CLYDE TRAVEL AB

Offering the business traveller a personalised service is one of the key objectives of Clyde Travel AB, a Northern Marine Group company located in Gothenburg.

It has been one year since the Company launched its services by issuing its first airline ticket to a travelling customer: a return flight from Stockholm to Gothenburg.

A Swedish offshoot of UK-based parent company, Clyde Travel Management; the business’s services are delivered from Stena AB headquarters by its four Swedish travel consultants.

Currently providing travel support to many Stena Group companies, the business has enjoyed a successful first year of operations during which 6,500 flight tickets have been issued, 2,600 hotel bookings have been made and 1,400 rail journeys have been booked. 

Paul Cronje, Director, said: “Our first-year objectives have been entirely operational: employ the right people, establish customer relationships, explore market differences and adjust and secure a smooth flow of data from the reservation to the invoice. 

“We were very fortunate to quickly find an exceptional team of travel consultants in Arne, Lena, Anna-karin and Ellinor and being a part of the Stena Group has played a fundamental role in establishing this business. 

“For modern day travel management companies to thrive, they need to have a multi-cultural and global footprint; not necessarily to be ‘bigger’ but definitely to be ‘better’ at understanding the global trends in the travel space and adapting quickly in lagging markets.”

As well as benefitting from its parent company’s well-established travel management operations and know-how, Clyde Travel AB can rely on its employees’ in-depth knowledge of the Swedish travel industry and the requirements of both onshore and offshore travelling professionals.

ARNE SJÖGREN, LEAD BUSINESS TRAVEL

Consultant, added: “The Swedish market, like many global markets, differs from the UK in many respects especially in terms of technology, traveller expectations, forms of payment and VAT regulations. 

“We therefore couldn’t simply take a copy of Clyde Travel Management and paste it in Gothenburg. What we offer today in Sweden is a Swedish value proposal but still distinctly different in the local market: we have chosen to establish ourselves as ‘high-touch’ service-orientated instead of following the global trend among travel management companies to be more faceless.

“The biggest success in our first year of operations has been all the happy customers. It has been a great advantage being an in-house travel agency within the Stena HQ, as this has led to quick feedback both to us and to our customers. The team has a lot of competence and knowledge of the industry and we have really got to understand our customers well.”

Second year objectives for the Company includes the increased utilisation of its self-booking platform and the increased usage of data analysis tools to improve services. 

Clyde Travel AB is the only travel management company in Sweden which holds membership in the WIN Travel Network, offering the Company increased ticket buying power, consolidated data, access to leading hotel programmes, and enhanced local market knowledge.

In addition, Clyde Travel Management is one of only a handful of travel management companies which benefits from a New Distribution Technology, enjoying direct pricing arrangements with airlines such as British Airways, thus offering fare flexibility and a more personalised service to clients. It is hoped the NDC agreement will soon be extended to Clyde Travel AB. 

Paul added: “We still have some way to go to implement more advanced technology and products to the Swedish market, but at heart travel consultants want to serve and please. The more faceless travel becomes, the more valuable a personal service is. We are confident we are offering the right balance.”