New joint venture with Vietnamese group incorporating Buffalo Tours.
Flight Centre has just announced plans to create “a new global business that will provide in-destination services to travellers”.
Together with Vietnam’s Thien Minh Group (TMG), the companies will immediately create a larger Asia-based destination management company (DMC) by combining TMG’s Buffalo Tours in Vietnam with the smaller joint venture DMC businesses they currently operate together in ten countries – Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong, China, Japan and Myanmar.
Flight Centre will also increase its equity in the new, larger joint venture which plans to “acquire or launch similar businesses in other key regions in the short to medium-term to create a world-wide DMC network”.
Flight Centre md Graham Turner said the company would take a 58.5% holding in the expanded Asia business. “We believe that there are huge opportunities in the in-destination sector and it has become one of our key strategic growth areas for the future,” he said.
Services provided by the DMC will include transfers, excursions and day trips as well as arrangements for meetings and incentive groups and land arrangements for cruises and other tour groups.
Turner said the new agreement would fast-track Flight Centre’s growth in the sector, and also give it greater control over product offerings and customer experiences in destination.
Flight Centre also announced a change in its leadership structure in Asia, with Suyin Lee, who previously headed up the business in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines to become Buffalo Tours managing director. David Fraser, md of FLT’s Greater China business will now take on a broader role as head of a regional Asia leadership team overseeing Greater China, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines as well as the FCM Travel partner network in the region.
More details in Monday’s issue of Travel Daily.