NBTA

CONTACT:       

Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 138, ctiller@nbta.org

Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 133, nhayes@nbta.org

Alexandria, VA (June 1, 2009) - The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) announced today that more than 550 corporate travel buyers have registered for the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition, which is directly on par with last year’s registration numbers. The total number of registrants, 1,970 to date, surpasses numbers compared to 2008, poising this year’s Convention to measure in size to previous years despite a down global economy.

NBTA President & CEO, Kevin Maguire, CCTE, GLP, said, “In today’s down economy, travel and meetings budgets are being slashed and some companies have even restricted travel all together. However, despite these economic challenges, corporate travel professionals remain dedicated to their roles in helping to recover from this recession and look to the NBTA Convention for the necessary resources and networking opportunities that will allow them to do so.”

In efforts to help lift the corporate travel community in a down economy, NBTA is this year offering Convention attendees more resources than ever, to include multiple registration and travel discounts, extended exposition hours, and added education sessions. A Government Travel education track will be offered for the first time, and more than 40 NBTA Government Travel Group (GTG) members have already registered, setting a new NBTA Convention record.

Maguire added, “We know that on average corporate travel buyers who attend the NBTA Convention take away the knowledge, resources and contacts that have helped them to save about 11 percent on their total T&E budgets, which can mean a savings of millions. Now, more than ever, is the time to fine tune corporate travel strategies to successfully navigate a volatile economy and shifting industry.”

For more information about the 2009 NBTA Convention, to be held August 23-26 in San Diego, please visit www.nbtaconvention.org.

About the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition

Widely recognized as the must-attend event for business travel buyers, suppliers, industry leaders and business travel journalists, the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition will be held in San Diego August 23-26, 2009.  More than 5,000 travel professionals are expected to take advantage of the Convention’s programming, designed to empower attendees to maximize value for their companies, including more than 65 seminars on the most important topics in business travel, more than 400 companies exhibiting in the Expo and countless opportunities for networking with peers. For details, visit www.nbtaconvention.org. 

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Australia / New Zealand, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Europe, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 17,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 5,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 13 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org