The Business Travel Magazine Media Kit 2021

Media Information 2021

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

The Facts

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

The multi-award-winning publication written and produced for bookers, buyers, arrangers and managers of business travel and meetings

Target audience

Frequency

Format Full-colour, high-quality print magazine.

Business travel and meetings bookers,

In print: Bi-monthly

buyers arrangers and managers at small

Jan/Feb, March/April, May/June,

Plus digital interactive e-magazine

and medium-sized enterprises and multi-

July/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec

version. Website and weekly digital

national corporations in the UK & Ireland

Online: Weekly digital news bulletin

news bulletin

Reach

Content

Advertising

In excess of 35,000 people read each

A rich mix of news, views, advice and

Full-colour, high-quality magazine, with

issue of The Business Travel Magazine.

in-depth analysis of only the most

a contemporary design that offers a

Source: Readership Survey,

relevant topics that today’s business

strong visual platform for effective

May 2020

travel arrangers can’t do without

advertising

The Business Travel Magazine strives to provide content that is relevant and interesting for travel managers and buyers in the SME sector and also for a large number of readers who are responsible for business travel and meetings at large multinational corporations throughout the UK & Ireland

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

The EXPERIENCE

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

A variety of content reaching a wide audience on different platforms

Magazine

Digital

A visually appealing bi-monthly magazine with a

Every Wednesday over 25,000+ readers are sent

rich mix of content distributed to more than 14,500

an email review of the week’s business travel and

named readers the majority of whom have direct

meetings news. The TBTM website attracts over 10,000

responsibility for booking, buying and managing travel

unique visitors per month

Events

Supplements

A variety of in-person and virtual events for

Comprehensive reports and overviews of

networking, doing business and having fun. Events

key sectors of the business travel industry.

include: The Business Travel Conference • Dinner Club

Recent supplements include

• Round Tables • The Business Travel People Awards

The 2020 guide to Serviced Apartments

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

The CONTENT

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

TALKING TRAVEL

PAYMENTS & EXPENSES

TALKING TRAVEL

PAYMENTS & EXPENSES

Pushing the boundaries

DOM JOLY The comedian, columnist and travel writer tells Angela Sara West about braving the Congo, deserts and celebrity-filled jungles

MONEY

Virtual solutions

Payment processes are set for a shake-up this autumn, writes Gillian Upton, while virtual cards and expense management systems continue to gain traction

T

he prospect of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook influencing the global economy with an alternative financial system based on Libra, its crypto currency, is sending shockwaves throughout the world’s banking system.

It’s probably second only to concerns over the readiness of the European market for the new European security legislation, Strong Consumer Authentication or SCA, intended to launch this September.

For the UK at least, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recognises the challenges of meeting the autumn deadline of what is also known as the PSD2 directive, a twofactor authentication (PIN code, password, available device, biometric data etc) on online payments, and has announced a grace period. Before the FCA announcement, banks were predicting that some 30% of e-commerce transactions would be declined. SCA is already in practice in Germany and France.

Christophe Lacour, Head of Merchant Services at Amadeus Payments, believes the grace period may add confusion over intra-EEA cross-border transactions. ”The local regulator of the issuer country 'A' may take a different stance on the grace period than the local regulator of the 40

acquirer in country 'B',” he says. “In the UK, the local regulator (the FCA), has confirmed it will consider a grace period for individual firms that can provide a documented migration plan towards SCA compliance.”

Lacour advises moving towards SCA readiness as soon as possible.

Industry experts believe SCA will have the greatest potential impact on corporate travel management companies as all service providers will have to build authentication into their payment flow and introduce an extra step of identification. Merchantinitiated transactions that use lodge or virtual corporate cards, commonly used by TMCs, may not require separate authentication, according to the UK’s FCA.

Exemption confusion

Who’s exempt from SCA and who’s not is still a grey area. However, it appears unlikely that all corporate travel cards will be exempt from SCA. Complying with it won’t necessarily be straightforward in the corporate travel space where authorisations for card payments are often made as a batch. This could explain how the industry appears somewhat under prepared.

Bertrand Blais, Vice President, Product Management at KDS says, “For online travel

booking this will add a step to the online booking process for travellers using their personal credit card.

“Meeting the requirements is not only a question of compliance, but also a technological, strategic and operational challenge which extends beyond finance and banking. It will require a technological change and integration with suppliers – that’s time consuming. For SMEs, it’s likely to have a huge impact as they are not generally using lodge cards or virtual cards.”

