Business By The Numbers

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) wrapped up its Canadian conference in Toronto this week with the release of a watershed study on the impact of business travel on the Canadian economy. Joe Bates, vice-president, research, GBTA Foundation, told conference delegates that the study – which was sponsored by IHG – focused specifically on domestic business travel in Canada and it found that in 2013, the industry accounted for $23.5 billion in travel spending and supported 434,000 jobs. And when the multiplier effect is factored in, Bates said that business travel has a $27.3 billion impact on this country’s GDP.

The release of the GBTA’s first, Canada-specific business travel study certainly dovetailed neatly with the Business In Motion theme as the conference wound down in Toronto yesterday (April 22).

GBTA’s regional director, Canada, Nancy Tudorache advised that final delegate registrations had topped the 550 mark – hitting 552 to be exact – a record turnout for the 11th annual event.

Along with the release of the economic impact study, the final day featured a general session on Micro-Terrorism, Health Intelligence Combat Zone which focused on the need for the industry to be aware of the health risks travellers are exposed to and understand how to mitigate those risks.

The final day’s education sessions included workshops on Crisis Response; Social Media Risks; Immigration & Travel Documentation; and more.

And delegates also had a chance to enjoy “Lunch in Motion” as they met with suppliers at the GBTA Travel Expo.

Stay tuned for more on the GBTA’s 2015 Canada conference in upcoming issues of Canadian Travel Press.