GBTA Shifts Convention to November 2021

Taking stakeholder feedback and continuing pandemic restrictions into consideration, the Global Business Travel Association has moved its annual meeting.

The Global Business Travel Association has shifted the dates of its GBTA Convention 2021 to Nov. 7-19 in Orlando. To make the decision to move the "Business Travel Event of the Year," the organization considered feedback from members, exhibitors and sponsors, as well as the current status of the pandemic and the global travel sector.

GBTA had rescheduled its 2020 convention from late July to Nov. 7-11 last year because of the pandemic. Eventually, the event that was supposed take place at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver was cancelled outright.

The association hopes this year’s annual meeting, which was scheduled originally for July in Orlando, will provide attendees firsthand experience on how to travel post-Covid, as well as insights on the future of work, travel and mobility. GBTA said the agenda will include "new and different ways to learn together and opportunities to share best practices, educate and be educated, cultivate new opportunities, and solve looming challenges to help the industry recover and rebound."

"Ensuring this year’s convention — our first large-scale meeting since 2019 — is a valuable experience for all attendees is a top priority, and we are upping our game to provide practical and strategic tools to help attendees get business done in the new, post-pandemic normal," said GBTA's new CEO, Suzanne Neufang. "This shift allows us to better accommodate all our members, especially those traveling from outside the U.S., and to send the important message that global business travel can be accomplished safely, as vaccination programs gather momentum and as Covid-19 testing becomes easier and less costly."

GBTA still is planning a gathering for the summer, a virtual event on July 20 that will include a mid-year association update, valuable education sessions and the announcement of the election results to the board of directors. Further details on these sessions will be released soon.

Source: Northstarmeetingsgroup.com