GBTA Inside and Out - Scholarship Winner Mark Ziegler Talks About his Convention Experience!
Posted by adminlisa on Sep. 12, 2014 / Subscribe 0
GBTA Inside and Out:
The annual Global Business Travel Association Convention (GBTA) was held in Los Angeles this year. It was my 15th in a row. As a 2014 BABTA scholarship recipient I was proud to represent the Bay Area chapter of GBTA this year. Thanks to BABTA for the opportunity.
GBTA continues to provide a grand stage for all of the travel industry to put forward their best wares and prove to the world that the profession of travel management is a legitimate one. Bringing together suppliers and travel buyers is the aim of GBTA. New chapters in Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America have been brought into the fold. This makes for great opportunities for our local travel managers to be able to network with their peers around the world. The world is truly shrinking and GBTA is taking steps to create the forum for all travel managers to learn from each other.
In recent years the association has expanded its reach to include a political action committee, advocacy on Capitol Hill, and full-time lobbyists. GBTA has expressed its intention to become the “voice of the travel industry”. It is important that the members have a strong voice in the affairs of travel industry regulation and especially when it comes to taxation. Such an important part of the world economy depends on travel to facilitate business in far off parts of the earth. Without travel the economies of the world would stagnate. GBTA is working to make sure that travel is not taken for granted and has a voice in government around the world.
The association has had a reputation for providing high powered world renowned speakers. While this year’s convention speakers were not as high powered as previous speakers they did provide better insight into our industry. The CEO’s of the big three airlines in the United States spoke in place of politicians and celebrities. Jeff Smisek of United Airlines, Richard Anderson of Delta Air Lines, and Doug Parker of American Airlines were keynote speakers that provided much more relevance to GBTA attendees than some of the past speakers. GBTA still had a couple of celebrities speak. After all the convention was held in Los Angeles! Kevin Spacey did an excellent job of providing inspiration while Jason Alexander was pure entertainment.
As many of you know, I have served on the GBTA Board of Directors. It was a great experience for me. After leaving the Board I felt that I had not accomplished much while on the Board. At the 2013 GBTA Convention I attempted to rectify that shortcoming by making a proposal that I thought would be a beneficial one to the organization. I still think that the proposal made in 2013 would benefit GBTA. Due to the failure of the proposal to pass I almost left GBTA. However, I am determined to not walk away from it. I intend to continue my efforts to improve our association. Thanks to BABTA I am still here and look forward to a bright future with BABTA and GBTA.
Thanks again for the opportunity to attend the GBTA Convention in 2014. As always, it was a great experience.
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