Carlson Wagonlit Travel Announces Strong Performance 1st 1/2

Carlson Wagonlit Travel Announces Strong Performance in First Half 2011

Sales volume up 10 percent and transactions 5 percent

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), a global leader specialised in business travel and meetings and events management, announced today sales volume of US$13.4 billion in the first six months of 2011, representing a 10 percent increase compared to the same period in 2010. Transactions rose 5 percent to 30.8 million.

Performance was strongest in Asia Pacific, where sales volume versus the first half of 2010 increased by 18 percent, followed by Latin America (12 percent), North America (11 percent) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (9 percent).

Commenting on these results, Douglas Anderson, CWT President and Chief Executive Officer, said “Sales volume growth has accelerated with economic growth being one of the main contributing factors, explaining some of the differences in performance between regions. Our continued strong customer focus has allowed us to maintain excellent client retention and satisfaction, while winning new sales and creating innovate solutions. In fact, delivering innovative solutions for managed corporate travel continues to be a key priority for CWT. As we build on the success of this year’s mobile applications, CWT will continue to broaden its range of applications for mobile services moving forward.”

Innovative solutions for travelers and travel programs
Since the beginning of 2011, CWT has highlighted a number of product innovations designed to make travelers’ lives easier while supporting travel program objectives. CWT To GoSM, a mobile application, allows travelers to access their CWT travel itineraries from their mobile devices. CWT launched local and global versions of CWT Market, a dynamic, free application for iPhone and Android users that aggregates best-of-market travel apps and mobile websites into one convenient app. CRS by CWT was launched as a new central reservation system for non-GDS hotels to facilitate bookings and boost program compliance.

In the first half of 2011 CWT acquired its partner agency Kaleva Travel, a Finland-based travel management company with a presence in several important European markets: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania.

The importance of improving the traveler experience at the same time as focusing on savings was emphasized in two reports published by the CWT Travel Management Institute: the first, an annual survey, Travel Management Priorities 2011, and the second, an in-depth report entitled Traveler Services: Finding the Right Fit.

ENDS

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