GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL ASSOCIATION

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA’s 7,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts... . Travel management is a specialized business function that balances employee needs with corporate goals, financial and otherwise. Travel management ensures cost tracking and control, facilitates adherence to corporate travel policies, realizes savings through negotiated discounts, and serves as a valuable information center for employees and managers in times when travel is not as smooth and carefree as it used to be. The economic downturn has allowed travel managers to take a front and center role within their companies and has made travel management, as a profession, an important part of every top executive’s strategic planning. In many cases, travel managers have been asked to lead company-wide efforts to cut travel costs, track those savings and report them back to senior management. But travel management is still misunderstood and undervalued by some corporations today. Therefore, the role of business travel within the corporate structure must be placed in proper context so that its value can be measured and appreciated.More