Tourism industry on rebound – WTTC, as 23rd Global Summit opens in Kigali

[By VICTOR NZE]

Highly-anticipated Global Summit of the private sector’s industry operators’ platform, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) opened in Kigali, Rwanda, with reports of a rebound for the sector across the globe.

WTTC President and Chief Executive Officer, Ms Julia Simpson, who disclosed this in her opening address at the Kigali Conference Centre (KCC), venue of the ceremony, Wednesday, added further that global travel and tourism business ‘is making a robust comeback, bouncing back to the pre-pandemic vigour of 2019.’

According to Ms Simpson, the latest data from WTTC and its partner Oxford Economics shows that global travel is surging back, with all regions recovering faster than previously expected, with Asia-Pacific leading the way.

“Our latest data highlights our sector’s enduring appeal and resilience and is recovering faster than anticipated.

“This trend underlines the longstanding consumer appetite for travel, and despite China’s full recovery potential yet to be realised, the global sector’s performance is exceeding expectations,” Simpson said.

Kigali is hosting the 23rd edition of the Global Summit annually organised by the WTTC, the industry’s biggest umbrella platform for private sector operators across the world.

Further speaking on the recently-launched industry-shaping Environmental Impact Research data (ESR), unveiled in partnership with the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC), part of the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, the WTTC President said the organisation hailed the impact of the initiative, which, according to her,  allows ‘microsite users to explore the data in detail working.’

It would be recalled that last year, during the WTTC Global Summit in Riyadh, the two organisations launched the collaboration and unveiled the inaugural results including the sector’s accurate greenhouse gas emissions for the first time ever.

“This represents the most comprehensive environmental data in Travel & Tourism’s history including the sector’s energy, and water use footprint.

“It not only tells the sector’s direct impact, but also its supply chain impacts, both within national borders and those that are embedded in Travel & Tourism’s international supply chains.

“According to the data, Travel and Tourism was responsible for 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, 10.6% of total global energy and 0.9% of freshwater use.

“The groundbreaking ESR data covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with the latest figures.

“Building upon WTTC’s world-renowned Economic Impact Research, this initiative introduces individualized factsheets for each country and major global regions, and a dedicated microsite allowing users to explore the data in detail,” Simpson added.

Kigali, in Rwanda is playing host to the first-ever WTTC Global Summit in Africa, the event in the country, as the programe is expected to feature former Ivory Coast international and Chelsea FC of London legend, Didier Drogba, as speaker.

Others are; Justin Urquhart-Stewart, Global Economist and renowned business commentator; Francis Gatare, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board; as well as Heads of State from the region.

Other speakers include Ineza Umuhoza Grace, Climate Activist; Juliet Slot, Chief Commercial Officer at Arsenal Football Club; and David Pekoske, TSA Administrator of the United States.

In addition, WTTC Members, international media, and government representation from over 45 countries are also in attendance at the event in Kigali.