Travel Academy Inaugurated at GovTravels 2020
The inaugural Travel Academy will kick off at GovTravels on Feb 25-26, 2020. A series of 17 educational breakout sessions will be offered that provide attendees with focused learning opportunities in five topic tracks:
Care of Travelers
The travel industry across all segments is experiencing disruptions to their business which demand adaptation by industry stakeholders. The Travel Disruptors session will offer insight on disruptions in air travel, rail movement, personal car usage, and traveler accommodations. Panelists will include representatives from Avis Car Rental and Wyndham Hotels.
In DTMO Overview of Leisure Services, presented by the American Services Travel Team, learn about booking discounts for leisure travel for military personnel for hotels, cars, flights, packages, cruises, and more.
Other sessions in this track include Duty of Care: Shared Responsibility, which will explore the responsibility or legal obligation of an organization to look after the health, safety and security of their employees while they’re traveling for business.
Contracting
The City Pair Program Management Office will provide an update on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 closeout, the current status of FY2020, and review the FY2021 solicitation items. The General Services Administration (GSA) will present this session.
The Defense Human Resource Activity’s (DHRA) Office of General Counsel will conduct the session Ethics Training for Industry and Government. Learn how you can avoid the ethical landmines of the government-industry relationship and ensure you are ready to do what is right when ethical dilemmas arise. Not your stereotypical attorney, Tom Serrano, will provide both an informative and entertaining presentation of applying ethical principles from both government and industry perspectives.
Technology
Big Five Trends: Travel Trends Driving the Paradigm Shift of Government Travel will examine how the travel industry is rapidly evolving to meet changing consumer expectations. A paradigm shift is taking place across the travel ecosystem to deliver intelligent solutions that elevate the traveler experience from door-to-door. Attendees in this session will learn first-hand what is trending and how the “Travel Industry Revolution” is impacting the government sector from Sabre’s Chief Scientist.
The audience for the panel discussion, Technology Trends to Make the Traveler’s Journey Easier, will be introduced to the latest emerging trends and technology being deployed in the commercial sector by Transportation Management Companies (TMCs) and airlines. Moderated by DTMO, this session will answer several questions including what are the latest trends in travel technologies designed to improve the traveler’s experience?
Other sessions in this track include US Air Force Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Automation and Process Improvement and Global Distribution Systems.
Travel Measurements
To ensure that travel programs are performing at their best, travel managers in both the Federal Government and commercial sectors utilize data and key performance indicators to measure the health and success of their travel programs. In Travel Data and Performance Metrics, we will review how performance metrics are used in both the Federal Government and commercial sectors. Presenters from CWT Data and Analytics, DTMO, and other organizations will also facilitate a discussion on metrics, data, and visualization best practices and techniques used to improve the management and performance of travel programs.
CWT Solutions Group and Rockport Analytics, in collaboration with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), produce an annual forecast of travel prices to help businesses and travel managers navigate the impact of economic, political, and technological influences on global travel prices. Attendees at the 2020: Global Forecast of Travel Prices session will learn about the forecast methodology and what predictions the forecast has for travel prices in 2020.
Another session to be presented during this track will be Measuring quality in the traveler experience and travel program management.
Travel Security
During TSA Update on Security, learn how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) continuously addresses the issue of security in a changing threat environment. While aviation security is the number one priority, TSA is constantly looking at ways to make the future passenger experience more convenient, expedient, and secure.
Over two weeks alone in December, the number of cyber-attacks against unmanned, unmonitored physical security systems has outpaced the number of cyber-attacks against humans 200 to 1. The Cybersecurity threats and solutions for Government Travel session will discuss the top targeted systems in your company—physical security systems, video monitoring systems, and alarm systems. In 100 percent of cases where Trusted Internet deploys cybersecurity tools, physical security systems are found compromised. Learn how to stop it with Trusted Internet, LLC.
Other sessions include Bus Industry Safety, Security, and Emergencies Preparedness, and USTRANSCOM GOPAX: Demonstration of GOPAX #9 Redesigned System.
We look forward to seeing you at the GovTravels Symposium as we embark upon this new chapter in our educational endeavors!
By Irvin Varkonyi, Educational Coordinator, NDTA