Press Release
For Immediate Release
4 April 2007
Increased Corporate Participation On Global Scale Creates Surge In ACTE Miami Conference Registration
Alexandria, VA -- A major shift in the profile of conference presenters and panelists has created a surge of registrations for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) upcoming global education conference in Miami (May 6-8, 20007). According to a statement by ACTE President Greeley Koch, the news that a two-thirds majority of Miami conference participants represent international corporate interests is proving to be a real draw for travel managers and suppliers alike.
“The Miami Conference has the greatest percentage of corporate buyer speakers, panelists and presenters of any previous ACTE event,” said Koch. “Plus it has the highest percentage of presenters from outside the United States. Coupled with the diversity of its education program, the Miami conference is providing sophisticated answers to questions being generated from a global market. Both the program and the profile of the conference participants match the needs and international character of our membership.”
ACTE’s philosophy in attracting stronger corporate participation to its conferences is to design an overall conference program that utilizes a stronger corporate presence in educational presentation. By including stronger corporate representation on the presentation side, ACTE is eliciting a stronger corporate response on the registration side. In doing so, the association has raised the bar for every travel industry event to come.
The Miami Conference agenda offers 29 educational sessions, and five keynote presentations. It is the most diverse program ever offered to the industry, with the highest level of international corporate participation. Speakers from 20 different countries are represented, and 52 percent of the Miami conference presenters are from outside the United States. Sixty-seven percent of our speakers represent corporations or subject matter experts external to the business travel industry, making this program a buyer-driven, supplier-inclusive event. Eighty-two percent of the presenters at the Miami conference are speaking at the annual spring ACTE Global Education Conference for the first time.
A big boost to attendance at the Miami conference is the Latin American Summit. Essentially a conference within a conference, the Latin American Summit has its own keynote speaker (Pedro Heilbron, CEO Copa Holdings S.A.), special reception, accelerated educational track, and networking opportunities. It is attracting scores of travel managers fresh from ACTE educational venues in Argentina, Brazil. Columbia, and Mexico. Offered in Spanish with English translation, it is also a springboard for U.S. and EMEA-based companies moving into these regions.
Another educational innovation that appears in the Miami conference agenda are eight buyer-oriented sessions, where the panels are exclusively comprised of corporate buyer representatives. This unique arrangement adds real world dimension to discussions that support a multifaceted buyer perspective, in which there may be a number of approaches that constitute a “best practice,” depending upon corporate culture.
For more information, contact:
Debbie Flynn
CEO
Brighter Group
The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
Bridges Wharf, Battersea
London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
F: 020 7326 9890
E: [email protected]
W: www.brightergroup.com