Bangkok - Diethelm Tours is seeking to establish a relationship with a global corporate travel partner to replace business lost as a result of the acquisition of Rosenbluth by American Express.

Rosenbluth’s contract with Diethelm Tours was not renewed when it expired in the middle of August, following the announcement in July that American Express had signed a definitive agreement to buy Rosenbluth.

Diethelm Tours, which is owned by Diethelm Travel Asia, had only been working with Rosenbluth in Thailand for one year. About 12 of its 40-strong workforce focused on Rosenbluth business. But Diethelm Travel Asia CEO, Mr John Watson, told BTN there was no question of layoffs.

“I expect to be able to announce the name of a new partner by the end of December. I’m looking at alternatives for a linkup with a global network and will probably have a dialogue with several of the leading companies,” Mr Watson said.

He declined to be drawn into which companies he might be talking with, but analysts believe the list would probably include Business Travel International (BTI), TQ3, Navigant and Singapore-based Global Star.

BTI is currently working with Federal Travel in Thailand with which it formed a partnership in March 2002, following a failed two-year relationship with Siam Express. Mr Watson refused to speculate on the likelihood of doing a deal with BTI, although he acknowledged he had strong ties with BTI. Mr Watson was director of global partnership and supplier relations at the company’s central office in the UK.

Meanwhile, Diethelm Tours is also looking to increase its presence in Asia through acquisitions of agencies in the region which have a strong focus on corporate travel.

“There is an opportunity to substantially grow our corporate travel business in Asia. I’m very interested in exploring new markets in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and emerging markets,” he said.