I first got involved with ITM because I wanted to give back whatever I could to the industry which has given me so many opportunities, experiences, friendships and fun times.

Now that our industry finds itself in times that aren’t much fun, the ITM team is focussed on two primary activities: firstly helping industry colleagues who are displaced, furloughed or looking for career support in the face of the pandemic; secondly, lightening the load for travel programme managers and partners by continuing our mission to advise upon, inform about and help solve the various challenges that do not conveniently abate or diminish despite a global pandemic.

In the spirit of never giving up and to ensure that we assist unseated business travel professionals by keeping them connected, informed and up to date, we have now extended complimentary ITM Business Membership for those furloughed or displaced until the end of September. When travel starts to pick up again the process may be quite labour-intensive due to changing requirements, thus creating job opportunities. So we strongly recommend those looking for a new role take up this timely offer.

Similarly, record numbers of members are getting involved in ITM Mentoring, where we match experienced industry executives with individuals open to learning and guidance. It’s an incredibly rewarding process for both parties and it has taken on a new significance in the last year as we all try to navigate our way back to prosperity.

As we prepare for recovery, there are a number of thorny issues to be worked through and so ITM and its volunteer committees are also working hard to decode and develop solutions for topics such as health passports, Brexit and other movement restrictions, plus our interesting new friend, PSD2! The latter subject is an example of a complex situation with multiple stakeholders. By bringing the buyer voice into the centre of the discussion we can identify challenges and practicalities. It has been heartening to see our ITM PSD2 Taskforce make major progress in clarifying PSD2 issues.