World Travel and Tourism Council, known as WTTC, the organisation that represents the largest private companies in the global travel and tourism industry, claiming to be the global authority on the economic and social impact of the travel sector, confirms it is likely to move its head office outside of the UK for the first time in its history.
The Board of WTTC has endorsed a plan to ensure the organisation continues to play the leading role in global travel and tourism and advocate for long-term, sustainable growth in the sector.
WTTC is considering locating its headquarters in Italy, Spain, or Switzerland. It has begun an evaluation and is currently consulting with all of its staff based in London.
WTTC’s own statistics show that, in a forecast for calendar year 2025, the sector is expected to be worth US$11.7 trillion, or 10.3% of global GDP, and accounts for 371 million jobs, or 11% of total employment, worldwide. It also accounts for one in three new jobs created globally.
The Chairman of WTTC, Manfredi Lefebvre, commented on the move:
“WTTC is a member-centric organisation, and we owe it to members to explore all the options for our future structure. Brexit is one of the main factors in our decision to move our headquarters beyond the UK, potentially. The benefits of a European head office include lower operational costs, EU single market access, and recruitment flexibility of a multi-lingual talent pool.
“The high standard of research services our members, governments, and the stakeholders around the world receive will continue to be at the forefront of our work, and we are confident we will attract high-quality talent in the wider European market, for all of our services to members globally.”
After a very successful Global Summit held in Rome, Italy, earlier this month, WTTC is to hold its next Global Summit in Malta in September 2026 – both EU member countries.
