Business Travel Show Europe celebrated its 30th anniversary at ExCeL London last week with another yearly increase in buyer numbers, this time rising by 5 per cent from 700 to 732. Overall attendee numbers were on par with 2023, which grew by 17 per cent over 2022, resulting in 4.5 buyers in the hall for every exhibitor compared to three last year.
Buyers attended from 37 countries with new buyers visiting from Armenia, Greece, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore and Sweden. There was a 28 per cent increase in buyers attending from mainland Europe and 4 per cent increase from the ROW.
Significantly, the number of meetings booked through the event’s meeting planner rocketed by 51 per cent to 3,807.
The showfloor was buzzing with activity
- The 35-session-strong conference addressing the key industry topics of the day was ‘kicked-off’ by BBC journalist Tanya Beckett and a fascinating insight into current geopolitics
- The nine-way battle between competitors in the three Business Travel Innovation Faceoff sessions was a fierce contest to view, with Lumo finally taking home the trophy
- Business Travel Show Europe’s 30th birthday party ended day one in style with a playlist packed with pop anthems from 1994.
- There was networking galore as many of the show’s exhibitors also held on-stand cocktail hours and events, including FCM, AMEX GBT, StayCity, Gray Dawes, Amadeus, Addison Lee and CTM – which was also celebrating 30 years in the industry with traveller-themed drinks. Everyone’s favourite Tripstax DJ returned to the decks at the end of both days and Clarity launched its new branding and demoed ClarityGo.
Three first time buyers talked about their experiences at this year’s show:
Veronique Simon, Buyer, University of Luxembourg
“I have really enjoyed the opportunity to see so many suppliers in a short period. The networking opportunities have meant I have managed to connect with so many people already. I particularly enjoyed the “10 ways to start a travel programme” – getting insights from both a TMC and a customer on how to put a travel programme in place I found really interesting and helpful.”
Carla Kidd Murphy, Corporate Travel Manager, PM Group Global
“What is brilliant is the pre-show meeting, a great opportunity to meet other managers, network and share ideas. I have learnt so much more than I expected. The app is so easy to use. My advice [for buyers attending next year] is don’t fill your calendar completely before you arrive as you there is so much more to see. Leave some free time as you never know what you will find.”
Caitlin Rutherford, Europe Sourcing Specialist, SLB
“I have found it very useful to get a better understanding around the current business travel climate and meeting people face to face adds more personalisation to the procurement process. Everyone in one space makes it a lot more personal and brings a greater collaborative aspect to sourcing and meeting suppliers in one go.”
BTN Group Executive Vice President Louis Magliaro said: “The corporate travel industry never sits still but now, more than ever, travel managers, bookers and buyers are faced with increased pressure to cut costs, introduce new technology, be more sustainable and keep up with ever changing opinion, regulations and legislation. Once again, more buyers have chosen to attend Business Travel Show Europe to find the answers to these challenges and to find new suppliers to build a better programme for their travellers.”
Who were the new exhibitors at Business Travel Show Europe this year?
New exhibitors for 2024 included Heathrow Express, British Airways, Altour International Travel, Wings Global Travel, Tourvest Travel Services, SQUAKE, Mesh Payments, Exactly , La Bas International, DerbySoft, LotusFlare, Sunny’s Worldwide, WorkFlex, Visa Service Desk, Nexus Vehicle Rental, HQ Travel, Dwellworks, Limos4, Bank of America, Zeelo, Imperial Hotels, H10 Hotels, Battleface, Thon Hotels, Hainan Airlines, Cirium, Intercontinental Barcelona, Alo Index, Clarasight, CoCo+ Travel and Sercasa.
Business Travel Show Europe is the leading business travel event in Europe. It returns on 25-26 June 2025 at ExCeL, London.
