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BUSINESS TRAVEL SHOW ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET FOR VIP BUYERS

February 13, 2009
Visitors to the fifteenth annual Business Travel Show – which took place in London on 10-12 February 2009 – were of a higher quality than ever with initial figures showing a 38 per cent increase in the number of VIP buyers attending Europe’s leading business travel event. “Unaudited statistics show that overall visitor numbers are likely to have dropped slightly compared to 2008: a reflection of the economy as a whole. However, a total of 828 VIPs attended the Business Travel Show this year,” said Marketing Director Nolan O’Connor. “That’s 828 buyers responsible for budgets in excess of £5 million; 828 buyers handpicked by our exhibitors as the people they most wanted to meet at the show.”

Dale Howarth, PR and Marketing Manager, Logical Transport, added: “At this year’s Business Travel Show we had 20 enquiries on the second day with a value of £2 million. At other exhibitions, we may expect to convert around 10 per cent of enquiries into good opportunities, but at the Business Travel Show the quality is high, around 75 per cent. We have also benefited from a more diverse group of visitors attending this year – in terms of the size of companies they’re representing and their individual responsibilities. We will definitely be back next year and we are also looking at the possibility of exhibiting at the Business Travel Show Dubai.”

Clare Morrissey, Head of Corporate Account Management, thetrainline.com, backed up this sentiment: “It’s been all about quality at this year’s show. We’ve had some interesting, high quality leads, which our sales people will invest time in converting and following up in the coming weeks.”

Ivana Popovic, Manager Marketing and Communications, AirPlus: “It has been another successful Business Travel Show for us because the buyers visiting our stand have been of a high calibre and specifically interested in our products and services.”

VIP visitor Lyn Kirwin, Air Business Manager, MoD: “The Business Travel Show is a really useful place for us to meet suppliers once a year and to find out about the new services the industry has on offer.”

Event Director David Chapple finished by saying: “The Business Travel Show continues to bring suppliers and buyers together from across the world and still remains the largest European event for the business travel industry. We look forward to hosting the 16th Business Travel Show London at Earls Court in 2010.”

NOTES TO EDITORS
For more information: please contact Charlotte Le Rougetel or Aaron Huckett at Bastion on 020 7421 7600; E: firstname@bastion.co.uk

About Business Travel Show:
The Business Travel Show was established 15 years ago and has since become the leading, dedicated event for suppliers of business travel products and services to showcase their latest offerings to buyers in the market. www.businesstravelshow.com. The Business Travel Show is part of the Business Travel Week. Next year’s dates are 9-11 February 2009.

About Business Travel Week:
The inaugural Business Travel Week ran from 9-13 February 2009. Business Travel Week is five days of exhibitions, conferences, awards and networking events in London.