Saudi Arabia to Host WTTC's 22nd Global Summit

(01 Nov 2021) The World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) 22nd Global Summit will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the end of 2022.

The event in Saudi Arabia will follow the next Global Summit which is scheduled to take place in Manila, Philippines from 14-16 March 2022.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, 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 travel and tourism sector to the Kingdom next year.”

The summit in Riyadh will see industry leaders gathering with key government representatives to drive support for the sector’s ongoing recovery, moving it to a more safer, resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.

His Excellency Al Khateeb, Minister for Tourism for Saudi Arabia, said, “I welcome the decision to choose Saudi Arabia as the host country for the next 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.”

The latest research from WTTC shows the travel and tourism sector in the Middle East is set to grow by 27.1% this year ahead of Europe and Latin America.

The research shows that if governments prioritise travel and tourism, jobs in the sector could reach 6.6 million in 2022, approaching pre-pandemic levels.