GBTA Canada Conference on Track for Record Numbers

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)—the voice of the global business travel industry— today announced that it has seen an increase of more than 20 percent in both buyer registrations and overall delegate registrations against last year’s GBTA Canada Conference, which was previously the biggest in the association’s Canadian history.

The association is celebrating its 10th conference in Toronto on March 19-21 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and expects more than 400 delegates to participate in 16 education sessions, a 50+ booth exhibitor showcase and the Big Night Out evening of industry camaraderie and celebration. Delegates will also hear the latest research from GBTA on a Canadian study looking at “Out-of-Policy Business Travelers and Their Impact on the Bottom Line.”

The event will also feature a Canadian Industry Leadership Panel, moderated by GBTA Executive Director and COO, Michael W. McCormick, which will consider the industry challenges such as distribution, data and customer needs. The Canadian Industry Leadership Panel will include:

• Dorothy Dowling, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, Best Western International
• Sherry Saunders, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Canada, Carlson Wagonlit Travel
• Don McPhail, Area Vice President, Strategic Sales, Enterprise Holdings Inc.
• Bryan Wolfenden, Director, National and Corporate Accounts, WestJet

Delegates will also be treated to keynote speakers Mark Kelley, investigative reporter from CBC Television’s fifth estate and internationally venerated, Canadian hero, Major General Lewis MacKenzie.

”We have been pleasantly surprised by the demand for and invigorated spirit surrounding our event,” said Nancy Tudorache, GBTA Director of Operations for Canada. “We have built a solid reputation for fantastic education and great networking and these numbers clearly show there is increased interest in how we can help Canada’s business travel professionals serve their companies better. GBTA Conference 2014, Toronto is shaping up with record numbers and heightened industry enthusiasm.”