Members of the UK Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) have seen a 13% rise in business during the first half of this year, with 7.2m bookings made on behalf of clients in the first six months compared with 6.3m for the same period in 2006.
GTMC associates the increase in business with a growing recognition for the range of services offered by today”s TMCs, including hotel, car and rail reservations.
According to the Guild”s Quarterly Transaction Survey, hotel bookings have continued to see steady growth with a double-digit rise of 18%, although rail transactions have seen the biggest surge at 24%.
”Other” sectors, including airport parking, chauffeur-drive transfers and passport/visa services, have also seen tremendous growth with bookings up 28% from the same period last year.
”The big increase in rail bookings and ancillary transactions is particularly pleasing,” said GTMC chief executive, Philip Carlisle. ”It would suggest that client companies are increasingly recognising the scope of services which our members offer.
”As they put more and more business our way, of course, the more we can help them to save money and gain extra value from their travel budgets.”
Between the months of January and June 2007, GTMC members have reported bookings for more than 3.6m air tickets, 1.6m hotel reservations, 1.5m rail tickets and 200,000 rental cars.
”Such figures are a clear reflection of the UK”s commercial vitality,” added Carlisle. ”The UK always has been a hive of business activity, but our Quarterly Transaction Survey repeatedly shows that it is getting busier all the time.”