10-minute read
Faster support. Stronger expertise. Greater influence. Quicker outcomes. Prioritised investment.
But don’t just take our word for it!
CT Connections has been named Most Outstanding Australian-Owned Travel Management Company at the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIAs) for the second consecutive year, winning in 2025 and 2026.
If you’re considering a new TMC partnership, the question to ask should be: What tangible outcomes could ‘outstanding’ travel management deliver for my travel program?
Here’s what ‘outstanding’ looks like for our customers.
SKIP TO:
- Service – 90% of phone enquiries resolved on the spot
- Strategic Partnerships – Investing in the skills to drive commercial outcomes
- Innovation – Speed to market maximises client savings
- Influence – Dynamic client, supplier and employee engagement events
- Relevance – Local ownership puts Australian business needs first
1. Outstanding Service: When expert travel support saves your business time and money
The challenge: Your people are wasting valuable time waiting for travel support
Cancelled flights, urgent changes and complex bookings interrupt working days. Slow support leaves travellers and bookers chasing answers and managing problems themselves, affecting productivity, confidence and the employee experience.
Our solution: Fast answers backed by capable people
CT Connections combines responsive service with the expertise to act fast:
| Service measure | CT Connections |
|---|---|
| Average phone answer time | 10 seconds |
| Service requests resolved on the spot | 90% |
| Client satisfaction | 88.3% |
| After-hours and emergency support satisfaction | 89% |
Resolving 90% of requests on the spot reduces the time your team spends managing repeated calls, handovers and ongoing tasks relating to updates.
Importantly, our service standards continue seamlessly 24/7, supported by our in-house, Australian-based after-hours team, meaning your people receive expert assistance wherever and whenever they need it.
What would outstanding service deliver to your travel program?
Less time chasing support, faster decisions and greater confidence when plans change.
2. Outstanding Strategic Partnerships: When your travel team provides strategy, not just booking support
The challenge: Your TMC doesn’t understand your unique business needs and commercial objectives
Airline distribution, technology and traveller expectations are changing fast alongside your business strategy and operating environment.
Your program needs people who understand those changes, recognise new opportunities and connect them to your budget, policies and commercial priorities.
Our solution: Invest in the people who support your business to perform
CT Connections builds capability through curiosity and consultative selling programs, supplier briefings, industry education, strategic learning and development, and emerging talent development.
We help our people think commercially, communicate clearly and solve client challenges pro-actively. For our clients, this supports:
- Strategic program conversations aligned with business priorities.
- Consultative account management.
- Consistent service standards.
- Faster onboarding and technology adoption.
- Travel experts who work as an extension of your team.
Our 99.2% staff retention supports partnership continuity, preserving knowledge and relationships across your business.
It’s how we deliver our ‘Absolutely’ service promise: understand the need, take ownership of the solution, and find a way forward.
What would an outstanding strategic partnership deliver to your travel program?
A commercially-informed travel team that helps business travel drive better results for your business.
3. Outstanding Innovation: Delivering new tech at speed to accelerate customer savings
The challenge: Outdated travel tools are creating costs, not savings
Missed airfare savings, incomplete reporting and cumbersome booking processes affect travel costs, staff efficiency and travel program performance. Your technology needs to keep pace with change and deliver ongoing improvements.
Our solution: Invest in new tech that solves real problems
CT Connections invests in the right technology and partnerships to improve savings, strengthen decisions and reduce administration. Our clients’ challenges guide those investments.
- “I can get it cheaper online”
Our proactive approach to New Distribution Capability (NDC) helped clients save an average 9% on Qantas airfares. With 100% NDC activation, ~80% adoption and 20 airline partners, our technology leads the market in NDC readiness and adoption.
- “I don’t have the full picture”
Our ConnXus Intelligence reporting platform delivers real-time data and insights, giving clients greater visibility and control over travel spend and program performance. Reliable, transparent reporting helps teams scrutinise costs, identify savings opportunities and make informed decisions with confidence.
