The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) announced the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico as the destination for its 2020 Global Summit from 21 – 23 April 2020. WTTC represents the global private sector of Travel & Tourism.
The location of the 2020 Global Summit, regarded as the most important event in the Travel & Tourism sector worldwide, was announced by Gloria Guevara Manzo, President & CEO of WTTC and Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares at the closing ceremony of the 2019 Global Summit in Seville, Spain, today.
Puerto Rico, which attracts more than three million visitors to its shores each year, will host next year’s WTTC Global Summit at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan.
Travel & Tourism is one of the leading sectors stimulating economic growth and employment worldwide. In 2018, the global Travel & Tourism sector grew at 3.9% to contribute a record $8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs in the world economy.
Gloria Guevara Manzo stated that, “We are delighted to bring next year’s Global Summit to the beautiful tropical Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a welcoming and diverse destination, which not only offers visitors glorious beaches, it is also home to the only tropical rainforest in the US. Our annual Global Summit brings together the most influential figures from the public and private sector to address the challenges and opportunities facing the Travel & Tourism industry and is the most important event in the calendar each year. Hosting the Global Summit in Puerto Rico reflects the commitment and efforts of the government and tourist board to grow both business and leisure travel.”
Additionally, Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares emphasized, “Travel & Tourism in instrumental in Puerto Rico’s economic development plans, and has proven to be the most resilient sector in our economy. More so, we believe that sound public policy that effectively attends to private sector needs can be a catalyst for change. Events like the WTTC Global Summit not only give us an opportunity to showcase the diversity of our destination’s tourism offering, but also facilitate spaces for the public and private sectors to define the future of Travel & Tourism together.”
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) is the Government of Puerto Rico’s Tourism Ministry and Carla Campos, its Executive Director, stated, “Every destination has a moment in time to claim its place in the global Travel & Tourism scene; Puerto Rico is on the cusp of becoming a next generation tourism destination, and the WTTC Global Summit is the ideal stage to unveil how the public and private sectors are working together to make it happen. Tourism is a force for good and an ideal vehicle to improve people’s quality of lives. We share that vision with WTTC members and are honored to have the opportunity to host Travel & Tourism leaders from around the world in Puerto Rico next year.”
Proving the power of public private partnerships, the US territory has recently enacted a joint management and marketing governance structure between the PRTC and Discover Puerto Rico, a newly created and independent destination marketing organization responsible for marketing Puerto Rico to the Wold. Brad Dean, Chief Executive Officer of Discover Puerto Rico added, “We’re honored to have been chosen as host destination for the upcoming World Travel and Tourism Council 2020 Global Summit. Puerto Rico is a place where rich culture and natural wonders lay the foundation for an immense bounty of one-of-a-kind experiences. We’re thriving as a destination of global importance and hosting this Summit will elevate even further our tourism offering, positively impacting the local economy. We look forward to welcoming the global tourism industry next year to discover all that Puerto Rico offers.”
The World Travel & Tourism Council’s 2020 Global Summit will take place at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan from 21-23 April 2020.
