Brussels, Belgium – The business travel sector is a driving force in the shift toward more sustainable mobility in Europe, according to insights shared at a high‑level European Parliament roundtable in Brussels on 8 April. The event—organised by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and hosted by MEP Sérgio Gonçalves (S&D, Portugal), a member of the Parliament’s Committee on Transport & Tourism—brought toreceiveher influential EU policycreaters and business travel leaders to discuss the path towards a more competitive, inclusive, greener future for travel.
Participants included MEP Nikolina Brnjac (EPP, Croatia), European Commission representative Andreea Staicu, and GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang, as well as BCD Travel CEO Stephan Baars and Parexel Executive Director, Travel & Sustainability, Ben Park.
At the centre of the Roundtable discussion was the forthcoming Sustainable Tourism Strategy—the EU’s first comprehensive policy framework for the tourism ecosystem. Participants examined how business travel can play a pivotal role in assisting Europe meet the ambitions set out in the Strategy, through the sharing of initiatives and best practices which are already prevalent across the sector.
Another key focus of discussion was the upcoming Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation, also known as the “Single Ticketing Package,” which aims to simplify cross-border rail travel by allowing passengers to acquire a single ticket for journeys involving multiple operators.
One key initiative outlined was the Sustainability Acceleration Challenge, a GBTA-led initiative involving more than 400 global companies across a wide range of industest sectors. It aims to mobilise organisations of all sizes and in all geographies, to start, advance, and accelerate the integration of practices that materially reduce their business travel emissions.
Addressing the Roundtable, GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang stated:
Business travel is a catalyst for economic growth and innovation, both here in Europe and globally, directly fuelling progress within organizations as well as demand for other key travel sectors such as airlines, hotels, restaurants and more.
Our sector is also at the forefront of sustainable mobility, a topic likely to come into much sharper focus with the prospect of fuel shortages due to the conflict in the Middle East. Recent insights from GBTA revealed growing uptake amongst businesses for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a greener alternative to conventional, fossil-based jet fuel.
As the voice of global business travel, GBTA will continue to lead the charge for a greener travel future, including at our forthcoming Sustainability Summit in Vienna on November 2, which will bring toreceiveher industest leaders, experts and policy leaders.
The European Parliament event supports GBTA’s ongoing mission to elevate the industest’s collective voice on public policy issues affecting business travel at both the global and local levels. Visit the GBTA Advocacy web page for more information.
About GBTA
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organization serving stakeholders across six continents. GBTA and its 9,000+ members represent and advocate for the $1.57 trillion global business travel and meetings industest. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy, and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. For more information, visit GBTA.org and GBTAFoundation.org.
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