Ministers and business leaders from 24 countries met in Valletta to debate public-private collaboration on destination competitiveness, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said on October 7.
The Global Leaders Dialogue, part of WTTC’s 26th Global Summit, covered seamless travel and the race for investment. Participants weighed whether tax breaks, golden visas and special economic zones still win capital when regulatory speed, transparency and certainty increasingly decide where investors go, and how biometric borders and AI-driven visa systems can tighten security without adding friction for travellers.
“Competitiveness is built through partnership,” said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of WTTC. “When governments and industry work hand in hand, they create the conditions for investment, innovation, connectivity and growth.”
Held under the theme Rewriting the Rules of Global Competitiveness, the dialogue ran in two sessions. The first, on seamless travel, followed the traveller journey from visas, borders and regulation to connectivity, technology, hospitality and logistics. The second examined what destinations need to do to become investment ready, including the role of regulation, infrastructure, connectivity, incentives and political decision-making.
Government participants included Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities; Rosario Sanchez Grau, Spain’s secretary of state for tourism; Fatima bint Jaafar Al Sairafi, Bahrain’s minister of tourism; Jo Etienne Abela, Malta’s minister for tourism; Robert O’Leary of the US Department of Commerce; and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
From the private sector were William Heinecke, founder and chairman of Minor International; Eijiro Yamakita, chairperson of JTB; Zubin Karkaria, founder and CEO of VFS Global, WTTC’s mobility partner; Maher Koubaa, president for EMEA at Amadeus; Paolo Barletta, CEO of Arsenale; Senthil Gopinath, CEO of ICCA; and Laura Sileo Pavat, global brand homes director at Pernod Ricard.
WTTC’s latest research shows the sector contributed $3tn to Europe’s economy in 2025, supporting 40.7mn jobs, while international visitors spent $835bn across the continent.