This is a transcript of David Scowsill Opening Speech at the WTTC Global Summit 2016:

Secretary Pritzker, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to Dallas. And welcome back to the United States for the first time since we were in Las Vegas in 2011.  That gathering was instrumental in providing the international perspective on the post 9/11 Travel & Tourism landscape in this country. The “lost decade” of economic growth. The visitors who didn’t visit. The jobs which weren’t created. The 600 billion dollars lost to the US economy in 10 years.  The Global Summit in Vegas represented a tipping point. The culmination of years of effort by CEOs in this room, supported at the right time by global pressure to produce a big impact. This was public private sector cooperation at its best.   Within 12 months, Brand USA became fully active and the National Travel & Tourism Strategy had been created. President Barack Obama signed the Executive Order, announcing new initiatives to significantly increase the numbers of visitors coming to the United States.

Since these changes, the US has received some $30bil extra in international tourist receipts. I remember watching his address. The tone was different. The words were different. He had got the message. He understood.  What the President did not say is that the US is the world’s largest Travel & Tourism economy, contributing a total of 1.4 trillion dollars and 13.5 million jobs. It far outstrips the size of China, Germany, Japan and every single G20 country.  The world needs a prosperous US Travel & Tourism sector, for it accounts for one in every five dollars created by our sector worldwide. And as the country came out of the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the economic contribution from the additional visitors generated more jobs, more investment, and more visitor dollars. So we are back in the United States to explore how we look up beyond our usual operating horizons to Travel Beyond Boundaries.  Another global financial crisis is on the horizon. Negative interest rates. Plunging commodity prices. Unimaginably low oil prices. The risk of sovereign debt defaults. Deflationary forces. Competitive monetary policy. The slow down in China.

But look how we can thrive on disruption. We gather here in Dallas to touch the foundation stone of the global low-cost airline industry. Less than 10 miles from here Southwest Airlines moved beyond tried and tested business models, and provided the blueprint for great low-cost travel.  And new boundaries are being pushed with the rapid rise of the sharing economy. Social media. Digital disruption.  Less than ten years after being founded, Airbnb is valued at 25 billion dollars – or about the same as Starwood and Intercontinental Hotels group combined – yet it doesn’t own a single hotel room.  Uber is valued at around 60 billion dollars, even before it moves into deliveries – yet it does not own a single car. Both of these businesses are disrupting the status quo, driven by great product, technology, consumer need and convenience.  In the realms of science and technology we reach out beyond any understanding of our ancestors, to embrace a new era of robotics and automation.  We live in an ever-connected world, brought closer by technology, multi platform media, binding trade agreements and the sheer speed of travel.

That same connectivity sees us witnessing the migration of peoples, on a scale not seen for decades.  Navigating our way through and beyond the complexities of mass migration, embracing the possibilities while acknowledging the concerns, will be the urgent task of our global leaders now and in the years ahead.  And boundaries are being breached in new arenas of combat. In our data dependent world, new battlegrounds are being drawn up. Strategies on security and data protection are being redefined. Cyber terrorism is the new theatre of war.  Yet even cyber terrorism is shaded by the dark random brutalities of physical terrorism: from Paris to Palmyra – from Cairo to California.  We have to prevent an over-reaction from governments, who are wrestling with the question: “how can we keep our borders safe, while keeping those same borders open to travellers and tourists?” We addressed this topic yesterday in a Ministerial Dialogue with some of our Members, laying out a blueprint for how we can work together to stop the borders being closed. We call upon the world’s leaders to improve radically international intelligence and security agency cooperation. Many attacks are perpetrated by home grown terrorists. Closing our borders and jeopardising our freedom to travel is not the solution.  Such political, social, and economic shifts undoubtedly give us enormous challenges, but they also offer up extraordinary opportunities.

To harness our industry to this changing world. To influence it. To define it. To break boundaries.  For the world needs a thriving, prosperous Travel & Tourism sector.   Globally, this sector contributes $7.2 trillion annually, almost 10% of the world’s GDP, and supports one in eleven of all jobs on the planet.  We account for 6% of all exports and 4% of all investment.  But beyond economic arguments, there is the human side. Travel and Tourism brings people together. It puts a smile on people’s faces. It alleviates poverty. It provides employment across all levels of society, and in some of the most remote places on earth.  It broadens horizons and breaks boundaries.  Travel & Tourism truly is a force for good in the world.  So, what’s stopping us? What are the barriers to our ambition?  Some of these boundaries are very familiar to WTTC: our fight for Freedom to Travel in a safe and secure environment.

