Check in with Suzanne

There’s been a lot of speculation recently about business travel’s recovery – when will it happen, what will it look like, or even, will it ever be the same. I actually see this as a positive sign. We are mitigating risk and starting to travel again safely and responsibly, while thinking about and looking ahead to what’s next.

And yesterday, there was another very positive sign: the Biden Administration announced it will relax the U.S. travel ban by early November for fully vaccinated travelers from 33 countries including China, Brazil, India, Brazil and most of Europe. Travel bans and quarantines have greatly impacted business travel. For months, GBTA has been calling for a framework for re-opening the U.S. to international travel. Yesterday, we issued a statement wholeheartedly supporting this move. This welcome news is a large step forward toward accelerating the travel industry’s return and recovery.

Getting back to travel means getting back to business. From digital nomads to multinational corporations, business travel will always be one of the important drivers for doing business and keeping economies moving around the world. Business travel helps create and close deals, fosters client relationships, keeps company cultures strong, employees engaged, and creates jobs – all this drives growth and opportunity in ways that virtual platforms never can. And that’s why we have an ask of you: help us amplify the role and value of business travel.

Today, GBTA is rolling out a new social media hashtag for our industry: #BusinessNeedsTravel

We’ll use this hashtag in GBTA’s social channels to spotlight the importance of travel for business. We hope you’ll adopt and use it, too. GBTA continues to speak on behalf of our industry and our members to get business travel back on track. We hope you’ll join the chorus.

I’ll also be representing our industry and GBTA today when I testify during the US Senate Subcommittee hearing titled “Legislative Solutions to Revive Travel and Tourism and Create Jobs” (3:00pm ET, you can watch live here) related to the Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act of 2021 that would support the recovery of the travel and tourism economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, remember that GBTA is here to help. GBTA and American Airlines have partnered to make the airline’s travel planning tool powered by Sherpa available directly from the GBTA website. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, this tool helps travelers confidently understand the travel guidelines related to COVID-19 and make informed decisions by keeping them updated with real-time COVID 19 information.

Suzanne

 

News To Know 

Lufthansa Group signs two-tier NDC agreement with Travelport 

Travel agencies and travel management companies using Travelport will be able to sign up to either the NDC Public or NDC Bilateral model to accessing the NDC content of Lufthansa Group airlines from 2022. NDC Public offers more limited content for a reduced distribution cost charge whereas NDC Bilateral offers a full range of content. “Especially in these times of crisis and when creating additional customer value through advanced technology proves to be more important than ever, we are doubling down on our long-term NDC strategy”, said Tamur Goudarzi Pour, senior vice president channel management at Lufthansa Group 

Chile plans a reopening of borders as of October 

Starting in October, Chile will make changes in the regulation of entry and exit of travelers. The Chilean Minister of Health, Enrique Paris, expressed optimism regarding Chile’s positive figures on the pandemic, announcing that this could be translated into a prudent and gradual opening and modification of regulations. 

 

GBTA News & Reminders 

Virtual Special Event 

Enjoy the LATAM Regional Panel, free for active members and face-to-face Conference 2022. This one-day Spanish language event will explore different topics including the current state of travel, traveler wellbeing, and different perspectives for the coming year in business travel. Learn More >> 

GBTA Europe Town Hall 

Join us for our October Europe Town Hall to hear from Jens Liltorp, our European representative on the GBTA Board of Directors on the latest with GBTA followed by an expert insight on how to manage the growing documentary demands of getting travelers on the move.