Pros Gather for CCTE Elective on Advanced Travel Management Issues and Solutions
Caleb Tiller , 703-684-0836, ext. 138
Courtney Leigh Beisel , 703-684-0836, ext. 133
Glenview, IL (May 16, 2006) -- The National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the leading provider of education and research in the corporate travel industry, hosts travel managers and suppliers for an education session today in Glenview, Ill., titled “Advanced Travel Management Issues and Solutions.” The event also serves as an elective credit for the association’s Certified Corporate Travel Management (CCTE) program, the industry’s only professional certification course.
Today’s event, presented by Scott Gillespie, CEO of Travel Analytics, Inc, focuses on many of the challenges travel professionals face in the operation of corporate travel programs and the means to effectively find solutions to each of these issues. The session includes a review of best practices for integrating travel and procurement, managing the travel category from a strategic perspective, using a Stages of Excellence framework for identifying improvement opportunities, valuing a managed travel program and conducting sophisticated airline negotiations.
Rebecca Allen, Commodity Manager for Stepan Company, commented, “As a travel manager, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of my employees to the best of my abilities as well as provide strategic vendor relationships that allow travelers to be their most productive. By attending this CCTE session I am expanding my expertise in the negotiation and procurement of travel-related services, as well as honing my problem-solving skills to ensure I am protecting the interests of my company.”
To earn the CCTE designation, participants must complete two Core Week sessions, lasting five days each, and five one-day electives. The program is designed for business travel management professionals who want to enhance their knowledge, skills and productivity. Carried out in conjunction with the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, CCTE is recognized throughout the corporate travel industry as a designation of excellence and professionalism.
NBTA’s CCTE program, open to anyone with two years of current experience in the business travel field, helps students:
- Better understand future directions and trends in corporate travel and the business environment
- Develop and apply systems thinking and approaches to improve their management techniques
- Improve their company's economic and strategic goals
- Achieve personal excellence and function more productively within their corporate cultures
Upcoming CCTE programs include:
- Elective – Midwest Business Travel Association Education Day – May 17, Glenview, Ill.
- Elective – Canadian Alliance of Business Travel Education Exchange Day – May 25, Montreal
- Elective – Canadian Alliance of Business Travel Education Exchange Day – May 31, Calgary
- Electives – At the NBTA 2006 International Convention & Exposition – July 14-15, Chicago, Ill.
- Elective – Canadian Alliance of Business Travel Education Exchange Day – September 12, Toronto
- Core Week 1 – November 207, 2006, Houston, Texas
Information regarding each of these sessions and other details related to the CCTE program is available at http://www.nbta.org/Education/CertificationCCTE.
NBTA offers three levels of professional development for corporate travel professionals: the Fundamentals of Business Travel Management/CTE program, the CCTE program, and the Global Leadership Program. For more information on these and other offerings from the leading provider of corporate travel education, see www.nbta.org/education.
The National Business Travel Association is the source for critical information on the business travel industry. For more than 35 years, NBTA has dedicated itself to the professional development of its members through advocacy, education and training, and networking opportunities. NBTA represents over 2,700 corporate and government travel managers and travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of expenditures within the business travel industry. For more on NBTA, visit www.nbta.org.
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