GBTA, VDR to Join Forces Again for European Conference in 2015

European Business Travel Managers to Meet in Frankfurt for 2015 Conference

London / Frankfurt, 24th March 2015- The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the voice of the global business travel industry – and its German partner association VDR – the German Business Travel Association – today announced that they will be joining forces again for another record breaking European business travel conference. The joint event, which begins on 9 November 2015 in Frankfurt, promises to be the largest event of its kind in Europe.

GBTA and VDR came together in 2014 to create a landmark business travel conference, attracting world-class speakers and more than 850 delegates from 20+ countries to a sell-out event that was a major milestone for the European business travel community.

“We are delighted to be partnering with VDR on this event – outside of the USA, Europe is GBTA’s largest region globally and this event is founded on the successful partnerships we enjoy with the leading national business travel associations in Europe and our chapters in France and Russia,” said Catherine McGavock, Regional Director of GBTA – EMEA. “We intend to build on the phenomenal success of last year’s event to bring together even more business travel professionals for three days of networking, education and a world class line up of speakers.”

“The VDR/GBTA partnership is the optimal basis to organise Europe’s largest business travel conference which enables travel managers to network with international key players in Travel Management across Europe and beyond,” said Dirk Gerdom, President of VDR. “We are looking forward to an exclusive programme with selected speakers around the current topics of Business Travel Management and a wide range of exhibitors. Frankfurt, one of Europe’s foremost travel hubs, will set the stage for this outstanding event.”

The event already enjoys considerable industry support with Accor, AirPlus, Allstars Travel Group, Amadeus, BCD Travel, Delta Air Lines, Diners Club International, Enterprise, FCm Travel Solutions, Global Solutions Travel Management by UNIGLOBE, i:FAO Group GmbH, LATAM Airlines Group, Lufthansa City Center and Traveldoo Technologies already committed as sponsors.

Further information:

Catherine McGavock

Regional Director – EMEA

GBTA

Tel.: +44 1494 590 958

Mobile: +44 7980 588181

E-Mail: Catherine.McGavock@gbta.org

Internet: www.gbta.org/europe

Hans-Ingo Biehl

Executive Director

VDR e. V.

Tel. +49 69 71 37 498-11

Fax +49 69 71 37 498-20

E-Mail: biehl@vdr-service.de

Internet : www.vdr-service.de

Editor’s note

About 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.

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