Amex Thailand Sees Increase In Local Travel Mgmt. Efforts

<B> Amex Thailand Sees Increase In Local Travel Mgmt. Efforts</B>

By David Johnson

<I>Thailand</I> - Corporations here increasingly are putting their travel and entertainment numbers under the microscope, as travel management has been pushed to the fore, according to American Express Thailand.

"Our existing customers now ask more questions about travel and entertainment expenditure than before," said vice president and general manager Robert Siedell. "Companies have become more focused than in the past on what they are getting for their money, especially when the expenditure is coming back in U.S. dollars."

After four years in the market, the core business of Amex's regional headquarters remains multinational companies, but interest is on the rise from local firms as the market slowly becomes more receptive to travel management, Siedell said.

Despite the financial crisis, large companies still have to send employees overseas to do business and entertain clients--and they still have the budgets to do so. At the same time, however, they are concerned as to how to best manage their money.

On the corporate card side, Siedell said American Express' new-client base had expanded by 10 percent over the past year.

"For many Thai companies," he said, "managing travel expenditure is a question of survival, and we can help provide solutions for them." He said that for years T&E budgets had been considered perks for Thai executives, so there was very little scrutiny. Now, "this is changing because the rules of the market place are changing."

Looking toward the future, Siedell said he sees great promise in multinationals looking to relocate and invest here. "Thailand is a regional hub. The hotels are full of people looking at investment right now, rents are very attractive and there is a high vacancy rate. This will help our business," he said. Thailand was the first market in Southeast Asia to fall--and it will be the first to recover as well, he predicted.