The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is pleased to announce that next year's WTTC Global Summit will take place in Seville, Spain on 3-4 April 2019. The location of the 2019 Global Summit was announced at the closing ceremony of the 18th WTTC Global Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 2019 WTTC Global Summit will be hosted by Ayuntamiento of Seville, in partnership with Turismo Andaluz and Turespaña. Travel & Tourism is one of the leading sectors stimulating economic growth and employment worldwide. In 2017, the global Travel & Tourism sector grew at 4.6%, faster than the global economy as a whole (3% growth during 2017) and generated US$8.3 trillion in GDP (10.4%) and 313 million jobs. Travel & Tourism is a significant contributor to Spain's economy, accounting for 14.9% of GDP (EUR$172.9bn) and 15.1% of jobs (2.8 million jobs). Spain's travel sector enjoyed a very successful 2017, overtaking the US to become the second most visited country in the world. Gloria Guevara Manzo, President & CEO of WTTC, said: "We are extremely excited to bring next year's WTTC Global Summit back to Europe for the first time since 2015, to Seville, Spain, a welcoming, diverse, and well-connected city, which topped Lonely Planet's list of best cities to visit in 2018." Manzo added: "WTTC's annual Global Summit brings together the most influential figures from the public and private sector to address the challenges and opportunities facing Travel & Tourism. Hosting the Summit in Seville is a reflection of the commitment and efforts of the Spanish government to growing business and leisure travel, and we are very much looking forward to April 2019." Juan Espadas, Mayor of Seville, said: "In Seville, we want to grow sustainably. Without losing our identity as a heritage city, with a lifestyle closely related to gastronomy and the friendliness of people well known around the world. In Seville, we are heavily investing in diversification of the tourism industry. We are a great city to visit, to live and to invest, and it is an honour to host the WTTC Global Summit, as any city would dream of. The Summit will make Seville the world centre of decision making in tourism for the next years. Welcome to Seville. The city of joy." Matilde Asian, President of Turespaña, concluded: "We are looking forward to welcoming the Summit attendees back to Spain next year. It is an excellent opportunity for the delegates to experience Seville's cultural life, warm climate, amazing gastronomy, and friendly people." Francisco Javier Fernández, Minister for Tourism, Andalucía, said "Hosting WTTC´s Global Summit highlights Andalucía on an international scale, and we are excited to have such a high-level international event in Seville. The 2019 WTTC Global Summit represents an opportunity to showcase the richness of our culture and the opportunities our sector provides."

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