RMS/260828-Provision of travel agency and event management services

This is a public procurement (open procedure) led by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for a single-supplier framework contract to provide integrated travel agency and event management services to ECDC and participating EU agencies. The scope includes business travel bookings, accommodation, visa support, reimbursements, 24/7 emergency helpdesk and end-to-end event services including venue sourcing, AV/IT, catering, local staffing and security for EU/EEA and international destinations. The framework has a maximum duration of 48 months, is awarded on the best price-quality ratio (60% quality, 40% price) and has an estimated ceiling value of €36 million. Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 16 November 2026 at 16:00 Europe/Stockholm time.

Opportunity type

Call for tenders ECDC/2026/OP/0012 (open procedure)

Footnotes

1. 1Full procurement documents and submission details are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal.

Opportunity summary

What this tender is for

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (lead contracting authority) invites tenders to award a single-supplier framework service contract for travel agency and event management services to be used by ECDC and four participating entities: ECDC, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and Cedefop. The framework covers booking, issuing and management of individual and group travel and accommodation, travel-related services (visa processing, insurance, reimbursements), a 24/7 travel helpdesk and end-to-end event management services including venue sourcing, AV/IT, catering, onsite local staff, security/safety, shipments and storage, VIP/protocol services and associated reimbursements. Services are required mainly in EU/EEA countries and also outside the EU/EEA.

Key tender features

Who can apply and how

Eligible applicant types

Consortium requirement

Procedure allows either single tenderer or a consortium (joint tender). If a group tender is submitted without separate legal personality, a group leader must be appointed and all members assume joint and several liability.

Geographic eligibility

Financial and contractual details

Funding and contract model

This is a services framework agreement (FWC) for travel and event services. The FWC ceiling is €36,000,000 (estimated overall contract amount). The FWC is single-supplier, with specific contracts/order forms issued against the FWC for events, missions and associated reimbursables. The award criterion split used in the tender documents is quality 60% and price 40%.

Price model and reimbursement

Tenderers must complete Annex 6 Financial tender form. The financial model includes unit prices for a long list of deliverables (booking e-tickets, modifications, cancellations, accommodation nights, visa assistance, event venue packages, AV/IT, catering, local staff, payments to external participants in cash/wire transfers, etc.). Reimbursable third-party costs (payments to airlines, hotels, venues, subcontractors) are invoiced and reimbursed on proof. The FWC includes fixed price elements and reimbursement of verified actual costs. The contractor may receive pre-financing for events in defined circumstances and interim payments; payment terms and invoicing are detailed in the draft FWC and special conditions.

Service scope and technical requirements

Minimum quality requirements and SLAs are defined in Annex 10 Service Level Agreement; written deliverables must meet C1-level English (British English) and the contractor must ensure business continuity, disaster recovery and data protection compliance. The contracting authority may require an Online Booking Tool assessment (Annex 13 SaaS assessment tool) and reserves the right to adopt the OBT later.

Eligibility, selection and award criteria

Operational and reporting requirements

Practical submission notes

All tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using an EU Login account. A PIC is mandatory. Attachments must follow eSubmission system requirements (maximum file size 50 MB per attachment; up to 200 files per submission). Do not submit tenders by email or post. Questions must be submitted through the Portal Q&A tool within deadlines; the contracting authority is not bound to answer questions submitted after the date specified in the contract notice.

How the evaluation proceeds and contract award

Important technical and policy constraints

Footnotes

1. 1Official call for tenders, documents and procurement data are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu. See tender dossier, Annexes and draft FWC for full contractual and specification detail.

RMS/260828 Provision of travel agency and event management services

This is a public procurement opportunity, not a grant. The contracting authority is seeking an economic operator to provide travel agency, travel administration, accommodation, participant reimbursement and event management services under a framework agreement for several EU agencies and bodies.

The official opportunity is published on the European Commission Funding and Tenders Portal: EU Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity.

Opportunity identification

The procurement is identified as ECDC/2026/OP/0012 and RMS/260828. The TED reference is 198/2026, notice number 705909-2026. The lead contracting authority is the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, acting on behalf of participating EU agencies and bodies.

The participating entities are ECDC, the European Fisheries Control Agency, the European Environment Agency and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. The tender specifications allow the list of participating entities to be extended to other EU institutions, agencies or bodies created under the Treaties or secondary Union law after publication of the procedure.

Key procurement facts

The principal procurement facts are as follows.

Scope of the procurement

The contract is intended to support the participating entities' staff, external participants, delegates, experts, partners and event attendees. Services may be required within Europe and internationally, including destinations outside the European Union and European Economic Area and locations presenting increased security or travel risks.

The main service streams are as follows.

The procurement covers events such as meetings, training sessions, workshops, conferences, seminars, team building activities, internal staff events, high profile conferences, VIP visits, working lunches and dinners.

Important exclusions

The tender specifications identify several services that are outside the scope for particular participating entities. Examples include certain security, catering and interpretation services for high level meetings at ECDC or EEA premises, activities organised by other contractors or grant beneficiaries, certain outreach and capacity building activities, ESCAIDE related event management, and event management services for Cedefop.

