THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE I 39 w Show Preview ➔ There's no business like show business


The 2011 Business Travel & Meetings Show takes place at London's Earls Court this February 8th & 9th, promising to deliver an impressive line-up of suppliers


THE 2011 Business Travel & Meetings Show is on course to host some 200 suppliers from across the industry when it takes place in February, alongside a programme of educational sessions and masterclasses. BTMS takes place at London’s


Earls Court once again and is set to attract high profile corporate travel managers, procurement directors, travel agents, PAs and SME management. Confident of a return towards


a more prosperous economy, event director David Chapple says, “BTMS is tracking ahead of last year and we are highly confident we will have a very strong show in 2011. From a supplier viewpoint, there is more confidence in the industry than there was this time last year and there is also more financial security.” Exhibitors already confirmed include leading suppliers from numerous business travel sectors, including hotel groups, payment solution experts, airlines, corporate cards, serviced apartments, travel management companies, chauffeur drive, expense management specialists, rail operators, technology specialists, hotel booking agents, ground transport, airports and event specialists. New for this


year’s show is an exclusive two-year deal with the Institute of Travel & Meetings for it to become the show’s association partner, which will result in an expanded ITM Village at the venue and a greater hand in developing the educational programme. “BTMS has recognised the convergence of business travel and meetings and events and is building an exhibition which


"We will have a very strong show in 2011. From a supplier viewpoint, there is much more confidence in the industry than there was last year"


takes into account the future,” says Paul Tilstone, chief executive of ITM. “We are glad to support an event that recognises the needs of ITM members and we look forward to contributing to the ongoing development of the exhibition.” After making its debut in 2010, meanwhile, the BTMS Connect service is back at this year's show, enabling attendees to plan meetings, schedule conference sessions, opt-in to networking events and create their own bespoke itinerary. The educational programme features a series of keynote addresses, case study sessions, and masterclasses, with the latter taking a round-table format with topical discussion led by industry experts and open exclusively to buyers. After introducing the ‘Meetings’ element to the show title last year and incorporating more coverage of the sector, BTMS again promises to get to grips with this difficult area of spend. A recent survey of 220 procurement managers revealed that 69 per cent of meetings budgets have either remained static or been cut back in the last


52 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE


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