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Check-In with Suzanne

Travel is recovering with gusto. People are looking forward to summer vacations. Events, conferences and conventions are returning. Companies are hiring. We’re connecting in-person with colleagues and friends. And business travel continues to make its way back.   We’re almost halfway through 2022 and it seems like a whirlwind. We’re ramping back up in our lives…

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GBTA Vigorously Supports the Lifting of COVID-19 Testing Requirements for U.S In-Bound Travelers by the Biden Administration

Alexandria, VA  – GBTA, the voice of the global business travel industry, supports the anticipated announcement by the Biden Administration eliminating the requirement for all travelers to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test or recovery from COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, within 24-hours of arriving in the United States, effective Sunday, June 12. “GBTA heartily…

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Check-In with Suzanne

GBTA’s advocacy efforts have gone transcontinental over the past weeks. After just returning from productive meetings regarding policy in Europe, now this week, we are in Washington D.C. for the annual GBTA US Legislative Summit.  Spearheaded by Shane Downey, VP of Government and Community Relations, and our GBTA Government Relations Committee volunteers, the Summit empowers the…

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Check-In with Suzanne

This week’s Check-In with Suzanne Neufang, GBTA CEO comes to you from Brussels where GBTA met with EU legislative leaders on the topic of sustainability in our industry. Legislators heard GBTA’s positions on the topic as well as actions underway and planned to help the industry navigate toward a greener future. Also spotlighted are the…

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Check-In with Suzanne

My business travels for GBTA finds me back in Europe this week for very important and ongoing efforts on behalf of our members to focus on industry advocacy. In Brussels, we are meeting with various EU legislative leaders on sustainability, especially around the opportunities and challenges for aviation, car services, and business travel across a…

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Politics of Travel: Elections, Spoken Word and Taxes, oh and Oprah!

My travel and event schedule is back and even expanded compared to 2018! I feel like I have been obligatory Shane youth song and it has been exhilarating! Earlier this month, I was working the GBTA Canada Conference. Much like the Europe Conference in December, the main stage and breakouts all featured thought provoking sessions…

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Sustainability Momentum Builds for Corporate Travel and Meeting Management According to New Research from GBTA and Cvent

Alexandria, VA – Sustainability is at the forefront of global business, but have company commitments to sustainability made their way to corporate travel and meetings management programs? What will it take for companies to make business travel and meetings more sustainable? A new report from Global Business Travel Association and Cvent – “The Journey to More…

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Check-In with Suzanne

The old saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention – and moving through a pandemic proved that all too well. It created the necessity to try new things, to ponder situations and solutions that didn’t exist before, and to look at the world and challenges differently, while we continue to adjust and re-adjust…

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GBTA Supports the European Tourism Manifesto Alliance Position for a Common, Consistent Approach across Member States to the Extension of the EU Digital COVID Certificate so that Business Travel Continues to Thrive

BRUSSELS  – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the world’s largest business travel association – supports the European Tourism Manifesto Alliance position on the use of the European Union Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC) to facilitate free movement in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and until the level of transmission does not result in severe…

GBTA Chapters Come Together To Create New Greater DC Metro Chapter

Alexandria, VA – It’s the best of both worlds when two chapters of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) become one. The Northern Virginia Chapter of GBTA and the Baltimore/Washington Chapter of GBTA have merged to form one, unified chapter: the Greater DC Metro Chapter.   The new Greater DC Metro Chapter is a professional association of…

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Check-In with Suzanne

Even though a lot has been changing, “normal” business activities ( i.e., things we did pre-COVID) also importantly continue. For GBTA, that includes the association’s mission across education, advocacy, networking and, of course, in-person conferences and events. Last week’s GBTA Canada Conference in Toronto was a perfect example of back to normal. As in years…

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GBTA Advances Commitment to Sustainable Business Travel in Canada

Toronto, Canada – Sustainability has moved to the front of the agenda for economies, companies and the world at large. It is also a priority for the business travel industry, as revealed in new research from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) where almost 9 in 10 industry respondents say sustainability is already a priority for their…

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Global Business Travel’s Landmark Sustainability Study Reveals What It Will Take to Get to a Greener Future

