Social media focus at Business Travel Show

A session dedicated to social media and its potential to reduce costs is to be held as part of next month’s Business Travel & Meetings Show.

A session dedicated to social media and its potential to reduce costs is to be held as part of next month’s Business Travel & Meetings Show.


The ‘Socialising Travel Management’ closing panel debate at the show’s conference at Earls Court in London on February 8-9 will cover a range of subjects including how to enhance customer service and increase competitiveness in the business travel market.


Event director David Chapple said: “The leisure travel market may have been the first to spot the potential of social media – with travellers using it for information sharing and suppliers as a new marketing tool – but the business travel sector is also increasingly embracing the opportunities social media offers.


“On the management side, it is a valuable procurement, marketing and customer service tool. With Facebook recently valued at $50 billion dollars, social media simply can’t be ignored by anyone – especially a global, customer service led industry like corporate travel.”


Panellists at the session will debate:
• How social networking can be used as a tool to source preferred vendors and traveller services
• Whether it can unlock more competitive rates and services
• The impact of the array of new traveller-friendly tools on the corporate traveller 
• How the corporate travel industry can keep pace with the latest consumer technologies
• The real effect of social networking on procurement policies and practices
• Its potential impact on managed business travel