IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/bushst/v68y2026i3p636-657.html

An entrepreneurial turf war: Travel agencies, ICEM, and the migration industry since the 1950s

Author

Listed:
  • Ioannis Limnios-Sekeris

Abstract

This article examines the role of travel and migration agencies since the 1950s, focusing on managing migration from Europe to overseas countries of the West. It explores the business practices of travel agents, emphasising their relationship with the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM), an international organisation managing subsidised overseas migration of Europe’s so-called ‘surplus of population’ since 1952. Travel agencies viewed ICEM as both a competitor and an opportunity to diversify their business profits. The evolution of this relationship is researched within the context of the migration industry, highlighting the connection between migration governance and capitalist forces, business interests and power dynamics. The article draws on extensive archival material about business–government relations, corruption, and human mobility, sourced from states, international organisations, the press, and personal oral interviews.

Suggested Citation

  • Ioannis Limnios-Sekeris, 2026. "An entrepreneurial turf war: Travel agencies, ICEM, and the migration industry since the 1950s," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(3), pages 636-657, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:68:y:2026:i:3:p:636-657
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2025.2558764
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00076791.2025.2558764
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00076791.2025.2558764?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:68:y:2026:i:3:p:636-657. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/FBSH20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.