The ITB Business Travel Forum of the ITB Berlin Convention will be offering information about the future of Business travel which is changing with the economic circumstances and new technology.
On 4 and 5 March 2020, digitalisation, smart mobility and sustainability will be the key topics at the ITB Business Travel Forum. For exhibitors, trade visitors and the media, admission to the ITB Business Travel Forum in Hall 7.1a, Room New York 1, is included in the price of a ticket.
Kicking off events at the ITB Business Travel Forum will be Christoph Carnier, president of the German Business Travel Association (VDR), who will hold a welcome speech on 4 March at 3 p.m. The first session of the VDR Theme Year is entitled ’Destination: Ecologically Effective’. Peggy Gabriel (Vattenfall GmbH) will look at practical examples and show how to combine travel and environmental protection needs. Afterwards, Jörg Martin, managing director of CTC Corporate Travel Consulting and chairman of the VDR Aviation Committee, will present the VDR sustainability initiative ’Miles to Trees’. Sustainability will also be the focus of the session entitled ’Business Travel and Climate Impact’, at which experts will outline a four-point programme for sustainable bus travel (4 – 4.45 p.m.). Day one of the ITB Business Travel Forum will conclude with Tina Roos, senior director, Front & Mid Office Technology, Lufthansa City Center, talking about her professional experience and introducing a combined booking platform (5 – 5.45 p.m.).
On 5 March, day two of the forum, Maximilian Kaiser, representing Business Development for Intermodal Mobility Solutions at Siemens Mobility, will highlight door-to-door solutions for smart, interconnected transport for business travellers (11 – 11.45 a.m.). Afterwards, Oliver Meinicke, a member of the presidium of the VDR, Verena Funke, deputy chairwoman of the DRV Business Travel Committee, and Prof. Dr. Bernd Eisenstein, director of the Institute of Management and Tourism at FH Westküste, will present the latest figures, data and analyses of the business travel market and give their forecasts for 2020/21. The event will be moderated by VDR trend specialist Ludger Bals (Innovative Business Concepts). Under the illuminating heading ‘A Bureaucratic Monster and its Consequences’ (1 – 1.45 p.m.) Alexander Langhans, CEO of Visumpoint and Hans-Ingo Biehl, managing director of the VDR, will discuss A1 and EU reporting requirements. Eric Jan Krausch, CEO of Acomodeo, the world’s leading provider of electronically serviced apartments, will round off day two of the Business Travel Forum with a lecture on the revolution in long-term accommodation for travellers and will highlight quality management in serviced apartments (2 – 2.45 p.m.).
The Home of Business Travel by ITB & VDR is directly linked with the lectures and discussion rounds of the ITB Business Travel Forum. The combined stand in Hall 7.1a will provide travel and mobility managers, newcomers, buyers and office professionals from around the world with an excellent platform for finding out about services and ways to optimise business travel. Every day from 12 midday to 2 p.m. invited guests will also have an opportunity to network and lunch in a relaxing lounge atmosphere. On each of the three trade visitor days ITB Berlin and the VDR will be inviting exhibitors’ guests to a Business Travel Lunch at the Home of Business Travel.
