NBTA Europe Announces Amsterdam Site For 2011 European Conference

NBTA Europe, the largest European buyer-led business travel and meetings network, has announced the location, dates and new elements to its anticipated annual conference. The event for 400 delegates, entitled The 3rd Dimension, will take place 19th - 21st September at the Grand Hotel Huis Ter Duin in Noordwijk near Amsterdam.



Following its inaugural conference in Lisbon in 2010, where results showed that 95% of delegates achieved objectives whilst attending the event, the organisers have taken the concept of objectives and content to another level and are encouraging delegates to set their own content through a new My Conference programme designed to allow delegates to dictate their own content in addition to attending structured sessions.



Talking about the My Conference element of the event, Paul Tilstone, Managing Director of NBTA Europe, said, "Some of the feedback from 2010 was that delegates really benefited from the intimate nature of the event and time to talk with other delegates. The sharing of experiences is one of the most valuable elements of our conference. So we are taking this one step further and asking delegates in advance to identify subjects where they can share best practice. We will then be matching up delegate pairs to meet and exchange. This means that they arrive with very clear objectives and we provide the information, time and tools for them to achieve these objectives by helping each other."



The conference theme, The 3rd Dimension, refers to the interaction of travel buyers with other internal stakeholders and the organisers also plan to bring elements from HR, Legal, IT and Security functions to the event, as well as alternative supplier strategies and the hidden systems of travel management - such as hotel revenue management and CRS technology. Understanding stakeholders has been an objective of the NBTA Europe Advisory board and its chair, Caroline Strachan, Global Category Lead for AstraZeneca - said, "By helping delegates to understand the objectives of these other stakeholders we help travel managers to better achieve their professional and company goals. So in addition to the new best-practice sharing element at the conference, the content will clearly focus on this other dimension. The goal of the conference is to stretch delegate thinking and to ensure wider supplier and customer impact."



The conference commences on the 19th September with an opportunity for attendees to try their hand fire-walking over hot coals to challenge delegate thinking on individual limitations. Registration for the event will open in March 2011 and the network has chosen ATPI and its event division ATP Event Experts to deliver the new format.