(Sydney, Australia – 19 October 2011) – The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), the primary resource for global business travel education and innovation, announced today a new region: ACTE Australasia. The ACTE Board made the unanimous decision earlier this month during the ACTE Global Education Conference in Paris.
On 5 December, during the ACTE Executive Forum in Sydney, Australia, ACTE Executive Director Ron DiLeo and ACTE President Chris Crowley personally will present the ACTE Australasia launch in greater detail.
Australia previously was encompassed in the ACTE Asia-Pacific region, which will now be two separate entities: ACTE Asia and ACTE Australasia. ACTE membership growth, participation in educational events and forums, business development and overall industry expansion in Australia warranted naming ACTE Australasia a stand-alone region, said ACTE Executive Director Ron DiLeo.
According to DiLeo: “ACTE’s global vision is to give ACTE Australasia and ACTE Asia more autonomy and a deeper regional perspective, while remaining a part of the global ACTE community. The new distinction between these regions gives ACTE members in each area the opportunity to drive a more frequent and substantive local agenda.”
ACTE Australasia is launched with primary focus on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. ACTE Asia will remain dedicated to serving and connecting business travel buyers and sellers in Singapore, the Greater China Region, India, Japan and the rest of South East Asia.
“The ACTE model of vision and action has become the industry standard,” said ACTE Asia-Pacific Regional Chair Georgie Farmer. “Through the creation of ACTE Australasia, we are excited to expand ACTE’s equality of membership, sharing of best practices and spirit of empowerment and transparency to business travel professionals in this region.”
ACTE President-Elect Suzanne Neufang, who will take office in January 2012, said: “As incoming President of ACTE, I am excited to see the launch of our new region on December 5 in Sydney. I look forward to taking an active role in the ACTE Australasia and ACTE Asia regions over the next two years.”
