ITM wants to take the “voice of the travel buyer” to a wider audience on key business travel issues such as APD.
The institute’s chairman Nicola Lomas said the creation of buyer-only focus groups last year meant that the ITM could represent the views and concerns of buyers.
“The buyers engage with the ITM so we are speaking with the voice of the buyer,” said Lomas at the ITM’s annual conference in Windsor. “It ensures that the buyers and the ITM stay aligned and in sync together.
“Our industry affairs team is being asked more and more to contribute our views on important issues, such as CEO Simone Buckley appearing recently on BBC News. Our voice is increasingly being heard.
“We are focusing on key issues such as transportation which is the lifeblood of this country. Keeping costs proportionate to the returns that businesses expect is absolutely paramount.”
She also attacked the government policy of continually raising taxes on travel such as APD.
“In these times of austerity, we understand the need to contribute to the public purse but these unrelenting travel taxes risk killing the business goose that lays the chancellor’s golden egg,” added Lomas.
“We need to be more aware of travellers and their behaviour to ensure that our travel programme is fit for purpose. There is also a massive pressure to prove the programme’s value within our own organisations.”
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