FCM boosts eastern Europe Network - new office in Bulgaria

FCM Travel Solutions has extended its partnership with the company's Romanian affiliate, Happy Tour Group, to open a new office in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

The global travel management company first partnered with Happy Tour Group in 2009 to establish operations in Romania. Now FCm has expanded its partner agreement to offer local business travel services in Bulgaria.

Located in the MHQ building in Sophia's central business district, FCm Bulgaria will be dedicated to the corporate travel market and offer end-to-end travel and account management services to companies across a range of industries including pharmaceutical, finance and banking, construction and marine and offshore firms.

General manager of FCm's European network, Franziskus Bumm, said FCm was pleased to be extending an existing partner relationship as it meant both businesses were already in sync operationally and from a branding perspective.

""South East Europe is a critical market for FCm globally so it's great to see we're boosting our local services in the region. With Happy Tour Group already being a member of our global network, the growth of the FCm brand and business within the Bulgarian market is expected to progress quickly. FCm Bulgaria will benefit from working closely with their colleagues in Romania, who have an excellent understanding of FCm's network and our clients," Franziskus Bumm said.

Javier Garcia del Valle, Happy Tour Group CEO, said Bulgaria was an emerging business travel market that needed on-the-ground corporate travel services for the growing number of companies establishing operations in both Bulgaria and its neighbouring countries.

"We see a lot of domestic travel to the east of Bulgaria to places like Ruse, which is a key river port for the country's international trade," Javier Garcia de Valle said. "There's also a high volume of travel to the UK, Germany and Austria as many multinational companies have their European headquarters in these countries.

"We've seen an increasing number of companies that have their head offices in Romania extend their operations to Bulgaria which has increased travel volumes over the border," he added. "There is also demand for specialist marine and offshore travel services in Bulgaria as well as travel management specific to the mining and resource industries. This new agreement with FCm comes at an opportune time and our corporate travel division in Romania looks forward to spreading its wings into Bulgaria with the global support and backing of FCm"