CORPORATE TRAVEL management company ATPI Philippines said it is seeking to expand operations at its International Center of Excellence (ICE) as demand recovers.
Yvette Robles-Araullo, managing director of ATPI Philippines, said the company has filled its 100 seats for the ICE in Makati.
“For our normal business hours, the capacity is already full. We only have 100 seats and we’re at 102 (in staffing),” she told BusinessWorld.
“We wanted after-office hours to handle operations at night,” she added.
In the Philippines, ATPI maintains two businesses: local trading and global travel services, which have 135 and 102 employees, respectively.
The ICE delivers 24/7 travel management services to clients in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Greece, Denmark, and France.
The company is looking to establishing operations in Clark and Baguio City.
“In Clark, there are Koreans, and we have a Korean office, so maybe we could service that market as well,” she said.
“In Baguio, I also want to put up an office to service the business-to-customer market,” she added.
She said that the target is to open the new offices by next year.
She said clients are becoming more cost-conscious and are always seeking to lower travel costs.
“Before, they were okay even if it was a higher fare. Now, the theme of all our business reviews is to lower the cost,” she said.
“It is really different right now; they are very cost-conscious. That is why we are not just issuing a ticket; we are really looking for lower fares and rates, and we talk to the airlines regarding how we are able to help the clients with cost,” she added.
She said that demand for travel management services has recovered to pre-pandemic levels. — Justine Irish D. Tabile