Specialist SME travel management company Corporate Traveller is predicting a 15 per cent increase in transactions in 2019 due to new business and the need for clients to travel more after Brexit.
The company, which has 20 offices in the UK, says it has already seen a 15 per cent increase in transactions in 2018 after winning £55 million in new business. This equates to an average of 55 to 60 new clients per month across the nation. In particular, clients have come from the manufacturing sector in Manchester, educational sector in Loughborough, retail sector in Liverpool and financial sector in London.
Corporate Traveller is targeting £75 million in new business turnover for 2019.
This growth will also be driven by increased demand for travel due to Brexit, especially in terms of UK-inbound bookings handled by the TMC for US and Europe-based clients, according to Corporate Traveller. 2018 has already seen a 12 per cent boost in the number of inbound air transactions and the company expects this to continue in an upward trend.
Andy Hegley, UK general manager of Corporate Traveller, commented: “Our SME customers who trade overseas will need to travel, whatever the outcome of the Brexit deal, in order to cement existing relations and establish new ones. If anything, they will need to travel more, so we expect this trend to contribute to our growth in 2019.
“However, our growth in 2018 and forecasts for 2019 are also attributed to the fact that we are winning significant amounts of new business from larger corporates with greater volumes. This is because the launch of our technology platform YOUR.CT at the start of 2018 has opened up the market for us and attracted a wider range of customers, who are looking for a blended approach of technology solutions combined with personal offline service.”
Commenting on what he believes will be the top priority for Corporate Traveller clients in 2019, Hegley said: “Savings will be high on the agenda for SME businesses, both in terms of identifying missed and realised savings, particularly as the UK enters the Brexit phase after March... So it will be even more important that they get the best value and advice on their travel policy and spend.
“Travellers are also increasingly concerned about their personal safety and work-life balance. Our clients are therefore looking for technology and tools that will support the wellbeing of their employees while they are on the move, as well as advice on travel policy guidelines that support duty of care obligations. We will therefore be announcing an innovative new mobile solution early in 2019 to support our clients’ travellers more effectively.”
Corporate Traveller, a division of Flight Centre Travel Group, will also be marking the 20th anniversary of its UK business. Today, the TMC has 500 staff operating in 20 cities and towns across England and Scotland managing travel for more than 200 clients and 200,000 business travellers per year.
corptraveller.co.uk