Press Release

For Immediate Release
23 May 2005

ACTE Releases EMEA Business Travel Trends at London Executive Forum

London -- - Participants to the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) Executive Forum in London on May 26, will hear that 29 percent of European Travel Managers have had to change suppliers because of their corporate code of conduct. This and many more groundbreaking findings will be released during ACTE education event entitled "Information for Tomorrow's Strategic Travel Management".

ACTE surveyed 170 European business travel professionals on the impact of a successful Olympic bid in London on business travel in the capital. The survey found a majority view that the Olympics would increase prices as well as complicating business travel to and from the capital in general. Addressing these and other related concerns in her keynote presentation will be Mary Reilly, a Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP and Board member of the London 2012 Bid Campaign, who will attempt to offer an insight into the long term benefits of hosting the Games in London.

ACTE is at the forefront of discussions about the meetings, conference and incentives market. Attendees at the London Forum will hear survey results showing the need for greater connectivity between corporate programs and meeting spend with 53 percent of respondents unaware of the identity of meeting planners in their own organisations and a further overwhelming majority, 64 percent, were unable to quantify their total annual meetings spend.

ACTE will look at practices related to outsourcing based on meeting spend and attempt to build upon a foundation of knowledge acquired from other ACTE education events in response to a global need for learning how corporations can implement a strategic meetings program. This topic is currently the focus of an ACTE Initiative task force convened in South Africa.

A panel of industry experts will examine how organisations are executing cost savings throughout the supply chain, and what process and policy changes are needed to maximize travel spend. The discussion will include the use of outsourced suppliers in conference planning as well as a review of self booking tools currently available in the market with 47 percent of survey respondents currently mandating their usage. Complimented by in depth discussions on sustainability and corporate responsibility this will be ACTE's most ambitious London program to date.

ITM members have endorsed the board's recommendation to merge with ACTE in a recent vote. ITM members are encouraged to participate in this important event, as they now get the same benefits as ACTE members. To register for the London Executive Forum, go to www.acte.org/events. ITM members are reminded to enter the code ITM in the Complimentary field.

After London, ACTE's next EMEA Executive Forums will take place in Amsterdam on June 2.

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