The GTMC is hoping its members will learn something from experts outside of the travel industry at its conference later this month.
Apart from two speakers – Travelport’s Simon Ferguson and British Airways’ Richard Tams – all the others are non-travel professionals.
"It must be a first to have a travel conference with virtually no speakers from the travel industry!" said GTMC chief executive Paul Wait.
"The content, though, can all relate back to the business of travel with sessions that include politics, economics, business risk, culture and brand. Plus there will be two very special, inspirational guest speakers."
The speakers for the conference entitled ‘Are We Ready’ include:
– John Rosling, UK CEO of Shirlaws, the international business coaching organisation, which predicted the recession in 2007
– Paul Richards, labour party activist and writer, who will take the stage with a presentation ‘Is Ed Ready?’
– Chris Smit, author, entrepreneur, international public speaker, consultant, and interculturalist and managing director of Culture Matters
– David Lewis, from Audiencenet, who will speak on the subject of ‘The Voice of the Business Traveller’. With a background in the music business, he has been closely involved with the application of online research methodologies, across three continents, since their earliest inception.
JP Morgan’s Richard Kaye, SLA Pharma’s Justin Slagel and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Colin Stanbridge will all take part in a panel discussion, along with Tams, entitled ‘What do you owe to UK PLC?’.
Travelport’s Ferguson will speak on ‘The Consumerisation of the Business Traveller’.
The conference takes place at the Arts Hotel in Barcelona on April 26 – 28.
