It is Friday afternoon in Nairobi. A corporate travel agency has just confirmed several international bookings for a client whose executives are expected to travel the following week. The tickets are issued immediately. The airline expects payment within days. But the company being billed may not settle the invoice until the end of the month.
For many Kenyan travel agents, the waiting period between paying airlines and receiving payment from clients is where the real business pressure lies.
Now, discussions about a possible proposal to shorten remittance timelines under the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) are raising concerns across the industry, with agencies warning that any such move could significantly disrupt cash flow in the local market.
While no official changes have been announced, the prospect alone has sparked debate within Kenya’s travel trade.
The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) has cautioned that shorter remittance cycles, if implemented, could place heavy financial pressure on agencies by requiring them to remit funds to airlines long before corporate clients settle their accounts.
At the centre of the concern is a business model that differs sharply from many global markets.
In Kenya, corporate and government travel continue to form a substantial share of agency business. Unlike leisure travellers who pay instantly online using cards or mobile payments, many organizations operate on invoicing arrangements that can take weeks, sometimes longer, to clear.
That means travel agents often absorb the financial gap themselves.
Under the BSP system, accredited agencies collect ticket payments on behalf of airlines before remitting funds through IATA’s centralized settlement structure. The system has long served as the financial backbone of global airline distribution, handling billions of dollars in ticket sales every year.
But agents warn that if remittance timelines were ever shortened, the burden would shift heavily onto agencies already operating within tight margins.
In practical terms, a travel company could issue millions of shillings worth of airline tickets in a week while still waiting for payment from clients whose internal procurement and finance processes move much more slowly. Yet airline obligations would remain immediate.
Industry stakeholders say that the dynamic could create serious liquidity pressure, particularly for small and medium-sized agencies without access to large cash reserves or affordable credit facilities.
Critics within the sector argue that global policy conversations often overlook the realities of emerging markets, where credit-based business remains common, and cash flow management is central to survival.
For many travel agencies, the fear is not necessarily about growth slowing down but about sustainability itself.
Observers warn that stricter remittance demands could eventually accelerate consolidation within the industry, favouring larger players with stronger financial muscle while smaller travel agencies struggle to keep up.
That would have wider implications for Kenya’s travel ecosystem, where independent agencies continue to play a critical role in corporate travel management, customer service, regional tourism, and complex itinerary planning.
The discussion also comes at a time when the global aviation industry is undergoing rapid transformation. Airlines are increasingly shifting toward modern retailing models powered by New Distribution Capability (NDC), giving carriers more control over pricing, distribution, and customer data.
While these developments promise greater efficiency and personalization, Kenyan agents insist that financial realities must remain part of the conversation.
For KATA and industry stakeholders, the issue goes beyond operational timelines. It is about ensuring that global aviation systems evolve in a way that reflects local market conditions rather than imposing structures that may work in mature economies but create strain in developing ones.
Because in Kenya’s travel business, issuing the ticket is often the easy part.
The harder part is surviving long enough to get paid for it.
