GBTA has announced the creation of an advocacy group to engage with the industry and the European Commission on behalf of its buyer members.
The group is being led by Hans Ingo Biehl, Executive Director of VDR, GBTA Europe’s German business travel association partner, and presently includes buyer representation from the UK, Netherlands and Nordics. The network is presently calling on its partner network to put forward buyer representation to create an advocacy group with buyers from every region in Europe.

The GBTA Europe Advocacy Group’s objectives are to represent the interest of buyers in Europe and co-ordinate GBTA global policy with the U.S. on issues which span from Washington, D.C. to Brussels.

“The creation of a solid pan-European advocacy effort is incredibly important for VDR, GBTA and the European business travel sector. This is the only voice representing the interests of buyers of travel in Europe and we have a number of issues already in our sights,” said Biehl.

Paul Tilstone, GBTA Europe’s Managing Director added, “We have prioritised issues presently surrounding data privacy, competition, airline contracting and ancillary fees and we will continue to build our advocacy efforts to ensure the voice of the buyer is heard in Europe.”

The group also includes Mark Cuschieri from UBS in the UK, Jens Liltorp from Novo Nordisk in Denmark and Jan van Veen from NATM in the Netherlands.