Europe’s Largest Business Travel Conference Opens Today in the Heart of Europe’s Economic Power House

Record Number of Delegates in Attendance for Three-Day Conference

Frankfurt, Germany (9 November 2015) – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the voice of the global business travel industry – and German business travel buyer association VDR – today opened their joint event to a record number of delegates. Building on last year’s outstanding success in Berlin, GBTA Conference 2015 | Frankfurt in partnership with VDR has tipped the 1,000-delegate mark making it once again, Europe’s foremost business travel conference.

The Welcome Plenary saw delegates challenged to embrace change by brand guru Dietmar Dahmen, opening keynote speaker, sponsored by Amadeus.

GBTA Europe Advisory Board Chair, Torbjorn Erling, Global Meeting & Travel Manager, IKEA Group was presented with the prestigious GBTA Direct Member of Year Award previously announced at GBTA Convention 2015. Mr Erling’s leadership, passion and ability to think creatively has helped GBTA navigate the European business travel marketplace.

“We are delighted at the strong growth in delegate numbers and sponsor support that we have seen this year, making it the largest and most diverse industry gathering of its kind in Europe,” said Catherine McGavock, GBTA’s Regional Vice President – EMEA. “Business travel professionals recognize the importance of taking time to invest in education and in building their networks, and our conference provides the insight for them to keep abreast of the latest developments in the industry and plan for the future.”

“The extraordinary response is overwhelming. The 1,000 participants show the importance of business mobility and the need to create a common European playing field. The next days are a unique opportunity to become actively involved in the issues that are currently affecting, but also unsettling our industry,” says Dirk Gerdom, President of the German Business Travel Association VDR. “The VDR is the contact for business travel in Germany, with a strong network within Germany. Together with GBTA, as our major international partner, we are proud to be given the opportunity to create a new understanding of mobility.”

Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement e.V. (VDR) The VDR represents the interests of German industry and deals with the general and competitive conditions surrounding business trips and mobility. It campaigns for efficient, economical, safe, unhindered, worldwide travel possibilities for companies. The VDR with its over 530 member companies represents a total annual turnover in the business travel sector of more than EUR 10 billion.

CONTACT:
Catherine McGavock, +44 (0) 7980 588181, cmcgavock@gbta.org
Claudia Giese, +49 69 695229 33, giese@vdr-service.de
Colleen Lerro Gallagher, +1 703 236 1133, cgallagher@gbta.org

About the Global Business Travel Association
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA’s 9,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. To learn how business travel drives lasting business growth, gbta.org