The Business of Travel

Diving into the European business travel outlook, using recent data from the GBTA Business Travel Index, our annual global benchmark sponsored by Visa, Chris Ely, Research Director, GBTA sits down with Romain Mialane, Visa, Sales Director, Europe.

What you'll hear:

• What Europe data really says
• How payments data adds context
• What travel managers should be paying attention to as we head into the next planning cycle.

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

In this episode of GBTA's The Business of Travel, Chris Ely, Research Director, GBTA, sits down with Edward Galvin, Head of Visa Commercial Solutions, North America, to unpack what the latest GBTA Business Travel Index (BTI) forecasts about the state of business travel worldwide.

From the big-picture forces driving global spend to a closer look at how key regions are performing, they break down the numbers behind the headlines and what they mean for travel programs and suppliers. The conversation also explores how technology and AI are reshaping everything from the traveler experience to payments and program management, before closing with a clear-eyed outlook on where business travel spending might head next.

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

While the situation continues to evolve, regional experts discuss how disruptions across the Middle East are having global ramifications impacting aviation, fuel availability, and airline operations. Designed for global travel buyers, this episode aims to provide clarity, context, and actionable takeaways to support informed decision-making in global business travel.

Hear scenario-based insights and actionable approaches to help you navigate volatility and plan with greater confidence, focusing on practical implications for cost management, supplier strategy, and programme resilience.

Moderator: Calum Hawley, Chair of GBTA Transportation Committee and Managing Director, BTC Global.

• Ben Park – Direct Seat, Regional Europe, GBTA and Executive Director Travel & Sustainability Parexel
• Peter Harbison, Chairman of Greener Airlines and co-founder of FACTS

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Geopolitical uncertainty, shifting ESG narratives, and budget pressures are forcing companies to think differently about sustainability. This session dives into how organizations are turning these constraints into catalysts—reframing sustainability as business value, leveraging it as a competitive advantage, and finding innovative ways to fund and scale their efforts.

Speakers:

• Townsend Bailey, VP Global Corporate Responsibility Strategy, Reporting, & Technology, IHG
• Amelia DeLuca, Chief Sustainability Officer, Delta Air Lines
• Page Motes, Chief Compliance & Sustainability Officer, Hertz

Brought to you by GBTA Foundation Sustainability Partners

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

About Episode One:

Singapore has a 2040 vision for the future of business events. What does that mean for the rest of APAC?

In the latest episode of Business of Travel, GBTA's APAC MICE Power Talks series, Navodit Srivastava, Hospitality Cloud Leader for Cvent in Asia Pacific, sits down with Carrie Kwik, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Tourism Board to explore how one of the region's leading destinations is preparing for the next two decades of MICE growth.

They unpack infrastructure investment, sustainability priorities, evolving buyer expectations, and what it takes for destinations to remain competitive in a complex regional landscape.

About APAC MICE Power Talks

GBTA APAC MICE Power Talks is a thought-leadership podcast series created by the GBTA APAC MICE Committee to explore how the business events industry is evolving across Asia-Pacific. Designed for corporate buyers, destinations, venues, DMCs, and industry partners, the series brings forward practical conversations on strategy, innovation, sustainability, technology, and the future of meetings and events in one of the world's most dynamic regions.

Each episode features candid discussions with industry leaders and decision-makers, focusing on real challenges and opportunities shaping MICE programmes today. The intent is not promotional, but insightful—offering perspectives that help planners, suppliers, and stakeholders make better-informed decisions in a complex, multi-market environment.

A defining feature of the podcast is its destination-focused approach. Selected episodes spotlight specific APAC destinations, including established hubs and emerging markets. These conversations go beyond surface-level narratives to examine each destination's MICE ecosystem—covering infrastructure, policy developments, sustainability initiatives, talent, technology adoption, and the unique experiences they offer to global and regional buyers.

By combining destination voices with corporate and industry perspectives, GBTA APAC MICE Power Talks provides a balanced view of how destinations are positioning themselves for the future of business events. The series serves as a platform for shared learning, regional collaboration, and forward-looking dialogue—bringing APAC destinations into focus through meaningful, industry-led conversations.

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

The Big Idea: How divisive debates in travel are shaping the future

The verdict is in! After three fiery debates across GBTA's APAC, Europe, and Australia conferences, we're unpacking the results, reactions, and revelations that shook the business travel community.

This isn't a replay; it's a deep dive into what the debates revealed about the future of our industry. Which arguments swayed the audience? Where did consensus emerge, and where did fault lines deepen?

Join us as we explore the key insights and implications from these high-stakes discussions:

• The Future of OBTs: Are they on the brink of extinction, or evolving with AI and chatbots?
• Next-Gen Traveller Behaviour: Does flexibility drive better outcomes than rigid policy?
• Biometrics & Secure ID: Will tech streamline travel or create new global challenges?

Expect candid analysis, surprising trends, and expert commentary on what these debates mean for travel programs, technology, and the traveller experience. If you want to know where the industry is headed, and why, this podcast has the answers.

Brought to you by BCD

Moderator:

• Chris Elmitt, CEO LIVVE

Speakers:

• Sarah Whiting, Senior Director Global Solutions Engineering, BCD Travel
• Siobhan Prideaux, Sr Director Sales , BCD Travel

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

In an era where data tells the truth about traveller motivations, "When the Data is the Story" explores how numbers can illuminate narratives of culture, identity, and experience. Drawing from the 2025 Traveller Identity Consensus report, Evita Robinson and Dr. Alana Dillette reveals how BIPOC traveller data does more than quantify, it humanises and reframes the industry's understanding of community-driven exploration and global movement.

Key Takeaways:

1. How to translate raw data into storytelling frameworks that reflect lived cultural experiences.
2. The role of inclusive data collection in shaping equitable tourism narratives.
3. Strategies for leveraging insights from underrepresented travellers to inform media, marketing, and policy.

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Brought to you by the GBTA Technology Committee Europe. In this episode Sarah Whiting & SkyLink (Episode1), Christopher Feuerecker & Blockskye (Episode 2) and Heinz Lennard Hornsby & Serko,

Content will be about AI, revolutionizing the industry with a new approach, challenges with the customer demand (scope, requirements, etc.)

This is the second in the podcast series featuring Christopher Feuerecker & Danielle Caviar, VP Sales Blockskye.

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Corporate travel management: obsolete relic of the fax machine era… or the industry's best-kept secret weapon? Depends who you ask. Airlines will say, 'We don't need TMCs.' TMCs will say, 'Good luck with duty of care when your VP of Sales is stuck in O'Hare at 11pm.'

This 20-minute discussion will focus on the predictions and fears of the TMC's future role

Speakers: Stephanie Lachance EHI, Strategic Sales Director Mauro Di Re, Travel Portfolio and Corporate Expenses – Managing Partner at American Iron & Metal (AIM)

Brought to you by the GBTA Canada tech committee

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Personalising the Business Travel Journey: 5 Key Trends You Need to Know Dan Norris, Andrea Batchelor, Juliet Howie, Jo Westlake GBTA Europe Accommodations Committee

Music track is Space Jazz by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License