World Travel and Tourism Council 1

World Travel and Tourism Council

World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

Type Non-Profit, Non-Governmental

Industry Travel & Tourism

Founded 1990

Headquarters London, United Kingdom

Key people Michael Frenzel (Chairman)

David Scowsill (President & CEO)

Website [1]
www.wttc.org

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is a forum for the travel and tourism industry. It is made up of
members from the global business community and works with governments to raise awareness about the travel and
tourism industry. It is known for being the only forum to represent the private sector in all parts of the industry
worldwide. Its activities include research on the economic and social impact of the industry and its organisation of
global and regional summits focused on issues and developments relevant to the industry.

History
The World Travel and Tourism Council began in the 1980s with a group of business executives led by former
American Express CEO James D. Robinson III. The group was formed to discuss the travel and tourism industry and
the need for more data relating to the importance of what some believed was a non-essential industry. Discussions
led to the first meeting of the WTTC in Paris, France in 1989. The first meeting included a speech by former United
States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who suggested that the travel and tourism industry was not widely
recognized due to its not having any organisation or structure. The WTTC was officially established in 1990.
The first Annual General Meeting took place in Washington, DC, in 1991, at which time the Council was composed
of 32 members. These initial members agreed on the need for a common effort to promote awareness of the
economic contribution made by the travel and tourism industry. The founding members provided investment and
support to produce economic data that could demonstrate the importance of the industry. They shared an interest in
ensuring greater interest from governments and policy-makers in order to facilitate the future success of travel and
tourism.
Robert H Burns took over as Chairman for the WTTC in 1993, at which time there were 68 members. It began
releasing tourism impact information around the same time, working with Wharton Econometric Forecasting
Associates to develop the data. The WTTC formed a group know as the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) to compile
and release the data. The TSA was recognized by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 1999. During the
1990s, the WTTC expanded the activities of the Council to include education and training, air transport
liberalisation, and taxation and sustainable development. The new activities led to the creation of the World Travel
and Tourism Human Resources Centre in Vancouver and the World Travel & Tourism Taxation Policy Centre in the
United States.
In 1997, the WTTC organised the first Global Travel & Tourism Summit, which took place in Vilamoura, Portugal.
Membership in the organisation also reached 100 the same year. Two more Summits were held in Vilamoura in 2000
and 2003, which were followed with annual meetings held in various locations throughout the world.
World Travel and Tourism Council 2

Organisation and membership

The WTTC is headquartered in an office located in London, UK. The staff are led by the President and CEO of
WTTC. Seven directors head the different sections of the organisation. The WTTC members are the chief
executives, presidents, or chairs of companies from different sectors and regions within the travel and tourism
industry. The WTTC has two membership types, Global Members and Regional Members. It also has a category for
companies that provide services to the industry, referred to as Industry Partnership.[2]

Current and past presidents

• 1990 - 2001: Geoffrey Lipman
• 2001 - 2010: Jean-Claude Baumgarten
• 2010 - present: David Scowsill

Activities

Research
The WTTC performs and publishes research in conjunction with Oxford Economics on the economic and social
impact of the travel and tourism industry. The foundation of the WTTC’s research activity is a set of annually
produced Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Reports. These include a global report as well as 24 regional and 184
country reports. The reports calculate the economic impact of the industry including the direct and total GDP
impacts, direct and indirect employment, investment, and exports. Using models based on Tourism Satellite
Accounting, the Council reports one year and ten year forecasts for these impacts.[3] This research is used by major
publications including Forbes and Bloomberg News. It also supplies country indicators for the Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Report, a report published by the World Economic Forum that ranks selected nations according to
the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.

Summits
The WTTC organises a Global Summit each year, usually held in
April, with a regional summit held sometime in the third quarter. The
summit is described as the world’s highest profile meeting for the
travel and tourism industry, with up to 1,000 individuals attending each
year. Decision-makers from international tourism companies and
leaders from around the world meet to engage in dialogue on the key
issues the industry is facing. Attendance to the summit is by invitation
from WTTC or the respective host committee only, and is reserved to
leaders in the travel and tourism industry or public sector actors who
are involved with policy-making for the sector.

At the 2013 Global Summit in Abu Dhabi, former US President Bill

Clinton spoke and told the audience that the travel industry has the
potential and responsibility to spread peace and change the world.
Other speakers in Abu Dhabi included more than 40 leading public
figures, including Sir David Frost, British journalist and media
personality; Daryl Hannah, American actress and activist; Sir Jonathon
Porritt, environmentalist; David de Rothschild, adventurer and David Scowsill speaking at the 2013 Global
Summit in Abu Dhabi
World Travel and Tourism Council 3

environmentalist; David Scowsill, WTTC president; and James Hogan, chief executive, Etihad Airways. At an Asia
Regional Summit in South Korea later that year, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair presented a similar
message, warning western governments not to disregard the wealth-generating benefits of the tourism industry.

Tourism for Tomorrow Awards

In 2004, the WTTC took over the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. These Awards were initially founded by the
Federation of Tour Operators in 1989 and taken over by British Airways in 1992. The Tourism for Tomorrow
Awards are awarded in several categories to encourage and acknowledge developments in sustainable tourism.
Winners are selected through several rounds of judging, which include on-site visits to the finalists. This judging
process includes an independent chair of the judges, a three-step judging process involving up to 22 independent
expert judges from around the world, and on-site evaluations of the finalists. The Award categories have changed
over time and as of 2014 include Business, Destination, Community, Environment, Innovation and People. Two new
categories were added for the 2014 Awards to reflect the broadening scope of WTTC’s sustainability agenda and
recognise the areas of human resources and innovation.

References
[1] http:/ / www. wttc. org/
[2] WTTC. 'Industry Partners.' http:/ / wttc. org/ our-members/ partners/ (Accessed 21.02.2014).
[3] WTTC. 'Economic Impact Research.' http:/ / wttc. org/ research/ economic-impact-research/ (Accessed 21.02.2014)

External links
• World Travel and Tourism Council official website (http://www.wttc.org)
• World Travel and Tourism member list (http://www.wttc.org/our-members/council-members/)
• World Travel and Tourism Forum (http://www.worldtravelforum.co.uk)
Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and Contributors

World Travel and Tourism Council  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=605325809  Contributors: Aitor (D), Ambuj.Saxena, Avb, Bgwhite, Cander0000, Deli nk, Dirkkoenig,
E.Nelson1, Epbr123, Euroleague, Funandtrvl, Giraffedata, J Milburn, JamesA, John of Reading, LilHelpa, LittleWink, Logan, Materialscientist, Mean as custard, OneoNater, RJoyce24, Spanky
k9, Susannkruegel, TP kelli, Thunderboltz, TubularWorld, Vegaswikian, Wttcnewmedia, 62 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:David Scowsill Global Summit.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:David_Scowsill_Global_Summit.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0  Contributors:
FlickreviewR, OneoNater

License
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