About GEBTA

In 1967 six London business travel agents who felt that their needs were not fully represented by their National Association, formed a British Guild to maintain a continuing dialogue between the increasing number of travel agents whose principal activity was corporate business. No other organisation existed to promote the special interest of business travel agents and their clients.

Following the success of the British Guild, initial discussions were held in 1989 with groups of business travel agents in the European Union countries, with a view to forming a European Guild. It was felt that the airlines were forming bigger and bigger marketing alliances to become mega networks, and the computer reservation systems were doing likewise.

For business travel agents who wanted their voices to be heard in the future, it would be necessary to form National Guilds of specialist business travel agencies in each country, with a European Board which could speak across national boundaries on behalf of their clientele to those that service and regulate the business.

There are now 7National Guilds with over 300 members in Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
There is further interest in other European countries to set up a National Guild.

GEBTA has professionally built up its authority in the business travel world to the point where it is now called upon as an adviser in every sphere of travel, technical or political. Believing that business travellers have received less attention than they deserve from those who provide the facilities and infrastructure for travel, GEBTA has been vocal in pointing out their vital importance to the European economy.

Whereas the vast number of leisure travellers use transportation facilities a couple of times a year, the business traveller might be doing so almost every week, yet, until recently, was offered no special facilities at all - and still very few.

GEBTA maintains a continued pressure on suppliers and regulators to grant special provisions for the business travellers both in infrastructure and in cost of travel.

The independent existence of GEBTA with its exclusive focus on the business travellers ensures that the interests of the business travel industry are dealt with adequately.