Mark Cullen
Chief Commercial Officer, Amadeus Cytric Solutions
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Valued at more than US$1.5 trillion in 2025, the business travel sector is diverse, innovative and flexible. Competition is fierce, with start-ups battling established players for contracts, leaving corporate travel managers free to select the transformative technology that best suits the needs of their businesses.
But is this survival-of-the-fittest approach coming under pressure? Will an accelerating trend toward consolidation limit choice for corporates and business travelers themselves as they take the road?
Here I would like to look at how the options corporate travel managers have to source, manage, and optimize travel programs are being reshaped by changes in the technology landscape and argue, in this new environment, that freedom of choice is more important than ever.
Flexible choice in corporate travel
Firstly, what do we mean by freedom of choice when it comes to corporate travel management?
For Amadeus Cytric, the term means building a platform where customers can select the most suitable vendors, partners, routes and policies to meet their specific travel needs. It means a world without excessive restrictions or forced limitations. A world where corporate travel managers can mix and match the best solutions for their business, ensuring a travel program is always optimized for performance, with all the latest innovations.
This approach allows organizations to use new features, such as AI-powered tools, no matter which partner they work with. In some cases, platforms may limit access to certain capabilities to certain customers.
This freedom can translate into real business value. When corporate travel managers have the flexibility to configure travel programs to align with their goals, perhaps cost efficiency, traveler wellbeing or sustainability, they unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation. A flexible platform allows them to react faster to regulatory change, market disruption or new employee expectations, avoiding the rigidity that can hold back innovation and competitiveness.
For us, flexibility means not locking corporations into a single provider for travel technology, content or management. It means not making it harder for companies to choose the best, most cost-effective and operationally sound travel options to meet their needs.
Open to everyone, equally
This flexibility-first approach has a number of benefits.
For example, corporate travel managers have the ability to select the online travel management tool, expense platform, analytics solution or even the GDS most suited to their needs, regardless of the travel management company (TMC) they work with. Taking a modular approach means global corporations can also select the tools they need and tailor programs to the requirements of different regions, business units or traveler segments.
A flexible approach also frees travel managers to negotiate better deals for each component of a technology stack, while making innovation easier. Each corporation can quickly adopt new technology, like AI-powered booking tools, rather than waiting for a tech supplier to do so. By keeping travel technology decisions separate from the selection of a TMC, corporate travel managers can adapt quickly if a provider changes services, prices increase or if new needs arise, for example.
Perhaps most important of all, corporates can prioritize the needs of travelers, with more inventory, better rates and smoother, more intuitive user experiences. There is no more one-size-fits-all approach, just transformative technology that works.
Cytric solutions are available to all travel management companies (TMCs), equally. This allows organizations to access a range of content and technology options, without being tied to a single TMC.
Focus on choice
At Amadeus Cytric, we believe corporate travel managers should be free to work with the TMC of their choice. They should have access to a wide range of content, alongside the opportunities to adopt solutions tailored to their needs. By offering seamless integration with Microsoft 365, AI-powered features and open APIs, we offer the control they need to make the decisions that are right for them.
With minimal reconfiguration, plug-and-play integrations and dedicated support, Amadeus Cytric is able to offer a smooth transition for corporate travel managers looking for a more flexible approach to transformative technology.
All customers are a priority for us, and our long-standing presence across the travel tech ecosystem means we can manage complexity with ease—even in times of uncertainty, when established relationships matter most.
