The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced that its 22nd Global Summit will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event is scheduled to take place at the end of 2022.
WTTC is considered the world’s foremost travel and tourism event.
Saudi Arabia claims to have been leading a new global approach to redesign and prioritize tourism and this summit in Riyadh will see industry leaders gathering with key government representatives to drive support for the ongoing recovery. The event in Saudi Arabia will follow the next highly anticipated Global Summit which is taking place in Manila, Philippines, from March 14th-16th.
New research has shown that tourism in the Middle East is growing faster than in Europe and Latin America, set to grow over 27 percent by the end of this year.
Speaking from the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Julia Simpson, WTTC chief executive, said: “Since the very beginning, when the pandemic brought international travel to an almost complete standstill, Saudi Arabia has shown its total commitment to our sector, ensuring it has remained at the forefront of the global agenda.
“It has been instrumental in leading the recovery of a sector which is critical to economies, jobs and livelihoods around the world.
“For that we are grateful and want to recognise their incredible efforts by bringing the Global tourism sector to the Kingdom next year.”
Further details of the WTTC Global Summit in Riyadh will be announced in due course. Al Khateeb, minister for tourism for Saudi Arabia, said: “I welcome the decision to choose Saudi Arabia as the host country for a WTTC Global Summit in 2022.
“This is a critical forum for the private sector and government to come together to redesign tourism for the future, and it is fantastic to hold this event in the kingdom. This is recognition of Saudi leadership to help the global tourism sector recover, and importantly, become more sustainable.
“I look forward to welcoming all WTTC members next year.”
