"Travel Advisors Guild has tripled its technology investment budget this year."

Travel Advisors Guild (TAG) has recently held its XXV Meeting among Friends, which has brought together its partners with leading suppliers of Business Travel & MICE. Rafael Isún, the CEO of the entity, reviews the keys to a consolidated model of business cooperation that translates not only into economic results, but also into a greater capacity for influence.

 

After 28 years of history, it can be said that Travel Advisors Guild is a fully consolidated association, but at what stage of its evolution is it?

We would be wrong if we were not consolidated after 30 years, but we always have to revalidate the model and the formula. We are focused on sustainable growth. We want to incorporate new associates, especially in geographical areas where we are not yet represented, without excluding, of course, the candidates that arise where we do have a presence. Beyond that, the big challenge ahead of us is the technological one.

"How many agencies currently make up TAG?

We have 28 associated agencies, totaling some 80 points of sale, most of them in Spain, although some members are present in Mexico. The aggregate turnover exceeds 500 million euros per year. We are talking about medium-sized agencies with high profitability, 60% of whose revenues come from corporate business, 25% from MICE and the rest from tailor-made or premium holidays. We have never defined ourselves as a management group, because we go much further. Guild’ means guild in English. We are a business association to defend our members at all levels, not only the economic.

At the last Friends Meeting, held in Huelva, they announced a significant improvement in profitability in the last year, ?A queé A queé se debe?

The secret is to be very rigorous with the contracts we have signed with our partners and in directing sales to obtain better conditions, rappels of production, etc. This is achieved with the strength of unity. The same turnover has a much greater impact on the bottom line thanks to our conditions, apart from other factors that are also important, such as reputation or influence capacity.

"What do medium-sized agencies bring to the Business Travel & MICE segment and how do they differ from the large global TMCs?

There are two basic concepts. On the one hand, detail, care and attention; and on the other hand the waist, the flexibility. The big agencies don't have that capacity. Our agencies have between 15 and 60 employees. Their power of interaction with clients is very high, even on the part of the owners themselves, who are committed to serving their clients in a much more personalized way.

In recent years, purely online corporate-oriented agencies have emerged, very much based on operational technology. How do TAG members perceive this competition?

These agencies may apply to join the association. In principle they are welcome, but often they do not share the same service philosophy. We are very clear about the importance of technology. Its impact is key, strategic. So much so that several years ago we invested a lot of money in acquiring 40% of Iris Informática, the main software provider for agencies in Spain, especially with its Avsis program, which manages purchases from suppliers and customer invoicing, together with booking functions, among others. And this year we have tripled our technology investment budget. In addition, we were the first agency association to incorporate a Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the management team.

What are the short- and medium-term objectives of the association?
We want to continue growing in a stable and sensible way, reinvest in technology and continue on the path of high profitability. The truth is that we are in a sweet moment for tourism and travel, and we have to take advantage of it. Our recognition is very high within the sector and every day we have to keep working to maintain that status. In addition, we are in the process of joining an international association next year that will provide us with greater projection beyond our borders.