‘REAL Partnerships – Energising Economies’ is the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) theme for its 9th annual global travel and tourism summit.
Members of the council last month met with the Brazilian Minister of Tourism, Luiz Barretto and President of Embratur, Jeanine Pires, along with high level representatives of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina and other key business leaders.
At the event, WTTC’s president and CEO Jean-Claude Baumgarten said, “The deterioration in the macroeconomic environment and the marked slowdown in the monthly indicators of tourism activity in the last months of 2008 resulted in a much more pronounced cycle in travel and tourism economy GDP than envisaged in January 2008.”
“The relatively resilient first-half 2008 performance, plus the lead time between holiday bookings and actual vacations, suggest the impact on growth in 2008 will have been limited,” he said.
The travel and tourism economy GDP was expected to contract this year, by around 3.5 per cent, according to Baumgarten. “There is no doubt that the travel and tourism industry is facing significant challenges in the year ahead.” The WTTC Global Travel & Tourism Summit 2009 will be held in Brazil in Santa Catarina’s state capital, Florianópolis, from May 15 to 16.
