Businesses that use a TMC gain 20 cents of additional revenue for each additional $1 spent on managed travel, according to new research from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). The research, based on thousands of travel transactions and conducted by Rockport Analytics, was shared by ASTA CEO Zane Kerby during the society’s Travel Industry Forecast at the National Press Club earlier this week.

ASTA has recently stepped up its initiatives around corporate travel, including the launch of ASTA Corporate earlier this year and an inaugural Corporate Travel Executive forum to be held later this week. Kerby said, “Managed travel is clearly supportive of top-line revenue growth.”

Lee Thomas, ASTA’s board chair and co-founder of NousTravel in Austin, said he thinks about the 20-cent figure as a 20% return on investment.

Dave Hershberger, president of Prestige Travel in Cincinnati, said he believes the 20% figure would be even higher — 25% to 30% — for companies that move from unmanaged travel to a thoughtful travel program. For instance, said Hershberger, prospective clients have no idea about how many dollars they have in used tickets, and that is just one category among many revenue opportunities that could easily get to the 20% level.