Shanghai, Thursday, September 4th, 2003 - "State of the Industry - China" was the focus of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) at the inaugural Business Traveller/ABTM General Session in Shanghai today. David Pettigrew, ACTE's Regional Council Chair for Asia Pacific and Regional Director for Business Travel International moderated a general session which identified best practices and emphasized the importance of incorporating these procedures with local and national customs. Pettigrew also shared his vision of the importance travel management will play in accelerating commerce in the region.

"China will play a leading role in global economics as the volume for both domestic and international business travel is expected to grow exponentially. This calls for a clear understanding of how business travel management is practiced and where greater efficiencies can be obtained from the process if corporations are not to bleed profits," said Pettigrew.

The session opened with a presentation by Mr. Bradley Prentice of American Express Corporate Services who pointed out several reasons why business travel is poised to experience growth. "China's global emergence is the single largest factor affecting the region and the clearest evidence is her increasing dominance in new investments, production and export. But he also cautioned that the opportunity is paired with its own set of challenges such as China's large geographic expanse coupled with its diverse cultures, and the range of regulations that require interpretation and the imminent issues of change management.

A panel of senior business travel professionals envisioned that China would become a strong motivator for new developments and standards in the business travel industry as demand for appropriate products from local and international client corporations grow.

In a separate session, Mr. Sim Beng Khoon, ACTE's ASPAC Education Representative and Senior Global Travel Manager of Alliente Inc. delivered his presentation on the fundamentals of business travel management. The primary aim of the session was to provide practical methods for local companies new to the practice and who are seeking a structured approach to manage the process.

ACTE is offering corporate executives a special US$ 100 discount coupon on registration fees for the ASPAC Training Workshop to be held in Singapore from November 5-6th. The workshop features three keynote speeches by high-profile business leaders, eight educational sessions and three dialogue roundtable sessions. ACTE is situated at booth M09.

Contact:
ACTE Asia-Pacific - 37th floor,
50 Raffles Place - Singapore 048623
mail to:[email protected]
Tel: +65 6728 3820
Fax: +65 6728 3863