped Bursch Travel out-grow the restaurant business. Many people still remember traveling with Pete and Audrey to the Holy Land, Africa, and Australia or around the world.

Our branch office in St. Cloud opened in 1960 and has become the company’s largest location. Fred Bursch joined the company in 1977 when it had 2 locations and has led it to its current size as one of the largest Upper Midwest travel companies – 13 locations in four states. Fred’s daughter, Lara, followed in his footsteps and began working in the Marketing department at Bursch Travel in 2014.  Nine years later, Lara became the 3rd generation owner of Bursch Travel and is honored to have the opportunity to extend the family tradition.

Though Pete, Audrey, and Fred are all gone now, their memories are relived every day by all members of our staff. The dream of traveling the world is still as exciting as ever and we are happy to still be in the business of fulfilling these dreams!