India will host the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit next year, WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara said on Friday.
The 27th edition of the global tourism body's annual event will be held in Delhi, Guevara said, addressing the concluding ceremony of the WTTC Global Summit at Valletta in Malta.
Union Minister for Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who participated in the three-day event, said next year's summit will be instrumental in promoting inbound tourism in a big way.
"It will also help us position India as a premier destination in South Asia to host large global events, especially after successfully hosting the G20 and BRICS events," he said.
This will be the second time India is hosting the WTTC Global Summit. In 2005, India hosted the summit, which was inaugurated by then President APJ Abdul Kalam.
"We selected India from among the 22 countries, which competed to host the Global Summit," Guevara told reporters later.
The countries included the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Mexico, she said.
"We are very excited that India is the winner. The excitement is not only from our (WTTC) members but investors and all others are looking forward to that summit," Guevara said.
The World Travel & Tourism Council represents the global private travel and tourism sector, advocating for its economic and social value to governments and international bodies.
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"Your country has huge potential and we are really happy to have India's tourism minister here. He is very committed to this sector. I am very impressed with what he's doing with the support of the prime minister," Guevara said.
The tourism sector will be creating millions of jobs in India and is going to be driving a lot of investments, she said.
Asked what factors led to India being selected to host the biggest annual event of global tourism, Guevara said, " Our members look at the potential and the commitment from the government and the leadership in the country. We look at several factors to make a decision and India checked all the boxes."
"For the Malta summit, we had more than 60 ministers and representatives from 100 countries and also 200 CEOs of global companies," she added.
Asked what is the most important thing India should do before Global Summit, she said the government should engage with WTTC and the local private sector.
"You have the demographic bonus, hospitality, culture and the political will. You have the vision, leadership and resources," she said.
The Global Summit in Malta, held from October 7 to 9, had more than 1,000 delegates, including over 200 of the world's leading travel and tourism companies. It provided Malta with a global platform to showcase its tourism offering and hospitality.
WTTC's latest Economic Impact Research shows that travel and tourism contributed USD 263.6 billion to India's economy in 2025, supporting 46.2 million jobs. The report said the sector is expected to grow by 8.5 per cent in 2026, reaching USD 286.1 billion and supporting 48.1 million jobs, with its economic contribution projected to reach USD 527 billion by 2036.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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