industry note
 

 

Friday, December 15, 2006

Dear Colleagues,

As 2006 comes to a close, I would like to thank the many hundreds of you--corporate buyers, travel management company executives, consultants, association executives--from around the world who helped the Business Travel Coalition this year in formulating and advocating policy positions on many issues of strategic consequence. You deserve enormous credit for a very successful year!

Your advice and counsel enabled BTC to move swiftly and with confidence in working with the industry, governments and media. You peer-reviewed documents, were Signatories to supplier and government letters, provided front-line as well as strategic feedback on industry developments, united with one public voice when necessary and spoke directly to suppliers and governments with firmness when required.

The tough and sometimes controversial problems BTC engaged this year include U.S. travel distribution system reform, EU CRS deregulation, Canadian air travel distribution, the Wright Amendment, the U.S.-China route authority case, aviation security issues such as Registered Traveler and the U.S. DHS Automated Targeting System (ATS) and U.S. airline industry mergers.

I believe there are a few "first principles" when it comes to advocacy in the travel industry: (1) there are more problems in our industry than there are associations or resources to address them; (2) when associations come together they become “force multipliers” and can be highly effective advocates; and (3) some issues such as transportation security are bedrock ones that are long-term and global in nature. Associations working together on some of our industry’s most strategic issues serve their constituencies’ interests very well.

In that regard, I would like to pay special thanks to several industry organizations with whom BTC collaborated in 2006 on so many issues, and without whom results would not have been so positive.

These organizations include:

  • Advantage
  • American Society of Travel Agents
  • Association of Canadian Travel Agencies
  • Association of Corporate Travel Executives
  • Association of Retail Travel Agents
  • Canadian Automobile Association
  • Canadian Corporate Travel Association
  • C-FARE
  • Guild of Travel Management Companies
  • Netherlands Association for Travel Management
  • Public Interest Advocacy Centre
  • Travel Management Alliance, LLC

Of course, 2007 will not disappoint with the number and complexity of issues that carry over and develop during the year. I look forward to collaborating with you and please feel free to call upon BTC in the new year!

Happy Holidays,

Kevin Mitchell
Chairman
Business Travel Coalition
mitchell@BusinessTravelCoalition.com

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
Harry S. Truman