GBTA + VDR Europe Conference 2026 in Partnership with ABTA Draws Record Attendance as European Business Travel Spending Grows

Vienna – Nearly 1,400 business travel and meetings professionals from 41 countries gathered in Vienna this week for the GBTA + VDR Europe Conference 2026 in partnership with ABTA, bringing together the people, ideas and innovations shaping the future of business travel. Held 2-4 November at the Austria Center Vienna, the Conference brought together 350 travel buyers, 75 exhibitors and 130 speakers for three days focused on the opportunities, challenges and innovations now and ahead for the industry.

The 2026 Conference also marked 12 years of collaboration between the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and the German Business Travel Association (VDR), with the Austrian Business Travel Association joining as a conference partner this year, underscoring the organisations’ continued commitment to advancing knowledge, connections and progress across the European business travel industry.

Record attendance at this year’s Conference, together with the continued growth we’re seeing in business travel spending and trips, points to an industry that remains resilient and increasingly forward-looking and that includes across Europe. Alongside GBTA partners VDR and ABTA, we saw firsthand this week our industry’s determination to collaborate, innovate and build a stronger future for business travel.

Fulvio Origo, Senior Director EMEA at GBTA

Precisely because business mobility is becoming increasingly complex, we need strong associations and dialogue across borders. The long-standing partnership between GBTA and VDR, together with our cooperation with other European associations, provides a strong platform for this. This year, ABTA joined as an additional national event partner, bringing fresh perspectives from the Austrian market. Together, we can raise the profile of the issues that matter to our industry and represent its interests with a stronger, collective voice.

Jens Schließmann, Managing Director of the VDR

ABTA was delighted to help bring the European business travel community to Vienna, a city with a long and distinguished history as a center for international congresses and collaboration. We were especially proud to see so many Austrian professionals take part, share their perspectives and help make this year’s conference such a success.

Angela Lille, President of ABTA

European Business Travel Spending Poised for Growth While Trip Volume Grows More Cautiously

GBTA also revealed insights on the regional outlook in Europe. Despite persistent economic and political challenges, Europe-originating business travel spending is forecast to reach €404 billion ($453.9 billion) in 2026, up 7% from 2025, according to the 2026 GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook, made possible by Visa. Accounting for more than a quarter of the worldwide business travel total, Europe spending is forecast to reach €425 billion in 2027 and €471 billion by 2030.

At the same time, Europe-based organisations are expected to generate approximately 600 million business trips this year, a projected growth of 0.7% over 2025, highlighting a widening gap between spending growth and trip growth.

Sustainability Summit Shifts the Focus from Strategy to Scale

The GBTA Foundation’s 2026 Sustainability Summit held 2 November concurrently with the Conference put action at the centre of the sustainability conversation, challenging the industry to move beyond ambition to accelerate measurable progress.

With a record 800+ sustainability, procurement and industry professionals in attendance, the Summit explored how organizations can scale proven initiatives, navigate evolving requirements and embed sustainability more deeply into business travel strategy.

Results of the 2026 Sustainability Acceleration Challenge were also unveiled, benchmarking data submitted by 204 companies across 28 countries. In all, 30 companies were recognized for their leadership in sustainability efforts.

The Challenge found that the average travel program maturity score for sustainability efforts increased incrementally to 1.5 (out of 5) in 2026, up from 1.4 in 2025. The results reflect that companies worldwide continue to make incremental progress in managing business travel more sustainably, even as economic uncertainty and competing corporate and political priorities put pressure on sustainability programs.

Europe VentureConnect, Spotlights the Next Generation of Business Travel Innovation; 1-CP Takes Top Honors

The Conference saw the return of Europe VentureConnect, made possible by Amadeus Cytric, designed to foster travel startups to accelerate industry innovation. This year, eight travel startups connected with nine investors and industry travel industry professionals for a series of engaging pitch presentations.

The Europe VentureConnect participant startups were judged based on six criteria to determine the top three finalists, who received awards ranging from €1,500 to €5,000 in support of overall industry innovation. 

Following a vote by the mainstage audience, 1-CP, a fintech company that streamlines corporate travel purchasing, payments, expense management and reporting, led by founder and CEO Erik-Jan Krausch, was named the Europe VentureConnect winner.

Other GBTA + VDR + ABTA Europe Conference 2026 highlights included:

• Dan Humby was named the 2026 recipient of the Jutta Luoma Award, recognising his leadership and volunteer service to GBTA and the European business travel community. Humby has served as Co-Chair of GBTA's Meetings & Events Committee, contributed to Ladders as both a mentee and mentor, and serves on the European Advisory Board.

• 33 education sessions featured key topics from AI integration and program optimisation to emissions reduction, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, risk management and more.

• The return of “The Big Idea” in a dynamic "The Traitors"-style debate explored how travel programs must evolve their success measurement frameworks to reflect how people are booking now, why historic key performance indicators are no longer fit for purpose and what should replace them.

• Braindate sessions featured small group, peer-to-peer discussions where attendees set the topics with a goal of creating meaningful connections between travel buyers and suppliers through collaboration and engagement.

• TheStudio@GBTA captured videotaped insights and perspectives from 24 industry supplier leaders that will be posted on GBTA’s YouTube channel.

The 2026 Conference was made possible through the generous support of its sponsors and exhibitors.

The GBTA + VDR Europe Conference will return 8-10 November 2027 in Cologne, Germany.

Media Contact

Debbie Iannaci

GBTA Global Communications, PR & Research [email protected] +1 305 301 7057