A poll of delegates at this week’s ITM Inspire Conference found just over half believe TMCs are fit for the future, but a quarter believe they are not and another 25% were undecided.
The question was put to the 500-strong conference audience – buyers, suppliers and TMCs – following a panel discussion between three buyers and three TMC leaders on the future role of TMCs.
Darren Toohey, CTM Chief Sales and Customer Officer, said not all TMCs are fit for the future, arguing that not all TMCs are able to make the major investment required to keep up with technological development and the changing requirements of corporate clients.
But he argued that TMCs play a vital role to help corporates stay one step ahead of technology.
“Buyers are extremely knowledgeable but they are only experts in what they already know about. TMCs are here to tell them about the things on the periphery that they might not know about,” he said, citing the example of the emergence of driverless cars and whether they are being written into travel policies.
“We are here to push you out of your comfort zone a bit and to tell you to get rid of that Sony Walkman, get an ipod, and then that ditch that ipod and get yourself an iphone.”
He said buyers without big teams might face internal struggles, for example relying on their organisation’s IT team to investigate and implement new technology.
“You might be waiting six months for your IT department to get around to it. That’s where a TMC can help.”
Markus Eklund, Global Managing Director FCM, said the role of a TMC is even more important in the new fragmented landscape.
“Our value is to solve problems for you and your travellers,” he said.
But he pointed out that what travel buyers want is not always what their travellers want.
“You’re not always aligned. From a travel programme perspective you might be very clear but the traveller feedback we get is very different,” he said.
