The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced that it will hold its 20th Global Summit in April, one month later than the originally planned date.
The Global Summit is being organised in partnership with the Government of Quintana Roo in Mexico, and will be held in the Mexican city of Cancun on 25-27 April.
The WTTC, which represents the global travel and tourism private sector, moved the summit into April to coincide with the expected relaxation of travel restrictions and the beginning of the sector’s recovery.
While Cancun is ready to host the Global Summit now, the international organisation is confident that rescheduling the event will enable more international participants to take part. It is also hoped that it will help lead the sector into recovery.
The Global Summit will be an opportunity to showcase what both Mexico and Cancun have to offer as destinations. It will also show the world-class health and safety protocols that have been implemented to host such an event.
This year’s event will take place in a hybrid format, allowing those unable to travel to benefit from the content virtually.
The WTTC’s annual Global Summit is the most important travel and tourism event on the calendar. Here, the highest-level industry leaders meet with key government leaders to act on the biggest and most important issues across the global agenda.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President and CEO, said, “While Cancun is ready to host our Global Summit as planned, we believe that moving the event back by just a few weeks, will enable people from many more regions around the world to attend the event, in beautiful Cancun, one of the most popular destinations in the world.
“As the global vaccination rollout picks up pace and with international mobility rules expected to be relaxed over the coming weeks, more people from key regions will be able to participate and add to the conversation for the path to recovery,” she added, “Those unable to attend the event in person, will be able to join virtually from anywhere in the world.”
Guevara noted that the travel and tourism sector has been devastated by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with more than 174 million jobs impacted. This means that the Global Summit is even more relevant and important than ever.
The event is the most important global platform for travel and tourism sector leaders to set the path forward, share the future of travel with the world, and accelerate the sector’s recovery.
The WTTC also wants to showcase how it can use this experience to adapt to COVID-19, and lead the global travel and tourism sector back to recovery, Guevara said.
She added that the WTTC looks to restore millions of jobs and livelihoods which have been thrown into turmoil since the beginning of last year.
