Nearly 1,000 industry leaders will gather in Las Vegas from 17-19 May to discuss, debate and define some of the key issues facing the Travel & Tourism industry, during the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 11th Global Travel & Tourism Summit.

Held in conjunction with Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the Summit will tackle some of the questions on everyone’s lips, with this year’s programme focused on ‘Powering Global Growth.’ According to the WTTC’s recent findings, over the next ten years, Travel & Tourism’s total contribution to GDP is forecast to rise by 4.2% a year to US$9.2 trillion, bringing with it 65 million new jobs.

Hot topics on the Summit agenda designed to inform delegates how to effectively embrace growth and to overcome perceived challenges, include: New Global Mindsets, Powering Sustainable Growth, Investing in Growth, The Business of Doing Business, Breaking Through the Brick Wall, High Speed Growth in the Digital Lane and Powering Recovery in Japan. Each of these topics will be analysed and reviewed.

Industry leaders representing every sector of the global Travel & Tourism industry will participate in speaker sessions, interviews and panel debates, including:
- Guest of Honour, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico
- Ted Turner, Founder, CNN & Turner Enterprises
- Atsutoshi Nishida, Chairman,Toshiba
- 3 Representatives from President Obama’s Cabinet
- CEOs from a host of the world’s leading Travel & Tourism organisations.

David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, commented: “The Travel & Tourism industry is in a unique position to power sustainable growth, with some signs of economic recovery following the global recession.” He added: “It has been a turbulent twelve months with geo-political unrest in the Middle East impacting on traveller patterns and last month’s devastating earthquake in Japan. Now it is more important than ever for us to begin the dialogue on Powering Global Growth. This year’s WTTC Summit aims to inform the world Travel & Tourism industry just how this growth can be achieved.”

The Las Vegas Summit will be held at ARIA Resort & Casino, the centrepiece of CityCenter, the unprecedented urban resort destination which opened on the Las Vegas Strip in December 2009. CityCenter is a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World.

Rossi Ralenkotter, President & CEO, LVCVA, commented: "We are honoured to host the 11th Global Travel & Tourism Summit. Las Vegas is a premier destination for leisure and business travel and welcomes approximately 38 million visitors annually from around the world. Las Vegas was built to host events.  He added: "The Travel & Tourism industry generates US$37 billion for Southern Nevada and employs 215,000 people. The industry is the economic driver for the State of Nevada."

The Global Travel & Tourism Summit is the leading event in the Travel & Tourism industry leaders' calendar that allows for direct, informal dialogue with public sector leaders, plus the international media and academia.