- The 26th World Travel & Tourism Summit kicked off on Wednesday in Malta, in the heart of the Mediterranean, focused more on values and a better experience than on international traveler arrivals.
World tourism leaders forecast global tourism growth of over 2.5% in 2026, despite geopolitical and global challenges.
In a conference prior to the opening of the 26th edition of the World Travel and Tourism Summit, which is being held here until Friday 9, Gloria Guevara, president and director of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), said that travel and tourism contributes 11.6 trillion to the world economy; “if we were a country, we would be the third largest economy in the world. That represents almost 10% of the world’s GDP and 366 million jobs, that is, one in nine.”
She said that a 3.2% growth in the travel and tourism sector is expected for Europe for 2026, which is a better performance than the previous year, a sign that the figures are better than expected.
This promises a better forecast for tourist spending and a growth of 3.2% and 4.2% in leisure and business trips.
Speaking specifically about Malta, she pointed out that travel and tourism represent 16.6% of GDP and one in five jobs depends on the sector, so Malta represents the best performance destination in Europe.
Reiterating the president of WTTC and Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group’s view of the summit, she said “This is the “Davos of Tourism.””
The event was attended by more than 200 company CEOs, more than 60 government leaders, more than 1,000 international delegates and more than 100 young people from 40 countries, who will be the future leaders of the sector, Guevara said.
Carlo Micallef, executive director of the Malta Authority, expressed the importance of today’s tourism being thought of with strategic significance, “thinking in decades, not quarters”.
Charles Mansión, Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority, said the theme of this year’s summit ‘Figure Reset’ reflects the spirit of the sector, which is to build a future with purpose.
Mansión believes that tourism is much more than visitor numbers and economic results, as it creates links and unites people, fosters understanding between cultures, supports communities, generates investment jobs and provides opportunities for destinations to share their identity with the world.
“We must ensure that the human experience prevails within travel and hospitality,” he said.
He indicated that no challenge should be addressed in isolation in a changing world like today’s, where not only geopolitics has an impact, but even the way people travel.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that tourism continues to generate benefits not only for visitors and businesses, but especially for the communities and people who are the ones who give identity to the destinations.
He called for reflection not only on how many people are received, but also on the values that are created, on the experiences and on the enduring legacy.
Held in Malta, the WTTC Summit included the temples built more than 3,600 years before Christ.
According to meeting moderator Paul Charles, Malta is also home to Caravaggio’s largest masterpiece, the only work the artist signed—and did so in blood. He also noted that Valletta has more than 320 monuments within 55 hectares.
The summit’s themes will focus on investment, connectivity, technology and artificial intelligence, talent development, competitiveness and sustainable growth, with the aim of responding to traveller demand and changes in the global economy.
Wednesday’s event was attended by Justin Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada; José María Aznar, former President of the Government of Spain; Nick Adams, first U.S. presidential envoy for tourism, and the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostólos Tzitzikostas.
The participants also included Frank Rainieri and his son Frank Elías Rainieri, for the Punta Cana Group; and Simón Suárez and Enrique de Marchena Kaluche.
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