Participation Well Exceeds Expectations for the Annual Event
Caleb Tiller , +1 703-684-0836, ext. 138
Courtney Leigh Beisel , +1 703-684-0836, ext. 133
>> CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM LACTTE 2007 <<
Sao Paulo, Brazil (February 7, 2007) – More than 680 corporate travel buyers and suppliers gathered this week in Sao Paulo, Brazil for the 2007 Latin American Corporate Travel & Technology Exchange, a three-day event, closing today, focused solely on corporate travel trends in Latin America. The level of attendance at the conference well exceeded the expectation of its organizers, the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV). The attendance level represents a 36 percent increase in participation compared to the inaugural LACTTE conference hosted in 2006.
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| NBTA’s Fletcher addresses more than 680 corporate travel professionals during the opening general session of LACTTE 2007. |
NBTA President and CEO Suzanne Fletcher remarked, “NBTA and ABGEV are thrilled about the industry response and participation in LACTTE 2007. The overwhelming participation to this year’s event truly indicates the growing importance of corporate travel management in Latin American economies, and we are proud to partner with ABGEV to offer the most comprehensive and informative event focused on the industry in this region.”
Vivianne Martins, President of ABGEV, added, “Corporate travel in Latin America is indeed growing and revolutionizing the way companies based in the region operate. LACTTE is the ideal event in Latin America to learn more about the trends impacting the industry to help corporate travel managers provide even more strategic value for their employers. We anticipate exciting additions to next year’s event and encourage corporate travel buyers from around the world with operations in Latin America to make plans to attend LACTTE 2008.”
Attendees of LACTTE 2007 traveled from countries around the globe, including Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Peru, Columbia, Chile, Mexico, France and the United Kingdom, to take part in the education and networking opportunities offered. Participants, more than 100 of whom were corporate travel buyers, were offered 15 education sessions in tracks on finance and procurement, technology and industry trends; six and a half hours of exhibition time in the Technology Exchange Showcase; and numerous networking events to strengthen and build relationships between buyers and suppliers. Keynote speeches during four general sessions of the event were delivered by Waldemar Niclevicz, the first Brazilian to climb Mt. Everest; Angela Hirata, Foreign Trade Consultant, Sao Paulo Alpargatas, distributor of the world’s most popular flip-flops; Rodrigo Kede, Chief Financial Officer of IBM; and Lincoln Seragini, President of the Seragini/Farné and member of the Brazilian Academy of Marketing.
The 2008 LACTTE conference will be hosted February 25-27 in Sao Paulo. For additional information regarding this year’s event, please visit www.nbta.org/lactte2007.
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 2,700 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.
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 320 members managing more than $260 million USD in annual travel expenditures, and representing about 15 percent of the Brazilian business travel market. For more information, visit www.abgev.org.br.
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