Blais believes there will be disruption, whatever the implementation date, and that some transactions could be blocked because of it. “We might be caught out on day one,” agrees Robin Smith, Chief Product Engineer at Click Travel. “And we won’t know if a card is not going to meet that exemption until it happens.”

Despite these misgivings, adding an additional layer of security on electronic payments is welcomed as it will help protect from fraud, which is a massive global problem with physical credit cards.

It’s a strong argument for using virtual cards instead, which can be tightly controlled by merchant type, a pre-set value and time windows, and are not affected by the new SCA regulations (as far as anyone can tell).

As the use of credit cards declines, it is anticipated that virtual cards will be the default payment of the future. Virtual cards contain the same information as physical cards – ie, an expiration date and CVV – and are primarily used as an alternative to corporate credit cards for hotel payment.

In the early days there were acceptance issues with hotel front desk staff announcing to the traveller on arrival that the room hadn’t been paid for, but training and familiarity have eased the situation, although some travellers carry a copy of it on their phone as back-up.

“We had to generate pictures of it and fax round copies to prove the card existed,” says Click’s Smith.

“The bread and butter locations have adopted virtual cards, particularly

P

ulling pranks on unsuspecting celebrities and members of the public on his pioneering Trigger Happy TV show, screened in over 80 countries, means boundary-pushing funnyman, Dom Joly, hears his globallyfamous catchphrases worldwide.

“I get ‘HELLO!’ shouted at me in more languages than you might have thought possible,” he tells me. “And I still don’t have a good comeback!”

His edgy exploits as a serial globe-trotter, seeking dangerous travel spots to satisfy his interest in the places most people avoid, has seen him hit some of the most hostile environments on earth: North Korea, Syria, Chernobyl... “I’m addicted to wanderlust.

There is no bigger thrill for me than the first moments in a new destination, trying to work the place out and get a feel for it. I then embark on an adventure that allows my books to write themselves,” he says.

Joly is also drawn to destinations with a dark past, and adores sharing stories of his amazing off-the-beaten-track adventures in his books and travelogues, aiming to challenge people’s perceptions of places often misrepresented and misunderstood.

In his quest to visit the world's most unlikely tourist spots, he has skied the segregated slopes of Iran and taken in Chernobyl “before it became trendy”.

Beirut-born Joly grew up in a warzone, with shells landing literally on his back doorstep, and went to the same school as Osama Bin Laden. His war-torn childhood and subsequent travels are both a source of inspiration for his comedy TV material, along

the large hotel chains,” says Maria Parpou, Managing Director of Commercial Payments at Barclaycard, one of the largest providers of virtual cards under its Precision Pay branded platform.

And as far as expenses are concerned, they can be sent to a digital wallet which makes reconciliation more seamless. Virtual cards consolidate spend across multiple sources of credits and the corporate receives a consolidated invoice from the provider with rich, detailed invoices including custom data and cost centres.

Next year a virtual card will be able to be sent to an app and payment made via a phone via Apple Pay. “That will help bridge the gap between a physical and virtual card,” says Parpou.

According to BCD's report on the subject, in 2016, fewer than 1% of respondents said their company was using a virtual card as a method of payment. This figure rose to 11% by 2017. Germany, in particular, has adopted virtual cards in a big way, with 29% usage according to the BCD report.

The virtual credit card from AirPlus International, called A.I.D.A, is a digital version of a MasterCard. Of its three products, A.I.D.A, a lodge account card (mainly for airline spend), and a physical plastic card, AirPlus' Spelman says that by far the biggest growth is from virtual cards.

“We’ve witnessed 25% year-on-year growth, which is much higher than the other products are growing, and within 

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Elevating its co-living vision to the next level, The Collective has launched a 705-room, 21-storey co-living space in London's Canary Wharf. Regardless of whether members stay for just one night or 12 months, they can make use of the 20th-floor pool, spa, restaurant, cinema and more.

Natural trading partners, the USA and the UK have historically been firm economic friends. Today we have $1.2trillion tied up in each other’s economies, and the USA is the UK’s largest export market for goods and services, accounting for 18.9% of total exports in the year ending March 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

While the UK is dwarfed by the USA's juggernaut economy – the world's largest – it’s nevertheless the USA’s fourth largest export market, accounting for more trade than any other European nation by a wide

margin. Goods traded trans-Atlantic include electronics and food and drink. UK products are in demand in the USA and have a strong reputation for quality. Emerging categories include English sparkling wines, cheese, and gin, and UK services are also highly valued, with £65.2billion worth of services exported to the States between 2018 and 2019.

