What once was known as the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is re-branding under a slightly changed name, the Global Business Travel Association: in fact, the same institution, same board of directors, and same activity focus. For those unfamiliar with the association, NBTA was already a global membership organization, providing education, information, and advocacy for business travel management professionals.
“We are thrilled to roll out a new name and logo that fully reflects the global scope and reach of this organization and is truly aligned with the global nature of today’s economy and business travel industry,” added GBTA President & CEO Craig Banikowski. “As an organization that represents the voice of the worldwide business travel industry, we believe it is our responsibility to actively discuss the needs of our members, advocate for them, and create a vibrant community where members can network, learn from one another, and further the development of the business travel profession. This is a very important milestone in our vision of the future for our association.”
The association still gathers 5,000-plus members under its umbrella, who manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. The association provides its network of 17,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, with networking events, news, education & professional development, research, and advocacy. But with the new name, the association broadness some member features and benefits, as follows:
- An expanded global footprint of networking and educational events, many of which will be complimentary for members
- Free worldwide registration for members to all GBTA webinars
- Access to new and improved industry research and resources – including global benchmarking tools
- Enhanced online collaboration and information sharing
- An internationally driven and interconnected committee network offering global guidance
- Continued expansion of the GBTA network for representation in every major business travel market
