Ebola Not Yet Affecting Business Travel, GBTA Foundation Poll Finds
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Ebola Not Yet Affecting Business Travel, GBTA Foundation Poll Finds

Update (February 10, 2015):  In the aftermath of the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, the World Health Organization plans to implement reforms to “improve its ability to respond more quickly to the next outbreak of a lethal infectious disease,” The New York Times reports.   Ebola has been top of mind in the news lately,…

China Business Travel Spend Continues Growing at Double Digit Paces

Today we released our latest forecast for the Chinese business travel market – and it continues to grow at a double digit pace. In fact, GBTA forecasts China’s total business travel spend to grow 15.9 percent in 2014 to $262 billion USD and another 18 percent in 2015. The unprecedented growth in China’s economy has…

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Last Week in Review

The Last Week in Review keeps you up-to-date on the latest business travel news. Last week’s GBTA poll on how North American businesses are reacting to the Ebola situation continues to make news with coverage in Roll Call. GBTA Executive Director Mike McCormick once again spoke with the New York Times about the importance of…

Visionary CEOs Take Center Stage to Discuss Future of Travel
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Visionary CEOs Take Center Stage to Discuss Future of Travel

GBTA kicked off the second day of Convention with CBS’ Travel Editor Peter Greenberg interviewing Doug Parker, CEO, American Airlines Group and American Airlines. Parker discussed American Airlines’ outstanding second quarter earnings – the best second quarter earnings in the airline’s history. “We couldn’t be happier with the results,” he said. “Through the merger we…

Top 10 Quotes From Biz Stone at GBTA Convention

Top 10 Quotes From Biz Stone at GBTA Convention

On Tuesday, Biz Stone co-founder and co-inventor of Twitter spoke for the nearly 7,000 GBTA attendees about the lessons he has learned, the importance of change, creativity and spectacular failure. He was so entertaining and insightful I decided to share this blog post through his words. Here are the top 10 quotes from Biz Stone’s…

Hot Topics Today at Center Stage: Risk-Based Security & Future of Travel
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Hot Topics Today at Center Stage: Risk-Based Security & Future of Travel

Day three of GBTA Convention featured TSA Administrator John Pistole in a one-on-one interview with GBTA Executive Director Mike McCormick and Google’s Director of Travel Partnerships, David Pavelko sharing his vision of the future of travel. Administrator Pistole talked about TSA’s transition from a one-size-fits-all agency to a risk-based, intelligence agency allowing greater efficiency and…

Outside Pressures and Struggling Domestic Economy Means Slower Business Travel Growth in Brazil
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Outside Pressures and Struggling Domestic Economy Means Slower Business Travel Growth in Brazil

In a report released earlier this week, the GBTA Foundation is forecasting slower growth for Brazil’s business travel spend. Brazil’s struggling domestic economy and the troubled regional economy are key factors in GBTA Foundation’s significant downgrade to business travel spend growth for the country. GBTA expects 3.6 percent growth in 2014 and 4.1 percent in…

Cap Needs to Be Reinstated on TSA Fees

Cap Needs to Be Reinstated on TSA Fees

Earlier this year, the Murray-Ryan budget deal boosted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)  security fee to a maximum of $5.60 one-way, but the TSA interpreted that to mean that the $10 limit that had previously been in place was eliminated. The bill’s authors — the chair and ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee and…

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Bumps in the Road – The Cost of Travel Mishaps

Last week the GBTA Foundation released a study that looked at the cost of travel mishaps. As a road warrior, chances are you have been there and done that as 75 percent of travelers encountered a mishap while traveling for business in the last year. When these mishaps occur, it costs the traveler time and…

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Week In Review

The Week In Review post is back this week to keep you up-to-date on the latest news stories on business travel. A special business travel insert appeared last Friday in the Toronto Star. GBTA’s Director of Operations for Canada shared her thoughts on the latest trends in business travel as well as business travel’s role…

American Express Global Business Travel President & CEO Bill Glenn Coming to Convention

American Express Global Business Travel President & CEO Bill Glenn Coming to Convention

Our list of featured speakers for GBTA Convention 2014 just keeps growing. The latest addition to our impressive lineup of speakers is Bill Glenn, President and CEO for the new American Express Global Business Travel joint venture. The joint venture with an investor group led by Certares, resulting in an unprecedented $900 million capital infusion,…

