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Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2012. The NBAA is the National Business Aviation Association. The key operators and industry leaders met in Orlando to conduct business, make buying decisions and set the stage for business aviation activity for the year ahead. While companies that rely on business aviation represent many different professions and locations, they all have one thing in common, we heard: the need for fast, flexible, safe, secure and cost-effective access to destinations across the country and around the world. There seem to be real advantages. Business aircraft allow employees to make a trip involving stops at several locations, then return to headquarters the same day. Savings can be made on hotel rooms, rental cars, meals and other expenses that would be needed to make the same trip over several days via auto, train or airline transport. A recent study suggested that small and medium companies in America using business aviation consistently outperformed nonusers. The advantage seems “plane”…
Sept. 7-9, 2012. The Trade Show sounds a little coy about what business it’s there to represent. But all becomes clear when it admits that it’s the Travel Retailing and Destination Expo. Speakers were highly qualified experts both from inside and outside the travel industry, there to speak about strategy, marketing, social media and apps, leadership and industry affairs, technology and of course destinations. Speakers and instructors were industry leaders who not only promoted strategies for success, but showed how they drive industry trends. So what destinations? The speaker list included those who wanted you to know about Hungary, the Czech Republic, Dubai, Puerto Rico, India, Slovakia, oh, and of course little old Los Angeles itself. Been there, done that….
Aug. 21-22, 2012. IncentiveWorks is Canada’s largest and longest running education and trade show event for the meetings, incentive travel and special events industry. Attendees were typically people involved in meetings, events, conferences, trade shows, galas, and company socials; also buyers of premium and incentive merchandise and corporate gifts, plus anyone responsible for selecting promotional items to reward and motivate employees and thank clients for their business. Breakout sessions and workshops were targeted to help plan and execute better meetings, conferences and events. Delegates could find more than 700 companies from Canada and around the world featuring new venues, products and services to meet your meeting, special event and incentive travel planning needs. IncentiveWorks proves that… incentives work.
July 22-25, 2012. GBTA is the Global Business Travel Association, which claims to be the world’s premier business travel and meetings organization. Collectively, GBTA’s 5,000-plus members manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA provides its network of 17,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, with networking events, news, education & professional development, research, and advocacy. Travel managers have been asked to lead company-wide efforts to cut travel costs, track those savings and report them back to senior management. Top visiting orator was ex-president George W. Bush, who spoke about leadership, his time in office and the decision-making process behind some of the most challenging moments during his presidency. Due to travel budget cuts, he came in on a Greyhound bus…
June 11-14, 2012. Parking 2012 is the brainchild of the IPI, or International Parking Institute. And you know what they think? ”Parking and transportation solutions should balance economic feasibility, public health and welfare, and consideration of environmental effects. This represents a fundamental shift in thinking and reflects the integral role parking professionals play in helping communities achieve sustainability goals”. As a for-instance, consider PHX Airport Parking, which, we learned, is responsible for public and employee parking at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. PHX airport has more than 37,500 parking spaces in 14 different parking facilities. Public parking operations involves cashiers, lot attendants, customer service representatives, traffic directors, supervisors and managers. And that’s before you even caught a ride to the conference itself….
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