World Travel & Tourism Council urges sustainable tourism as MICE sector equals 16th‑largest economy

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released a brief policy report, “Destination Stewardship: Creating Value for All,” outlining seven principles for proactive destination management. The guidelines aim to ensure tourism growth benefits both residents and businesses, emphasizing collaboration, evidence‑based decision‑making, resident satisfaction monitoring, and reinvestment of tourism revenues. WTTC notes that tourism supports roughly one in ten global jobs, contributes about 10% of world GDP and is expected to add $11.6 trillion to the global economy and sustain 366 million jobs by 2025.

A separate study by Oxford Economics for the Events Industry Council, highlighted by Spain’s IdeMice association, estimates that meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism generates over $3.2 trillion annually. If treated as a country, this would place it around the 16th‑largest economy worldwide. IdeMice and its president Iñaki Collado stress that MICE tourism drives high‑value spending, knowledge exchange, innovation, and broader economic activity across transport, hospitality and professional services, urging both public and private sectors to recognize its strategic importance.