The GBTA Europe Advocacy Newsletter has been designed at the request of GBTA Europe Partner Associations to keep European members up to date with what's happening in Brussels, and the advocacy work GBTA is undertaking on behalf of members and the industry.
News from
Open letter from European tourism industry organisations to EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans
BT4Europe, ECTAA, EU Travel Tech, GBTA and other European travel industry associations have published an open letter to European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans on the looming dilution of the MDMS initiative.
Both undersigned consumer and business organisations encourage the EU to guarantee equal operating conditions for different transport modes in terms of pricing and ticketing – including cross-border (train) traffic – by creating a unified ticketing system via the Commission's Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) initiative, for example, for seamless combination of flights and train journeys.
However, the Commission is now lowering its objectives, meaning the outcome will differ little from the current situation. If the original aim was for a passenger arriving from a province by train to Helsinki-Vantaa to be able to combine their connecting train and flight bookings onto a single booking and document, and thus have a seamless travel chain, this would no longer be achieved if the ambitious objectives of the MDMS project are compromised.
An open letter to Vice-President Timmermans is available to read. here.
M&E Committee: Attendee Management for Meetings and Events
Based on the results of a member survey conducted earlier in the spring, the FBTA's M&E committee has drawn up a good summary and checklist for event participant management.
You can familiarise yourself with the document here, and it has also been added to the material bank. Unless you yourself organise meetings and events, please pass on this information to those in your organisation who would benefit!
FBTA Spring Meeting Report 27 April 2023
FBTA's spring meeting considered the development trends of airline NDC distribution.
The Finnish Business Travel Association FBTA gathered its members for the association's spring meeting event just before May Day, on April 27th, 2023, in the auditorum at Valio's head office in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki. The event began with group meetings for partner and buyer members, continued with the statutory spring meeting, and culminated in an English-language work programme developed by FBTA's Travel Management Committee. This programme discussed the current development stage and situation of airline NDC distribution.
Eero Havian's report on the spring meeting event can be found here.
Nordic Travel Manager Award 2023 to Mirja Kivimaa
Global Travel Manager at Outokumpu Oyj, Chair of FBTA Mirja Kivimaa will receive the Nordic Travel Manager award at the Nordic Business Travel Summit held in Stockholm from 21-22 March.
The award category was Achievement in Travel Management: Industry Influencer and the reasoning follows:
“Mirja is a proactive influencer and an innovator with a keen interest in making improvements in business travel. By sharing her knowledge, participating in industry discussions, and understanding the importance of co-operation, she never says no to a brainstorming session.
Mirja has extensive experience working as a Global Travel Manager and recognises the value in employees” travel experience, compliance, partners and vendors, and the travel buyer network. She has been an active member of the Finnish Business Travel Association (FBTA) for many years, contributing to both committee work and the board. Recently, Mirja took on the responsibilities of chairman duties in Finland.”
Warmest congratulations, Mirja!
BT4Europe peräänkuuluttaa EU:lta liikematkustuksen toimintaedellytysten parantamista
Eurooppalaisten liikematkayhdistysten BT4Europen (European Network of Business Travel Associations) kannanotto liikematkustuksen edellytysten parantamisesta julkaistiin 14.3.
Position Paper on Boosting the Economic Impact of Business Travel -kannanotossa todetaan liikematkustuksen luovan edellytykset talouskasvulle ja kannustetaan EU:ta ja koko matkailualaa ottamaan opiksi Covid-pandemian aikaisten matkustusrajoitusten, maittain vaihtelevien ohjeiden ja muuttuvien säädösten aiheuttamista pitkäaikaisista negatiivisista vaikutuksista.
BT4Europe kannustaa EU:ta takaamaan eri kuljetusmuodoille yhdenvertaiset toimintaedellytykset hinnoittelun ja liputuksen suhteen – maiden rajat ylittävä liikenne mukaanlukien – luomalla komission multimodaalisen digitaalisen liikkumispalvelun MDMS-aloitteen myötä yhtenäislippujärjestelmä esim. lentojen ja junamatkojen saumattomaksi yhdistämiseksi.
Työelämän muuttuessa vanhentunut lainsäädäntö kaipaa uudistuksia helpottamaan työvoiman liikkumista ja työn tekemistä oman maan rajojen ulkopuolella: lisää digitaalisia palveluja ja vähemmän byrokratiaa.
Kannanotto löytyy here.