With Europe and the rest of the world suddenly watching a slowing economic scenario in which they play a major role, business travel managers headed to the Association of Corporate Travel Executives’ (ACTE) Global Education Conference in Rome (5-7 October 2008) are going to hear good news.

According to Dr. Nariman Behravesh, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, Global Insight, and keynote speaker at the conference, relief is on the way for the rapid run-up in travel costs over the past three or four years. “Not only is there a light at the end of the tunnel, but it may be coming from the glint of gold,” he said. “Oil prices will stabilize, airlines will quickly adjust the efficiency of their fleets, and new hotel rooms will come on-line in most of the major global business centers. While the global economy will struggle in the near-term, the long-term trends remain very favorable for business travel,” he added.

One of four respected and internationally-renowned economists speaking at major ACTE conferences this year, Dr. Behravesh has based his predictions on careful market analysis, years of experience, and critical indicators that are already falling into place. He is responsible for developing Global Insight’s economic outlook and risk analysis for the United States, Europe, Japan, China, and other emerging markets. Behravesh noted that the stabilization of oil and energy will again slow the technical substitution of virtual travel for certain kinds of business travel, and travel expanding service industries in emerging markets will continue to drive travel.

When asked what the travel industry in general and travel management executives in particular should be pursuing, Dr. Behravesh replied: Get involved in the policy debate surrounding global warming and carbon emissions; measure the contribution of your industry to the economy and quantify its value; and make sure the industry’s interests are represented at the policy table where visa and other travel regulations are concerned.

Dr. Behravesh’s statements reflect ACTE’s global action plan. The association has devised an intuitive preparedness approach, sensitive to the issues in each region, which offer members and participants the best economic slowdown insurance available anywhere for the business travel industry.

“ACTE is about options,” said Susan Gurley, the association’s Executive Director. “Our Rome conference offers the industry a greater number of options for corporate growth during difficult times than any other professional resource.” The conference agenda offers new approaches to cost-containment, strategies for procurement, hands-on examination of hot new technology, and recommendations for minimizing the impact of challenging economic times - without sacrificing corporate objectives.

Seventeen educational sessions will cover every aspect of advanced business travel management, with a special emphasis on Europe and Italy. They include:

• The Pillars of a Successful Strategic Meetings Management Program
• Making a Multinational Travel Program Work: Managing Expectations
• Best Practices in Expense Management
• Duty of Care Workshop
• Redefining Travel Management
• Capturing Procurement Synergies Between Transient Travel and SMM
• Tching-Tching! Finding Transparency and Managing Unbundled Vendor Costs
• Procurement Strategies to Maximize Airline Negotiations
• Making Travel Management Work in ASPAC
• GDS Transaction Transparency
• Best Practices in Hotel Data Management & Procurement
• New Technologies for Business Travel
• Vendor Sourcing Strategies for ASPAC
• Managing the Pain/Cost of Green
• Making Travel Management Work in Russia
• Fulfilling on the Promises of Hotel Procurement
• Managing EC Passenger Rights Legislation

Dr. Behravesh will be joined by three other speakers with crucial insight to the industry in other areas. Their perspective balances the overall industry view with a broader interpretation of business travel’s role in global economic, social, and environmental affairs. They are:

• Sylvia Poggioli, Senior European Correspondent, National Public Radio, “A Common Thread: Weaving New Immigrant Populations into Europe’s Social Fabric”
• John F. Burns, London Bureau Chief, The New York Times, “The War in Iraq: Its Impact on the Global Arena”
• Boyd Matson, Television Journalist, National Geographic, “The Challenge of Climate Change”

The ACTE Rome Global Education Conference will be held at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel, conveniently located between the city center and the airport. This facility is both conducive to business meetings and the kind of highly productive networking associated with ACTE events.