MyResidence Africa attends the GBTA SA Event
What is the GBTA SA?
MyResidence attends the GBTA SA event!
The Global Business Travel Association is the leading source of all knowledge of business travel, all around the world, across all sectors. The GBTA is dedicated to, as outlined in their mission statement, the perpetual creation of factual information in the business travel industry through research, networking, and advocacy. Being an internationally renowned organisation, the GBTA has bases all around the world in various countries and cities, including in South Africa, Cape Town, as well as in London, UK.
In South Africa, the GBTA SA is a Not-For-Profit Company (NPC). The success of any organisation is inevitable when their cardinal priority is not to drive profit and personal gains, but rather to motivate, foster, and grow. As such, GBTA SA successfully attains revenue from various means such as membership fees, research projects, marketing strategies and educational workshops. These funds are then redirected back into the organisation to ensure the continual creation of knowledge within the industry.
GBTA South Africa serves as the official platform for all its members and partners in the travel industry to collaborate, communicate and connect. It harbours amazing opportunities and drives dynamic changes in the workplace that could better impact the company in many ways; from the way people work, to the attitudes they hold towards improving sustainability, and managing risks.
MyResidence attends the GBTA event!
Part of the purpose of their conferences is to encourage dialogue and learning through a series of relevant and strategic educational events. Both virtual as well as in-person events and conferences are undertaken occasionally. These unforgettable events are anticipated by all members, partners, and affiliates, who come together under one roof to build beneficial relationships amongst all business travel professionals empowering both the buyer and supplier community.
At this year’s GBTA SA event, MyResidence Africa attended as a proud member partaking in all activities and conversations. The event was attended by lots of high-profile figures and influential people in the industry and was hence a good opportunity to network. While a large part of the event was formal and professional- with discussions surrounding government policies, advice for seamless business transactions and procedures, and AI integration in the industry- the evening ended off with fun, music, and dancing.
The conversations held at the GBTA SA event were both insightful and important. The event presented a panel of energetic speakers who wasted no time getting into the relevant trends, current challenges, and future technological advancements in the industry. One prediction that MyResidence Africa found particularly exciting was the mention of AI integration in the industry, which is expected to occur around March 2024.
Other Key Takeaways Worth Mentioning:
Energy Impact in Travel:
Chris Yelland captivated the audience with an insightful discussion on Eskom and the repercussions of loadshedding in South Africa. With particular focus on influencing energy consumption in the travel sector and strategic considerations for Africa’s future travel, his presentation was both enlightening and very relevant to all businesses in the country who endure limitations imposed by loadshedding.
Strategic Supplier Management:
The suggestion that corporations should take the lead in supplier relationships, addressing fees, compliance, and KPIs, while tour companies handle fulfillment, offers a comprehensive solution for accountability and transparency. This topic produced engaging discussions between the speaker and the audience.
Airline Trade Dynamics:
Effort was made to Understand the complexities of airline pricing, which highlighted challenges in corporate accounts during special promotions. The importance of improved and efficient alignment through technology and collaboration, along with dedicated personnel for resolving issues faced by travel managers and agents, was given acknowledgment in one of the discussions that took place.
Payment Trends and Challenges:
This specific conversation was quite fun with references to emerging payment trends such as virtual cards. However, this possibility does not come without its own challenges, given that some countries do not accept certain credit cards and have currency restrictions.
Human-Centric Travel Technology:
Given that technology is prevalent in the industry, and the possibility of AI integration in the very near future, this discussion on travel technology was both exciting and insightful. It emphasised the importance of personalised experiences. The consensus was astoundingly clear – travelers prefer human interaction over bots. Technology should facilitate personalisation rather than replace it with AI bots.
International Travel Risks and DIRCO’s TravelSmart App:
Significant praise was extended to DIRCO for the TravelSmart app, a must-have for South Africans traveling or relocating internationally. The app, with official government branding, provides alerts and aids in locating citizens in distress outside the country.
Tourism Grading Council Insights:
The Tourism Grading Council’s presentation highlighted the alignment of various accommodation types. While the star rating system is proven to work, it does, however, only provide a general overview. There is room for improvement with consideration for offering more detailed information, with opportunities for public input to enhance relevance.
Needless to say, the conference conveyed lots of useful and informative content that was presented by the industry’s leading and upcoming figures. The friendly faces fostered warm and joyful interactions, who ended the evening on the dance floor, sharing laughs and creating memories. MyResidence Africa looks forward to contributing to the ongoing dialogue and advancements in African travel.
Why Has MyResidence Africa Chosen to Become a Member of GBTA SA?
The GBTA acknowledges that the future of the corporate travel industry must be shaped by those who are directly impacted by it, from an experience and costing perspective. Thus, GBTA SA ensures that their members stay current with international developments and ongoing learning. Members have the ability to access business travel industry knowledge through the organisation’s wide range of resources including free webinars, interviews, and older information via the archives.
GBTA currently has more than 9,000 global members, who are all connected via GBTA’s member only networking and collaboration tool, GBTA Hub.
GBTA Members Also Get the Following Benefits:
- Exclusive member-only pricing on events and webinars.
- The possibility to connect with the largest global travel business.
- Resources that shed light on industry RFPs, Pricing Forecasts, Toolkits, etc.
- Unlimited access timely reports from every segment of the business travel industry.
- A vast Video Library comprising of hundreds of webinars and presentations that are available 24/7.
- Access to videos from global events, educational sessions, webinars, industry voices interviews.
- Industry-centered enlightening discussions and networking opportunities in our member-only GBTA Hub Community.
For those who want a little extra in addition to the benefits outlined above, there is also the option of becoming a partner. Much like their members, the GBTA is entirely dependent on their partners for the continuation of their plans and success for the future. Being a non-profit organisation, the GBTA ensures that their members, partners and associates are accredited accordingly for their unwavering support and commitment to secure and risk-free travel environment are plotted carefully and, in a cost-efficient manner.
To learn more about how your company can get involved with GBTA SA, visit their website, join the family and receive access to an abundance of information on the business travel industry.
To read more about past, current, and future trends in the industry, visit the MyResidence Africa website and make use of our exclusive range of blogs.