Philippines to host global tourism conference this week

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) will host the 21st World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Summit from April 20 to 22.

A first for the Philippines, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the gathering of the world’s tourism stakeholders, including government officials and business executives, would help revive the country’s tourism industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon will be attending the summit together with the tourism ministers of Barbados, Japan, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain and Thailand as well as Bye Bye Plastics Movement founder Melati Wijsen.

The event was supposed to be held in the Philippines in October 2021 but was moved to 2022 due to global travel restrictions.

“The tourism summit will serve as the light at the end of tunnel following a long period of darkness for global tourism,” Puyat said, referring to the over two years of travel restrictions during the pandemic.

The WTTC is projecting that travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, will rebound to pre-pandemic levels this year.

The council urged governments in the region to continue “focusing on the vaccine and booster rollout to allow fully vaccinated travelers to move freely without the need for testing.”

In September 2020, the WTTC issued the “Safe Travels” stamp to the Philippines as it recognized the country’s efforts to promote health protocols that passed global standards.