AMARNATH Lal Das, general manager-India Travel, Accenture, has taken over from Peter Koh, global travel manager, global sourcing, Standard Chartered Bank, as the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) Asia Regional Council chair and is heading a new 10-member council.

While the majority of the council members are corporate travel managers and suppliers based in Singapore, Greely Koch, ACTE executive director, said representatives from more countries in the region such as India, China and Japan were volunteering this year.

Das, who served as a council member for the past two years, said his task was to continue to expand membership in tandem with ACTE’s growth in Asia. According to Koch, Asian membership surged 144 per cent in early-January.

Koh said the Asia Regional Council had stepped up efforts to reach out to growing corporate travel markets such as China and India and emerging ones such as Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

Das added: “Corporate travel management is still a relatively new concept in Asia. Best-practice sharing and imparting technical know-how at ACTE’s (more than 40 annual) events will help members keep up with an environment that is extremely fast-changing, acquire new skill sets, and tap the opportunities with technology advancement in planning the future of travel operation.”

Meanwhile, ACTE is moving its annual conference from Singapore to Hong Kong after 12 years. Despite the move, Benson Tang, ACTE Asia regional director, told TTGmice e-Weekly that Singapore continues to be an important hub for the association.

ACTE will maintain a strong presence in Singapore by participating in the UATP Airlines Distribution Event next week, continue with the one-day ACTE Singapore Executive Forum on April 1 at The Westin Singapore, and host an ACTE cocktail in the fourth quarter, among other activities.

In moving the annual conference to Hong Kong, ACTE has rebranded the former ACTE Asia-Pacific Education Conference to the ACTE Asia Corporate Travel Conference to more accurately reflect the programme content. It will be held on August 6 and 7.

Themed the Future of Corporate Travel in Asia, Tang said the Hong Kong conference was expected to attract more corporate travel managers based in China.

Koh said Hong Kong provided an affordable option to attract attendees from China and added that numbers from Singapore had fallen. The conference usually attracts about 600 participants.

GBTA forecasts point to China becoming the world’s top corporate travel market by 2016 and its China conference, being held for the second time in Shanghai, is recommended for the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOE).

Jin Jiang International Hotels, an SOE and GBTA’s China conference partner, has paved the way for the Shanghai municipal government to recommend the conference for China’s SOEs, said Welf Ebeling, GBTA vice president, operations, Asia Pacific.

GBTA is expecting 230 participants at its 2014 China conference with a 50:50 buyer-seller ratio, compared to 181 participants in 2013 and a 40:60 buyer-seller ratio.

GBTA has also formed an education partnership with renowned Fudan University and Wang Yonggang will be delivering the second keynote address on Top-level Design, Technology Innovations and Growth of China’s Business Travel Industry.

GBTA president Donna Kelliher’s keynote address is themed Can Business Travel Management be Truly Global?, while Michael McCormick, executive director and COO, will deliver the 2014 H1 GBTA Business Travel Index report, sponsored by VISA.

McCormick said: “Over the past few years, GBTA has expanded its presence across the globe and bringing this conference back to China is a great opportunity to discuss doing business in China from both a local and expatriate viewpoint.”

Ebeling added: “The programme for this year has been designed by a panel of local travel managers and industry experts focusing on the needs of China’s fast growing business travel industry. At the same time having the entire GBTA US Board of Directors participating adds a global perspective and vast international expertise that will benefit all conference attendees.”

THE Press Club, regarded as one of Hanoi’s most stylish addresses for corporate gatherings, is offering a number of freebies to enhance clients’ event experience.

A free flow of canned fruit juices, soft drinks, beers and mineral water as well as the use of an LCD projector and screen will be provided to groups that book the venue for meetings with lunch from June 1 to August 31 this year.

The Press Club has three function rooms, a private library, an open-air terrace and a board room.

Email info@hanoi-pressclub.com for more details.