The Belgian Association of Travel Managers (BATM) is holding its first ever Corporate Travel Fair at the Brussels Hilton on November 23.
The event will include a workshop with up to 24 suppliers, three keynote speeches by leading figures in the industry, break out sessions throughout the day and a panel forum to exchange views.
For full details, see www.batm.be
UK GBTA warns on Heathrow
Britain's Guild of Business Travel Agents told a briefing meeting of around 100 UK MPs that unless Heathrow got additional runway capacity, it would endanger its position as a world hub.
Deputy GBTA chair Adam White told the group: “An additional runway at Stansted will not be enough to meet demand. From an international travel perspective, Heathrow is still the airport of choice, but we are already seeing business travellers by-pass Heathrow because it is so congested and fly via Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt.
“In the time it takes for our government to reach a decision about an additional terminal or runway in the south east, our counterparts in Paris or Amsterdam have designed and built the terminal and got passengers flying in and out of it. As a nation, we are in danger of being left behind.”
ABTECH conference on supply side
ABTECH is devoting its annual conference this year to the changing relationship between suppliers and travel intermediaries. The one day event, The Supply Side, will be held in London on November 18.
Among the speakers are Andrew Swaffield, general manager global sales and distribution for BA, Heather Blaseby, vp worldwide distribution for Le Meridien Hotels and Bill Barnes, sales director for Amadeus UK.
For full details: www.abtech.co.uk