When clients trade TMCs for ITCS

MORE corporates are
bringing in dedicated
ITCs to handle their
travel, rather than using
TMCs, experts say.
Some corporates are
bringing in travel consultants
who previously worked for
traditional travel agencies,
then setting them up as
in-house ITCs contracted to
the corporate, Club Travel md,
Wally Gaynor, told TNW.
A number of corporates
are choosing to have a TMC
fulfil all international travel
then assign an in-house ITC
to handle domestic travel
though an online booking
tool, while others opt for ITCs
to fulfil all travel bookings,
says Club Travel franchise
director, Jo Fraser. According
to Jo, an increasing number of
corporates are choosing ITCs.
This trend is gathering
momentum because
corporates find it is a good
way to save costs, says GBTA
chairman, Howard Stephens.
“By hiring in-house, dedicated
consultants, the corporate
feels the consultant is part of
the family and the two parties
build that relationship.”
And it’s this personalisation
that corporates seek, says
Travel Counsellors SA gm,
Mladen Lukic.
“Corporates know that
large TMCs are workflowbased
entities and, as such,
would never be able to offer
personalisation because
that immediately kills their
process,” he says. “But
corporates want each of their
staff members to be treated
as an individual rather than
to be treated as an invoice
line item, and they see
personalisation as a benefit
for their travel programme.”
The corporate ITC trend is
picking up and will continue to
do so in the future, says Garth
Wolff, ceo of eTravel.
“The biggest drawback,
however, is that ITCs are
typically seen by corporates
as ‘potentially dangerous’
due to previous incidents of
rogue ITCs, etc. This is why it
is important to differentiate
between ITCs, which are
backed by host companies,
and ITAs, independent ticketing
agents who are not backed by
anybody,” Garth says.
But, says Vanya Lessing,
ceo of Sure Travel, when
deciding whether to take on
the management of their
own travel, corporates should
consider the cost of the skill
required to deploy travel
technology and business tools,
which are constantly evolving.
“Corporates should
also consider the process
alignment, data consolidation
into integrated reports for
management at different
levels, as well as duty of care
for their travellers,” she says.
Risk assessment tools are
fairly big investments from
a cost and skill perspective,
says Vanya. “However, the
greatest cost could be that
of negligence, if the process
is not managed by a skilled
professional.