Is WTTC and its CEO in Trouble?

eTN’s recent article on the European Tourism Day returning after five years without WTTC unexpectedly triggered a heated discussion on the current state of the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Members, associates, and former executives in the organization spoke out “off record.”

After concluding a very successful WTTC Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the world of tourism is again united, more significant, and better. This was the message from the Riyadh summit, but it may have been wishful thinking regarding UNWTO and WTTC.

After the summit, the global world of tourism has not heard much from WTTC, except for some mostly automatic social media posts and press statements, such as announcing outsourced research and promoting a brochure on illegal wildlife from July 2021.

Did you know that travel is good for your mental health?

This was one of the prominent tweets by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), referring to World Health Organization research.

Insiders told eTurboNews that a team by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Tourism was the driving force behind making the 2022 SUMMIT in Riyadh last November a big success.

Gloria Guevara, the former WTTC CEO, led this team in her new function working for the Ministry of Tourism Saudi Arabia.

“Without this team at the Ministry of Tourism, the summit would have failed,” was feedback from one of the individuals with knowledge about the event. “Thanks to the support by the ministry and specifically Gloria, WTTC can now take credit for the largest, best, and most impressive Summit ever.”

WTTC Members are concerned

A source told eTurboNews that WTTC members and former associates are increasingly concerned about ineffective leadership, favoritism, and purchases not directly benefiting the organization.

Gloria Guevara left as the WTTC CEO in May 2021, becoming the top advisor for His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb Ahmed bin Aqil al-Khateeb. With Guevara on his side, Saudi Arabia became the most influential emerging country in the world for the travel and tourism industry.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) opened a regional center in Riyadh.

In the meantime, UNWTO keeps gaining visibility, while the organization’s Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili remains hardly accessible to people other than ministers. His public appearance concentrates on official photo opportunities.

UNWTO is a politically motivated UN-affiliated agency. Countries are members.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), however, is a private membership organization with some of the largest global travel and tourism companies, such as Marriott, TUI, and other giants of the industry as members.

How WTTC started?

It all started in the late 1980s when a group of industry Chairs and CEOs, led by James Robinson III – then Chairman and CEO of American Express – realized that, although Travel & Tourism was the largest industry in the world, the biggest provider of jobs, few in the industry, let alone within governments, were not aware of this.

It’s expensive for companies to join WTTC. There is usually no government funding.

For years WTTC demonstrated clear leadership for the private travel sector.

Under Dr. Taleb Rifai, the previous UNWTO secretary-general, WTTC, and UNWTO were like Siamese twins, coordinating every step and effectively steering the direction of global tourism both in the private and public sectors.

At that time, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) presented Open Letters to 89 Heads of State and Governments, outlining the value of this sector as the largest generator of jobs and a powerful driver of socioeconomic growth and sustainable development in the world.

This close cooperation between the two organizations ended after Zurab took the helm at UNWTO on January 1, 2018.

The world was thrilled to hear at the WTTC Summit in November 2018 that this global voice seems to unite again in a world emerging after COVID.

UNWTO has been criticized for many years for being ineffective, and a UN organization where key countries such as the United States, UK, or Canada are not even members. The UNWTO Secretary-General was criticized for getting his position due to political manipulation. This did not stop in the second round during the COVID period in September 2020.

UNWTO, however, always had very talented and widely respected key leaders from around the globe, such as Anita Mendiratta, the advisor for SG Zurab Pololikashvili.

Anita is most likely also behind many Twitter and LinkedIn posts and position statements. She has managed to keep UNWTO relevant. Thanks to her and some of the other remaining leaders, some put in place under previous administrations, it appears UNWTO is slowly returning to life.

WTTC lost relevance

WTTC, in return, has lost relevance, specifically after the conclusion of the 2022 summit.

More and more members had been coming forward without wanting to be named, sharing their frustration about the WTTC leadership.

Not only once was eTurboNews told that the current WTTC president and CEO Julia Simpson may understand aviation but does not fully understand global tourism.

Producing research alone should not be the main task for WTTC. The private sector needs to unite, and this is what the mandate is for this organization.

Before her appointment at WTTC, Julia spent 14 years in the aviation sector on the Board of British Airways and Iberia as Chief of Staff at International Airlines Group before joining British Airways. She was a senior adviser to the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

As a private organization, WTTC should know to focus globally on everything they do, including taking the needs of its members at the forefront for everything.

Recently great talents and senior people left or were let go by the World Travel and Tourism Council, creating a tremendous vacuum in the leadership of this organization that may be impossible to fill immediately.

Legal disputes at WTTC

Legal disputes emerged within WTTC and staff. It even included allegations of bullying and harassment.

A former WTTC associate told eTurboNews, the time for WTTC to maintain diversity, equality, and inclusion is over.

WTTC became too British

WTTC doesn’t always think globally any longer. It became a mostly British organization. The CEO and her deputy or assistant, most staff, and those responsible for marketing and finance are all UK citizens. Could such a dominant team from one country continue to represent the global travel and tourism industry?

WTTC’s last Twitter post said that WTTC is hopeful that His Majesty’s reign will support economic & social development that works in harmony with nature.

At the next WTTC Summit, November 1-3, in Rwanda, a new chairman will take over the organization.

The new WTTC Chairman

The new chairman will have the important task of leading the direction of WTTC. The current chairman has a chance to take ownership of the situation.

This may have caused a delay in the expected debate on who will be the new WTTC chairman. Insiders told eTurboNews, it appears the WTTC CEO has been trying to position her favorite choice and wasn’t able to succeed before a relevant WTTC Board meeting last month. CEO Julia Simpson took this important agenda point off the April meeting agenda without explanation.

Therefore this issue was not yet discussed as expected in April.

On March 27, the eTurboNews Publisher Juergen Steinmetz predicted Manfredi Lefebvre to be nominated at the WTTC Global Summit in Rwanda to be confirmed as the next Chairman.