How would you sum up the GBTA Europe 2016 conference?
Véra Strezyk - It was clearly a success, with no fewer than 980 participants, a good proportion of them buyers. This was due in particular to the incentives put in place by the GBTA to attract buyers. For the French professionals, the event straddled a public holiday, so it was inevitably more complicated. But we hope to do better next year, as the organisers have taken this into account and scheduled the event for 14-16 November in Frankfurt.
How involved was GBTA France in the organisation of this European event?
V. S. - Several of our speakers have taken part in conferences, including Aurelie Krau, Operations Manager of GBTA France and a member of our Innovation Committee, who contributed to the success of the session on the sharing economy, and our former President Carole Poillerat. So we're well represented, with a presence on various committees, and we're delighted. We hope this will continue in the future.
When will we see an event like this in France?
V. S. - We're giving it a lot of thought, of course. We're going to look into it for 2016 and we'll make a decision on it by the end of the year, I think.
Lufthansa was at the heart of the debates during this conference. Have you measured the impact of the GDS tax on French buyers?
V. S. - I haven't had any conclusive feedback on this. It all depends on how important Lufthansa is to each company's travel programme. It varies a lot.
Are you planning any studies on this or other issues in the French market?
V. S. - This is currently under discussion. But we have launched a survey to measure the impact of this measure on travel programmes.
It was also your first event of this calibre as President of GBTA France...
V. S. - Absolutely, because I was appointed three months ago for a two-year term. So this kind of event is all the more interesting in terms of networking. I was able to meet the other presidents of the partner associations, from the Swedish SBTA to the British ITM... I found it a real added value. In particular, you realise that the issues are the same, whatever the country of origin.
What are your priorities for the coming months?
V. S. - We will be focusing our work on three main areas: a "fundamentals and training" committee will be responsible for working on the basics, with a particular emphasis on the strategic aspect. This is how we can bring real added value to our members. The second area is the "innovation and technology" committee. We organised the first event of this committee last October. We want to give the start-ups operating in our sector the opportunity to come face to face with buyers and decision-makers. Their ideas are often very interesting, but they don't always take into account the business constraints inherent in a travel policy, for example. Finally, the third area concerns the international commission, which is responsible for taking part in events such as GBTA Europe, and then bringing the content back to France, and in French. It's interesting for our members.
Will there be any other changes in 2016?
V. S. - We have worked hard over the last few months on business travel. In 2016, we are going to focus on putting the meeting back at the centre of the debate, to satisfy all our members.
How many members does GBTA France currently have, and have you set yourself any targets in terms of numbers?
V. S. - We currently have around 180 members, including 45% buyers. We haven't really set ourselves a target: if we offer quality content, the number will naturally rise.
