Business travel company FCM bets on AI to boost efficiency as work travel in China recovers
The effort to adopt and integrate AI into its operations began recently with the opening of the company’s new “AI center of excellence” in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The city was an ideal destination thanks to its deep talent pool, proximity to Hong Kong and its position in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to Calvin Xie, general manager of FCM Travel Greater China.
It’s not as simple as “just doubling the number of employees,” Xie said.
“We want a lean operation,” he added. “We don’t want to end up with a big army. It’s more about how we transform our workforce to get [employees] equipped with the skills needed for the next decade.”
FCM is the main corporate travel arm of Australia’s Flight Center Travel Group. It has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
“We have no plans to expand our offices further. Given [FCM’s] business nature, we do not need to open offices in every city, but we want to maintain our presence in first-tier cities,” he added.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a brain drain in Hong Kong, which has made it difficult for the group to hire and retain talent. But it is easier to recruit these days, particularly on the mainland, where many young professionals are eager to join a multinational company, he added.
“But do we need more elite people to join us? I think the answer is yes, particularly in the Greater Bay Area,” Xie said.
The group’s business is improving as corporate and leisure travel recovers in China.
The report states that while traditional favorites such as South Korea and Japan remain popular, new destinations are emerging. Australia and Malaysia entered the top 10 destinations for Chinese travelers, with the former rising seven places and the latter jumping from 18th to ninth.
There has been a rise in the number of corporate travelers booking some leisure time at the end of their trips — a trend sometimes referred to in the industry as bleisure.
FCM has seen a roughly 40 percent increase in “bleisure” travel, as difficulty in obtaining visas and slow international air capacity compared to pre-pandemic levels have made business travelers more willing to extend their trips.
Business travelers from China most often stay in Asia, with Singapore being the top destination, according to Flight Center data. Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul and Frankfurt were the other most popular destinations.
Singapore maintains its lead as the top destination for Chinese business travelers in 2024, and its appeal has been boosted by the 30-day visa-free entry agreement agreed in January.
