WTTC to focus on travel recovery at Global Summit in Manila: Travel Weekly
Former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon and Indonesian/Dutch activist Melati Wijsen are among the speakers at the World Travel & Tourism Council’s upcoming Global Summit.
WTTC’s summit will be held April 20 to 22 in Manila, Philippines, under the theme “Rediscovering Travel.”
Confirmed speakers are Arnold Donald, Carnival Corp. CEO and WTTC chairman; Greg O’Hara, founder and senior managing director of Certares and vice chair at WTTC; Nelson Boyce, Google’s head of travel for the Americas; Kelly Craighead, CEO of CLIA; and Ariane Gorin, president of Expedia for Business.
Wijsen founded Bye Bye Plastics, a global movement powered by youths around the world to end the use of plastic bags, in 2018 at the age of 12 and has been named one of the “World’s Most Influential Teens” by Time magazine.
“Melati is an inspiration to us all,” WTTC CEO Julia Simpson said in a statement. “A real changemaker, who from such a young age has been instrumental in raising awareness of the damage caused by plastic and has inspired young people around the world to lead change.”
The 21st WTTC Global Summit will have more than 20 government representatives in Manila. The tourism ministers from Spain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Japan, Maldives and Barbados are all confirmed.
WTTC aims to continue the alignment of efforts to support the travel’s recovery from the pandemic.
“WTTC’s Global Summit will act as a catalyst to drive forward the recovery of a sector that is critical for both the economy and jobs,” Simpson said.
Philippines tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that preparations are underway to “ensure the success of WTTC’s Global Summit in Manila, which serves as the light at the end of tunnel following a long period of darkness for global tourism. It is heartening that these inspiring individuals have joined our efforts to bring the industry onward to full recovery.”
Also taking the stage at the Summit will be Craig Smith, group president international division for Marriott International; Federico Gonzalez, Radisson Hotel Group CEO; Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com; and Darrell Wade, chairman of Intrepid Group.
Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann will moderate two general session panels at the summit.
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