The 26th edition of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit kicked off in Malta on Wednesday as over 1,000 delegates and 190 journalists made their way to Malta to discuss future of travel and tourism around the world.
The opening meetings of this year’s WTTC Summit commenced as ministers and international leaders within the travel and tourism industries convened at the Manoel Theatre on Wednesday. The discussions within the Global Leaders Dialogue – which is part of this WTTC Summit – focused on improving travellers’ experience and investment conditions so that tourism can reap more benefits to communities.
Participating on Malta’s behalf were Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg, who is a former tourism minister in his own right, the current Minister for Tourism, Jo Etienne Abela, and Labour MEP Daniel Attard, who won this year’s MEP Award for Sustainable Tourism earlier this July.
Borg welcomed the guests by stating that this Summit demonstrates Malta’s ambition to be at the forefront of the tourism sector and beyond. He said that our country wants to work with the best in the industry and that it looks to the future with optimism while improving the quality of what it does, which is backed by the trust of international investors and visitors.
The Deputy Prime Minister expressed great pleasure in Malta hosting this global summit.
“It is an honour to have among us leaders in the fields of hospitality, travel, and tourism to discuss the way forward together,” he said.
Borg, together with MEP Attard, participated in panel entitled “Seamless Travel: Where Government and Industry Meet,” while Tourism Minister Abela participated in the panel on “Winning the Race for Global Investment.”
These discussions centred around how governments and industries can facilitate travel through more efficient connectivity, technology, and processes, all while safeguarding security and bolstering investor confidence.
Minister Abela said that several criteria are factored to investors’ prospective decisions. He stressed that countries should seek to ensure that laws related to the sector are implemented efficiently, transparently, and in a predictable manner.
He noted that prospective investors can become discouraged by excessive bureaucracy as this can stifle, and sometimes destroy, good ideas. Malta is doing a lot to address these challenges, he said.
“For our country, this Summit is not like any other, it has the potential to directly drive our tourism in a direction that leaves more value for Maltese and Gozitans,” Minister Abela said.
MEP Attard said that this WTTC Summit reflects the Maltese government’s ambition to take the country to the next level, while continuing to ensure that this industry benefits all. He mentioned that tourism is a success story for Malta, though that Malta must not become complacent by its stability in creating and distributing wealth.
This WTTC Summit will continue over the coming days, till Friday.