Crucially, Britain is the USA’s largest international investor, representing 18% of foreign direct investment, more than Japan and Canada, and significantly more than the fastgrowing economies of India and China.

THE REVIEW

the people that turn the

Marriott has opened the first UK hotels under its new Delta brand in Cheltenham and Milton Keynes. A third hotel is due to open soon in Nottingham. The fourstar brand was acquired

by Marriott in 2015 and comprises more than 70 hotels. Five more Delta hotels are due to open in the UK next year.

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announcements are meaningful or not. While some might say that at least they are keeping visibility on progress, and keeping discussions going, others believe the time to sing from the rooftops is only when the NDC standard can do what it set out to do. David Bishop, Commercial Director of Gray Dawes Group, falls in to the latter camp.

“When airlines, aggregators and GDSs can manage the whole range of shop, book, issue, pay, refund, exchange/change and void then, yes, this is something to shout about,” he explains. Bishop thinks NDC at scale, which is needed for all the other elements above to fall into place, is about 18 months way with the key airlines.

Commercial considerations

Others in the industry also acknowledge that progress is being made but point to the remaining challenges that are now becoming apparent.

David Chappell, Technology Director for Fello Travel, says: “There is real progress with NDC and it’s evolving at pace. New standards and new versions of NDC are being evolved (two per year) with, finally, good engagement between airlines, retailers and aggregators.”

But therein lies one of the challenges. NDC was meant to set a standard but as new versions become available, airlines are developing their own different versions of that standard. Chappell believes airlines will not want to keep investing in every new version and will choose to make “step changes in the standard when there are commercial advantages to the enhanced functionality in the later versions”.

There are varying views as to whether the

Behind closed doors

Once that technical base is there, there must be commercial discussion around how NDC content will be distributed to the TMC community more widely, especially for smaller agencies. These talks will take place behind closed doors and it’s unlikely they will happen quickly, fuelling further uncertainty.

Some believe the time for “honest and open” discussions is now. Bex Deadman, Commercial Director of Blue Cube Travel, describes the conversation as “a triangle of trust between the TMC, airline and corporate – and those that can step into it are potentially paving the way for the corporate travel industry of the future”. She maintains that the issue is already slowing progress.

Going forward, airlines will want to see a return on their investment in developing and delivering NDC content but it’s harder for agents to invest in and adopt something when the future picture remains unclear.

That also leads to the belief from most in the TMC community that there will be more sticks than carrots when it comes to driving any new distribution process.

However, many are seeing opportunities for agents too in terms of the ability to negotiate with airlines on a one-to-one basis around ancillaries, for example.

Gray Dawes’ Bishop says it is up to agents to negotiate deals with carriers to make NDC capabilities work for them.

“I’m happy with this as it encourages us to invest knowing the returns are there. This is one of the drivers behind our retail strategy.

We’re working with two universities on this.

We need to get an ROI and this is a key component. If we help the airline sell high margin products and ancillaries, we should be rewarded,” says Bishop.

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AVAnTI moVEs foRWARd on WEsT coAsT

Nominations open January 2020 thebusinesstravel peopleawards.com

Taking it one step at a time

With so many twists and turns in the NDC journey, it’s easy to skip over other developments in distribution. IATA’s OneOrder is now on the radar, according to TMCs, who are keen to be involved at the early stages to ensure the industry works together.

Deadman says it is being spoken about but believes there are other challenges to overcome first: ”For TMCs it will really force us to think about our proposition as many of the things we place value on will no longer exist. But it is important not to run before we can walk. It's easy to get seduced by technology without fully realising the problem you are trying to solve.

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Plaza Premium GrouP is investinG $55million in 15 new lounGes and hotels at 11 international airPorts. it has recently oPened aerotel ProPerties at heathrow t3 and BeijinG daxinG airPort and will oPen another at sydney airPort in 2020

avanTi West Coast is the name of the new intercity operation from FirstGroup and Trenitalia who take over the franchise from Virgin Trains on December 8.

