Days before the 22nd edition of the Global Summit organised by the World Travel and Tourism Council gets underway in Saudi Arabia, the organisers reveal high-powered speakers slated to address the event, said to be one of the leading travel meetings in the world.

The World Travel and Tourism Council’s Global Summit will open in Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on November 28. The organisers say that besides an engaging and vibrant agenda addressing the numerous critical issues facing the world of tourism today, they have also brought on board high-powered speakers as the governments have a key role in restoration of the sector to health.

Accordingly WTTC has announced that former British Prime Minister Theresa May would be a keynote speaker at the meeting, alongside former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Theresa May served as Prime Minister from 2016 to 2019 and the second longest-serving post-war Home Secretary, serving for six years from 2010 to 2016.

Last year, May was appointed Chair of the Aldersgate Group, an alliance that drives action for a sustainable economy, add the oragnisers.

Taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 28 November to 1 December, the global tourism body’s highly anticipated 22nd Global Summit is one of the most influential travel & tourism event in the calendar.

During the Global Summit, industry leaders from a sector that was worth over 10 pc of global GDP before the pandemic will meet government officials from across the globe in Riyadh to continue aligning efforts to support the travel & tourism sector’s recovery and address the challenges ahead, to ensure a safer, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable sector.

“Theresa May has a long-standing interest in the environment and as Prime Minister, she launched the ‘25 Year Environmental Plan’ to tackle issues such as plastic waste. In 2019 she formally committed the UK to achieving ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050, making Britain the first major economy to do so. During the pandemic, Theresa May was concerned about the uncoordinated global response, and she showed great political leadership calling for international cooperation based on evidence,’’ says Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO.

“Our event will bring together many of the world’s most powerful leaders in our sector to discuss and secure its long-term future, which is critical to economies and jobs around the world,” she added.

South Korean diplomat Ban Ki-Moon, who served as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016, will also address delegates in person at the event.