GBTA Continues to Expand Global Resources with India Business Travel Forecast

GBTA Continues to Expand Global Resources with India Business Travel Forecast

As GBTA becomes increasingly global, we continue to develop new resources that will be useful to our members and the industry from a global perspective. Just a few weeks ago, Donna Kelliher our President and CEO wrote to you about the new Global Leaders Directory 2014, which enables you to connect with key leaders around…

GBTA’s Legislative Symposium Fast Approaching

GBTA’s Legislative Symposium Fast Approaching

The Legislative Symposium is fast approaching. On June 24 – 25, the business travel industry will be descending on the Nation’s capitol to spread the message that safe and secure business travel drives economic growth. High priority issues for the business travel industry include the possible doubling of the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) piling on…

GBTA Convention First Timers Luncheon to Feature CSI Creator and Executive Producer Anthony Zuiker

GBTA Convention First Timers Luncheon to Feature CSI Creator and Executive Producer Anthony Zuiker

The First-Time Attendee Orientation & Luncheon is always a highlight of Convention for new attendees. This year it will take place on Sunday, July 27 from 11:30-1:30. Not only will attendees get briefed on how to navigate their first Convention experience, they will also learn the ins and outs of the benefits of GBTA membership….

GBTA Cares: Clean the World

GBTA Convention 2014 is officially underway in Los Angeles! Starting on Saturday with Convention Kick-Start, attendees had the chance to choose from an array of offerings including educational opportunities, workshops, networking events and more. As part of the Kick-Start events, more than 40 volunteers joined together for the annual GBTA Cares Service Project. This year…

CSI Creator and Executive Producer Talks to GBTA First Timers

CSI Creator and Executive Producer Talks to GBTA First Timers

On Sunday, nearly 500 first-time attendees made it to the First-Time Attendee Orientation and Luncheon to meet others in the same position as themselves looking to navigate their first GBTA Convention. After GBTA executives and Board members recounted their first Convention experiences and gave their advice for making the most out of Convention, attendees were…

GBTA Kicks Off 2014 Convention
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GBTA Kicks Off 2014 Convention

GBTA kicked off its Welcome Session with GBTA President & CEO Donna Kelliher ringing the official opening bell this morning before Bill Glenn, president and CEO, American Express Global Business Travel took the stage. GBTA Executive Director and COO, Michael W. McCormick interviewed Glenn about American Express’ newly announced American Express Global Business Travel joint…

CEOs and Industry Leaders Talk Travel at Center Stage
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CEOs and Industry Leaders Talk Travel at Center Stage

The afternoon began with CBS’ Travel Editor Peter Greenberg interviewing Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines. Anderson discussed transparency in airfares, safety and security in light of recent events and Delta’s loyalty program. When discussing the business operations at Delta, he told attendees, “We want to be in a position to offer a high…

Kevin Spacey Entertains & Inspires GBTA Convention Attendees

Kevin Spacey Entertains & Inspires GBTA Convention Attendees

Featured speakers at previous GBTA Conventions have included the likes of President Bill Clinton, President George Bush, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Former First Lady Laura Bush, Former Secretary of State Condoleezaa Rice and on and on. Kevin Spacey opened his session by poking fun at the fact that GBTA has run out of…

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Delta’s Anderson To Make First Ever Appearance at GBTA Convention

I was very pleased when Delta CEO Richard Anderson accepted our invitation to be a featured speaker at this year’s 2014 GBTA Convention. This will be his first appearance on stage at a GBTA event, and since Richard does not make many appearances like this, we are glad he chose to share his insights with…

American Airlines’ Chief Doug Parker Returns to GBTA Convention
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American Airlines’ Chief Doug Parker Returns to GBTA Convention

We have been on a roll lately announcing featured speakers for our GBTA Convention 2014 this July in Los Angeles. If you haven’t heard yet, Kevin Spacey (or “President Underwood” if you are a House of Cards fan) will be presenting live in Convention Arena on Monday, July 28. Throughout the week at Center Stage,…

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Brazil Ascends World Rankings to Become 8th Largest Business Travel Market

Today, the GBTA Foundation released its latest semi-annual business travel forecast for Brazil. It shows Brazil’s business travel industry moved up one spot in the rankings from last year to become the 8th largest business travel market in the world. And, if Brazil can maintain its overall economic growth levels experienced since 2005, GBTA expects…

Announcing GBTA Ladders
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Announcing GBTA Ladders

(Reposting from an email issued on April 20, 2014 to GBTA members) Dear GBTA Members, We are writing to tell you about an exciting new program: GBTA Ladders.  The Ladders program pairs rising young stars from all parts of the travel industry with superstar industry veterans. Essentially a mentoring program, Ladders gives younger members an opportunity to…