The Flight Centre Travel Group continues its expansion in the United States with a generous investment in a Washington DC-based travel business called ‘The Upside Travel Company’.
Confirmed this morning, the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) purchased 25 percent in the corporate business that opened in 2017 by Priceline Founder Jay Walker.
As part of the stake, Flight Centre will gain access to The Upside Travel Company’s technology platform and software development resources. The pair will also work together on various distribution initiatives that combine FCTG’s understanding of the corporate travel space with Upside’s technical assets.
The Upside Travel Company was founded in 2017 by Jay Walker.
Graham Turner, FCTG Managing Director, believes that having a stake in the “next generation corporate online travel agency” will help the group disrupt traditional offerings in the corporate sector.
“Fast-tracking our overall growth in this huge travel sector by offering customers the benefits of a new, blended on and offline offering.”
Graham Turner, Flight Centre Travel Group Managing Director
“This offering will be deployed in the Americas in the near term and has been earmarked for release in the UK in the medium-term.”
For Upside, the deal substantially bolsters the company’s product offering to the small corporate market, where it will continue to operate under the Upside brand.
Access to FCTG’s supplier relationships and global reach will expand Upside’s inventory and enhance its ongoing software development with a broader set of travel data inputs.
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