The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) reports the creation of an Energy, Resource & Marine Task Force structure to develop educational content, research and membership for travel professionals in this sector.
The GBTA said it is establishing two task forces, divided by global regions and time zones, to work independently and develop suggested remits, objectives, timescales and working methodologies within nine months of their creation, with a view to creating a formal committee structure for the sector within GBTA.
Jeannie Eisenhart, Director, Corporate Travel & Meetings for Crowley Maritime Corporation based in the USA, will Chair Task Force Alpha, which will cover North America, Latin America and Australasia. Mette Christiansen, Global Head of Travel and Related Services from A.P. Møller-Mærsk in Denmark, will chair Task Force Beta, which will cover Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The organization is now in the process of extending invitations to task force participants.
Kevin Maguire, president of GBTA said: "The creation of sector specific committees to drive more relevant content to travel professionals globally has been a strategy of GBTA’s for some time and we have had great success in the government and sports sectors in particular. The energy, resource and marine sector is a fast growing and high margin travel sector which experiences particular nuances in areas such as air distribution, health & safety, risk and payment solutions. Our events have been highly successful and it’s natural for us to develop our work in this area to provide more value to members in this sector.”
The GBTA also announced that its African partner, the Institute of Travel & Meetings Southern Africa (ITMSA) has become a formal chapter and re-branded as GBTA Southern Africa.
ITMSA was awarded the contract to launch GBTA in Africa in 2012 while at the same time remaining the exclusive partner for the South Africa region. The association has implemented the first dedicated event to the energy and resource sector in Cape Town on July 3rd.
Linda Basson, Chairman of ITMSA and Procurement Lead for Accenture in South Africa and EMEA, said, "Now, with the Africa region positioned as a high growth market expected to boom around 2020 we as Africans are presented with exciting opportunities. It makes perfect sense for us to be fully aligned to an association which represents travel professionals globally.”
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