The National Business Travel Association’s annual International Convention and Exposition will take place July 22-25 at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center. The event gives business travel management professionals an opportunity to network with peers, select from more than 40 educational seminars, participate in continuing education offerings, and interact with more than 400 exhibitors during the four-day event.

For NBTA members with meeting responsibilities, a number of the educational sessions will focus on strategic meetings management programs. Sessions such as “Evaluating SMMP;” “SMMP Best Practices;” and “The Convergence of SMMP, Travel Management, and Procurement—the Pursuit of Common Ground” are on this year’s agenda along with seminars on corporate social responsibility and green initiatives.

Keynote speakers for this year’s convention include former secretary of state, General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), who will talk about leadership and provide strategies for taking charge during times of change and crisis; and Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and presidential historian, who will discuss her most recent bestseller on Abraham Lincoln.

In addition, Gordon Bethune, chair of Honolulu-based Aloha Airgroup and former CEO of Continental Airlines; and Bob Crandall, former president and chairman of American Airlines, will participate in a panel discussion on the state of the airline industry, moderated by travel journalist Peter Greenberg.

NBTA will once again offer its Technology Pavilion on the first day of the convention, allowing attendees to see demonstrations by leading technology vendors in a nonsales environment.

The cost of the event is $750 for members of NBTA and Meeting Professionals International, $1,060 for nonmembers, with early-bird discounts available through June 15. Registration fees include a one-year membership to NBTA at a 10 percent discount. Click here for registration details.