A Look Back at GBTA Convention

Although GBTA Convention 2017 came to an end nearly two months ago, it’s still fresh on our minds. Our 49th annual Convention in Boston brought together nearly 7,000 travel professionals and industry leaders and featured over 400 exhibitors, including nearly 100 first-time exhibitors.

We had a chance to speak to a handful of first-time exhibitors about their experience and why they decided to exhibit at The Business Travel Event of the Year®.

“We decided to exhibit at [GBTA Convention 2017] because we wanted to take the opportunity to showcase our city to a truly international audience and to draw global organizations to our culturally rich city. After the Olympics last summer, Rio de Janeiro’s infrastructure has improved tremendously with multinational companies investing in us, as well as dozens of new hotels and entertainment options…we even have opportunities to take cooking lessons for business travelers wanting to learn more about Brazilian cuisine! Rio is the perfect destination for business travelers looking for a combination of a cultural and economic hub.”

– Eric Boulanger, Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau

 

“Our clients and colleagues involved felt [GBTA] was a good organization to be a part of and we felt this was one of the best investments we’ve made. We decided to exhibit because we felt our services would greatly benefit business travelers with travel risk being one of the biggest issues in the industry today. We offer security on a global scale in all different areas and for different personnel—from C-suite executives in the hotel industry to transportation services for exceptional clientele. As Boston’s number one organization for hotel security, we also felt exhibiting at Convention was appropriate as it has opened up doors for marketing opportunities with other event personnel.”

– Gerard Boniello & Marie Boyce, Omnium Protection Group

 

“While we’ve typically gone after leisure travelers in the past, the market for business travelers is rapidly expanding. We decided to exhibit at GBTA Convention 2017’s Expo since we’re interested in talking to both ‘buyers’ and ‘suppliers’ and we heard it was the world’s largest gathering of business travel professionals. Golden Tickets provides those traveling on business the opportunity to catch a show or game in whichever destination they’re visiting at exclusive rates which can provide those looking to ‘wow’ clients or take a step away from their hectic schedules the chance to save.”

– Ram Silverman, Golden Tickets

 

Relive the event by watching highlights and recordings of our panels on the GBTA YouTube channel. You may also sign up to receive updates about GBTA Convention 2018 in San Diego.

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