1000MTG plots growth

1000 Mile Travel Group, the global corporate and premium leisure network of independent contractors now owned by Corporate Travel Management ( TD 01 Jul 2022), is set for rapid expansion, with growth plans including doubling its size in Australia over the next year.

Speaking to TD last week, co-founders Nicola Veltman and Ben Ross ( pictured) said the CTM acquisition had been a gamechanger, seeing 1000MTG take on responsibility for hundreds of USbased consultants and effectively become CTM’s SME and premium leisure fulfilment arm.

The pair have relocated from Melbourne to Denver, Colorado to run the burgeoning global business which now has leaders in North America (Christy Shafer), the UK (Alex Locke) and Australia (Lauren Gray), while Craig Constable is 1000MTG’s Global Chief Operating Officer.

In the USA there are currently over 750 advisors associated with the business, and Veltman said 1000MTG was planning to launch the corporate side there shortly.

And in Australia, where 1000MTG has seen advisors on average double their TTV and commissions post-COVID, the host agency is looking to grow its network with the same quality of advisor they currently have.

“Our focus for the next 12 months and beyond is enhancing productivity for our existing network through technology, new platforms and increased supplier relationships,” Veltman said.

“This means our TTV per advisor will increase and the time they get back in their day will too.”

Locally 1000MTG increased their independent contractors base by a third last year, without any sort of active recruitment program, and “the plan is to bring in another 50 in the next 12 months,” she said.

“But the number isn’t as important as the experience... for us it’s still about having that 15 to 20 years in the industry, that leadership, that nous, and the change of mindset where our advisors need to take off the employee hat and put on the business owner hat.”

With a background in corporate travel, Veltman and Ross have been undergoing a rapid initiation into the premium leisure sector, and are actively engaging with 1000MTG’s participation in Virtuoso as well as familiarising themselves with key product segments such as cruising.