Italian for 'forward', Avanti “reflects a mission to deliver an innovative railway service that is ready for today and fit for the future”, according to the new operators. The operators will refurbish 56 Pendolino trains, introduce a fleet of new trains and add 263 services per week by 2022. The 400-mile long route serves cities like Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow as well as London and North Wales.

L O W D O W N

IN BRIEF

ITM

Elite concur

scott davies Chief Executive

Travel management companies BCD and FCM have both achieved Elite partner level with SAP Concur. It is the highest level of engagement and collaboration attainable between any TMC and the travel, expense and invoice management solutions provider.

Areka sets the bar

Areka Consulting has added two benchmarking tools. The Travel Scan tool looks at ten dimensions of a company's travel programme and produces a roadmap with suggested actions. And its new Travel Index tool compares the travel spend of a client to similar organisations, comparing the ratio of spend versus the number of employees and travellers.

HRs pay platform

I BRAND DEBUT

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recognition of

FOR all the talk of sustainability and responsible travel, few companies are actually taking action by implementing 'green' initiatives in their travel policies, according to new research.

The findings from GBTA and Concur show only 27% of travel managers surveyed say their company encourages travellers to book with sustainable suppliers.

Only 31% are currently working sustainable initiatives into travel policy and only 4% mandate travellers to select suppliers using sustainable practices.

“While individual contributions to choosing sustainable and eco-conscious options around travel and consumerism is great and shows willing, it’s corporations that are capable of steering us toward a more sustainable future.

But there’s much work to be done,” says Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, SVP & GM – EMEA, Concur.

single day”

Marriott Delta

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“the awards are

Hotel booking platform HRS has introduced a new corporate payment platform, Invisible Pay, a solution it believes could increase policy compliance by 30%. HRS says it helps address high levels of out-of-policy spend and insufficient use of preferred hotels by enhancing payment automation.

co2 reporting

TripActions has added carbon impact monitoring for clients using its booking platform. Users can access a new Carbon View element of its redesigned Admin Dashboard, which also enables users to purchase offsets through the organisation of their choice.

sustainability is the watchword at gBTA SUSTainaBiLiTY took centre stage at the GBTA Conference in Munich in November, as delegates addressed the urgent need to adopt more environmentally friendly practices.

Travel managers, TMCs and airlines aired their views, all espousing the need for action, but a show of hands revealed only a small minority of delegates have sustainable travel policies in place. Lonneke de Kort of bookdifferent.com said the WWF operates its travel policy with both monetary and CO2 emissions budgets, and that while “many companies offset air emissions, reducing emissions should be the goal”.

“Try and avoid travel before thinking about compensating it, and make the most sustainable options your preferred suppliers,” she advised. “That helps incentivise them too.”

United Airline’s Jake Cefolia told delegates that the carrier was concentrating on mitigating emissions using biofuels rather than offsetting. It is the only US airline to use biofuel in its regular operations, including to help sustainably power every flight from its Los Angeles hub.

Lufthansa’s Jurgen Siebenrock said the airline has not seen any evidence of ‘flygskam’ – flight-shaming – in the form of passenger traffic decline as has been seen in Sweden.

Boeing’s Randy Tinseth said: “I don’t think anyone should be ashamed of flying,” adding that there is no alternative to flying for around 80% of all flights. Tinseth said that while Boeing is investing in making more environmentally friendly aircraft, governments also need to take responsibility and invest in alternatives fuels and better airspace management.

A poll of attendees showed 69% were confident in the industry’s ability to make the future more sustainable.

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On a recent ITM Podcast, Amex GBT’s Martin Ferguson helped our listeners to be effective communicators with three key pointers, and the first is to know your audience.

So many people at all levels of business focus too much on what they want to say and not enough on what their audience will value hearing.

Martin’s second piece of advice is to be succinct and interesting. Most peoples’ attention spans are very short and their ability to retain information degrades very quickly over time. It’s always a good idea to pre-plan the three things you would like them to take away, in the knowledge that everything else you’re going to say will soon fade away into the ether!

Finally, Martin suggests that speakers are true to their authentic self. Although it can be tempting to replicate the wit and style of that orator you admire, it just doesn’t come across naturally unless it’s the real you. There is nothing that will connect a speaker more with an audience than honesty and openness, including sharing if you’re nervous. In general, audiences want the speaker to be a success, so relax, be brief, act less and don’t forget to smile – it’s infectious!

