VTL to Germany sparks “let’s go gold rush” from German customers in Singapore, says Saillet
WHILE corporate travel in Asia remains grounded for the most part, there are clearly opportunities to be seized and this week, FCM put deeper roots into the Japanese market by taking a majority stake in NSF Engagement, which is a joint venture between Sony and NTT.
Previously, it worked through an agency and clearly felt that partnership model had limitations versus having skin in the game, given its plans for expansion as well as integration of its new tech solutions to deliver end-to-end customer support in this significant market in Asia.
Bertrand Saillet, managing director of FCM Travel Asia, said, “Japan is the fourth largest corporate travel market in the world, after China, USA and UK. It makes sense for us to make an investment in the market at this time. This is a great fit.”
Bertrand Saillet: A great fit to address the fourth largest corporate travel market in the world.
NSF Engagement was the inhouse corporate travel agency for Sony and it could be argued that at this time, given how hard corporate travel has been impacted and how much more challenging it will be to return, this development could be part of a trend that might see corporations outsource their corporate travel management rather than manage it inhouse.
Japan’s corporate travel market is roughly 70% domestic and 30% international, which is similar to the profile of other huge markets, said Saillet.
“Choosing to expand FCM’s presence in Asia at this critical time speaks volume of the tremendous potential Japan has towards FCM’s global strategy. FCM and NSF Engagement both recognised that the Japanese travel market is ripe for disruption and our partnership presents an alternative for clients who are currently being underserved.
“NSF Engagement’s deep local knowledge complemented by FCM’s evolving technology and global expertise will allow us to provide global coverage for existing and new Japanese clients. We are thrilled to work with a partner who shares our vision to continue our expansion in Asia.”
Feedback from FCM customers across all markets revealed a lack of adequate end-to-end business travel solutions in Japan that can deliver consistently and is simple to use at the same time.
In the coming months, the full suite of FCM products and services will be introduced into Japan to support consistency and improved customer experience. This includes FCM’s proprietary FCM Platform which had its debut launch in China last month.
Leading FCM Japan as general manager is Kenichi Shiraishi, who said, “For over 10 years FCM has been providing managed travel services in Japan to MNC customers, but there were limitations working through an agency. Through a complete local infrastructure alignment and integration into FCM’s global systems, we will be able to provide customers with a true end-to-end FCM experience.”
“We see considerable synergy between NSF Engagement and FCM,” says Shigeru Hiromatsu.
Shigeru Hiromatsu, president and CEO of NSF Engagement, said, “We see considerable synergy between NSF Engagement and FCM. FCM’s unconventional, innovative and flexible DNA resonates deeply with NSF Engagement’s belief that it is possible to use New Standards for Engagement to break-through conventional concepts through technological capabilities and an alternative approach while building a strong business with sustainable growth.”
Meanwhile, Saillet said the recent announcement in Singapore of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to Germany has sparked a “let’s go gold rush” among its German corporate customer base in Singapore, and “demand is more business class tickets than economy”.
“Although corporations have their own booking tools, almost all bookings are being done with our travel consultants because people are worried if something goes wrong. All it takes is the wrong flight number and you end up spending two weeks in quarantine,” said Saillet.
“People need a lot of handholding right now. It was the same with China. When business travel restarted there, everyone booked offline and then as they got used to it, the adoption of online was higher than pre-Covid.”
During this time too, FCM has introduced sustainability tools so that corporate customers can immediately see the carbon emissions from their trips and offset it with a choice of options such as tree planting or supporting local communities. “This is a big thing now and we see it becoming bigger when corporate travel returns. So it’s good to get ready for it,” said Saillet.
