The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit 2026 opened at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta with a strong focus on how the travel industry needs to respond to a rapidly changing operating environment.

The summit's theme, FUTU[RE]SET, reflects a broader change in the way destinations and travel companies are thinking about growth. The discussion is moving beyond simply increasing visitor numbers and towards higher-value tourism, better use of technology and stronger, more resilient tourism ecosystems.

Across the first day, government ministers, tourism executives, economists and technology leaders discussed everything from economic uncertainty and border technology to wellness, workforce shortages, luxury travel and the future of emerging markets.

Malta: Tourism as a National Economic Priority

Malta provided the opening example of how tourism can sit at the centre of national economic policy.

Tourism accounts for 16.6% of Malta's national GDP and supports one in five jobs. Against that backdrop, Maltese leaders spoke about the importance of maintaining quality and value throughout the year rather than relying heavily on peak-season demand.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Ian Borg, and Minister for Tourism Jo Etienne Abela outlined Malta's approach.

Carlo Micallef, CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority, also highlighted the importance of community well-being and protecting the long-term value of the country's tourism assets.

WTTC Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio and President & CEO Gloria Guevara used the opening of the summit to stress the need for discussions between the public and private sectors to lead to practical commitments.

The Economic Picture and Where Future Growth May Come From

The economic environment remains one of the major issues facing travel businesses.

High interest rates, changing consumer behaviour, geopolitical tensions and shifts in trade and investment are all influencing where companies see opportunities for growth.

Economist Nouriel Roubini, Chairman & CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, LLC, opened the macroeconomic discussion by examining interest rates, changing trade routes and capital markets. His message was that companies need to remain flexible and avoid relying too heavily on any single market or source of growth.

Spain was another major part of the discussion. After recording $130 billion in international travel spend in 2025, Spain was announced as the new home of the WTTC headquarters.

Hon. Jordi Hereu, Spain's Minister of Industry and Tourism, described the country's efforts to combine green investment and technology as it looks to strengthen its position in the global travel economy.

The question of where demand will grow next was also addressed by senior industry executives.

Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO of Hilton, said the United States remains the world's largest single travel market, while pointing to the need to reduce border friction and continue improving the guest experience.

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Group, highlighted continuing European demand and the scale of investment being made in fleet decarbonisation.

Technology Moving Into the Mainstream

Technology was a recurring subject throughout the first day, particularly where it can address practical problems facing airports, destinations and travel companies.

Digital Identity and Borders

With passenger numbers continuing to increase, border processing remains an important area for improvement.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports and WTTC Vice-Chair Technology; Andrea Alori, Partner at Bain & Company; Nikos Mertzanidis, Executive Director - Europe at Cruise Lines International Association; and Diane Sabatino, Executive Assistant Commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, discussed the experience of biometrics, automated e-gates and trusted traveller programmes.

The discussion pointed towards greater use of interoperable biometric systems as airports and other major travel hubs look for ways to handle larger passenger volumes without creating additional delays.

AI and the Traveller Journey

Artificial intelligence was discussed in more practical terms than simply as a new technology trend.

Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO of Almosafer Travel & Tourism Co., and Christie Travers-Smith, Director, EMEA Strategic Partnerships at Google, discussed the use of predictive intent and natural-language interfaces in travel search and trip planning.

Julie Shainock, Global Managing Director at Microsoft, looked at enterprise applications of AI, including dynamic pricing, back-of-house operations and customer response.

Hon. Silvio Schembri, Malta's Minister for the Economy, Technology and Strategic Projects, also called for governments to create environments in which technology companies and established businesses can work together rather than allowing older systems to become a barrier to progress.

The session was guided by Katie Briscoe, CEO of MMGY Global.

What Travellers Are Looking For Now

Consumer expectations are also changing.

Today's traveller has more information available before making a booking and is often less tied to a particular brand. Health, purpose and authentic experiences are becoming increasingly important considerations.

The Growth of Wellness and Longevity

The wellness market is moving beyond conventional spa treatments.

Tim Gray, Founder of Health Optimisation, and Raffaella di Sipio, Vice-President of Terme & SPA Italia, discussed growing interest in preventive health, sleep and diagnostic wellness during a conversation with Pat Riddell, Editor-at-Large of National Geographic Traveller.

For hospitality companies, this creates opportunities to incorporate a wider range of health and wellness experiences into the guest proposition.

The High-Value Traveller

Elie Maalouf, Global CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts, discussed changing expectations among higher-value travellers in an executive conversation with Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio.

The discussion highlighted a growing preference for personalised experiences and meaningful connections with local destinations, rather than luxury defined simply by formal service or standardised amenities.

Designing Destinations

Pansy Ho, Group Executive Chairman & Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings, and Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO of Diriyah Company, provided contrasting examples of destination development.

