Overview

• The Rome gathering, opened by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, marked the WTTC’s 25th Global Summit and underscored Europe’s outsized role in international tourism.
• WTTC data show Mexico’s travel and tourism impact rising to $281 billion in 2025 yet slipping from seventh to eighth globally, with Spain overtaking it despite Mexico’s strong domestic market.
• The report projects fewer Mexican and Canadian visitors to the United States in 2025—down 5.1% and 20.2% respectively—contributing to a 6.9% decline in U.S. international receipts and a recovery to 2019 levels not expected until 2031.
• Leaders urged shifting demand to secondary destinations—citing models like Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos—as Italy noted over‑tourism is concentrated in a handful of cities while most regions remain under‑visited.
• A new workforce study foresees 91 million additional tourism jobs by 2035 but warns up to 43 million roles could go unfilled without action on skills, labor mobility and digital adoption, as Gloria Guevara returns as interim WTTC CEO and Manfredi Lefebvre becomes Council president.