Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 138
Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 133
Alexandria, VA (July 27, 2007) – The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) declared the 2007 NBTA International Convention & Exposition, held this week in Boston, the largest and most successful in the 39-year history of the event.
Newly-elected NBTA President & CEO, Kevin Maguire, said, “We had more travel buyers, more reporters and more total attendees than we have ever had at the NBTA International Convention & Exposition. General sessions, breakout education sessions and pre-convention professional development programs were better than usual. The feedback I got from travel manager and exhibitor attendees was universally positive.”
With more than 6,200 attendees, including 1,400 travel managers and nearly 100 reporters, this was the largest NBTA Convention in history. More than 435 exhibitors used the opportunity to reach the world’s largest gathering of business travel buyers, buying 118,500 net square feet of booth space.”
The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau calculated the direct financial impact of the 2007 NBTA Convention on the city of Boston as $13.6 million and estimated that the future boost to the city’s visitor industry will top $425 million over three years.
Exhibitors used the NBTA Expo to showcase their products, services and news for the business travel industry. Highlights included:
- Upgrades to airline seating and interiors
- Introductions of hybrid vehicle options by ground transportation companies
- New travel tools for hand-held devices
- Expansion of content available in online booking tools
- Integrations and launches of travel management technologies, including several developed through partnerships of multiple companies
- Announcements of hotel ranks in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study
- NBTA’s expansion of its international presence and offerings
NBTA now turns its attention to leading business travel events it is hosting around the world over the next 12 months in London, Brisbane, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York, Toronto, Shanghai, Milan and Atlanta. The 2008 NBTA International Convention & Exposition will be held in Los Angeles, July 27-30. NBTA has already sold 120,200 net square feet of exhibit space for the Expo.
About NBTA
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel organization. U.S.-based NBTA and its regional subsidiaries – NBTA-Asia Pacific, NBTA-Canada and NBTA-Mexico – serve more than 3,000 members in 30 nations around the world. NBTA has 42 U.S. Chapters with more than 5,000 members. NBTA members are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of global business travel expenditures annually. The association provides industry-leading networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. For more information, visit www.nbta.org.
About the NBTA Annual International Convention & Exposition
The 39th Annual NBTA International Convention & Exposition was hosted July 22-25 in Boston. The 2007 NBTA Convention attracted more than 6,200 travel professionals, including more than 1,400 corporate travel buyers and representatives from more than 435 exhibiting suppliers. With a tradeshow spanning more than 118,000 square feet of the new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and more than 40 cutting-edge education sessions, the NBTA Convention is widely recognized as the must attend event for travel buyers, suppliers, industry leaders and business travel journalists. Details can be found at www.nbtaconvention.org.
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