In The Big Chair LIVE - Gloria Guevara of WTTC

Gloria Guevara, president and CEO

The World Travel & Tourism Council represents the travel and tourism private sector globally. Members include more than 170 CEOs, chairpersons and presidents of the world’s leading travel and tourism companies.

The former-Sabre executive and minister of tourism in Mexico has been president and CEO of the WTTC since 2017.

As the worldwide representative for the travel industry, the World Travel and Tourism Council works to raise awareness of a variety of issues related to travel.

It also conducts research on the economic and social impact of the industry and hosts an annual global summit of stakeholders.

The council’s work falls within three priorities:

• Security and travel facilitation, including finding innovative ways to promote seamless, secure travel such as biometric technology
• Preparedness and response for crises, whether man-made or natural
• Sustainable growth to ensure travel and tourism has a positive impact on people, cities and nature.

The organization's remit and lobbying power with governments and regional agencies is an important one given that travel and tourism is one of the world's largest economic sectors.

The WTTC says one in every 10 jobs worldwide are related to the industry and it accounts for 10.4% of global gross domestic product.

The council’s president and CEO, Gloria Guevara, leads the organizations work from its London headquarters.

PhocusWire caught up with Guevara during the Phocuswright Europe event in Amsterdam, where she took part in our "Big Chair" series of executive interviews.

She had earlier appeared on-stage at the event in a debate about the impact on the travel industry as a result of the U.K.'s referendum to leave the European Union.