Andrew Sheivachman

Europe has unique travel distribution and fulfillment issues, and Travelperk's CEO is in the process of leading developments for better solutions for travelers.

The meetings business tells a story about itself of strength and resilience, but sustainability and increased pressure on planners pose as obstacles to sustained growth.

Cvent remains committed to bringing new products to its customers through acquisitions. By diving into the U.S. market for weddings, the event tech giant hopes to keep its platform relevant despite the friction it creates for hotels and planners alike.

Industry trade shows often act as a celebration of a sector's successes. A trip to IMEX Frankfurt, though, shows the meetings and events sector needs to embrace change instead of what has worked in the past.

Forget the flashy headlines; destinations need time to respond effectively to overtourism with the cultural fabric of popular locations at stake. The intelligent move is to thoughtfully adjust policies to limit the negative impact of tourism.

Beyond employees getting wasted or buying forbidden flight upgrades with their corporate cards, the fear of large-scale data breaches has travel managers paying more attention to fraud risks.

Planners expect the uncertainty of an election year and difficulty working with venues to top the list of challenges they face in 2020. For now, business is good but becoming more complicated.

Tight budgets, competition, needy clients, last-minute requests, and unresponsive venues rise to the top of the list of challenges planners need to tackle in 2019. They anticipate tougher times next year.

Fraud is much more common than getting hit with a legit data breach, but travel managers are paying more attention to cybersecurity in the wake of high-profile incidents. Virtual cards can help with the small stuff too.

Beyond a slump for travel, it appears that experts expect a global economic cooldown to happen in coming years. People will always need to travel, but stagnant growth will present a problem for the industry in North America.