FCM and the University of Sydney extend partnership

Flight Centre Travel Group’s flagship large market corporate travel division, FCM, has partnered with the University of Sydney as its sole provider of travel management services.

The announcement comes as the latest figures show the number of education industry bookings soared year-on-year. FCM internal data revealed that between 01 January 2022-31 May 2022 and 01 January 2023-31 May 2023, travel for the education sector more than tripled in and out of Sydney, as borders reopened and the competition for local, interstate, and overseas students took off.

The relationship with Australia’s first university confirms FCM’s commitment to Australia’s higher education sector after supporting international students to travel to New South Wales and the University of Sydney during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This relationship with Australia’s oldest university will extend FCM’s role in supporting international students to travel to New South Wales.

The University of Sydney is home to around 70,000* students, with 420,000 alumni across more than 170 countries, with over 250 exchange opportunities available.

“Following a robust, collaborative and competitive procurement process, we have chosen to partner with FCM to deliver all our travel needs,” the University of Sydney’s Vice-President Operations, Stephen Phillips, said.

“We originally started working with FCM following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their global reach and the positive feedback their customer service received from across the University during 2022 supported our decision.”

Melissa Elf, Flight Centre Corporate Managing Director ANZ, said it was a true honour to be the travel partner for Australia’s first university.

“The relationships we have within the education sector underpins the industry-leading service that our expert travel managers are able to provide our customers with – being able to partner with the University of Sydney is a testament to the hard work and track record of our people,” Ms Elf said.

_{*Based on student enrolments as at March 2021.}