EDITOR'S NOTE: On December 21, the 2021 International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) Annual Conference kicked off online. Against the backdrop of global COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference held via videoconferencing for the first time, the main venue was at IMTA headquarters in Guiyang City. International organizations, IMTA members, tourism experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from all over the world attended online, about 50 guests were presented at the main venue. The theme of the Conference is "How Can International Organizations Play a Leading Role in Global Tourism Recovery and Reshaping Governance". Julia Simpson, President and CEO of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) delivered a keynote speech online.

I am really delighted to address you today at the 2021 International Mountain Tourism Alliance Annual Conference. And I want to talk about the role that international organizations play in recovering and reshaping world tourism. It has been a difficult time for all of us, especially the people and communities who rely on travel and tourism for survival. Recovery is so important, not just for the economy but also for people’s lives.

World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global private sector. Our members are the CEOs of over 200 Travel & Tourism businesses from hotels to airlines to airports, OTAs, tour operators and cruises. We also work with governments to help them define effective policies and support for the sector.

Prior to the pandemic, travel and tourism used to created 1 in 4 of every new jobs globally. It represented 10.6% of all jobs (334 million) and 10.4% of global GDP (US$9.4 trillion). So travel and tourism is an important employer. International visitor spending amounted to US$1.7 trillion before the pandemic in 2019. China is one of the world’s most important tourism markets. The sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP represented in ￥11.5 trillion (11.6% of the total economy) before the pandemic. In 2020, when the pandemic brought international travel to a grinding halt, the Chinese travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the national economy fell by almost 60%, representing a decrease of ￥6.9 trillion.

The good news is that WTTC research, based on the current rate of recovery, shows that the sector’s contribution to China’s GDP could see a year-on-year increase of 60.7% this year. What an incredible recovery. This growth is almost twice the global average of 30% and represents an annual increase of nearly ￥2.8 trillion.

Domestic tourism has been the backbone of the recovery in China. However, international tourism is an important part of any thriving travel and tourism sector which is why restoring international mobility is crucial. In China, international spend is set to grow by just 7.2% in 2021. But when China’s border opens again we can expect significant rise of nearly 94.3%.

At WTTC we have identified several vital measures to restore international mobility:

&4u:2726Simple Rules to enable travel base on health status of individuals, rather than nations states closing their borders, and block the whole countries from travelling. We can apply the simple rules just to look at the individual health status of every each visitors.

&4u:2726Digital solutions that mean travelers can prove their COVID-19 status and ensure quick and easy travel through borders.

&4u:2726High-quality health and safety standards are so important, including the adoption of the WTTC Safe Travels protocols.

&4u:2726Vaccinate the world. We cannot wait five years for 4 billion people to get their first jab. We advocate for the granting of licenses to countries to produce the vaccine.

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges of our time and urgent action is required to avoid devastating effects on livelihoods, our destinations. We have launched a “Net Zero Roadmap”, together with Accenture and the UN Environment Programme. The Roadmap includes key milestones and climate targets for each travel and tourism industry. Together we can build destinations and communities that are safe, green, inclusive and sustainable.