Doing Our Part

Doing Our Part

*This post originally appeared as a ‘letter from Mike’ in Global Business Travel magazine volume three, issue one.* Not too long ago, business travel was largely limited to certain parts of the world. Now, business travelers regularly venture to dozens of countries on six different continents. The past 15 years alone have seen explosive growth…

Car Excise Taxes Bad for Business Travelers, Economy

Car Excise Taxes Bad for Business Travelers, Economy

Business travel is hard—and expensive—enough. States and local governments shouldn’t make it even harder and more expensive by adding unnecessary taxes on car rentals. But that is exactly what many such governments are doing, and business travelers from companies of all sizes are paying the price, along with automakers, consumers and insurers. It’s time for…

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Five Key Takeaways from GBTA’s Business Travel Forecast for China

GBTA released its latest business travel forecast for China today as part of a semi-annual series. Sponsored by Visa Inc., the report relates unfolding economic events at home and abroad to their resulting impacts on China’s business travel market. Here are the top five takeaways: China continued its so-called “soft landing” during the second half…

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Week in Review

Today GBTA announced its support for a Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plan to improve inbound air travelers’ experiences. The report DOC and DHS released further underscores the fact that failing to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security could have serious, unintended consequences for business travel, an industry that…

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Last Week in Review

The Last Week in Review keeps you up-to-date on the latest business travel news. Last week’s GBTA poll on how North American businesses are reacting to the Ebola situation continues to make news with coverage in Roll Call. GBTA Executive Director Mike McCormick once again spoke with the New York Times about the importance of…

Business Travel Spending Increases Create Continued Economic Optimism

As you may have seen we just released our third quarter business travel forecast on Tuesday. Very much in line with last quarter’s forecast, U.S.-generated business travel spend is expected to increase by 6.8 percent to $292.3 billion in 2014. The forecast showed business travelers spent an estimated $72.8 billion on U.S.-originated business travel during…

Outside Pressures and Struggling Domestic Economy Means Slower Business Travel Growth in Brazil
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Outside Pressures and Struggling Domestic Economy Means Slower Business Travel Growth in Brazil

In a report released earlier this week, the GBTA Foundation is forecasting slower growth for Brazil’s business travel spend. Brazil’s struggling domestic economy and the troubled regional economy are key factors in GBTA Foundation’s significant downgrade to business travel spend growth for the country. GBTA expects 3.6 percent growth in 2014 and 4.1 percent in…

GBTA Continues to Expand Global Resources with India Business Travel Forecast

GBTA Continues to Expand Global Resources with India Business Travel Forecast

As GBTA becomes increasingly global, we continue to develop new resources that will be useful to our members and the industry from a global perspective. Just a few weeks ago, Donna Kelliher our President and CEO wrote to you about the new Global Leaders Directory 2014, which enables you to connect with key leaders around…

GBTA’s Legislative Symposium: Why Advocacy Matters

GBTA’s Legislative Symposium: Why Advocacy Matters

Earlier this week, GBTA applauded a House decision to reject new fees on business travelers and fully fund the Next Generation Air Transportation Systems (“NextGen”). We are pleased with the continued investments in the FAA and NextGen, which will help ease congestion in the skies, reduce delays and continue to keep the U.S. economy moving….