ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – Latin America region in conjunction with GBTA's Argentina Chapter, recently hosted its third annual successful GBTA Conference Latin America – held this year at the Buenos Aires Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center on October 6-8.

A record-setting 403 travel professionals from 11 Latin American countries and the United States of America attended this event.

GBTA's Leadership delegation, including Kevin Maguire, past president and chairman of GBTA's Board of Directors, and Eric Norberg, elected Allied/Supplier representative of the GBTA Board, joined representatives from Argentina, México, Brasil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay and the United States to present the latest business travel industry topics in eight education sessions, two newly designed workshops and five general sessions at the conference. Attendees were also offered dedicated time to meet and discuss business travel with 23 exhibitors hosting booths at the conference.

Maguire and Norberg announced a significant new plan to introduce a newly designed education program called The Advanced Principles of Business Travel Management. This two-day workshop, taught by subject matter experts, will be the logical next step building on GBTA's Fundamentals of Business travel Management. It will be a great step forward for those looking to grow their careers and those aspiring to sit for GBTA's Global Travel Professional (GTP) Exam. Latin America will be the first GBTA region to experience the program.

Conference attendees also had the opportunity to hear from industry representatives including:Fernando Montes, Travel Manager from Telefonica, Argentina, President of GBTA's Argentina Chapter and winner of GBTA 2013 Direct member of the year awarded at GBTA's annual convention

  • Juan Pablo Sanguinetti , WHALECOM, Buenos Aires, who spoke to the group regarding the application of behavioral economics to reduce travel costs
  • Christoff Poppe, United Airlines, Buenos Aires, who led a panel discussing travel distribution trends and their impact on business travel programs, travelers and travel managers
  • Monica Sanchez, GBTA Foundation's Research Project Director, who presented GBTA's latest Business Travel Index relating trends in the region and also moderated a panel discussing a GBTA research study highlighting Latin American companies' level of satisfaction with their travel management companies

Well attended workshops and education sessions included topics dealing with technology innovation, best practices in travel management, ancillary fees, bundles and customization, strategic sourcing, key ways to maintain performance of hotel programs and consumerization.

Fernando Montes, President of GBTA's Argentina Chapter said: "We are proud that the third year has produced a record number of registrants at the Buenos Aires conference. I believe it reflects well on our chapter leadership and the progress we have made over the past three years. We believe the many educational and networking opportunities at this year's conference continue to serve a growing business travel community across the region."

About the Global Business Travel Association in Latin America

GBTA America Latina, with chapters in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, México, Peru and a diverse membership across the region, is an important part of GBTA, the world's premier business travel and meetings organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA's 7,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. To learn how business travel drives business growth, visit

About the Global Business Travel Association

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premier business travel and meetings organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA's 7,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. To learn how business travel drives business growth, visit gbta.org

Colleen Lerro Gallagher
+1 703 236 1133
GBTA