The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is co-locating one of its events with Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI) first Gulf Meetings and Events Conference, taking place in Dubai on 5-6 April 2008 at the brand-new Intercontinental Hotel Dubai Festival City.

ACTE’s Executive Forum will be taking place at the InterContinental Dubai
Festival City on 6 April 2008, and will focus on a corporate travel management topic relevant to the Gulf region. The session, entitled Realising Savings by Understanding Remuneration Structures, will cover the need for travel managers to better understand remuneration structures and commissioning at a time when the global trend is evolving and now affecting the Middle East.

The ACTE sessions will be repeated in the morning and afternoon (beginning at 08:30 and at 13:45) in order to allow delegates to also attend the MPI conference sessions that may be of interest.

Meeting professionals and travel executives historically have strong synergies, as an overlap in their roles is inevitable. The collaboration between both associations will result in increased and more relevant education content for their membership. Both MPI and ACTE aim to elevate their respective industries by being more inclusive of each other activities.

“We are delighted by ACTE’s decision to co-locate their Executive Forum alongside our conference,” said Didier Scaillet, vice-president of Global Development for MPI. “Our role is to nurture relationships with other associations whose members are involved in the meeting planning process and could gain from attending our conference. This is the first step in building a growing community for meeting professionals as well as travel executives in the Gulf region.”

Commenting on the collaboration, ACTE executive director Susan Gurley said: “Strategic alliances, such as the one with MPI, reinforce our commitment to and support of the growing Middle Eastern/Gulf Region corporate travel and meetings industries,” said. “ACTE is pleased to be an active partner with MPI in the development of this key region through educational programs where attendees can discuss trends, opportunities and challenges the industry is seeing in the region.”

ACTE’s regional events are typically attended by 50 to 150 delegates who are travel professionals from all three industry sectors Corporate Buyers, Travel Agents and Industry Suppliers.

At the end of the Gulf Meetings and Events Conference, delegates will have the opportunity to attend GIBTM, organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions, which will take place from 8-10 April 2008 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).