FCm Develops Latin American Agency Network

Australia-based travel management company FCm Travel Solutions today announced the launch of a travel management network in the Latin America and Caribbean region comprised of seven partner agencies.

The network, based out of Mexico City and headed by newly appointed regional manager Alejandro Aguilar, will have a regional approach to new client acquisition, account management, sales, marketing and suppliers, according to FCm.

The partners have equal representation and financial investment in the company. Included in the network are FCm Argentina (Action Travel), FCm Brazil (Flytour Business Travel), FCm Venezuela (Molina Agencia de Viajes), FCm Caribbean (CT Travel Holdings) and FCm Mexico (Koch Overseas de Mexico), which has been the leader in driving the development, according to FCm.

FCm claims that the network is a first for the region because it has a non-ownership stake and said it has left sole responsibility of the management and decision making to the network members, according to FCM general manager of network development Charles Gregory.

"We are not aware of any other multinational TMCs that have given their partners sole responsibility for managing their regional network," said Gregory in a prepared statement. "This is a most unique approach, in which a worldwide TMC is responding to specific and ubiquitous needs on a country-by-country basis and also on a regional basis."

While FCm's initiative may be significant because of its non-ownership structure, consultant John Caldwell, president of Washington, D.C.-based Caldwell Associates, said "the ultimate test is delivery, and will they have major multi-country Latin American clients that are either multinational globally or multinational in the region? That is really the key issue here and it's the same challenge that all non-owned confederations face. Will the delivery be such that clients are comfortable and will they attract clients?"

While Latin America's regional volume is significantly behind that of the Asia/Pacific region, it is grabbing more attention from buyers and travel management companies, and it resembles the Asia/Pacific's growth pace, according to Caldwell. "It used to be that companies would consolidate North America first, Europe second, Asia third, Latin America fourth. Now they are closer to looking at Latin America and Asia/Pacific at the same time, and if the volume is less even considering Latin America before Asia," Caldwell said. "Latin America is getting a lot of attention now. It's not the fourth area anymore. It's right up there with Asia."