The Business Travel Show and Travel Technology Show look set to be bigger and better than ever in 2009. Dinah Hatch reports on what visitors to the two shows can expect
Business Travel Show
With just under 70 sessions including five keynote speakers and six panel debates, the Business Travel Show 2009 promises to be an unmissable event for everyone in the industry.
About 200 exhibitors and 7,000 visitors will come through the door at Earl’s Court One on February 10, 11 and 12 during which time seminars, Q&As and panel discussions on everything from the future of air travel to best practices for business procurement will take place.
Sessions will be streamed into subject areas – core business travel issues, technology, corporate social responsibility, online booking and meetings – to help visitors get the most out of their visit.
Event organiser David Chapple said: “All the keynote speakers and panel debates will be talking about key issues such as the European low-cost aviation scene, sustainability, open skies, global distribution systems, expense management and the changing travel buyertravel management company relationship.”
On day one, the state of the world’s airlines will form the subject matter of the opening keynote address, The Future of Air Travel, on the Centre Stage at 10.15am, given by Chris Tarry from Aviation Industry Research and Advisory.
Other keynote addresses on the Centre Stage are:
- Meetings Mode Management
By Yahoo! international travel manager and Institute of Travel Management chairwoman Caroline Strachan - The Future of Business Travel – Aircraft Design in the 21st Century
By Airbus head of cabin marketing Bob Lange - The Future of Business Travel
By National Business Travel Association president Kevin Maguire - Making Sense of the Economy and its Impact on Business Travel
By Henley Management College senior lecturer Roger Martin-Fagg
The Centre Stage will also host six complimentary panel discussions when business travel experts will debate a series of timely topics, including
- Minimising Cost While Maintaining Consumer Confidence
- Incorporating Sustainable Travel in Your Policy
- Automating Travel Management to Increase Cost Savings and Efficiency
- Open Skies and the Future of Business-Class Travel
For the first time there will be a small and medium enterprises training stream. It will be hosted by travel author and director of Talk Talk Graeme Payne and Corporate Travel Partnership partner Robert Daykin.
The stream features four sessions a day from midday in the Show Floor Open Theatre:
- Understanding the Role of the Travel Manager to Optimise Success
- Tapping into Loyalty Programmes to Generate Cost Savings and Build Stronger Business Partnerships
- Top Tips for Negotiating with Suppliers
- Making Your Travel Dollars Go That Extra Mile in Volatile Economic Times
- Technology for the SME Business Traveller
Also new for this year is an agents’ lounge where agents can network, book meeting rooms, enjoy daily champagne receptions or grab a coffee and a snack and meet with lounge sponsor Sabre.
Over in the Innovations Arena, visitors will have the chance to ask suppliers questions and watch them demonstrate their product.
And if all the information seems a bit overwhelming and you don’t know where to start, head for the Travel Advice Clinic, where an expert travel buyer from ITM will guide you towards the sessions most helpful to you, as well as offer advice on which products to buy.
The Travel Technology Show runs in tandem with the Business Travel Show, taking place at Earl’s Court Two on February 10 and 11. Read our Travel Technology Show preview
