ACTE Canada

Regional Spotlight:

• NEW!  Save the Date:  2006 ACTE Canada Education Conference, November 19-21, 2006, Montréal, Quebec - more information coming soon.
  
  
• Now available: click here to get the latest Canada newsletter, complete with a snapshot of the Fall schedule of events – we’ve got PowerTalks from East to West in September and October. Save the dates now!
  
  
• Canadian Travel Executives React to Air Canada Action Click Here.
  
  
• ACTE Announces Merger with CBTA Eastern Region and Cooperative Agreement with CBTA Western Region Click Here
  
  

Summer 2006
ACTE Canada continues to be on the move...

May was another fast-paced month, when 120 Canadian business travel managers, procurement specialists, and travel industry suppliers met in a special session at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives' Global Education Conference in Atlanta. The purpose of this session was twofold: to identify those issues that are indigenous to the business travel management profession in Canada; and to create the most appropriate vehicle for Canadian travel management executives to respond to industry issues.

More than any place else in the world, the travel management profession in Canada is a close-knit partnership. We have learned to make progress without the divisiveness that is so commonly associated with this industry in other places. For example, when unanticipated changes in airline pricing occurred just prior to the conference in Atlanta, members had the ability to discuss and respond immediately to the implications and impact to corporate travel managers. The results were shared instantly at the Canada Session and are also available on the post-event website.

Yet the primary lesson of the Canada session, the Canadian breakfast, and the survey regarding Canadian issues is that we have a lot to talk about, plan for, and implement. We learned that conventional wisdom is no substitute for reaching out to our members -- on every issue, if necessary. The momentum of ACTE Canada's efforts in Atlanta is surging into our educational programs, our interaction with other travel industry innovators, and our professional relationships with each other.

Perhaps the biggest item on the ACTE Canada educational agenda for the fall is our first-ever Canadian national conference. Titled, the "2006 ACTE Canada Education Conference: Power, Partnerships and Possibilities" .  This program will bring together industry leaders, government representatives, and the best minds in Canadian corporate travel management -- ever assembled under one roof. For the 3-day period beginning on 19 November, in Montreal, ACTE Canada will be the centre of the business travel industry in this country.

This event will be supported by five PowerTalks to also be held in the fall:
• 14 September -- Toronto
• 20 September – Vancouver
• 27 September - Montreal
• 5 October -- Calgary
• 12 October -- Ottawa

As you can see, this is an ambitious educational program with a tight focus on Canadian business travel issues. Yet it is linked with information that will be developed and shared at both the ACTE Asia-Pacific Regional Conference  (Singapore, 23-24 August, 2006) and the next ACTE Global Education Conference (Barcelona, 22-24 October 2006).

You'll also be pleased to know that the ever popular David Newman, Senior Vice President, Equity Research Analyst Transportation & Consumer Products, National Bank Financial will present and unveil the results of the Second Annual ACTE/NBF Annual Canadian Business Air Travel Benchmarking Survey.  In collaboration with National Bank Financial, corporate travel managers in Canada were surveyed by ACTE to investigate the anatomy, current landscape and trends of airline agreements held by Canadian travel managers. Official Eastern release takes place in Montreal September 27 and the Western release in Calgary October 5.  All attendees will receive the complete report.

Talking about relationships and research: - Amex Canada Inc. has chosen ACTE Canada as a primary means of communicating directly with the business travel industry which guarantees access to ongoing research and surveys conducted by Amex Canada Inc. regarding new industry trends!

I urge you to represent your company's travel interests, and Canada's, by attending ....  speaking out .... and moving forward.

Continued Success,


Onita Dey-Frankian, CTC
Regional Chair, Canada
ACTE