EDCTP organises a lot of meetings. Some of these meetings bring together up to 700 participants. The types of meetings EDCTP organises include:

• Stakeholder meetings;
• Scientific review committee meetings;
• Strategic Advisory Committee meetings; and
• Official missions by EDCTP staff.

 

We require the services of an experienced IATA accredited Travel Agent with a wider branch network in Africa and Europe to provide air travel related services to EDCTP staff and professionals travelling on EDCTP business. These services include:

• Making flight reservations, bookings and issuing of flight tickets for international travels, including ensuring EDCTP obtains a competitive airfare for all flight ticket purchases
• Providing a user-friendly online booking tool for use by EDCTP staff
• Providing periodic statements to the EDCTP detailing the flight tickets purchased during the relevant period
• Providing 24-hour telephone support service for travellers
• Notifying travellers of known flight cancellations and delays
• Assisting travellers, where required, to recovery lost packages
• Ensuring that EDCTP receives all refunds it is entitled to on a timely basis.

 

View the full Terms of Reference (PDF) of for this request for proposal.

Proposals should be submitted on or before midnight 8 April 2018.

For more information, contact Ms Andreia Coelho, EDCTP Administrative Support Officer, coelho[at]edctp.org, during working hours (Tuesday – Friday, 9.30 -17.30).

UPDATE 09 March 2018

EDCTP received several questions regarding this tender from potential tenderers. Questions and answers are shared below:

Question 1: Has the EDCTP the so-called ANBI status?
EDCTP: No, we don’t have ANBI status.

Question 2: Please provide us with the following:
a. Number of tickets and corresponding volume over 2017
EDCTP: The volume of business varies from year to year. For example, in 2017, the total monetary value of the € 507,510 (five hundred and seven thousand five hundred and ten euros) and in 2016, it was €733,030 (seven hundred and thirty-three thousand and thirty euros). We have a big meeting in 2018, and we therefore expect the volume in 2018 to be higher than 2017. On average, we purchase about six hundred tickets a year.
b. Number of hotel bookings and corresponding volume over 2017
c. Number of train tickets booked and corresponding volume over 2017
d. Number of car rental reservations and corresponding volume over 2017
EDCTP: Your questions b, c and d are outside the scope of this contract.

Question 3: What percentage of the bookings are made via the online booking tool?
EDCTP: In moving forward, we intend for majority, if not all, of our bookings to be via the online booking tool.

Question 4: What percentage of the bookings concern groups (10 travellers or more)?
EDCTP: We did not explore group bookings in the past because for most of meetings, our travellers come from different locations.

Question 5: Can you confirm that EDCTP does not allow the use of so-called (non-visible) markups on the net prices of tickets and hotel bookings and other travel-related components?
EDCTP: We expect our travel agents to pass all discounts and offers to EDCTP and only charge us a transaction fee.

Question 6: Are we allowed to ask for clarifications if the provided answers cause confusion?
EDCTP: Yes, tenderers are free to ask any questions they have regarding this tender. All questions and answers, in line with our procurement policies and procedures, will be placed on our website.

Question 7: Do you share the answers on all questions received from all bidders by combining them as one document prior to communication?
EDCTP: We will answer all questions received as soon as possible. As noted in the ToR, all enquiries and request for information will be made available to the public on the EDCTP website.

Question 8: Will there be only one supplier selected for the provision of travel-related services?
EDCTP: This will be a decision of the Evaluation Committee that will be set-up for this procurement; they will evaluate the proposals to see whether it makes economic sense to have two providers instead of one.

Question 9: Could you inform us about your intended time schedule relating to this RFP with regards to the award phase and start of cooperation?
EDCTP: Our plan is to evaluate the proposals received as soon as possible. We intend to start the evaluation immediately after the closing date.

Question 10: You ask us to provide names of past and present customers. Do you intend to contact them as reference? If so, we need to ask for approval in advance?
EDCTP: Yes, we may contact any of your past of present customers you have specified in your proposal.

Question 11: Could you provide us with a draft of your contract and your general terms and conditions?
EDCTP: A sample of our general service provider contract is on our procurement policies and procedures manual, which you can find on our website. Please note that this is a general contract template which undoubtedly will be adjusted to suit the contract we will be signing with the selected travel agent.

Question 12: You ask for assistance with the recovery of lost packages of travellers, please clarify.
EDCTP: Most travellers, if not all, are familiar with the procedures for reporting lost packages and we don’t expect much assistance from you in this area. We included this in the TOR only purposes of obtaining general information regarding your experience of the route and airline.

Question 13: Could you provide us the weighing percentage (e.g. quality 60% / price 40%) of the two evaluation criteria?
EDCTP: As you can see in the TOR, a minimum score for the technical proposal will be specified by the evaluation committee. A quality-price ratio will be calculated only for the proposals that exceed the minimum score for the technical proposal, and the proposal with the highest quality-price ratio will be selected.

Update 20 March 2018

Question 14: Is this tender only for flights or do you want us to propose our fees on all our services?
EDCTP: As per the terms of reference, it’s mainly for flights.

Question 15: On the terms of reference, the proposal fee needs to be in euros, is there no way we can propose in Rand due to the euro rate not being fixed daily?
EDCTP: As per the terms of reference, the proposed fee must be in euros.

Update 27 March 2018

Question 16: Is the tender issued per country or its awarded to a successful bidder competing to all the countries?
EDCTP: It is not practical to have a travel agent in each country. At this stage we cannot say whether we will have one or two providers; this will be a decision of the Evaluation Committee for this procurement. It will evaluate the proposals to see whether it makes economic sense to have one or two providers.

Update 29 March 2018

Question 17: With regard to the tender for travel management services, is there a maximum number of pages the proposal needs to be?
EDCTP: No.

Question 18: I received your tender request for provision of travel-related services, and I would like to inquire if there is any other documentation or vendor application that I need to complete prior to submitting our proposal no later than 8 April 2018?
EDCTP: It this stage it is not necessary.

Question 19: Does EDCTP have a pricing schedule for the above-mentioned tender?
EDCTP: We don’t have a pricing schedule for this procurement.

Update 03 April 2018

Question 20: We received a request concerning transaction volumes and a more specific breakdown of transactions.
EDCTP: Please see the answer provided above with regard to the transaction volumes (response to question 2) and please note that almost all of this concerns international air travel. (We do not keep track of regional air travel.)

Question 21: Please advise if you have a travel policy in place?
EDCTP: Yes.

Question 22: EDCTP requires a Travel Agent with a wider branch network in Africa and Europa. Can EDCTP inform us on the locations used for travel-related requests or are all request processed by EDCTP in The Netherlands only?
EDCTP: Requests may originate from either of our two offices (which are located in the Netherlands and South Africa).

Update 05 April 2018

Question 23: With reference to Tender for the travel-related services can you please give an indication of the percentage split between the below travel: Air Travel (International Travel ( Inbound and Outbound); Regional Travel ( Inbound and outbound) – All countries on the border of South Africa; Domestic travel – Within South Africa); Accommodation (International Travel; Regional Travel; Domestic travel – Within South Africa); Conferences (International Travel; Regional Travel; Domestic travel – Within South Africa).
EDCTP: Please see answers provided above (question 2 and 20).

Question 24: Please advise if you have a specific pricing template for us to complete or can we submit our  standard pricing sheet, even though you state that accommodation and car hire are outside the scope of this bid?
EDCTP: We don’t have a pricing template for this tender. Please see answer provided above (question 19).

Question 25: What do you mean with strategic partners, including branch networks?
EDCTP: Any partnerships that you may make use of in providing the requested travel related services.