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T H E

fEW TRAVEL PoLIcIEs ARE 'goIng gREEn'

THE Business Travel Association has unveiled a ‘manifesto’ in which it urges the next government to invest in a range of infrastructure projects and sustainable travel initiatives.

It calls for the new government to support the expansion of Heathrow Airport and ensure access to the expanded airport for 14 regional airports. It also recommends that the government sees through the delivery of HS2 as planned, to improve connectivity across the North, and to implement the rail operation and ticketing reform recommendations of the as yet unpublished Williams Review.

There are also calls to reform APD and ultimately abolish it, to modernise UK airspace to help reduce pollution, and to encourage more investment in alternative fuels and the development of electric aircraft. “The government has been paralysed by Brexit,” says Clive Wratten, CEO of the BTA.

industry every

NICE CURVES

Taking residence in The Opus, the latest addition to Dubai's skyline, ME by Meliá will open its first Middle East hotel early in 2020. The Opus was designed

by Zaha Hadid, the British-Iraqi architect who died in 2016.

Known as the 'Queen of the Curve', her influence can be seen as soon as you step into the hotel's lobby.

It's important not to run before we can walk. It's easy to get seduced by technology without fully realising the problem you are trying to solve”

transactions are coming from straightforward leisure bookings.”

centre employing hundreds of thousands of highly-skilled engineers.

Its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico also makes the area critical for trade.

The famously forward-thinking City by the Bay, San Francisco has become a major international tech hub and also features in Egencia’s top 25 business destinations, along with Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles.

There’s a clear mutual dependency between the Americans and the British that's only set to be cemented further post-Brexit. So it’s little wonder the USA remains the UK’s single biggest business travel destination.

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L O W D O W N

BTA's investment plea to new government

wheels of our

Centre Travel Group, announced recently that they had completed NDC airline content booking via Amadeus Selling Platform Connect. American Express Global Business Travel says the latest release of its Neo tool connects to both Amadeus and Sabre’s NDC solutions and Concur is integrating British Airways and Lufthansa NDC content into its TripLink system. And most recently Expedia’s business travel arm, Egencia, announced that it was making Lufthansa NDC content available to its customers.

But while all of these developments might give the impression that NDC is ready for wider use, patience is still required. Nicola Ping, Manager Air Content and Distribution, EMEA, for FCM and Flight Centre, says there is still some confusion.

“IATA is telling the industry that 70-plus airlines are doing NDC, certification is progressing and the standards are ready.

The airlines are telling their agents and customers that they have a lot of capability and transaction volumes are growing. Both of these things are true but the vast majority of

SMEs shows the number of business travellers flying between London Gatwick and New York’s JFK airport rose by 10% in 2018 on what is traditionally a leisure route. What's more, nearly $5.5billion worth of goods were shipped to the UK from New York.

While finance is obviously the mainstay of New York's Wall Streetbased businesses, and it's East Coast counterpart Boston thrives on high technology, down south it's black gold that's king. Houston no longer produces so much as co-ordinates the industry, acting as a chief technical

THE REVIEW

New distribution

ATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) was recently likened to a child born prematurely that's only now beginning to find its feet. It’s not a bad analogy when we think back to 2012, when NDC was first announced, and look at where we're at today.

The industry has gone from trying to understand it – and the motivations behind it – to a collaborative approach to how it might be implemented. Now, finally, it's starting to be put into action.

But while there is collaboration, partnerships and engagement from all sides, technically speaking the industry isn’t there yet. Like most technological evolutions, this is not something that will simply happen overnight.

A spate of recent announcements from large TMCs shows progress, but when you read between the lines it's all still about pilots and trials and not yet close to full deployment.

In the late summer Travelport did its first live bookings for Qantas via the NDC standard, and using its Smartpoint agency technology. FCM, and parent company Flight

continuity in trade when the UK leaves the EU. Westminster and Washington must then focus on things that can be done now, such as mutual recognition of professional qualifications, greater regulatory collaboration and making the case for free trade together on the international stage... these are low hanging fruits."

Among the region's key cities for international business, everyone wants a bite of the Big Apple. Globally New York is the biggest business travel destination according to data from Big Four TMC Egencia. British Airways’ On Business program for

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evolution

Addressing the anticipated shift, CBI's International Director, Ben Digby, is optimistic: "It is a source of great pride and credit to the UK and the USA that our two nations have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world.

