TMCs feeling the pinch, says CWT boss
Travel management companies, airlines, hotels and corporate clients are “feeling the pinchâ€, Carlson Wagonlit Travel president and chief executive officer Douglas Anderson said.
Unveiling the group’s half-year financial results, Anderson said the industry was being impacted by an “unprecedented mix of record-breaking oil prices, high inflation and diminishing growth around the worldâ€.
But despite the pressures, CWT said it has won new business worth over US$1.5 billion worldwide, excluding renewals, which is up 47% over the same period.
It also recorded a 16% rise in sales to US$15 billion in the first six months of the year.
In the UK, sales volumes were up 11%, taking total traffic to £597 million.
Newly-awarded sales reached £62 million, more than double the same period in 2007.
Executive vice president UK Andrew Waller said: “‘The first half of 2008 has seen an impressive performance in the UK and we are encouraged by these results.
“There is no room for complacency as economic uncertainty continues to deepen and it is impossible to make accurate forecasts for the second half of the year and beyond, however I feel that we are in a strong position to face whatever challenges lie ahead.’
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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