DIARY OF EVENTS


2015 July 25-29


GBTA Convention 2015, Orlando, Florida gbta.org


August 5-6 CIBTM, China National Convention Centre, Beijing cibtm.com/en


September 22 BBT Forum, The Gibson Hotel, Dublin buyingbusinesstravel.com/bbtforum


October 2 BBT Forum, Grange City Hotel, London buyingbusinesstravel.com/bbtforum


October 14-16 ACTE Global Corporate Travel Conference,


Pullman Paris Montparnasse, Paris acte.org


October 30 ITM Annual Gala Dinner North,


Hotel Football, Manchester itm.org.uk


November 2-5 World Travel Market, Excel London wtmlondon.com


November 4 ITM Ireland Conference,


Westbury Hotel, Dublin itmireland.org.uk


November 9-11 GBTA Europe Conference, Frankfurt gbta.org/europe


November 17-19 Phocuswright Conference, Los Angeles phocuswrightconference.com


2016


January 18 Business Travel Awards, Grosvenor House Hotel, London businesstravelawards.com


90 BBT JULY/AUGUST 2015 BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


ITM UPDATE SIMONE BUCKLEY


Simone Buckley Chief executive, Institute of Travel & Meetings (ITM)


FORETELLING FAILS


PREDICTING THE FUTURE IS ALWAYS TRICKY, BUT MEGATRENDS CAN HELP IN LONG-TERM PLANNING


t’s not easy making predictions. When I was seven, my family were fed-up hearing about how the theatre stages of London’s West End would undoubtedly play a big part in my future. I made it to both the Apollo and the Palladium – but only as far as the stalls. In 2009, a famous economist by the name of Olivier Blanchard – a professor at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – forecast a bright future for the global economy. The ink on his white paper, The State of Macro, had barely dried before the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US triggered a worldwide financial meltdown. Not that it hindered the Frenchman’s reputation or career; he became chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And what of May’s election here in the UK? Pollsters were adamant that a coalition would have to be formed because there wasn’t even the slightest indication that a winner would emerge. Even after the exit poll on election day, which prophesised a Tory win, Paddy Ashdown insisted he would “eat his hat” if David Cameron were to get clear majority. Suffice to say, the former Liberal Democrat leader was offered a menu of trilbies and fedoras in the subsequent days. Predicting the future is virtually impossible. But if we, as travel buyers and managers, take the megatrends that are driving change seriously, our long-term planning can be far more effective. The shift in global economic power from West to East is already upon us. Climate change and resource scarcity are influencing the habits of new generations. And constant technological breakthroughs mean we’ve no idea what might be possible tomorrow. All of these will impact your policies and programmes. There are, of course, always a lucky few that make the right call. The makers of the Back to the Future trilogy in the 1980s were particularly effective foretellers. The second film, set in California in 2015, featured videoconferencing, drones, hands-free gaming, holograms, 3D video and biometric technology. All of which are now mainstream. Hoverboards and powerlaces are set to hit the market before Christmas...


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