Global travel management company FCM has established a new, dedicated Tokyo office, to help travel managers develop a more consistent programme while meeting local traveller requirements.
While FCM has previously assisted its portfolio of large national and multi-national clients through Japanese agency partnerships, this investment in a direct-to-market strategy means clients will experience additional investment and new solutions designed for the local market via access to the global FCM Platform.
This approach is especially crucial for a market like Japan and helps travel managers have a more consistent programme while meeting local traveller requirements.
Bertrand Saillet, managing director for FCM in Asia explained the decision to expand in Japan was driven by evolving customer requirements, while recognising considerable business development opportunities the country offers.
Japan is the world’s fourth-largest business travel market; however, FCM’s research shows there is still significant scope for business development. Less than 15 per cent of Japanese companies currently use TMCs, with business travel mostly managed in-house.
Kenichi Shiraishi, FCM’s general manager, Japan, highlighted a number of areas where he believes the company will fill market gaps.
“We are going in with a two-prong strategic approach: first we will increase our direct-to market engagement throughout Japan to elevate our reach. Simultaneously, we will be extending the opportunity territory to global companies with Japanese operations.
“Although companies continue to believe they can drive strong business growth through resumption of face-to-face connections, we also see them putting more emphasis on risk management and operational improvements in technology and service as cost reduction becomes relatively muted,” said Shiraishi.
