NBTA

NBTA and ABGEV Announce Joint Education Venture

Latin American Corporate Travel & Technology Exchange to Take Place in Sao Paulo in February

CONTACT: Caleb Tiller | 703-684-0836 Ext. 138

San Diego, CA (August 15, 2005) -- The U.S.-based National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV) today announced the first Latin American Corporate Travel & Technology Exchange, to be held February 6-8, 2006 is Sao Paulo, Brazil.  The conference is designed to support global travel management programs in an increasingly international business environment by bringing together top business travel professionals from the United States, Brazil and other Latin American countries. The announcement was made during the 37th NBTA Annual Convention and Trade Show in San Diego.

“NBTA is pleased to work with ABGEV to provide international education opportunities for global corporate travel professionals,” said Carol A. Devine, CCTE, NBTA president and CEO. “NBTA and ABGEV have worked well together as members of the Paragon Partnership, the alliance of major buyer-driven corporate travel organizations from around the world. The Latin American Corporate Travel & Technology Exchange will take our partnership to a new level to benefit travel managers and the industry.”

“The Latin American travel management market is ripe for development and education, and ABGEV is pleased to partner with NBTA to develop a world-class program to meet that need,” said ABGEV President Vivianne Martins. “A group of ABGEV members has traveled each year to the NBTA Convention and Trade Show, which shows how dedicated we are to education. The Latin American Corporate Travel & Technology Exchange will provide the same type of education opportunities closer to home, and we expect a high level of participation.”

As international commerce and business travel increase, managing travel programs on a global scale takes priority among multinational corporations. Integrating technologies, understanding diverse business environments and effectively managing resources across borders are key elements for the success of a global travel program. The Latin American Corporate Travel & Technology Exchange will feature leading international industry experts, cutting-edge education seminars and networking opportunities with colleagues who manage global travel programs. The conference will also host a technology exhibition featuring IT products created to increase the effectiveness of global corporate travel programs and the productivity of the business traveler.

Corporate travel professionals interested in participating in the Latin American Corporate Travel & Technology Exchange should contact NBTA at global@nbta.org or +1-703-684-0836, or ABGEV at alberto@abgev.org.br or +55-11- 5185-2757.

About ABGEV
ABGEV is the business travel association representing buyers and suppliers from the business travel community in South America. Before its official launch in 2003, it existed for more than 10 years as an informal group of travel managers providing business travel benchmarking. ABGEV’s goals include growth and improvement of the business travel industry in Brazil and development of strong relationships between all players in the corporate travel market. ABGEV has about 150 members managing more than $200 million USD in annual travel expenditures, and representing about 20% of the Brazilian business travel market. For more information, visit www.abgev.org.br.

About NBTA
The National Business Travel Association is the source for critical information on the business travel industry. For more than 35 years, NBTA has dedicated itself to the professional development of its members through advocacy, education and training, and networking opportunities. NBTA represents over 2,500 corporate and government travel managers and travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of expenditures within the business travel industry.  For more on NBTA, visit www.nbta.org.

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