Tony Arezm, Director of Sales & Account Management UAE, FCM Travel Solutions.
2018 saw FCM focus on deploying its new technology suite FCM Connect to clients in the UAE, as well as online booking tools and travel and expense solutions.
FCM Travel Solutions ended 2018 on a high in the Middle East & Africa region after winning new business worth USD 25m. in the United Arab Emirates from 27 new clients, an increase of 35 per cent on the previous year.
The global travel management company also saw phenomenal average growth of 205 per cent from its top 15 corporate clients in the UAE this year, compared with 2017, and enjoyed 99 per cent client retention year on year.
Organic growth from clients in the region included Majid Al Futtaim, who after working with FCM for nine years in the UAE, expanded its relationship with FCM into Egypt, Oman, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Other markets in Africa will also be implemented for this client in 2019.
FCM also extended its relationship into the GCC over the last 12 months with Prada, which was an existing client in Europe. FCM is now providing travel management services to Prada in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Similarly, Dolce & Gabbana, which was already trading with FCM in Europe, expanded its relationship to work with FCM in Dubai over the last year. In addition, IQVIA, formerly Quintiles and IMS Health Inc, with whom FCM has worked in the UAE since 2015, appointed FCM in Egypt and Tunisia in 2018. This client is also planning to expand its agreement with FCM into a further seven markets across the MEA region in 2019.
2018 also saw FCM focus on deploying its new technology suite FCM Connect to clients in the UAE, as well as online booking tools and travel and expense solutions.
“We saw an increase in clients wanting not only to implement an online booking tool, but also bolt on an expense module,” said Ciaran Kelly, FCM’s General Manager for MEA. “FCM has partnered on several joint opportunities with SAP Concur in the region to offer both expense and travel solutions across the Middle East and Africa market, and in 2018 we deployed self-booking platforms for over 15 new clients.”
Another notable trend for 2018 in the region was the consolidation of regional travel programmes and RFPs, according to Ciaran Kelly.
“We saw a greater focus in 2018 on companies bringing their regional offices together under a single travel programme,” he says. “Many of our clients who operate independently in certain markets see the benefits of using our single platform technology, FCM Connect, for analytics and traveller tracking behaviour. This has been a focus of FCM MEA over the last 12 months, collaborating closely with our colleagues and partners in markets across the region to build stronger relationships with common clients and prospects and demonstrate the benefits of providing more visibility through central data collection via FCM.
“2018 was a very exciting and successful year for FCM in MEA, as we have won significant new business, grown turnover, expanded into new markets like Algeria and Kuwait, recruited additional business development staff and gained Great Place to Work certification,” summed up Kelly.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
