He US city of Dallas in the state of Texas, will host the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) next global summit in April 2016.
The announcement was made at the 15th WTTC Global Summit in Madrid, Spain, in the presence of Phillip Jones, CEO, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sean Donohue, CEO, Dallas Fort Worth Airport.David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC, said: 'The WTTC Global Summit is the most influential travel and tourism event of the year, bringing together hundreds of leaders from public sector organisations and private sector companies to discuss and tackle the most important issues in our industry. 'Travel and tourism is one of the most important generators of jobs and wealth in the world, contributing over $7.6 trillion in GDP to the world economy and supporting 277 million jobs, which is 1 in 11 jobs on the planet.'The US is the world’s largest travel and tourism economy, according to ther WTTC. By the end of 2015, the travel and tourism sector will contribute $1.4 trillion, 8 per cent of the gorss domestic product (GDP) of the US, and 13.9 million jobs, over 9 per cent of total employment, once all direct, indirect and induced impacts are taken into account.Scowsill added: 'I am delighted that Dallas will host the 2016 Global Summit. We were particularly struck by the weight of public and private sector support, forming a partnership to bid for the event.''We are excited and honoured that WTTC has selected Dallas to gather the world’s top travel and tourism executives,' said Jones. 'This important meeting of elite leaders further puts Dallas on an international stage and confirms our work to position Dallas as a global leader.''The decision to bring this important gathering to Dallas confirms that our city is growing as an international destination with an increasing number of direct flights out of DFW International Airport,' said Mayor Mike Rawlings. 'Over the past several months, Dallas has hosted the New Cities Summit, the US Conference of Mayors, and now this prestigious global organisation has recognised Dallas as a key city and region within the US.'The WTTC Global Summit was last held in the US in May 2011, in Las Vegas. The summit engaged dialogues with key members of the cabinet of President Obama, including his senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the secretary of Transportation, and a vital message from the Secretary of State. This served as a major impetus to include ways to relax visa regulations for millions of overseas visitors as key elements in the President’s Executive Order of 2012 for establishing a new task force on travel and competitiveness, charged with developing a national travel and tourism strategy.***************************************************************************************************************************
Quick facts about The Big DThere’s something in Dallas for everyone. There is ample shopping in malls and boutiques, history buffs can comb through the JFK Museum, the Samurai Collection, the Old Red Museum and the Holocaust Museum. Art connoisseurs may choose from the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Centre and the Meadows Museum. Foodies have myriad options from legendary fine-dining institutions to seasonal and world cuisine.From dim-lit blues bars to bright and shiny family-friendly spots, The Big D metro area features more than 75,000 hotel rooms and a central location with two major airports with more domestic nonstop flights than any other US city.As the ninth-largest city in the US, and part of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the nation, Dallas provides the best shopping in the Southwest and an arts district made up of 20 square blocks of artistic and cultural destinations, with five cultural venues designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects. The Dallas metropolitan area is the top visitor destination in Texas.***************************************************************************************************************************