The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) - the voice of the global business travel industry – has released details of a new format and underlying theme for their annual European conference in 2013.
The
event, for approximately 400 industry professionals, will be held
23rd - 25th September at the Clarion Congress Hotel Prague, Czech
Republic.
The
theme ‘No Boundaries – Beyond the Process’, and the related
programme, will drill into issues facing travel managers, with 3
breakout streams dedicated to Strategy, Technology and Delivery.
Buyer case studies delivered by the association’s European
Strategic Benchmark Group, a group of nearly twenty senior European
based buyers, will feature heavily. The new format introduces a
keynote address on the afternoon of the first day, followed by a
networking reception. On the first morning of the conference, GBTA
will present a major plenary session focused on key data points and a
leadership panel to review and help buyers and suppliers devise their
forward strategies for 2014. In addition, the conference will host
the largest dedicated Give & Take℠ session ever, with all 400
delegates taking part simultaneously. The revised format is in
response to previous years’ delegate feedback and the positive
results from the innovative Give & Take℠ approach to structured
networking and exchange of knowledge and ideas. The event which is
now in its 4th year now features a First Timers Welcome session.
Delegates
will also be guided through the conference with the new bespoke GBTA
Conference app, available for download on their smartphones and
tablet devices.
The
association has organised additional GBTA Academy educational
programmes in the two days prior to the event, including the
Fundamentals of Business Travel Management™ course, for those new
to the industry or wanting a refresher course on the basics of travel
management, and the Global Travel Professional™ (GTP) examination,
the first ever industry certification for the business travel
professional.
Catherine
McGavock, GBTA’s Director for Europe commented, ‘We are delighted
to be bringing these enhancements to our conference but as ever the
quality of content is king. Delegates leaving our event will be armed
with all they need for the year ahead. We have been working closely
with industry experts such as Amon Cohen, our conference moderator,
and leading European buyers and suppliers to create a programme that
will engage, educate and invigorate all who attend. We will be
announcing more details on this in the coming weeks.'