Business Travel Show America cemented its position as the heart of corporate travel in America this week with a huge 28% uplift in attendees.
Over 1,450 corporate travel and meetings professionals, including 513 attending qualified buyers from the likes of Meta, Crowe Advisory, KPMG, Kimberly-Clark, Jeffries, Lockheed Martin, Citibank, Sony and Power Design, attended the two-day event, which returned to the Javits Center in New York this week after a successful debut in 2025. Buyers at the show were responsible for $66.1bn+ in annual T&E spend and 63% of them were first-time attendees.
Kacey Zwier, Managing Director Travel & Events, Logisphere Events Group: “This is my first time at Business Travel Show America. I have been to a lot of industry trade shows, and I have to say this one is great. There are so many different types of vendors you didn’t even know you needed to help your business run a little smoother. I’ve had a great time here.”
Nicola Dobbs, Travel Manager, Arup: “This show is the perfect size – we are refreshing our program at the moment and changing some of our vendors, so we’re having a great time.”
“What an amazing show this has been – year two and a 28% increase in attendees,” said BTN Group Executive Vice President Louis Magliaro.
“Everyone is talking about how busy and vibrant the last two days have been and – more importantly – how everything feels elevated, from the volume and diversity of the suppliers on the expo floor to the quality of the buyers and the meetings they are having, as well as our incredible content program curated by the BTN Group. All of this has truly cemented Business Travel Show America’s position as THE heart of corporate travel in America.
“What’s more, I’m thrilled to announce the show will be twice the size next year with many of the booths already reserved. Same venue, same city, but a slightly earlier timeline of September 15-16, 2027. Mark it in your calendars now.”
The supplier story
Over 150 suppliers were represented at this year’s event, an increase of more than 40%, including 27 companies new to the expo floor this year. Together, they held over 4,600 meetings with buyers – up 28% on 2025.
Susan Lichtenstein, Senior Director of Growth from new exhibitor Kayak for Business: “This show is the most interesting I’ve been to in a long time. There are the right amount of people so we can have these intimate conversations and discussions, not just about what we’re selling but about the industry and how we can move forward together. This show is about being ‘better together’ and we need more of this, so I will be back next year for sure.”
Stephanie Hu, Key Account Director, Millennium Hotels and Resorts: “This is our second year with Business Travel Show America. We love this event…we have quality conversations with quality buyers, and we are registered to return in 2027.”
Stephen Dooley, Founder, Roamr: “We are back for our second time in New York at Business Travel Show America after participating in the Innovation Faceoff last year and it’s been a busy show for us. The last year has been a whirlwind on the back of the press – thanks everybody at the Business Travel Show America for getting that out there for us.”
Content and networking
Business Travel Show America opened with ‘A View from the Top’, a fireside chat between Steve Sear, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Distribution, Delta Air Lines and Jen Bankard, Executive Director, Conference Content & Strategy, The BTN Group.
When asked about AI and its impact on the corporate travel industry, Sear said: “There’s nothing artificial about it – we call it augmented not artificial. We want AI to enable our employees and customers to have a better experience; to streamline policies so the customer gets the same experience wherever they are in the Delta ecosystem.”
Specifying the ‘three things that matter when it comes to AI’, he told buyers, “Security first no matter what – your data is safe. Speed. And scale.”
On day two, Bankard was joined by Nick Vournakis, Head of Premium Leisure & Corporate Solutions, Chase Travel Group who talked about the importance of service for the future of TMCs.
“When something goes wrong people want to yell at people,” he said. “You will never get a dopamine hit from yelling at a robot. So, [TMCs] need to be thinking about the service element totally differently and that element will remain key to TMCs.”
2026 Business Travel Show America Innovation Faceoff winners
After a tense, two-day, 12-way battle including live, timed pitching to a panel of expert judges and more than 500 corporate travel buyers, PredictX and Swivul were declared the 2026 Business Travel Innovator and People’s Choice winners, respectively.
Business Travel Show America was packed with exclusive networking opportunities, from the pre-show Hosted Buyer Welcome Event at Swingers NoMad with headline sponsor Enterprise Mobility to buyer only BTN Communities sessions and learning experiences with industry leaders sharing valuable insight into strategic meetings management, technology and distribution, SME travel programs and more.