Much of the global business travel industry has already made sustainable business travel a priority with a focus on reducing emissions and its environmental footprint. But the industry as well as external stakeholders, such as policymakers, recognize more needs to be done. These are just some of the insights from an extensive, landmark research study…

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Check-In with Suzanne

My business travels this week bring me to the UK where I’m onsite at The Institute of Travel Management’s (ITM) Accelerate event. This marks GBTA’s renewed relationship with ITM but it’s also where I’ll engage in an onstage discussion on a topic that’s important to us all: selling business travel’s value.   One indicator of the…

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Global Business Travel Recovery Sees Double-Digit Surge Since February

Alexandria, VA  – Business travel is surging forward, international travel is returning and despite new challenges, industry recovery is entrenched. In addition, corporate travel policies are undergoing a revamp and employees are broadly willing to travel for business. These findings are from the April Business Travel Recovery Poll, the latest and 27th in a series…

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Check-In with Suzanne

In this week’s Check-In, Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA, is filming from Las Vegas where she reflects on the meetings and events sector and how its recovery is such an important part of the business travel industry. One doesn’t exist without the other.  She also shares the line-up of in-person GBTA events for the coming months,…

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GBTA Applauds Biden Administration’s Push to Boost Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production in the U.S.

Alexandria, VA – GBTA, the voice of the global business travel industry, applauds the Biden Administration’s push to boost production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the United States. SAF will play a critical role in decarbonizing aviation by 2050 – but this is conditional on a dramatic acceleration of production capabilities and overall supply,…

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GBTA Applauds Bipartisan Effort Asking to End Testing for U.S. Inbound Vaccinated Travelers

Alexandria, VA – GBTA, the voice of the global business travel industry, applauds the bipartisan effort to end the current testing requirement for all vaccinated inbound travelers to the United States. Moreover, GBTA calls on the Biden Administration to immediately end the testing requirements and move to allow vaccinated travelers to fly into the U.S. …

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GBTA Applauds Confirmation of Grant Harris As U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis

Alexandria, VA  – GBTA applauds the confirmation of Grant Harris to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce.   GBTA had advocated on behalf of its membership and chapters for a swift confirmation of Harris to serve in this important senior leadership role for the business…

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Check-In with Suzanne

Spurred by the pandemic and resulting overall societal changes, I’m hearing that companies are reimagining and adapting for a next era in business – which also means a next era for business travel.    New approaches in business travel for fostering client and team connectedness and individual traveler needs must coexist with corporate priorities and bottom-line…

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Politics of Travel: Fighting Like the Dickens, International Travel Opening Up

Its always a busy start to the new year, however that’s no excuse for not sending a more regular Politics of Travel. I will try to do better. BERLIN GOT BLURRY: The GBTA Conference I attended in Berlin was fantastic. The speakers were provocative, the business was booming and the feel around being back in person,…

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Check-In with Suzanne

Some days it isn’t easy to operate in what feels like parallel worlds. There’s the world where lives and businesses are getting back to normal as COVID-19 becomes more manageable. And then there are the other worlds – the one where COVID risks continue, or where we are trying to maneuver through the humanitarian crisis…

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GBTA announces its new Sustainability Leadership Council to guide a greener future for global business travel

Alexandria, VA  – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s premier association serving the business travel industry, announced today the 16 sustainability executives from across the global travel industry who will serve on GBTA’s Sustainability Leadership Council. The Council will advise on GBTA’s overall Sustainability Program in its mission to demonstrate the significant contribution…

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GBTA Calls for End to Testing Requirements for Vaccinated International Business Travelers

GBTA calls on governments in Europe, Canada, U.S. and Latin America to end COVID-19 testing requirements for vaccinated travelers. It’s been almost two years to the day since the global pandemic was declared. And while entire segments of the global economy have successfully reopened, business travel is still lagging far behind in recovery.    Corporations…

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Check-In with Suzanne

Do you remember where you were when the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020? This month finds many of us reflecting on the past two years and how “normal” feels like a lifetime ago – not only for the world and for us personally, but also for the business…

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Check-in with Suzanne

Today marks International Women’s Day 2022, a global day celebrating the achievements of women while also calling for a more gender-equal world. #IWD2022 There are amazing women achieving so much in our own industry, along with the allyship of amazing men. And tomorrow we hope you’ll join the discussion to #breakthebias. WINiT by GBTA is hosting…