GBTA + VDR Europe Conference was held in Hamburg, Germany from the 14th to the 16th of November, 2023. The sessions conducted by industry professionals reflected on the evolving landscape of business travel and provided fresh perspectives on the factors shaping the future of corporate travel.
Aimed for business travel and meetings management professionals in Europe, GSTC’s Business Travel Working Group (BTWG)* consists of dedicated and passionate GSTC Members globally engaged in the business travel industry, aim to connect with new audiences, foster collaboration, and attract membership among Corporate Travel Managers (CTM) and suppliers; GSTC BTWG had a booth at the exhibit, with representatives:
- Marijke Poppink, Co-Chair of GSTC’s Business Travel Working Group (BTWG) and Interim Managing Director at CORTAS
- Peter Skieller, Co-Chair of the BTWG and CEO and Co-founder of Nordic NDC
- Julieta Battiliana, GSTC Market Access and Events Manager
- Gert van Spijk, Member of BTWG and PUM Expert at PUM Netherlands Senior Experts (Freelance)
The BTWG representatives had conversations throughout the event with different stakeholders from BT4Europe, SBTA, DBTA, NATM, BATM, VDR, DER Business Solutions, HRS, Tripstax Hotels, GBTA Foundation, GBTA Sustainability team, eHotels, ATPI, BCD, SAP Concur, Amadeus Cytric, Troop, Travelin, BTN Europe, several buyers and travel managers. There was a very positive vibe and follow-up meetings scheduled. There was a consensus among the stakeholders with whom the BTWG had conversations regarding the fact that sustainability in the Business Travel industry needs to be taken to a higher level, above competition, and addressed as an industry-wide responsibility, where industry transformation is required.
There was a drawing of business cards at the GSTC’s BWTG booth to win a free registration to the GSTC2024 Global Conference held in Stockholm, Sweden, from April 23rd to April 26th, 2024. The winner was Anouar Mrissa, Director of Sales at ehotel.
At the event, Marijke Poppink, Co-Chair of GSTC’s Business Travel Working Group (BTWG) and Interim Managing Director at CORTAS and Peter Skieller, Co-Chair of the BTWG, were interviewed by the GBTA Broadcast Studio. The interview is available on GBTA’s YouTube channel.
*Current GSTC Business Travel Working Group members are: Peter Skieller, Marijke Poppink, OIa Ohlson, Benjamin Wong, Horst Bayer, Viola Vorstoffel, Gaurav Sundaram, Bernard Harrop, Sesilia Kalss, Aryphone Belly, Albena Taseva, Gert van Spijk.
