Held on 22 January during FITUR, the 8th edition of the IBTA National Business Travel Congress was attended by 500 profesionales.
The event’s full and varied programme addressed the latest trends, above all in the corporate event industry. The IBTA Congress is one of the most important business travel forums in Spain, offering attendees excellent opportunities for networking and exchanging experiences with corporations with large travel budgets, travel agents specializing in business travel and MICE industry service providers.
The first roundtable discussion, entitled, New changes in the hotel world. Recent evolutions in the hotel landscape and their implications for corporate travel, revolved around the current situation of the hotel industry. One of the topics was the role of the OTAs and their expansion in the corporate event industry, as mentioned by Mathias Wärns, VP Corporate Solutions EMEA HRS: “As regards business travel, the issue isn’t about having multiple options, but the correct one.” Javier Longarte, commercial general manager de BCD Travel and one of the roundtable discussion’s speakers, added, “Clients are looking for new yield management models and dynamic pricing.” Lastly, Javier Pardo, sales director of the business unit in Spain, Portugal and Andorra for the NH Hotel Group, said, when remarking on the necessary support of the GDSs, “They are essential partners for our business.”
Following this and in subsequent discussions, the issue of ancillaries, so crucial for personalizing trips and so laborious for travel managers was addressed. Montse Tor, travel manager at Phibo, underscored the complexity of corporate ancillaries. These “complementary” services will “generate $50,000 million in 2020 if airlines apply the single channel strategy,” as predicted by Ludo Verheggen, director de marketing de Amadeus Spain. “That passengers can get a clear overview of what they are purchases and how they purchase it,” in the words of another the speakers Fernando Treviño, sales director in Spain and Portugal of e-Dreams Odigeo Corporate. Javier Gándara, director general of easyJet insisted on the importance of price and product transparency. “Simplification is essential for travellers as regards ancillaries,” commented José Antonio Padilla, national director of Empresas y Eventos Nautalia.
El IBTA Congress
