Rwanda to Host WTTC Global Summit 2023, Showcase the Power of Sustainable Tourism
The Rwandan capital of Kigali was announced as the host city for the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit 2023, marking the first time the event will visit Africa.
“We are incredibly excited that Rwanda will host our next Global Summit in 2023,” said WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson during the closing session of the WTTC’s 22nd Global Summit in Riyadh on Thursday.
Rwanda, the home of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, will showcase the power of sustainable tourism to protect biodiversity and create thriving communities.
“An amazing country famous for its conservation work, Rwanda is building its reputation as a must-see destination,” Simpson added
3,000 delegates attend Global Summit 2022
The WTTC’s 22nd Global Summit wrapped up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on December 1, with more than 3,000 delegates attending the event.
Considered travel & tourism’s most influential event in the calendar, this year’s WTTC’s record breaking summit saw the participation of more than 85 countries and over 50 ministers.
During her closing speech, WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson thanked Riyadh for hosting the event, adding that “Saudi Arabia will be the next major destination for visitors as it currently investing $800 billion in showcasing the Kingdom to the world.”
WTTC’s 2022 Summit ran under the theme “Travel for a Better Future” and focused on the value of the sector, not only to the global economy, but to the planet and communities around the world.
Its speakers’ line–up included former UK Prime Minister Theresa May, former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and actor, filmmaker, and Golden Globe winner, Edward Norton, among others.
During the event, WTTC and Saudi Arabia’s tourism ministry launched the Environmental & Social Research (ESR), a new data platform that details the climate footprint of the global tourism sector and will be updated each year with the latest figures.
In addition, WTTC launched its Cities Economic Impact Report (EIR) that includes figures revealing that cities remain the powerhouses of global tourism and will drive the recovery of the sector and economies around the world.
The choice of Rwanda as host for Sustainable Tourism is exceedingly cynical and hypocritical. The WTTC must surely be aware of the British Government’s deal with Rwanda to send asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda – sending by force people who have fled countries because of physical danger from regimes with poor human rights records back to a country with one of the worst human rights records in Africa. This decision by the WTTC is unsustainable and should be rejected by countries involved in tourism of any kind.
UK arrangement with Rwanda has nothing to do with tourism. Not sure why an international conference focused on bettering tourism industry for present and future generations should not happen because a deal UK and Rwanda politicians made…?
If we were looking at political deals, we wouldn’t have any country left for any conferences.