Tenderers should rely on the detailed tender specifications and annexes to identify the precise exclusions applicable to each participating entity. A bid should not assume that every service category will be ordered by every agency.

Contract structure and demand

The successful tenderer will enter into a framework agreement. Each participating entity may use the framework autonomously by concluding specific contracts or order forms with the contractor. The estimated value represents the contracting authorities' maximum estimated procurement value and is not a guaranteed level of expenditure.

The financial evaluation workbook contains an illustrative consumption scenario for the maximum contract duration. The scenario is used to compare tenders and does not constitute a commitment by the contracting authorities to order the indicated quantities.

The financial form includes a 10 percent contingency calculated automatically on the offered total price. The reference price must not exceed the estimated maximum budget for the contract, excluding reimbursable expenses, as defined in the procurement documents.

Travel service requirements

The contractor must provide travel options and bookings in accordance with the agencies' travel policies, instructions, budget ceilings, corporate rates and reimbursement rules. The majority of travel is expected to be within Europe, but travel to other continents and higher risk destinations is also envisaged.

The tender specifications distinguish between standard and urgent travel. Standard travel is generally requested at least five working days before departure, while urgent travel is requested less than five working days before departure. The indicative split is approximately 90 percent standard travel and 10 percent urgent travel.

Indicative response times include the following.

Travel quotations must provide sufficient itinerary and fare information, including carrier, departure and arrival times, ticket class, fare and taxes, booking conditions, cancellation and change rules, baggage allowance, contact details, offer validity and carbon dioxide emissions where applicable.

The contractor must seek cost effective and environmentally appropriate options, avoid airlines appearing on the EU Air Safety List, support accessibility requirements, manage modifications and cancellations, recover available refunds and arrange full premium insurance for vehicle rentals.

Accommodation requirements

Accommodation must generally be suitable for business travel and located close to the meeting venue unless otherwise requested. For individual bookings, the contractor must normally provide at least three options, including the traveller's preferred hotel where applicable, together with distance or public transport information and the applicable change and cancellation conditions.

Bookings must be guaranteed and not placed on a waiting list. The contractor must seek favourable rates and cancellation conditions, observe relevant budget ceilings, communicate when no option can be found below the applicable ceiling and minimise no show and late cancellation penalties.

For events, the contractor should normally accommodate participants in one hotel or in a limited number of hotels with equivalent quality, comfort and location standards. The contractor may be required to hold room blocks, manage rooming lists, coordinate arrivals and departures and liaise with hotels throughout the event.

Event management requirements

Event services can include venue sourcing and approval, event logistics, participant registration, catering, accommodation, transfers, technical production, local staffing, security coordination, protocol, social programmes, permits, materials, storage and post event administration.

Venues must be proposed to and approved by the relevant contracting authority before confirmation. Event arrangements must address accessibility, safety, security, sustainability, public transport access, waste reduction, efficient use of resources and the avoidance of conflicts of interest in supplier and venue selection.

The contractor may need to organise events in EU and EEA countries, elsewhere in Europe, and on other continents. ECDC, EFCA and EEA requirements include the possibility of events and travel in locations with elevated health or security risks, requiring suitable risk management and rapid operational support.

Deliverables and price schedule

The financial tender form requires unit prices for 46 deliverables. Prices become part of the framework contract and may be used for specific contracts and order forms. Deliverables may be requested repeatedly during the contract period.

The principal pricing categories include the following.

Tenderers must complete the designated cells in the financial tender workbook using prices with a maximum of two decimal places. The workbook instructs tenderers to convert the completed financial tender and financial evaluation sheets to PDF and upload both sheets as part of the submission.

The financial form also requests a discount applied to fees when the online booking tool is used. Tenderers should ensure that every required deliverable, fee, discount and reimbursable cost treatment is completed consistently with the workbook and the draft framework contract.

Who can apply

The opportunity is open to economic operators that can demonstrate the legal, financial, economic, technical and professional capacity required by the procurement documents. A tender may be submitted by a single company or by a group of economic operators, subject to the requirements for joint tenders and the submission of the required agreement or power of attorney.

Potential applicants include travel management companies, corporate travel agencies, event management companies and integrated providers capable of delivering the full combined scope. Because the procurement is not divided into lots, a bidder must either provide the entire scope directly or structure a compliant consortium and subcontracting arrangement.

The published procurement data marks the contract as not specifically suitable for SMEs. This does not automatically prohibit SME participation, but the broad international scope, single lot structure, operational response times, prepayment obligations, emergency support and event delivery requirements indicate that smaller firms may need consortium partners or carefully selected subcontractors.

Consortium and subcontracting considerations

Each member of a joint tender must be registered in the European Commission Participant Register and must have a Participant Identification Code. The tender specifications require the relevant agreement or power of attorney and declarations for members of a group.

Tenderers must identify relevant subcontractors and indicate the proportion of subcontracting. Where a tenderer relies on the capacity of another entity, the required commitment documentation must be provided. The contracting authority may assess exclusion and selection conditions for the tenderer, consortium members, subcontractors and entities whose capacities are relied upon.

