Press Release
For Immediate Release
21 July 2008
ACTE MEXICO CITY INDUSTRY FORUM
Alexandria, Va. --
Alexandria, Va. (21 July 2008) – Hurdles were overcome, goals were scored, and records were challenged at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives' (ACTE) most recent education event in Mexico City on 2 July. ti
"The program was designed to provide the current status of several key issues while detailing an agenda for the future," said Hector de los Santos, ACTE Regional Manager, Central America & Mexico. "ACTE is about facts, options, and anticipated results. This Executive Forum presented the case for growth, change and advancement in the corporate travel industry."
Lic. Everardo Elizondo, Subgobernador del Banco de México (Deputy Governor of Mexico's Central Bank) presented an economic overview for 2009. The forecast was that Mexico will be impacted by the worldwide rising costs of energy and food, but in general the economy is strong, stable and slowly growing. Mexico is still a good place to invest for foreign corporations due its economic and political stability, and this is a trend that will continue for 2009.
On the subject of procurement, a panel of experts – Yolanda Lechuga, Compras y Servicios Generales, México & América Latina, Banamex – Citi; Jessica Ordaz, Gerencia de Viajes y Eventos, HSBC México y Centro América, and Juan Manuel Torres, Director de Ventas, Corporate Travel Services/Radius, and moderated by Jaime Aquino, Director General, Infinity Travel – went through the process of constructing an request for proposal (RFP). One of the encountered challenges was the need to construct a custom RFP ba
"Demand management" is emerging as the philosophy for extending travel frequency while maintaining travel budgets. Ofelia Bukantz, Gerente de Recursos Humanos para América Latina, PepsiCo; Mirella Villanueva, Coordinadora de Servicios de Viajes y Eventos, Kellogg's de México; and Amalia De Nigris Felan, Coordinador Corporativo de Servicios de Viaje, Televisa, shared their secrets for keeping up with travel demand, without expanding the travel budget. Felan of Televisa discussed how they are implementing an online booking tool and how this step will introduce a more efficient cost-savings operation to their program. Bukantz of PepsiCo presented their plan of consolidating all of the travel management for the Americas (from Alaska to Argentina), and the positive impact this will bring to negotiations and in making more efficient agreements with suppliers. Villanueva of Kellogg's related how they saved 30 percent on their travel budget while registering a 12 percent increase of travel demand from 2005 to 2006.
Cost-conscious travel managers need to know that fragmentation is one of the most expensive conditions likely to beset a travel program. Three experts – Luis Valdés, Market Development and Cooperation, Santander-AirPlus; Esteban Velázquez, Director de Servicio al Cliente, Sabre Travel Networks; and Beat Wille, Director de Ventas, BCD Travel México, moderated by Elizabeth González, Gerente de Mercado Corporativo, Sabre Travel Networks – shared experiences on how fragmentation negatively impacts supply chains, with costly results for the corporate consumer. Panel members candidly discussed financial and technical tools that can minimize fragmentation by collecting key information – even if it is not on the GPS.
Lic. Juan Carlos Vargas, Director de Desarrollo de Turismo de Negocios, Secretaría de Turismo; and Lic. Gastón Ramos San Millán, Director Ejecutivo de la Oficina de Turismo y Convenciones de México, Consejo de Promoción Turística, explained how the Mexican federal government provides a series of incentives to foreign corporations for holding meetings in Mexico. The incentives may include waving local taxes and extended assistance from local convention and visitors bureaus.
The audience received a firsthand working demonstration of yield management from the airlines' perspective during the final presentation of the program. An airline workshop, conducted by American Airlines National Sales Director, Tony Gutierrez, created a situation in which the participants had to fill a plane and generate the most revenue, while providing good service to the passengers. The speaker then addressed the impact of escalating oil prices and the difficulty in adjusting airfares to reflect these costs. Six roundtrip tickets were awarded to the workshop participants with the highest scores. A
CTE will hold its inaugural Latin American Education Conference in Mexico City, 29-30 October. For more information and to register for the conference, please go to http://www.acte.org/content/LATAM08/conference_home_espanol.
ABOUT ACTE: The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) represents the global business travel industry through its international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programs, and independent industry research. ACTE's membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €200 billion business travel industry. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programs in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has offices in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and the United States. For more information on ACTE, please go to http://www.acte.org/.
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