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Asia-Pacific based FCm Travel Solutions is set to further develop its business across the Asia region, which is expected to be one of the strongest drivers in the company’s worldwide growth over the next three years. The Asia network of the global travel management consultancy, which is headquartered in Australia, is anticipating a substantial increase in demand from the corporate travel sector over the next 12 to 24 months. It is also expecting corporates in Asia to become more ‘mature’ in their approach to travel management, with greater focus on consolidation strategies in response to the downturn of 2008/09.
FCm’s executive general manager for Asia, Rob Flint, said the company cemented its three-year strategy at its regional meeting held in Bangkok recently, which was attended by senior leaders and decision-makers from FCm’s partner travel companies across Asia. “Our long-term plan for Asia is all about developing our business to meet the rapid growth we anticipate in this regional market. Asian airlines recovered at nearly twice the global rate late last year, so we believe we are looking ahead to a steady and continued resumption of business travel activity in this region,” he said.
Mr Flint said FCm’s key strategies for Asia included expansion into additional countries, organic growth of clients, additional team resources to meet demand and improved travel reporting capabilities. “One of the main differences between FCm and our competitors in Asia is that we’ve had a strong and stable network. The majority of travel companies who partnered with us when we first launched in Asia (2004/05) are still part of our global family today and have gone from strength to strength by being part of our network. The longevity of our partnerships with local travel companies has benefitted our clients with service consistency and cost effectiveness.
“The stability of our network is also advantageous for regional clients who want to consolidate their travel management and costs over various countries. We see strong potential to grow local business with clients that are increasingly looking to streamline their travel procurement and management regionally to achieve better cost efficiencies,” he said.
“FCm’s expansion over the next few years will be primarily client driven. As well as growing more of our clients organically, we will consider expanding our operations and resources into new Asian countries if clients need us to be in those countries.”
Mr Flint added that FCm’s travel reporting capabilities were among the best in the region and offered consolidated reporting to companies with both regional and multinational needs. “We’ve invested heavily in our reporting capabilities over recent years and have seen a growing number of our clients utilise these to identify cost-saving opportunities in their travel.”
TravelDailyNews Asia-Pacific editorial team has an experience of over 35 years in B2B travel journalism as well as in tourism & hospitality marketing and communications.
