Business travel experts will have a debate in St. Petersburg for the fifth time
The 5th anniversary ABT-ACTE Russia Saint Petersburg Business Travel Forum will start with a panel discussion devoted to one of the most sensitive issues of the industry – the prospects of independent OBTs will be discussed. Experts will talk about safety during business trips, pricing in hotel business, public procurement and FIFA results, and also present business travellers` opinions on the current situation. The event will be held in the Northern capital on August 23-24.
Saint Petersburg ACTE Forum will start with a panel discussion of the future of independent online booking tools and about the ways communication between the customer and the agency will change after the introduction of a third party. The participants include Andrey Zubkov, general manager of Starliner, and Nina Kopylova, chief of protocol and visa department of Sportmaster. Yulia Manuilova, CEO of CityTravel, will continue the topic of industry digitalization.
Irina Kostyukova from Kaspersky Lab will speak about payment safety and technologies of the introduction of virtual payment tools. The representative of PAO Gazpromneft will share his knowledge of how companies cope with the restrictions in the choice of providers and the correct ways to determine qualitative criteria of a work statement for the introduction of online booking tools, without violating the competition law at the same time.
FIFA benefits for hotel business will be summed up during the panel discussion with the participation of the representatives of AZIMUT Hotels Moscow and Cosmos Group. "The analysis of the work done is extremely necessary after such a large-scale event. It will be useful to discuss all the aspects with colleagues, both positive and negative results, in order to facilitate domestic travel growth. FIFA execution in Russia should trigger further growth", is the opinion of Irina Eroshevich, sales director of hotel operator Cosmos Group. A business travel expert from Cherkizovo Group will voice his opinion on whether RFPs are efficient at all or it is better to get a discount for BAR.
More than one thousand users of Biletix service will share their views of the process of business trip planning and the state of transport and tourist facilities – the representatives of the company will announce the results of a large-scale opinion poll of frequent flyers. The company is convinced that MICE will draw more and more attention of online travel services. "The role of IT in MICE will be on the rise. We develop and actively promote our solutions for business travellers", Alexander Sizintsev, general director of Biletix travel service, stresses.
Turkish Airlines is going to be one of event partners – airline experts will present their facilities for business travellers and corporate buyers.
For the first time ever, one of the sections of the event schedule will be held in an unconventional mode of separate educational sessions devoted to highly specialized questions. "Our event participants come here to share their knowledge. We also learn, grow and try something new. Therefore, we have taken the decision to start the forum with a joint discussion on a burning issue, and then to offer the participants the sections that are the most important for them personally. On the one hand, it will help to keep the audience interested. On the other hand, to get immersed into the topic that is the most important for each of them", Yulia Selivanova, head of ABT-ACTE Russia educational programs, explains.
ABT events always bring positive emotions, an opportunity to learn something new not only in the business travel area. It is an excellent occasion to meet customers, to exchange experience with colleagues and partners", Olga Savinova from Azimut says.
A year before more than 100 MICE experts gathered at ABT-ACTE Russia Saint Petersburg Business Travel Forum. In 2018 150 participants are expected. Event organizer - ABT-ACTE Russia (the Russian Association of Business Travel) – is the largest international organization in the field of business travel on the territory of Russia and the CIS. Service providers, who are interested in their brand promotion during the conference, are invited to become partners. You can send all your questions on cooperation to partnership@abt-acte.ru. Event attendance for corporate buyers is free of charge (confirmation by the organizer is required). You can send your application for registration to events@abt-acte.ru.