On the face of it, the economic problems that surfaced towards the end of the last decade are fading into the distance, but the present climate still poses a number of challenges for small businesses in a variety of sectors.

This is the beginning of the end for the contact centre. For half a century now companies have used contact centres when they had more customer calls or IT helpdesk queries than they could handle, or when they wanted to outsource customer service or technical support to a specialist, leaving them free to focus on their core business.

Hoteliers are seeing the benefits of online advertising as it increasingly drives bookings through property websites, according to a survey by hotel market intelligence provider TravelClick, and as a result, they are ramping up the marketing spend in the area.

This month we are encouraging procurement and travel buyers to review the effectiveness of their hotel procurement programmes to ensure that companies really optimise their hotel procurement and make substantial savings.

According to Sunshine.co.uk, more than half of Brits couldn?t say how long was left on their current passport without checking their documents.

Whether it is online travel agency Orbitz, which last year was named as the best company in the travel sector to work for, or SouthWest Airlines with its flexible working, travel and medical benefits, and ongoing career development, or the Four Seasons hotel chain with its friends and family discounts, there is no shortage of companies in the travel sector that are investing significant amounts of time and money in building a strong culture.