Madrid to host WTTC Global Summit in 2015
Madrid : The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) will hold its 15th Global Summit in Madrid, Spain, in April 2015.
The Global Summit, which is the biggest annual gathering of Travel & Tourism leaders, will be held on 15-16 April 2015 and is to be hosted by Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Turismo del Gobierno de España; Comunidad de Madrid and Ayuntamiento de Madrid.
The venue of the next Global Summit 2015 was presented recently in Madrid, with the attendance of David Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC, Isabel Borrego, Secretary of State of Tourism of the Government of Spain; Ignacio Gonzalez, President of Comunidad de Madrid and Ana Botella, Mayor of Madrid.
Scowsill said “The WTTC Global Summit is the most influential Travel & Tourism event of the year, bringing together around 700 leaders, to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing our industry today. Travel & Tourism is a major generator of jobs and economic wealth globally, contributing 9% to global GDP and providing 1 in 11 of all jobs on the planet. The Global Summit will ask what more the public and private sectors can do to generate long-term sustainable growth in Travel & Tourism across the world.”
Spain is a major Travel & Tourism economy. According to WTTC data the contribution of the industry to Spain’s overall economy is $161 billion – the 7th highest of any country in the world – and supports 2.7 million jobs. Similarly, UNWTO ranks Spain second in international tourism receipts, second to the US and 3rd in terms of international arrivals.
2013 has been a historic year for Spain after receiving 60.6 million tourists, 5.6% more than the previous year. These travelers spent 59,082 million euros, which means an increase of 9.6% respect 2012. The contribution of the tourism sector to the country’s GDP was 10.9% and represented 12% of total employment.
” WTTC summit will be held in Europe for the first time since 2007, providing the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the economic and social importance of Travel & Tourism to consumers and governments in Europe and across the world.”
The 2014 WTTC Global Summit will be held in Hainan, China, 24-25 April.- WTTC
April 15, 2014
