The Association of Corporate Travel Executives is developing a university-credited business course spanning 18 markets to attract graduates to the travel industry and help travel management professionals better understand business environments around the globe. It also is building an "angel investor" network to support new travel innovations. Delivering the keynote address yesterday here at The Beat Live, ACTE executive director Ron DiLeo laid out a vision to help travel management professionals "expand their reach," inject new talent into the industry and connect entrepreneurs with willing investors. Both initiatives are planned for 2011.
To establish the Around The World In 80 Hours university program, ACTE intends to align with "a major business school in each" of the 18 identified markets, according to DiLeo. "We want this course to be a genuine university-credited course, which will work toward your MBA, etc.," for current travel managers, account managers and sales executives. At the same time, he said, "if you put this into a curriculum where people are earning credits, we have a fighting chance that new people may want to come into the business."
The idea, DiLeo explained, is to provide "immersion learning. You are going to learn about best practices, nuances of the region, buying strategies and everything else there is to know about doing business in that country."
The program will consist of fall and spring semesters. Students will have 80 hours of curriculum in each market, including class time and lectures. For university students, "this will be like your semester abroad," DiLeo said. Current travel management and sales professionals can enroll one market at a time or sign up for multiple markets, and "jump in and out any time you want. We are going to package it in a bunch of different ways."
DiLeo said ACTE by year-end will build out the program components and begin partnering with universities. The association is targeting a launch for next fall in Singapore.
Investing In Travel Innovation
Separately, ACTE is attempting to create a network of investors called the Angel Investor Lounge, aimed at "actualizing ideas, not just talking about them," DiLeo said. Noting that there are many such groups out there, he added that "what will be unique is that we'll be the only one to specifically focus on travel.
"I have worked with a number of startups, either on their boards or helping them in general as a consultant to pitch for investor money, and the thing I noticed quickly is how fast people flee when they talk about travel products; they run for the hills," DiLeo continued. "Even though [travel] is this really interesting thing, it's fraught with risk."
When asked where ACTE would find interested investors, DiLeo said he'll be reaching out to "small, niche venture capital companies," as well as investors currently involved in the travel business and open to collaboration. The challenge, he acknowledged, is identifying promising ideas and avoiding too many false starts.
Logistically, ACTE is working with a third-party provider to build an online environment--"virtual tradeshow software applied in a different kind of way," DiLeo explained. "You can go in and put your vetted idea up there, get a profile, man your site at certain times and field calls. All we can do is create the venue. The work to actualize these ideas is going to have to happen inside the stadium we are building. At the very least, we are creating something that doesn't exist today. There are plenty of people who have ideas but don't know what to do with them."