Japan JV for Flight Centre

FLIGHT Centre is turning more of its attention to the corporate sector as the Covid pandemic continues to trash global tourism, launching a business travel management joint venture in Japan.

Japan is the world’s fourthlargest corporate travel market, says Flight Centre, which is about to open for business with its FCM Travel brand in a joint venture with Tokyo’s NSF Engagement.

“Japan is a key corporate market because of its size and importance within the global economy as a business hub for multinational companies,” said Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner.

The Flight Centre co-founder said that by securing an equity position in Japan, Flight Centre would enhance its ability to win new local, regional and multinational accounts while also gaining greater control over the service it provided to Japanese customers.

“We believe this will become a very significant business and a valuable addition to our Asian network, which also includes businesses in China including SAR Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Malaysia,” Mr Turner said.

While Flight Centre’s global corporate business generated a $138m underlying loss for the 2021 financial year, it said its corporate sales had increased consistently during the period.