{"id":3000,"date":"2026-11-14T15:32:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T14:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelbrain.ch\/?p=3000"},"modified":"2026-11-14T16:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T15:30:19","slug":"gbta-vdr-europe-conference-vienna-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelbrain.ch\/en\/business-travel\/gbta-vdr-europe-conference-vienna-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"GBTA Vienna 2026: three days, three hats and a takeaway on business travel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For three days, Vienna was the meeting point of Europe’s business travel industry. From 2 to 4 November, the GBTA + VDR Europe Conference in partnership with ABTA took place at the Austria Center Vienna. Nearly 1,400 participants from 41 countries, 350 travel buyers, 75 exhibitors and 130 speakers: the conference has never been this big. It was also the first time it was held in Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wore several hats in Vienna again. As a journalist, I was accredited for Business Traveltip and took part in the entire media programme. At the same time I was there as CEO of TravelBrain Consulting, listening to talks and discussions and having many conversations with travel managers and exhibitors, not least with the Swiss visitors on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"TravelBrain<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The numbers: spend grows faster than trips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The GBTA outlook shows that European business travel spending is forecast to reach \u20ac404 billion in 2026, up 7%. The number of trips, around 600 million, grows by just 0.7%. The VDR sentiment barometer fits the picture: 55% of surveyed German companies manage travel more selectively than last year. For nearly 61%, cost has become more important, and 45% place more weight on business value. As an advisor, this is the central message from Vienna for me: it is not about more or fewer trips, but about the right ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The journalist hat: interviews and speed dating<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a journalist I conducted three interviews in Vienna (in German):<\/p>\n\n\n\n