I didn't attend the press conference, but this is big news. From the release:
The Boards of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) announced plans to develop a progressive and innovative Strategic Alliance. This Alliance will uniquely leverage the strengths of both organizations to benefit their respective memberships while expanding their global brands and enhancing services.
My colleague who attended the press conference said that they stressed this wasn't in reaction to talks about a potential merger between ACTE and NBTA, and will entail co-location of their conferences. But they do stay two separate entities.
The press release doesn't say much, other than tossing around a lot of "synergies," "economies of scale," "leveraging strengths," and "best practices," but I do see how the two communities could work well together. Be curious how this is received by their respective members.