Samson Tan, chief executive officer of Global Tour Management Company (GTMC) Travel Pte Ltd, appears to live by the maxim 'Keep your friends close and your competitors closer'. "I'm here to get the industry players to work together because the market is very big," explained Mr Tan.
Established ten years ago in April 1997, the company - which acts as a travel product wholesaler to travel agencies - sought to fulfil a need. As a consolidated wholesaler, GTMC is able to procure travel products at cheaper rates, largely due to bulk purchases. "At the time, there weren't many people doing this,' said Mr Tan. The company's main customers are retail travel agencies, especially those that market themselves aggressively.
According to Mr Tan, some travellers prefer to rely on a familiar travel agent rather than scour the Internet for travel deals. "Zuji has a different segment of customers. There's still a segment of people, especially in countries like Thailand, Vietnam and China, who tend to call up their travel agent to book a package," he said.
Nonetheless, the company also has an online website in an effort to keep up with changing times, which offers - among other things - an online reservations system. "At the same time, we're coming up with a custom-built travel portal for our retail travel agencies, free of charge." He is hoping that the service - eBusiness Suite - will encourage more retailers to go online. Mr Tan notes that they've received positive feedback from travel agencies so far, especially in countries where they have a strong presence such as India and China.
According to Mr Tan, the travel industry has various segments, such as leisure and business but that there are many sub-divisions. "Under business, there's meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions (MICE), special interest tours, golf tours, VIP tours," he said. While he admitted that the industry is a competitive one, he believes that the simplest way to success is to 'think out of the box'.
"You need to work on services and build your brand so that whatever comes from the brand, the service is there," he said. "It may only be a few dollars more, but the difference is there." This is a strategy that has resulted in a lot of repeat customers.
Mr Tan also reckons that the integrated resorts in Singapore will be a substantial growth driver for the industry and the region as a whole, as will the Formula One race that will be held here next September. "We're talking to the organiser, Singapore GP, and also the hotels to cater to our customers," he said.
Another challenge that often crops up is the fact that the industry tends to be beholden to global and regional upheavals, one such example being the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars). GTMC Travel is able to withstand such occurrences as the company focuses on a range of destinations, Mr Tan said. Furthermore, the tourism industry tends to be quite resilient, bouncing back rather quickly, especially as prices become increasingly attractive, he explained.
Revenue figures for GTMC Travel in FY2006 hit around $20 million and the company is expecting a 20 per cent growth for FY2007 to $24 million. GTMC Travel currently has 17 offices across the globe, in countries including India, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, the US and Britain. "We intend to have a Dubai office soon to further expand our customer base," said Mr Tan.
"The main part of building the network is to have a cross-selling model," he said, asserting that this is one of the company's greatest strengths as it enables their various offices to liaise and establish tie-ups.
He also attributed their success to regular feedback.
"The main thing is to brainstorm with your customers. We go to the customers to understand what kind of new products they need. It's an ongoing thing," he said. As a result, he makes an effort to obtain feedback either by meeting up with customers face to face or through feedback forms. Mr Tan is hoping to form more alliances so as to create a distribution network. "The business model that we run, competitors can be suppliers and customers also. We've come up with a platform where everyone can buy and supply products. Whether you're a competitor or not, we can sit down and see what we can work out together."