"Trade is not all about free trade agreements – there is so much we can do now to improve it. The first priority is protecting what we’ve already got by ensuring

In fact, UK businesses support more than a million jobs across the Atlantic, including almost a quarter in manufacturing, a sector where the UK is the single biggest investor at $232billion, says the CBI. British companies create jobs in every State too, with the lion's share in Texas, followed by New York and California. US firms support a similar chunk of workers in the UK. The close relationship between the two nations is even more vital as the UK leaves the EU trading bloc, though there are signs that negotiating a fresh free trade agreement with the USA may take longer than first thought.

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Are changes in airline distribution finally picking up speed?

Linda Fox charts the latest NDC developments

ME Dubai

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the USA

T H E

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THE USA Time zones: GMT -4hrs (Eastern); GMT -5hrs (Central); GMT -6hrs (Mountain); GMT -7hrs (Pacific) Currency: US Dollar: £1 = $1.28. Exchange rates are approximate.

Visas: UK passport holders can visit the USA for business for up to 90 days through the US Visa Waiver Program. Travellers will need to apply for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) online. This is usually valid for two years or until the passport expires.

Dialling code: +1

Aspire Edinburgh

SHARED SPACE

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Passengers at Edinburgh Airport will be the first to see the new look from Aspire Lounges, due to be rolled out globally next year. The new lounge has runway views, artwork of iconic Edinburgh scenes, and Spey Whisky and Byron's Gin, exclusive to Aspire.

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DEPARTURES

Eye-catching images of the latest news and developments

It is the only hotel project where Zaha Hadid personally designed all of the interiors and exteriors, showcasing her vision of interconnectedness”

Dom Joly’s book, The Hezbollah Hiking Club: A Short Walk Across The Lebanon, is out now, priced £20, from stanfords.co.uk. Dom will be speaking at Stanfords’ Travel Writers Festival at Destinations: The Holiday and Travel Show, 30th January–2nd February 2020 at Olympia London. His tour, Holiday Snaps: Travel and Comedy In The Danger Zone, visits 52 venues next spring, starting in Kent in February. awaywithmedia.com

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The number one business travel destination with the world's largest economy, the USA's traditionally close relationship with the UK is ever more critical as we depart the EU trade bloc, fuelling more British business travel to the region than ever before, says Sasha Wood

In the early days of virtual cards there were acceptance issues but training and familiarity have eased the situation”

PHOTO By BHAvIk DALAL ON UNSPLASH

OPENING SHOTS

DOM JOLY

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you’re a lightweight; Algeria, if you’re serious about it,” he advises.

The unrelenting explorer describes his latest book, The Hezbollah Hiking Club, recounting tales from his epic hike with two pals trekking the Lebanese Mountain Trail, from the Israeli border to the Syrian border, as a “love letter” to Lebanon.

The highlights of reconnecting with the country so close to his heart? “I loved visiting the Hezbollah Resistance Museum, a kind of alternative Disneyland, and the Qadisha Valley, the jewel in Lebanon’s Crown.”

He encourages readers to visit his homeland, but why should it be on our travel radar?

“Lebanon, at its best, is a combination of the

DEPARTURES

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The Congo was hair-raising, Syria is a staggeringly beautiful country, and North Korea is like visiting another planet”

South of France, California and Switzerland.

Think pine forests, beaches, skiing, Roman ruins and the food… oh God, the food!”

He’s felt most frightened while ‘monster hunting’ in the Congo, trekking through forests to a machete-wielding tribe whose permission he needed to reach a lake which is home to a mythical monster. It was no laughing matter when they got drunk on “jungle gin” and, after one attacked him, a petrified Joly escaped by canoe. “I’m most uneasy when I feel a complete loss of control. The Congo was hair-raising and very difficult to travel through as a solo traveller.”

Cambodia, Syria and North Korea are among his favourite destinations, despite once being forced at gunpoint to go for tea after rejecting an invitation from a lorryload of Syrian Bedouin! “Mainly because there aren’t many other tourists about, although Cambodia is getting there. Syria is a staggeringly beautiful country and North Korea is like visiting another planet.”

Joly’s experience on ‘The Island’ off Panama with Bear Grylls is the hardest thing he’s ever done. “The biggest high was just surviving. I didn’t eat a thing for two weeks and lost two and a half stone, which was a bonus. By day ten, I had lost all energy and was pretty useless, plus things weren’t helped by being eaten alive by sandflies.”

