WTTC delays Global Summit by a month

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has pushed back its 20^th Global Summit by a month in anticipation of a relaxation of travel restrictions.

The Global Summit – whereby travel industry heads meet with government leaders to act on the biggest issues facing travel – will be held in Cancun (pictured), Mexico on 25-27 April.

The WTTC says it is confident that rescheduling the event will enable more international participants to take part and help lead the sector into recovery.

The summit will take place using a hybrid format, allowing those unable to travel to benefit from the content virtually.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & 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 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."

Guevara said the travel and tourism sector had been ‘devastated’ by the Covid-19 pandemic having an impact on more than 174m jobs, making the summit ‘more relevant and important than ever’.

"The WTTC Summit is the most important global platform for leaders of the sector to set the path forward, share the future of travel with the world and accelerate the sector’s recovery.

"WTTC also wants to showcase how we can use this experience to adapt to Covid-19 and lead the global travel and tourism sector back to recovery and restore millions of jobs and livelihoods which have been thrown into turmoil since the beginning of last year," Guevara added.

By Louise Longman, Contributing Editor (UK)