TMC Online Bookings: Still Small But Growing

More than 18 percent of bookings made by "traditional" corporate travel management companies in 2003 were initiated online by travelers, up from about 13 percent in 2002, according to Business Travel News estimates based on data reported by 30 TMCs that account for about 14 percent of ARC volume. This and other research will be published Monday in BTN's 2004 Business Travel Survey.

Larger agencies tended to have the highest rates, with such players as Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Travel & Transport, Tzell Travel Group and WorldTravel Partners all surpassing the 20 percent mark last year. Separately, American Express has said that 25 percent of all its U.S. Global Corporate Services transactions as of year-end 2003 were processed online.