And how was his experience down under, on ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here’?

“Compared to the ‘The Island’ it was like an exotic spa holiday. It was the ultimate technology and social detox. I didn’t have to worry about anything for 21 days – except spiders and Gillian McKeith!”

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with his books, which captivatingly recount some of the scariest, strangest and most downright dangerous places he's encountered on his travels.

With a distinct taste for deserts, he’s done the Sahara, the Mojave, The Gobi and the legendary Empty Quarter. The appeal? “I find deserts enormously relaxing,” he explains.

“They’re the only places where I unwind.

They are definitely my happy place.”

Fearless Joly believes everyone should get out of their comfort zone and ‘lose themselves’ for a month. “Head to Morocco if

MARKSTEEN ADAMSON

On the

AirPlus says the FCA outlined which products could be exempt if the issuer met certain requirements and therefore submitted an exemption request that included “a lengthy explanation of how we would fulfil the exemption requirements,” explains Paul Spelman, AirPlus’ Managing Director UK & Ireland.

“We had a follow-up call and they have said that no further action is required on our side, so in essence our lodge and virtual products are now covered under the FCA exemption,” says Spelman.

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12/2/19 06:17 PM

News

Regulars

People

Features

A round-up of the latest news

Timely and relevant content

Leading industry figures have

At least three features in

from across the industry,

including insights, analysis,

their say on a wide range of

every issue of The Business

from hotel openings and new

reviews and reports on

topics. These regular pages

Travel Magazine, including

airline and ground transport

products, processes and

include:

one extended feature.

products and services to

destinations. These include:

• The Conversation

• Coverage of all sectors

key industry reports and

• The Knowledge

• Wellness Focus

• The latest developments

technology launches. This

• Six of the Best

• Speaking Out

• In-depth analysis

section also covers recent

• Everyone’s Talking About

• Insight

• Quality advice

job appointments and a

• Sustainability Matters

• On the Road

• Award-winning writers

calendar of the year’s key

• The Disruptors

• Talking Travel

• Input from suppliers and

business travel events.

• Destination profiles

• ITM and BTA columns

travel managers alike

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

The DISTRIBUTION

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

The Business Travel Magazine is distributed to over 14,500 readers the majority of whom have a direct responsibility for corporate travel and meetings management.

Our readership database is broken down into more than 50

Company travel destinations

business sectors, ranging from manufacturing, mining and

Africa................................................................................................. 59%

energy supply to finance, construction, transport, retail and

Australia............................................................................................ 59%

hospitality.

Middle East/India............................................................................. 61%

Readership breakdown

North America.................................................................................. 67% Asia.................................................................................................... 61%

• Direct responsibility for corporate travel: 13,625

South America.................................................................................. 60%

• Travel management companies and HBAs: 475

United Kingdom and Ireland......................................................... 82%

• Suppliers (airlines, hotels, rail, apartments, car hire, etc): 478

Europe and Scandinavia................................................................. 75%

• Total Distribution: 14,578

Worldwide........................................................................................ 59%

(source: distribution Feb/Mar 2020 issue)

(source: readership survey, May 2020)

Level of responsibility

Number of employees that travel

Respondents may have multiple roles

1 – 50................................................................................................. 16%

I manage travel................................................................................ 59%

51 – 250............................................................................................. 36%

I set the policy travel....................................................................... 33%

251 – 500.......................................................................................... 12%

I make travel arrangements.......................................................... 41%

501 – 1000........................................................................................ 12%

I arrange meetings.......................................................................... 35%

1001 +................................................................................................ 24%

I book travel..................................................................................... 41%

(source: readership survey, May 2020)

I travel............................................................................................... 38% Supplier............................................................................................. 25%

Annual company travel spend

(source: readership survey, May 2020)

Under £500,000............................................................................... 31% £500,000 – £1,000,000.................................................................... 10%

How is travel booked?

