The World Travel & Tourism Council announces that Dallas, Texas, will host its 2016 WTTC Global Summit, in April 2016. The location of the 2016 Global Summit was announced at the close of the 15th WTTC Global Summit in Madrid, Spain, with Phillip Jones, CEO, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sean Donohue, CEO, Dallas Fort Worth Airport. David Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC, said: "The WTTC Global Summit is the most influential Travel & Tourism event of the year, bringing together hundreds of leaders from public sector organisations and private sector companies to discuss and tackle the most important issues in our industry. Travel & Tourism is one of the most important generators of jobs and wealth in the world, contributing over $7.6 trillion in GDP to the world economy and supporting 277 million jobs, which is 1 in 11 jobs on the planet."The United States is the world's largest Travel & Tourism economy. By the end of 2015, the Travel & Tourism sector will contribute US$1.4 trillion, 8% of the GDP of the United States, and 13.9 million jobs, over 9% of total employment, once all direct, indirect and induced impacts are taken into account. Scowsill continued: "The US is the world's largest Travel & Tourism economy, with the sector contributing over $1.4 trillion to the wider economy; it creates jobs, economic growth, well-being and prosperity. I am delighted that Dallas will host the 2016 Global Summit. We were particularly struck by the weight of public and private sector support, forming a partnership to bid for the event.""We are excited and honored that the World Travel & Tourism Council has selected Dallas to gather the world's top travel and tourism executives," said Phillip J. Jones President and CEO of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. "This important meeting of elite leaders further puts Dallas on an international stage and confirms our work to position Dallas as a global leader," added Jones."The decision to bring this important gathering to Dallas confirms that our city is growing as an international destination with an increasing number of direct flights out of DFW International Airport," said Mayor Mike Rawlings. "Over the past several months Dallas has hosted the New Cities Summit, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and now this prestigious global organization has recognized Dallas as a key city and region within the United States," added Rawlings. The WTTC Global Summit was last held in the United States in May 2011, in Las Vegas. The Summit engaged dialogues with key members of the Cabinet of President Obama, including his Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Transportation, and a vital message from the Secretary of State. This served as a major impetus to include ways to relax visa regulations for millions of overseas visitors as key elements in the President's Executive Order of 2012 for establishing a new Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness, charged with developing a National Travel and Tourism Strategy.