GBTA America Latina Conference in Argentina Boasts Impressive Turnout for Fourth Consecutive Year

ALEXANDRIA, VA – October 14, 2015 – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – Latin America region in conjunction with GBTA Argentina, recently hosted its fourth annual successful GBTA Conference Latin America held at the Buenos Aires Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center October 5 – 7.

Over 375 travel professionals from 11 Latin American countries and the United States of America attended this event.

“We are proud that the fourth year has produced yet another well attended Buenos Aires conference,” said Carla Bonaventura, President of GBTA Argentina. “This reflects well on regional interest of industry professionals seeking to broaden their skills in business travel management.”

Conference highlights included GBTA Board Member Bhart Sarin presenting a popular education session called Improve Your Negotiations and an overview from GBTA’s recently appointed Regional Vice President for America Latina, Kevin Maguire. GBTA Argentina leadership joined by representatives from México, Brasil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and the United States were presented with the latest business travel industry topics in eight education sessions; two newly designed workshops, including specialized sessions created for business travel buyers; and five general sessions at the conference. Attendees were also offered dedicated time to meet and discuss business travel with 20 exhibitors hosting booths at the conference.

Well attended workshops and education sessions included topics dealing with applied technology choices; airlines, hoteliers and buyers expectations; Strategic Meetings Management; Beyond Air, Hotel and Car Rental; It’s a Small World After All, When Thinking about Global and Regional Programs; and Policies and Consumerization.

The conference promoted the upcoming Advanced Principles of Business Travel Management seminar on November 4-5, in Buenos Aires and a Fundamentals of Business Management course scheduled for México City on October 22-23. Both will be two day workshops, taught by subject matter experts as GBTA kicks off its Advanced Principles of Business Travel Management course in the America Latina region next month.

Additional conference highlights included:

• Carla Bonaventura, Travel Manager from Shell Corporation, Argentina, President of GBTA Argentina
• Mark McSpadden, Sabre, USA, who spoke on Mobile Apps: Myths and Realities
• A well received presentation by Claudio Ameijeiras, Theorema, Argentina on Selling Your Ideas, Your Vision and Yourself
• Fernando Yepez, PhD from Price Waterhouse Coopers, USA related the effect of Shared Services to Global Services and its impact on the travel Industry
• Monica Sanchez, GBTA Foundation’s Research Project Director, presented GBTA’s latest Business Travel Index, a forecast relating trends in the region, and also presented an American Express funded research project based on business traveler sentiment

About the Global Business Travel Association in Latin America
GBTA America Latina, with membership organizations in Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, México, Peru, Panama and a diverse membership across the region, is an important part of GBTA, the world’s premier business travel and meetings organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA’s 7,000-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 business growth, visit www.gbta.org.

CONTACT: Colleen Lerro, +1 703-236-1133, clerro@gbta.org
Roberto Morales, +1 703 236 1158, rmorales@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