Former Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Dr. Taleb Rifai has been appointed as the Secretary General of World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI). The World Tourism Forum Institute is a London based research institute that supports sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
Dr. Rifai recently accepted his new role at WTFI and alongside the latest appointment; the institute will work towards providing new perspectives on the relative significance of Travel & Tourism as well as some of its unique advantages in driving global economic growth. The institute also stated in a report that even though the hospitality business has been among the most seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector is not yet recovering.
Travel & Tourism ranks high among sectors, in terms of its contribution to GDP, employment, and exports and its growth trends and prospects exceed that of other key sectors. The industry also generates substantial indirect benefits through its linkages to other sectors and is highly dispersed within national economies and its benefits are widely distributed. Travel & Tourism drives infrastructure investment that benefits other industries.