- “My booking tool slows me down”
We were the first TMC to implement ‘ello, an AI-powered booking tool that simplifies booking through intuitive, conversational technology. Clients spend less time navigating booking systems and more time focused on their job.
What would outstanding innovation deliver to your travel program?
Quicker access to savings, clearer insights and more efficient travel management.
4. Outstanding Influence: Making your business feel like a big fish in a small pond
The challenge: Your voice gets lost in the crowd
Many businesses joining CT Connections from larger global TMCs describe standardised service, slow responses and limited influence over available solutions.
Our solution: Build influential relationships that give your business a voice
Our clients help shape our product and service roadmap through regular opportunities to share feedback, discuss challenges and influence priorities. Over the past year, we created a diverse and dynamic calendar of events and engagement opportunities to connect our clients, employees and supplier partners, including:
- Client Innovation Forums and Client Advisory Forums.
- Travel Strategy & Insights Sessions.
- Travel Program Health Checks and quarterly program reviews.
- Annual client surveys.
- Client networking events and supplier engagement sessions.
These events give clients direct access to relevant airline, hotel and other travel suppliers, alongside our travel experts. Clients can explore products, discuss requirements and build relationships with people who directly influence their program’s performance.
These relationships also strengthen our team’s supplier knowledge and ability to advocate for your business.
Our 97.2% client retention reflects clients’ continued confidence in CT Connections.
What would outstanding influence deliver to your travel program?
More opportunities to share your views, greater influence over decisions and development roadmaps, and meaningful relationships that support your business needs.
5. Outstanding Relevance: Australian business priorities always come first
The challenge: Global TMCs don’t prioritise Australian business needs
Australian travel programs have distinct requirements, from regional and remote travel to domestic airline duopolies, industry needs, governance and economic conditions.
When decisions come from a global head office, Australian businesses can find themselves competing with larger markets for critical investment, resources and attention.
Our solution: Australian ownership, local understanding and priority investment
CT Connections is proudly Australian-owned and operated. We understand our clients’ business environment and shape our services, supplier strategies and technology around Australian travel needs.
Your priorities guide our decisions without being superseded by another global region.
Private ownership also supports long-term investment. Without external shareholders demanding a share of profits, we can actively reinvest in our people, client solutions and technology to keep improving your travel experience and program performance.
What would outstanding relevance deliver to your program?
A TMC partner who understands your home market, prioritises your needs and invests in your travel program’s future.
Work with a TMC that can elevate your travel program from average to outstanding
Winning the NTIA award for two consecutive years recognises our ongoing commitment to developing the very best people, technology and partnerships, as well as the competitive relevance of our solutions to today’s business travel environment.
For your business, that commitment delivers responsive support, informed advice, strategic connections and a voice that is heard.
Talk to CT Connections today about what outstanding travel management could deliver for your program, travellers and business.
Take your travel program from average to outstanding.
Contact CT Connections today.
FAQs
What are the benefits of using an award-winning travel management company?
An award-winning travel management company (TMC) can help businesses improve travel program performance through expert support, strategic advice and technology that delivers savings and efficiencies. CT Connections’ approach focuses on five benefits: responsive service, knowledgeable travel teams, practical innovation, influential client and supplier relationships, and solutions that prioritise Australian business needs.
Why was CT Connections named Most Outstanding Australian-Owned Travel Management Company?
CT Connections won Most Outstanding Australian-Owned Travel Management Company at the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIAs) in 2025 and 2026. The assessment includes a written submission, live presentation and Q&A with industry experts, covering business performance, people, technology, partnerships and customer outcomes. The recognition reflects CT Connections’ ongoing investment in its team, client solutions and service delivery.
How does CT Connections deliver tangible results for corporate travel programs?
CT Connections combines fast service, commercial expertise and technology to help businesses reduce costs, save time and make better travel decisions. Its team answers calls in an average of 10 seconds and resolves 90% of service requests on the spot. Its proactive adoption of New Distribution Capability (NDC) helped clients save an average of 9% on Qantas airfares, while real-time reporting through ConnXus Intelligence gives businesses greater visibility over travel spend and program performance.
