Leading Canadian Corporate Travel Event Sells Out

NBTA-Canada Conference Draws Record Crowd

Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836 x138
Tanya Racz, +1 403-503-0431

Toronto, ON (March 21, 2007) -- The National Business Travel Association – Canada, formerly the Canadian Alliance of Business Travel, announced today the NBTA-Canada Annual Conference & Exhibitor Showcase, held this week in Toronto, had the highest number of registrations and exhibitors in the event’s history. More than 200 attendees and 30 exhibiting companies took part in the event. The record-setting, sell-out conference also represents the largest gathering of travel buyers in Canada this year.

“The growth we are experiencing in the annual conference is thrilling, and it is reflective of the NBTA-Canada dedication to providing gold-standard corporate travel education and networking in a buyer-driven, Canadian-focused format,” said NBTA-Canada President, Tanya Racz, CCTE.
 
Conference presenters included the following: 

  • Bruce Bishins, CTC, Airline Training Council, Executive Director 
  • Michelle Dereux, UNIGLOBE Travel (Western Canada), Inc., President 
  • Aron Gampel, Scotiabank, Vice President & Deputy Chief Economist, who will close the official program on the first day
  • Michael B. Gerbis, P. Eng., The Delphi Group, President, who will address “The ‘Greener’ Side of Business Travel”
  • Kevin Iwamoto, Hewlett-Packard, Global Commodity Manager, Corporate Card, Hotels, and Meetings
  • Kari Knoll Kesler, Honeywell International, Inc., Honeywell Meeting Solutions, Global Manager
  • Robert Kokonis, AirTrav, Inc., President
  • Richard St. John, Success Analyst and Author of Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky, and RICH!
  • Damon Brenner, Control Risks, Vice President, who will speak on implementing an effective corporate travel security management program
  • Tracey Wilt, Xerox Corporation, Manager, Global Travel Operations

Sponsors and exhibitors at the event included:

  • Scotiabank 
  • Vision 2000 Travel Group 
  • SkyTeam 
  • Concur Technologies 
  • Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) 
  • Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) 
  • WestJet 
  • Corporate Aircraft Charters 
  • South African Airways 
  • Intercontinental Hotels Group 
  • Carlson Hotels Worldwide 
  • Hilton 
  • Carlson Wagonlit Travel 
  • CARINO Collection 
  • Global Alliance Worldwide 
  • Millennium Hotels and Resorts 
  • ABC Corporate Services 
  • Sabre Travel Network 
  • The Sutton Place Hotel 
  • Agent 24 
  • KDS 
  • CyberShift 
  • Hotel Arts 
  • Uversa 
  • GetThere 
  • Concorde Hotels 
  • Metropolitan Hotels 
  • Crowne Plaza 
  • Members of Small Luxury Hotels 
  • Enterprise Rent-a-Car 
  • Lowes Hotels 
  • Business Travel Executive

The National Business Travel Association – Canada (formerly the Canadian Alliance of Business Travel) is the premiere professional travel management association in Canada. As the Canadian arm of NBTA, the world’s leading business travel association, NBTA-Canada is the Canadian source for critical information on the business travel industry. For nearly 40 years, NBTA has dedicated itself to the professional development of its members through advocacy, education and training, and networking opportunities. NBTA represents over 2,700 corporate and government travel managers and travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of expenditures within the business travel industry. For more on NBTA-Canada, visit www.nbtacanada.org.

###