Eligibility and exclusion

Tenderers must satisfy the exclusion criteria and selection criteria set out in the tender specifications. The tender package includes a declaration on honour covering exclusion and selection criteria, together with supporting forms for joint tenders, subcontractors and relied upon entities.

The procurement is subject to the EU Financial Regulation and applicable EU rules on access to procurement, restrictive measures, conflicts of interest and exclusion. Applicants should verify that neither they nor relevant participating entities are subject to exclusion situations, restrictive measures or unresolved integrity concerns.

The tender documents should be treated as the definitive source for detailed evidence requirements. The available opportunity page does not publish a full narrative of all selection thresholds in the summary view, so applicants must review the tender specifications, annexes and any subsequent clarifications before submitting.

Evaluation and award

The award uses the best price quality ratio. The published weighting is 60 percent for quality and 40 percent for price. The technical evaluation is therefore material and a low price alone is unlikely to compensate for weaknesses in operational capacity, methodology, service continuity, international coverage or compliance with response requirements.

The tender package includes a technical proposal questionnaire and a case study. Applicants should expect to demonstrate how they would manage complex travel and event scenarios, provide rapid and reliable responses, handle emergencies and high risk destinations, coordinate multiple agencies, manage suppliers and participants, meet reporting obligations and maintain service quality over four years.

The financial evaluation is based on the completed unit prices applied to an illustrative scenario. The scenario is not a purchase commitment. Prices must also be consistent with the required service model, online booking discount, contingency calculation and treatment of reimbursable expenses.

Operational and technical capability expected

Submission requirements

Tenders must be submitted exclusively through the electronic submission system linked to the opportunity. Submissions by email, post or another channel will be disregarded.

The applicant must have an EU Login account, register the organisation in the Participant Register and use the organisation's valid nine digit Participant Identification Code. Each member of a consortium must have its own registration and code.

The submission should include the documents required by the tender specifications and their annexes, including the technical proposal questionnaire, financial tender form, financial evaluation sheet, declarations, consortium or power of attorney documents where applicable, subcontractor information and evidence requested under the selection criteria.

Applicants should allow sufficient time for document conversion, file naming, upload, validation and final submission. The electronic submission receipt and its timestamp are the evidence of timely submission. Draft submissions can generally be amended or replaced before the deadline, but a new replacement submission must contain all required information and documents.

Dates and procedural milestones

The deadline shown in the official opportunity data is 16 November 2026 at 16:00 Europe/Stockholm time. The public opening is scheduled for 18 November 2026 at 14:00 Europe/Stockholm time.

The contracting authority is not bound to answer questions submitted after 6 November 2026 at 23:59 Europe/Stockholm time. Questions should be submitted through the Questions and Answers section of the Funding and Tenders Portal and should be raised early enough to allow clarification before the tender deadline.

The tender was published on 13 October 2026. Applicants should subscribe to the opportunity and monitor the portal for amendments, additional documents, answers, corrections or changes to the deadline.

Commercial and contractual conditions

The estimated €36 million value is a ceiling or overall estimated contract amount for the framework procurement and should not be interpreted as a guaranteed award value, annual budget or fixed grant amount.

Prices must be quoted free of duties, taxes and VAT where applicable because the contracting authority benefits from the privileges and immunities of the European Union. Tenderers should follow the tax treatment and invoicing rules in the financial form and draft contract rather than adding VAT to the quoted unit prices.

The contractor is expected to prepay certain travel, accommodation, visa, insurance and participant reimbursement costs and subsequently invoice approved amounts to the relevant contracting authority. This creates a working capital requirement that applicants should assess carefully in their financial planning.

The contract will generate specific contracts or order forms under the framework. Deliverables may be ordered repeatedly, but the contracting authorities retain discretion regarding whether, when and in what volume services are ordered.

Key risks for applicants

Recommended bid preparation plan

Documents and official sources

The official opportunity page contains the contract notice, invitation letter, tender specifications, draft framework contract, financial tender form, technical proposal questionnaire, case study, service level agreement, background statistics, business travel policy and reimbursement rules.

The principal source for the opportunity and submission process is RMS/260828 official opportunity page.

The lead authority is European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Overall assessment

This is a large, strategically significant institutional procurement for an integrated travel management and event services provider. It is most suitable for an established travel management company, event management provider or consortium with international supplier coverage, strong digital booking and reporting systems, rapid response capability, financial capacity for prepayments and the ability to manage complex public sector compliance requirements.

The strongest bids are likely to combine a credible high quality operating model with disciplined unit pricing, broad geographic coverage, robust emergency and business continuity arrangements, evidence of institutional or comparable corporate delivery, and a clear approach to sustainability, accessibility, security, data protection and participant care.

The opportunity should be treated as a competitive procurement rather than financial assistance. Applicants will not receive a fixed grant. Revenue will arise only from specific contracts or orders placed under the framework, subject to the contracting authorities' actual needs, approved prices, contractual conditions and the maximum framework value.