£1000,001 – £5,000,000.................................................................. 11%

Respondents may choose multiple options

£5,000,001 – £10,000,000..................................................................6%

We use a TMC/HBA......................................................................... 62%

£10,000,001– £20,000,000.................................................................6%

Direct with suppliers....................................................................... 51%

£20,000,001– £100,000,000............................................................ 11%

Online travel agency....................................................................... 34%

£100,000,001+.................................................................................. 25%

(source: readership Survey, May 2020)

(source: readership survey, May 2020)

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

The RATES

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

With rates starting from £895, advertising in The Business Travel Magazine offers value-for-money access to a comprehensive readership of key decision makers across the industry Magazine advertisement rates Double Page Spread:

£7,000

Sixth Page:

Full Page:

£3,750

Inside Front Cover:

£4,250

Half Page:

£2,450

Inside Back Cover:

£4,000

Third Page:

£1,750

Outside Back Cover:

£4,000

Quarter Page:

£1,450

Inserts, Belly Bands, Cover Wraps etc

£895

£POA

Website advertisement rates Size/Frequency

2 months

4 months

6 months

8 months

Slider 600 x 325 pixels

£1,950

£3,500

£5,250

£6,500

Leaderboard 940 x 120 pixels

£1,800

£2,600

£3,500

£4,500

Banner 600 x 90 pixels

£1500

£2,500

£3,250

£4,000

Button 320 x 155 pixels

£1200

£2,000

£2,800

£3,700

£600

£1000

£1,400

£2,350

Mini Button 155 x 155 pixels

* Additional options to follow in May 2020 include Video Upload from £500 per week

TBTM Weekly Options for banners, skyscrapers and buttons

Prices from £750 per week. Series discounts available.

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

DIGITAL

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

thebusinesstravelmag.com The Business Travel Magazine’s website provides a further great avenue to put your brand in front of an average of 25,000 unique visitors per month.

The website is regularly updated with news, reviews and information to keep visitors fully up to speed on everything business travel and meetings related.

There are numerous advertising options on the website – please contact us for further information.

TBTM Weekly Every Wednesday over 25,000 readers are sent a review of the week’s key business travel and meetings news. The newsletter consists of up to six of the week’s most significant stories, insights on current issues, recruitment opportunities and additional articles and information gleaned from the pages of The Business Travel Magazine. A banner advert position is available at the top of the newsletter and we can guarantee exclusivity on banner advertising on TBTM Weekly. For further information including series discounts please contact us.

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

MORE THAN A MAGAZINE

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

The Business Travel Magazine

And so much more...

The Business Travel Conference

White Papers

The Business Travel

& Reports

Magazine Guide to...

The 2021 Guide to

thebusinesstravelmag.com

Serviced Apartments

The Business

The Business Travel Magazine Round Tables

Travel Magazine Weekly Newsletter

The Business Travel PA Nights

The Business Travel Magazine Dinner Club The Business Travel People Awards

Services White papers and reports

Design services

E-marketing

Media partnerships

Print and production

Supplements and guides

Marketing and promotions

Event photography

Event moderating

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

The CONTACTS

MEDIA INFORMATION 2021

Contact the team for advertising and a variety of upcoming event sponsorship opportunities

Advertising

Advertising

Editorial Bev Fearis,

Kirsty Hicks,

Callum Blackwell,

Publisher & Commercial Head,

Associate Publisher, Business Travel

Editor

Business Travel

callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

bev.fearis@bmipublishing.co.uk

kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk

+44 (0) 78 4393 6572

+44 (0) 20 8649 7233

+44 (0) 77 4769 7772

+44 (0)20 8649 7233 thebusinesstravelmag.com BMI Publishing, Suffolk House, George Street, Croydon, Surrey, CR9 1SR United Kingdom

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk

“Relevant, insightful, conected” Jon Danks, Head of Marketing, SAA

“Very informative, keeps you up-to-date with what’s happening in the travel industry with information that you might otherwise not hear about” Leanne Kelly, Travel Manager, Microgaming

“Variety of information on everything related to Business Travel. It sparks ideas” Cristina Chimenti, Global Travel Manager, Sky UK

“Up-to-date industry news & development with opinions from key influencers in the sector” Helia Lotzfeldt, Group Director of Sales, edyn

“Keeping up-to-date with industry news in one place” Calum Hawley, Global Travel Manager, Endeavour Mining Corporation

“Extremely relevant, well written with interesting features” Jef Robinson, Global Program Manager, Citrix Systems

“It embraces all the subjects of interest to me and my business needs, articles are short and to the point, no waffle.

The contributors know exactly how to talk to us readers and the magazine itself is interesting to read” Theresa Mabbutt, PA, CIPD

thebusinesstravelmag.com | Kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk; +44 (0)7747 697772 | callum.blackwell@bmipublishing.co.uk