DIARY OF EVENTS 2016


September 27-29 IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific,


Bangkok itcma.com


October 7 BBT Forum, Grange City Hotel, London buyingbusinesstravel.com/events


October 12 BBT Ireland Forum, Dublin buyingbusinesstravel.com/events


October 26-28 ACTE Global Summit, with CAPA


Centre for Aviation, Amsterdam acte.org


November 1 GTMC Autumn Conference,


Pullman St Pancras Hotel, London gtmc.org


November 7-9 World Travel Market, Excel London wtmlondon.com


November 14-16 GBTA Conference 2016, Frankfurt europeconference.gbta.org


November 24 ITM Ireland Conference, Dublin itm.org.uk


2017


January 23 Business Travel Awards, Grosvenor House Hotel, London businesstravelawards.com


February 22-23 Business Travel Show,


Olympia Grand, London businesstravelshow.com


March 8-12


ITB Berlin global travel trade show itb-berlin.de/en


130 BBT September/October 2016 BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


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


ITM UPDATE SIMONE BUCKLEY


In a state of flux


The industry must collaborate to prepare for Brexit consequences


I


CAN’T QUITE RECALL A YEAR LIKE THIS ONE. What a time to be a broadcaster or reporter. There was a week in early summer when there seemed to be a major announcement or incident on a daily basis. Keeping up with developments has been a challenge. This year has seen the passing of many cultural icons: David Bowie, Prince, Victoria Wood, Ronnie Corbett, Terry Wogan, Caroline Ahern, Mohammed Ali... The list goes on and on. Terrorist attacks across France (Paris, Nice and Normandy) and in Brussels have shaken the foundations of our society and tested our collective resolve, while the chaos across parts of the Middle East is in a state of permanent escalation. Meanwhile, the political landscape in the UK remains in flux. The Conservatives were split, as they always have been, over the


European question. The weeks following the EU referendum read like a Shakespearean tragedy, with stories of backstabbing and betrayal in every newspaper. But their problems have been fairly low key compared to those of the Labour Party. And there has been much more besides: Leicester’s surprise Premier League victory, the murder of Jo Cox MP, and the worrying stream of rhetoric emanating from the US presidential candidates (well, one in particular). However, the biggest story of the year so far is, of course, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. We won’t find out anything until Article 50 is invoked next year, so respondents to an ITM Brexit survey were unsurprisingly coy when we asked their opinions. Of the 250 buyers and suppliers who participated, 90 per cent said they were not planning on doing anything differently in light of the result. This makes sense, as any decision to introduce change could be seen as premature before we know what kind of deal will be struck. Furthermore, a modest majority believes the result will not harm volumes in the short or long term. However, 63 per cent of buyers think Brexit will eventually push up the cost of flying, while 70 per cent fear new border control measures will create a new level of complexity for business travel. Predicting the future, as I have said many times in this column, is a


fool’s errand. However, while preparing for potential consequences of Brexit, the industry must collaborate. We have a window of opportunity over the next quarter to get ready.


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