Their experiences demonstrated the different challenges involved in revitalising historic urban environments compared with building large-scale cultural destinations from the ground up.

People, Luxury and the Role of Small Businesses

The human side of tourism was another important theme, particularly the industry's ongoing workforce challenges.

Travel currently employs around one in nine people worldwide, but businesses continue to face significant labour shortages.

Desirée Bollier, Chair of The Bicester Collection; Bruno Despujol, Global Lead at Oliver Wyman; Laurent Gardinier, President of Relais & Châteaux; and James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel, discussed ways of making careers in travel more attractive to the next generation.

The conversation, moderated by Johanna Jainchill, Editor in Chief of Travel Weekly, included the role of technology and clearer career development pathways.

A Different Definition of Luxury

Alejandro Reynal, President & CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, joined Malta's Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg to discuss the changing luxury market.

Their discussion suggested that luxury is increasingly connected to cultural experiences and personal value rather than formality and traditional service alone.

Helping SMEs Compete

Small businesses remain central to the character and identity of many destinations.

Matthew Upchurch, Chairman & CEO of Virtuoso and Chairman of Together in Travel; Andrea Grisdale, CEO & Founder of IC Bellagio; and Julian Kassum, Deputy Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, discussed initiatives intended to give smaller tourism businesses better access to industry intelligence and distribution.

The discussion was moderated by Caroline Moultrie of WTTC.

Resilience, Responsible Growth and Emerging Markets

The final sessions of Day 1 turned towards resilience, destination management and the markets expected to play a larger role in global tourism.

Preparing for Disruption

Neal Jones, President EMEA of Marriott International, and Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies, discussed the importance of preparing organisations before geopolitical or climate-related disruptions occur.

Rather than treating resilience as a response after a crisis, the discussion focused on testing businesses and identifying weaknesses in advance.

Moving Beyond Arrival Numbers

A panel including Caroline Beteta, President & CEO of Visit California; Hon. Nikolina Brnjac, Member of the European Parliament; Michelle Fridman, Secretary of Tourism of Jalisco, Mexico; Carlo Micallef, CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority; and Miguel Sanz, Director-General of Turespaña, looked at how tourism boards are changing the way they measure growth.

The discussion focused on spreading tourism geographically, reducing seasonal pressure and ensuring that more of the economic benefit reaches local communities.

Don Welsh, President & CEO of Destinations International, moderated the session.

India's Growing Importance

India's tourism market received particular attention.

With $202.5 billion in domestic travel spend and a population of 1.4 billion, the country's growing importance to the global industry was discussed by Gaurav Bhatnagar, Co-Founder of TBO.com; Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Indian Hotels Company Limited; Zubin Karkaria, Founder & CEO of VFS Global; and Hon. Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister for Tourism, India.

CNN anchor Richard Quest moderated the discussion.

US Tourism Policy and Investment

Hon. Ambassador Nick Adams, U.S. Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism & Values, outlined the US approach to connecting public policy with travel growth.

Investment was another focus as Ayad Al Balushi, CEO of OMRAN Group, and Greg O'Hara, Founder of Certares, discussed the conditions investors look for when considering tourism infrastructure.

The day concluded with tourism ministers from Malta, Egypt, Croatia, Greece, South Africa and Türkiye discussing cross-border policy cooperation and sustainable investment.

Executive Takeaways for Travel and Hospitality Leaders

The first day of the summit pointed to four practical areas for businesses to consider:

1. Improve digital touchpoints
   Travel companies and destinations should continue moving towards connected digital and biometric systems that can make check-in, border processing and transit easier as passenger numbers increase.
2. Measure more than visitor numbers
   Growth should increasingly be assessed through factors such as visitor value, longer stays, off-peak demand and the economic contribution made to local communities.
3. Broaden wellness and longevity offerings
   The growing interest in preventive health, sleep and wellness creates opportunities for hospitality businesses to develop services beyond traditional spa and leisure products.
4. Make travel careers more attractive
   With labour shortages continuing across the industry, employers need to offer clearer career development, appropriate technology and stronger long-term prospects for frontline employees.

Looking Ahead

The first day in Malta made one point particularly clear: the travel industry is not dealing with a single change.

Economic conditions, technology, consumer behaviour, workforce shortages, sustainability and new source markets are all changing at the same time.

For travel and hospitality leaders, the challenge is therefore less about predicting exactly what comes next and more about building businesses and destinations that can adapt as conditions change.

That is ultimately where the FUTU[RE]SET theme fits. The next phase of tourism growth will depend not only on attracting more travellers, but on how effectively the industry responds to the people, communities, technology and markets shaping that growth.

@WTTC, @WTandTC, @ wtandtc, / gguevara2009/