The Travel Management Center (TMC) is an accredited travel agency that is under contract with the Government to provide travel services for official Temporary Duty (TDY) travel. The TMC issues tickets that are requested and approved through the E-Gov Travel Service. Travel agencies are professional organizations that sell airline tickets and provide other travel services.
The TMC needs to be reimbursed for their portion of making travel arrangements. This is done by charging a TMC Fee for online booking in the E-Gov Travel Service. The online booking feature initiates automated contact with the TMC’s booking, reservation, and ticketing systems. Travelers are encouraged to use the online booking because it is the most cost effective for the government. However, when trying to make foreign travel arrangements, travelers sometimes have to call the TMC directly. Calling the TMC directly is more costly for the government because it incurs a touched transaction.
There are touched transactions and Non-Touched transactions. For touched transactions, the TMC agent has to help the traveler make the correct reservations. The TMC provides help desk assistance to federal travelers for making reservations and emergency travel. Non-Touched transactions are booked online by the traveler and they do not require any assistance from the TMC agent. Travelers should try to book reservations themselves before calling the TMC. The convenience of calling the TMC is nice; however, it costs more money for their agency and the government. Travelers need to be aware that anytime a change is made after the initial reservation has been ticketed, additional fees are charged. The FTR requires all government travelers to be prudent.
By: John Duncan
Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.