CONTACT:      

Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 138, ctiller@nbta.org

Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 133, nhayes@nbta.org

NBTA Board Unanimously Supports Potential ACTE-NBTA Merger
              
Alexandria, VA (June 18, 2009) -- The Board of Directors of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) voted unanimously to continue pursuing a potential merger with the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE). 

NBTA President & CEO, Kevin Maguire, CCTE, GLP, said, “The NBTA Board sees great potential in a merger of ACTE and NBTA, particularly in today’s tough economic environment. There are hundreds of companies that currently invest in both organizations. The NBTA Board wants to give those companies a chance to lower their investments while maximizing the value delivered. We believe one way that can be done is to combine the best aspects of two great organizations – NBTA and ACTE.”

The vote took place today during a regular quarterly meeting of the NBTA Board. The Board supported the outline of a potential structure for a merger process previously drafted by members of the ACTE Board.

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Australia / New Zealand, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Europe, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 17,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 5,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 13 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org