The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), celebrated the end of its 22nd Global Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, November 30 and announced its next location in 2023: Kigali, Rwanda.
As the first time the summit will be held in Africa, the home of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme will showcase how tourism can positively impact destinations which offer rich biodiversity and how local communities around the world can benefit from preserving such ecosystems.
"We are incredibly excited that Rwanda will host our next Global Summit in 2023," said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO. "An amazing country famous for its conservation work, Rwanda is building its reputation as a must-see destination."
The choice of Kigali, Rwanda also matches the organization's more recent push towards nature positive travel, with the recently launched WTTC report: Nature Positive Travel & Tourism, published ahead of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in September, 2022. The report provides a framework for travel and tourism industry businesses to adopt a Nature Positive approach.
"Much of the Travel & Tourism sector relies on the beauty of nature and the resources it provides," United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema said. "Yet, we are losing biodiversity and natural resources at an unprecedented rate."
"Travel & Tourism is in a unique position to contribute to this reversal by implementing a number of measures such as educating and raising awareness; generating revenue streams that sustain the protection, management, and restoration of ecosystems; and reducing footprint activities, amongst others," Mrema continued.
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