The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) announced that registration numbers for the 2010 NBTA International Convention & Exposition are ahead of last year, further highlighting the recovery in global business travel and increase in T&E spend. More than 2,150 corporate travel professionals are currently registered to attend the Business Travel Event of the Year, including more than 620 travel and meetings buyers and managers, or 35% more than at the same time last year.

NBTA President & CEO, Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.P.M., CMM, said, “After a few challenging years, the economy is showing signs of improvement and executives are eager to get their team back on the road to beat the competition. To many, attending the NBTA Convention this year is more important than ever to learn to navigate the new landscape of business travel.”

NBTA is this year focusing on the role of the travel manager in a recovering economy. Attendees will hear from industry thought leaders and innovators on containing costs, maximizing Return on Investment (ROI), measuring effectiveness and managing demand to drive value in the new corporate culture of business travel.

Rita Visser, Senior Manager, Global Air Procurement Lead, at Oracle was the 500th corporate travel buyer to register for the Convention. “The NBTA Convention allows me to interact with suppliers and fellow buyers, which is especially vital in such a pivotal era of industry transformation,” she said. “Together we share and learn best practices for what is happening now and what is coming in the near future.”

Banikowski added, “We’re entering a new economy, one that most travel and meetings professionals are optimistic about. Travel spend is already on the rise; now is the time to grasp opportunities and plan ahead to ensure corporate travel programs are well managed and cost effective.”