Alexandria, VA— Greeley Koch, executive director for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives,
is citing “relevance in content and pricing” for a surge in travel manager registration for the group’s Global Travel Conference in Copenhagen (19-21 October 2014). According to Koch, the ratio of buyers to suppliers has more than doubled over last year’s figures at this time.
“Nearly two months out, the early registration ratio of buyers to suppliers for our Copenhagen conference is at 62 percent,” said Koch. “ACTE has clearly captivated the attention of business travel managers eager to participate in an event that will not cramp their budget for professional advancement.” Previous buyer to supplier ratios two months prior to a major ACTE conference have hovered around 31 percent, which is still high for the business travel industry.
Koch cited relevance in content and pricing for the increase. “Including the cost of event registration as a membership benefit is making it possible for travel managers with limited conference budgets to attend. A growing number of companies are taking advantage of this benefit to send travel managers from the US to meet with their European counterparts at the conference. The conference agenda is such that travel managers want to attend this event.”
The ACTE Copenhagen Travel Conference program is structured around ACTE’s Four Pillar program for identifying business travel trends. “This conference agenda illustrates how the future can be changed through customer-designed technology and simplified travel programs designed to boost traveller productivity. This gives business travel managers more control over their destiny,” said Koch.
It appears ACTE has hit upon a winning formula. Six months ago, ACTE stunned the professional travel trade association world with the announcement that buyer members could attend two of the group’s major conferences (the Hong Kong event and the European Corporate Travel Conference — Copenhagen, 19-21 October ) as a membership benefit. This strategy saw a 20 percent increase in attendance at the recent ACTE Global Travel Conference in Hong Kong. Four hundred and sixty-five industry professionals registered for the conference, with 27 percent signing in as corporate buyers, and 43 percent as single company buyers. Eighty attendees were participating at an ACTE event for the first time.
