Centaur Exhibitions is introducing an Innovation Arena at next year’s
Business Travel Show, where the shortlisted finalists of the hotly contested
Innovation Awards will battle it out for all-important visitor votes.
The brand new Innovation Arena will showcase the 14 finalists of the Business
Travel Show Innovation Awards, who will each have a dedicated area to
demonstrate their innovations as well as a crucial 20-minute slot to present
their product, service or process to thousands of visitors at the show in a bid
to secure winning votes.
The Innovation Awards – one of the key events taking place during Business
Travel Week (www.businesstravelweek.com) - enter their fourth year in 2009 and
business travel companies (exhibitors and non-exhibitors alike) are invited to
enter their products, services and processes for seven different award
categories: accommodation, air travel, CSR, ground transportation, technology,
traveller service and travel management service.
The deadline to enter the Innovation Awards is 14 November
(www.innovation-awards.com) and the first round of nominations will be whittled
down by a panel of industry experts to a final shortlist of two entries per
category. Business Travel Show visitors will then be asked to vote online in
January 2009 and these votes will be added to the visitor votes cast at the show
to find the final well-deserving seven category winners of the 2009 Innovation
Awards plus a very special Gold Innovation Award to the shortlisted supplier
considered to be the most innovative.
All Innovation Award category winners will be presented with a commemorative
award at the Centre Stage on the final day of the Business Travel Show – 12
February 2009.
“Hosting the Innovation Awards over the last three years has proved to us
that the European business travel industry is pumped full of creativity and
ingenuity and the people and companies behind this continual spiral of
innovation deserve to be recognised and rewarded by their peers,” said Business
Travel Show event director David Chapple.
“We have introduced the Innovation Arena to next year’s show to provide a
platform for these - most creative - companies within our industry, and to give
Business Travel Show visitors an opportunity to decide who deserves to receive a
much-coveted Innovation Award.”