Advantage Business Travel Centres has been announced as the crisis support partner for the Institute of Travel and Meetings' (ITM) Phoenix Group.
Phoenix was created in May 2010, in the aftermath of the volcanic ash crisis, to act as an operational support group during times of crisis in the travel and meetings industry.
Speaking at the association's annual conference at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire, ITM chair Jamie Hindhaugh said Advantage would “power” the crisis support programme.
As part of the partnership, Advantage will provide early-warning guidance when a crisis occurs and ongoing information and expertise as a crisis develops, through a dedicated ITM micro-site that will launch in September.
Norman Gage, director of business travel at Advantage, said: “Advantage has honed its crisis support approach over the last few years after a number of incidents which have affected the industry in general and our members in particular.”
He said managing logistics relationships and communication were key areas to focus on during a crisis, something Advantage has learnt through experience.
“It makes sense that we put that skill to greater use behind a project designed for the benefit of our whole industry and are proud to be working with ITM on this,” he added.
Hindhaugh said Advantage had been chosen to partner with ITM on the project because of its experience and expertise.
“Since we announced the creation of ITM Phoenix at last year’s conference we have been fortunate that no major crisis has had the impact that the Ash Cloud did, but it is only a matter of time,” he said.
“This appointment means that our members can rest assured that when it does we will be ready to support them like no other industry association can.”
He spoke of his disappointment, however, at not being able to negotiate a partnership with the Guild of Travel Management Companies.
“We offered to rebrand Phoenix Group,” he said. “I think it is a real missed opportunity for the industry – if we are to be strong we need to join forces.”