For Immediate Release!
Changing Role of the Travel Manager Is Crucial Message of ACTE Global Conference Munich
(Alexandria, VA - October 28, 2002) The message for travel managers attending the Association of Corporate Travel Executives Global Conference in Munich this week was: "Growth is within your grasp -- now!"
According to an industry perspective based on dozens of interviews with travel managers and senior management, ACTE has concluded that a great opportunity now exists to elevate the travel management function by linking it as an enabler to corporate goals. A study of changes in corporate culture indicated that upper management is more willing to listen and get behind travel policy. "There will never be a better time to enlist the support of upper management," said Cheryl Hutchinson, ACTE President.
The association has concluded that travel managers are at a crossroads. One direction -- the path of greater rewards -- calls for unconventional methods, innovative thinking, and a new philosophy to achieve greater, long-term rewards. This is in contrast to the alternative -- the path of least resistance, which relies on traditional practices to accomplish short-term objectives that do not promote growth.
Cost is on the minds of upper management. A 92 percent majority of travel managers studied for this perspective indicated that although their jobs had changed significantly, cost containment is still the driving force behind their companies travel management agendas. This fact was emphasized by statistics showing that 62.5 percent of the respondents report to finance, purchasing or procurement, which for 26 percent, is a new arrangement.
"Upper management wants higher returns from today's travel programs," said Hutchinson. "Travel managers cannot pursue the same methods and expect to achieve higher results." She added that the great paradox of cost containment lies in making it the sole objective of a travel program, as doing so eventually limits its effectiveness and returns.
In the final conference education session, titled, "Knowing What We Know Now," moderator Mark Williams, director of travel and meeting management for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, explained that a crucial part of identifying the travel program as an enabler of corporate objectives entails seeking support from other departments.
"A fully aligned and integrated travel strategy demands greater collaboration among all corporate stockholders," said Williams. This means incorporating the input from multiple departments as well as upper management when formulating a travel management program.
ACTE's industry perspective on the changing role of the travel manager counsels travel managers to:
- Develop strategies that will generate savings without undermining enterprise growth
- Use unconventional sourcing methods and management tactics to reshape corporate travel programs
- Integrate technologies for efficiency
- Communicate up, down and all around the organization using the new language of finance, technology and organizational growth
The association's educational program for the next year will focus specifically on these issues, and others related to growing the profession and strengthening the professional capabilities of travel managers.
For more information, contact:
Jack Riepe, ACTE Communications
1-610-256-0124 or
[email protected]
Founded in 1988, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is a member-driven organization wholly dedicated to the science of business travel management with an international constituency. ACTE membership totals more than 2,500, including business travel executives in Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the United States. The organization is headquartered in Alexandria, Va., with regional offices located in Brussels, and Singapore. ACTE's web site is www.acte.org.
