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ARRIVALS<br />
event report<br />
TBTC'19<br />
Making it personal<br />
Personalisation, crafting a traveller policy<br />
rather than a travel policy, and making<br />
wellness a priority were high on the agenda<br />
across the 14 sessions at <strong>The</strong> <strong>Business</strong><br />
<strong>Travel</strong> Conference which took place in<br />
London in September. Sasha Wood reports.<br />
Around 200 delegates and 60 exhibitors from<br />
the business travel world including TMCs,<br />
travel managers and suppliers came together<br />
for the event at the Hilton Bankside Hotel.<br />
Guest speaker MP Gillian Keegan who has a<br />
background in the travel industry opened the<br />
event with an informative talk on the current<br />
state of Brexit, reassuring the audience that a<br />
no-deal Brexit is highly unlikely, and that<br />
withdrawal from the European Union will have<br />
a minimal impact on the travel sector.<br />
She said the government has “put in place a<br />
nine-month deal to minimise travel disruption<br />
post-Brexit”. And that all the necessary<br />
regulations such as Right to Fly, European<br />
Aviation Safety Agency and road haulage<br />
It's not about the<br />
£1 saving – it's<br />
about getting the right<br />
location and style of<br />
service, and not irking<br />
your travellers”<br />
Has your organisation<br />
witnessed changes that<br />
can be attributed to Brexit?<br />
None yet<br />
18%<br />
Yes, some<br />
small<br />
changes<br />
29%<br />
Not yet,<br />
but maybe<br />
when Brexit<br />
happens<br />
39%<br />
Yes, a<br />
significant<br />
shift 7%<br />
permits have been secured and<br />
replicated in UK law.<br />
According to Keegan, Freedom<br />
of Movement should also remain<br />
unaffected, “as the original deal<br />
keeps until December 2020”.<br />
A poll of delegates showed the majority<br />
had not yet witnessed any changes in their<br />
organisation that could be attributed to Brexit,<br />
though 29 per cent had seen some changes.<br />
Emerging themes over the two days included<br />
the need to personalise the business travel<br />
experience and develop ‘traveller policies’ –<br />
as opposed to travel policies – that focus on<br />
individual requirements rather than taking a<br />
one-size-fits-all approach. Meanwhile, traveller<br />
wellbeing has been steadily climbing up the<br />
agenda and is increasingly being balanced<br />
against cost savings in terms of its positive<br />
impact on productivity.<br />
CONFERENCE<br />
BUZZWORDS<br />
• Personalisation • ndc •<br />
RFP • BRexit • traveller<br />
policy • Wellbeing<br />
EVENT SPONSORS<br />
In a session covering travel<br />
managers' approach to<br />
accommodation needs, Black<br />
Box Partnership’s Leigh Cowlishaw<br />
pointed out “it’s not about the £1<br />
saving – it’s about getting the right<br />
location and style of service, and not irking<br />
14 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.com<br />
Not yet, and it won't<br />
affect us 7%
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