One of my passions is to empower people with the knowledge, tools and access to advocate for what they believe in. These last couple of months have been fulfilling to me as I have managed have the GBTA elections for the Board of Directors, organized the GBTA U.S. Legislative Summit, and am learning how I…

As a Star Wars nerd, I waited until May 4 for a boost of the Force to resurrect the Politics of Travel! Not a statement on the U.S. political world, I just know a loyal reader loves the Smiths! Welcome to the 2023 edition of Politics of Travel. And b This week, GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang and I met…

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, actually, it is the best of times as the summer on the U.S. east coast kicks into gear. I hope the beginning of summer is also the best of times for you and you don’t need an emergency contact. But for those attending the Sustainability Summit and U.S. Legislative Summit, you…

The smell of fall is in the air as Washington DC is experiencing its first “sweatshirt/fleece” day. GBTA staff, after a LATE August Convention, are rested, recovered, working on the November GBTA VDR Europe Conference and FIRST EVER Race to Net Zero Sustainability Summit, as well as the December PATA GBTA APAC event in Bangkok. All this and an eye on…

April isNational Volunteer Month. Know that GBTA’s staff appreciate all you do. Over the years, I have come to expect a flurry of emails to arrive between 4-6 PM as you transition from your paying job to your volunteer job. I am always blown away by how much time and energy you put into making the…

As I have been traveling around to Berlin, Kansas City, Tampa, Milwaukee, and NYC as well as conversations with our Canadian members, Government Relations Committee members, so many of you cite the mish mash of testing requirements and entry and exit rules as barriers to travel. As you have told me, these measures simply do…

Welcome to the Revelation of the Quarterly Politics of Travel! In 2023, GBTA launched the monthly EU Advocacy newsletter. In February 2024, GBTA launched the U.S. Advocacy newsletter. I figure you all can only take so much advocacy and politics, so this newsletter will be published quarterly. As the monthly newsletters are like Dragnet, just the facts, the…

Its July 28, the 2023 GBTA Convention is coming fast, but honestly not fast enough, because I am ready to 2-step! As it’s the end of Summer, I will be taking a little break from publishing the Politics of Travel. Please don’t email me with comments such as “this is nothing new” or “another break? What are you, a member…

Welcome to the dog days of summer. I always get nostalgic around my birthday, so as a kid raised around TV, I have included fun clicks that are moments in time. Plus, you get a whole lot of GBTA industry news and a little bit of commentary. UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF DIGITAL TRAVEL DOCUMENTS: A key pillar of GBTA’s global…