The inaugural National Business Traveler Day took place this Wednesday, April 24th. Upside Business Travel led this initiative celebrating business travelers as the unspoken heroes of the American economy. Our research shows business travel spending alone represents 3 percent of national GDP - comparable to the entire domestic auto industry – and that’s nothing compared to how road warrior time on the road helps our companies grow.

National Business Traveler Day events took place across the country from JFK to SFO and O’Hare to LAX. The GBTA podcast hit the road again this week to take part in the festivities from New York City where Skift’s Andrew Sheivachman moderated a panel on the changing face of today’s business travelers.

GBTA caught up with Andrew and the panelists among the crowd and buzz around #NBTDay for highlights from the panel discussion and their take on the importance of National Business Traveler Day. Jay Walker, Chairman of Upside Business Travel and founder of Priceline; Leiti Hsu, Cofounder, Journy and Partner & Editorial Director, Word of Mouth; and Wendy Longwood, Chief Operating Officer, Dress for Success Worldwide all shared their insights on this week’s episode of The Business of Travel.

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