Leading educational authorities to elevate industry knowledge at IT&CM China 2014’s Corporate Travel Forums

SINGAPORE - Established Corporate Travel authorities Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (Site) will lend their expertise and knowledge on pertinent topics. Programme content has been crafted to address the specific challenges and nuances of Chinese corporate travel managers, or corporate travel managers with stakeholders and travelers in China.

Topics such as ACTE’s “Localising Global Travel Policies for China” and Site’s “A Global Update on Incentives – China Focus” aim to provide insight on burning issues faced by these targeted attendees whose performance and decisions are heavily influenced by the Chinese culture and environment.

Explained Benson Tang, Regional Director – Asia of ACTE, “China is a complex and unique market with a culturally different operating environment. Delegates attending this session have the opportunity of meeting senior executives who will share their experience on how to communicate and implement global travel policy in China successfully. I believe this is a once in a life time experience.” ACTE’s session that is moderated by Tang will include a panel of experienced China-based corporate travel managers from leading multinational companies including Microsoft, Volvo and Clariant, as they discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities they face in China. “Nothing beats learning from those who have already been there and done that, as they have valuable insights with practical applicability for other companies,” adds Tang.

Site’s session will also be a highly anticipated one for local industry professionals yearning for an in-depth understanding of the current status of the Chinese incentive market, as well as the latest trends in incentive travel 2014. “Our session on A Global Update on Incentives with a China Focus features three international industry practitioners. This is a great opportunity for delegates to understand current best practices and new techniques needed to build and deliver successful incentive travel programmes across the globe, as well as gain unique perspectives on where China’s incentive industry is headed in 2014 and beyond,” said one of the session’s speakers Joost de Meyer, Chairman and CEO of First Incentive Travel, Inc. He will be joined by fellow Site members, Alicia Yao, General Manager of IME Consulting and Liu Ping, CEO of China Star Limited. “Site is the global authority that focuses on connecting motivational experiences with business results. Our objective is to enrich companies around the world and across China about using incentives to elevate business performance and end-goals,” shares de Meyer.

Other topics covered include “The Business Case for Green Meetings”. According to MPI’s appointed speaker Eric Ricaurte, Founder and CEO of Greenview, “Corporate decision makers today are under increasingly pressure to meet stakeholder expectations of improved performance on non-financial issues. Sustainable or green events offer the opportunity to align multiple dimensions of corporate performance and achieve tangible results for their companies.” Ricaurte’s session is ideal for corporate influencers and decision-makers who wish to better understand what constitutes a green meeting, the latest trends in sustainable events, and how these can lead to meeting effectiveness and efficiency, improved ROI, enhanced sustainability credentials and more. “Corporates should familiarise themselves with the base components of sustainability in meetings and events. With this understanding, they are then able to recognise the background trends, how to implement these trends and leverage on them to benefit their events and their organisations,” remarked Ricaurte.

IT&CM China’s Corporate Travel Forum will culminate in a private closed-door roundtable discussion of China’s prominent travel managers. Over 600 buyers are expected to attend IT&CM China 2014, with a higher attendance of corporate buyers expected at the one-day forum as a result of the show’s year-long engagement roadshows in key Chinese cities.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews