Young innovators and the future leaders of the travel management world are to be recognised by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) as part of a new scheme.
At its global education conference in Berlin the business travel group said that it would be looking for three leading thinkers under the age of 33 from three different regions of the world - Europe, The Americas and Asia-Pacific.
ACTE executive director Ron DiLeo said the 3 under 33 programme would give young people a platform to showcase their ideas that could become the products and services of the future.
The best ideas will be recognised at regional awards ceremonies throughout the year.
"There's no shortage of new technologies in the business travel arena," said DiLeo.
"But the potential these tools bring are limited as long as we continue buying and managing travel as we have for the past 20 years."
"New ideas and fresh approaches to travel management are needed and we will be scouring the world in search of the top three thinkers aged under 33 for their ideas about next-generation travel management."
A recent ACTE survey of its members revealed that procurement was not regarded as important an attribute as marketing, communications or being able to use social media.
ACTE said one respondent believed programmes designed by the over-50s and over-40s for use by the under-30s were out of touch.
The programme is scheduled to start before the end of the year.
The first winners will be announced at the organisation's global education conference in New York in April, while the Asia-Pacific winners will be revealed at the Singapore conference in August and the Euro winners in Paris next October.
An overall global winner will also be chosen at the Paris conference, organisers said.
www.acte.org