Association of Corporate Travel Executives

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is a not-for-profit professional association of business travel stakeholders throughout the world. The ACTE purpose is to advance the interests of the business travel industry, to promote industry networking opportunities and to educate members on emerging issues. The ACTE also publishes the Global Business Journal, a quarterly publication presenting information on best practices, trends analysis, and management strategies in the travel industry.

History and founding philosophy of ACTE

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives was founded in 1988, by Peter Jensen, a limousine operator based in New Jersey, USA. Jensen wanted to create a global organization, in which corporate travel managers and suppliers were able to have an equal say in its governance,and could work together to develop an educational resource for the business travel profession.

Jensen reflected the views of many within the corporate travel supplier community who wanted an alternative to other business travel professional organizations, such as the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) [http://www.nbta.org/] which made a distinction between direct (corporate) and allied (supplier) member voting rights. NBTA's governing board, at the time, was composed entirely of corporate travel buyers (current NBTA board represents both suppliers and buyer) [http://www.nbta.org/About/BoardDirectors/] . As such, ACTE was formed as an alternative business travel association giving suppliers representation with buyer majority on the board of directors.

ACTE's philosophical approach to governance has created an alternative model for corporate travel practitioners to consider. Since its inception ACTE has focused on creating educational programs and information around areas of common interest for industry suppliers and buyers alike, such as passenger safety, security, service concerns, and an ongoing educational endeavor to advance the industry.

Nineteen years after its founding, ACTE continues to focus on educational issues and offers a variety of conferences and seminars in the US and around the world. It now also provides some representation of industry interests on issues affecting the business of corporate travel around the world, including contagion, privacy, security concerns, taxation, service, corporate social responsibility, corporate productivity, and the electronic evolution of the business travel industry.

Membership

ACTE has an equal membership policy, permitting all travel industry sectors to join. Current membership includes corporate travel buyers, agencies and suppliers located in 49 countries. [http://www.acte.org/about/membership_index.php] . The majority of ACTE members are industry suppliers, a distinction which differentiates it from buyer-led organizations such as the National Business Travel Association [http://www.nbta.org/About/] .

Educational activities

ACTE provides Global and Regional education events to educate travel industry stakeholders on emerging issues. Events include: Webcasts, PowerTalks, Executive Forums, and ACTE Global or Regional Education Conferences. [http://www.acte.org/events/index.php]

Public policy & advocacy

ACTE serves as a non-political global advocacy platform for its international membership on critical issues facing the industry. On behalf of the membership, ACTE files commentary and testimony before international organizations, governmental institutions, business organizations, and not-for-profit entities on a variety of matters, including: laptop seizure at borders, cell phone use on airborne planes, data privacy issues, airport security, passenger name record data, open skies agreement, corporate social responsibility, and taxation. [http://www.acte.org/advocacy/index.php]

External links

* [http://www.acte.org/ ACTE Official website]
* [http://www.nbta.org/ National Business Travel Association]
* [http://www.acte.org/advocacy/index.php ACTE Public Policy & Advocacy]