Our mandate to ensure that taxation is applied intelligently.  Our struggle for the right infrastructure.  Our focus to get the best talent into our businesses. For these are critical issues, which drive our work to maximise the long-term sustainable growth of the sector. Our relationship with UNWTO is the best example of public and private sector partnership, speaking with ‘One Voice’ delivering consistent messages.  Together with Secretary General Taleb Rifai, we have met with 82 Heads of State in the last four years, taking the message of the social and economic importance of our sector to the very people who make the decisions. Together we launched the Global Travel Association Coalition to expand our influence with government, creating a unified plan with IATA, ACI, ICAO, CLIA, WEF and PATA.  This agenda prioritises action on the four issues of greatest importance to our sector: Visas and security. Infrastructure. Sustainability. People. Representing the private sector, WTTC is the global authority on Travel & Tourism.   We communicate globally the critical issues for the industry at our Summits.

We are the voice of the industry in the media during times of crisis – reassuring consumers, calming stock markets, and providing historical perspective.  More than at any other time, the world needs organisations such as WTTC to provide leadership.  Ladies and gentlemen, if I had to focus our minds on just one issue it would be this: The combination of global terrorism and an international refugee crisis is creating an unprecedented threat.  World leaders need to stand up together and to act now. And it is our role as Travel & Tourism leaders to make that happen. No individual government or company knows all the answers. But together we do. Together we will continue to travel beyond boundaries. Thank you

In closing the WTTC Global Summit in Dallas, President & CEO, David Scowsill, called on the Travel & Tourism sector to show the leadership required to keep people travelling despite concerns over security and the movement of refugees.

“The boundaries which we are trying to break become the borders that others are trying to build,” he said. “Let’s go further than we have ever gone before in championing and resolving the big issues of our age. Let’s claim the leadership position.” Travel & Tourism accounts for almost 10% of world GDP and one in eleven of all jobs on the planet, making it a powerful contributor to the global economy. “I see a sector that is growing at a higher rate than world GDP. One that is creating jobs. And one that is committed to the stewardship of the world’s natural resources. In an uncertain world driven by conflict, fear, climate change and resource scarcity, it is our sector to which governments can look for economic certainty”, he said.

“Which other industry can be invited into the world’s great powerhouses and provide sought after advice in the fields of sustainability, innovation, job creation, and economic generation?” he asked.” “It is now the role of world leaders to step up to harness the opportunities of Travel & Tourism and for the leaders of our sector to embrace that opportunity.” “The key issue we have addressed is the implication for freedom to travel of the twin threats of terrorism and the movement displaced peoples. Global problems require a global response. That is why we welcome the challenge laid down by the US Government for the public and the private sectors to work together, to improve radically inter-agency cooperation and the sharing of information across the world.”

The WTTC Global Summit had seen contributions from over 60 people over the course of two days as Travel & Tourism leaders discussed the pressing issues affecting the sector today – notably safety & security, sustainability, and the influence of recent geopolitical shifts and technological developments. The 2016 WTTC Global Summit was hosted by Dallas CVB, with invaluable support from Brand USA, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Mexico Tourism Board, Sabre, Texas One, TravelTexas.com, United Airlines and the US Travel Association. Next year, the WTTC Global Summit will take place from 26-27 April 2017 in Bangkok, hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand and endorsed by the Royal Thai Government.

“Don’t close borders in response to terrorism”, says WTTC CEO “Closing borders and jeopardising the freedom to travel is not the answer to the current security concerns.

World leaders need to stand together and act now, with the support of the Travel & Tourism sector.” That was the message from David Scowsill, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) at the start of the organisation’s annual Global Summit, in Dallas, Texas.

Scowsill told the assembled private and public sector delegates that: “The combination of global terrorism and an international refugee crisis is creating an unprecedented threat, but closing our borders and jeopardising our freedom to travel is not the solution.

We have to prevent an overreaction from governments.” “We live in an ever-connected world, brought closer by technology, multi-platform media, binding trade agreements and the sheer speed of travel. That same connectivity sees us witnessing the migration of peoples, on a scale not seen for decades. Navigating our way through and beyond the complexities of mass migration, embracing the possibilities while acknowledging the concerns, will be the urgent task of our global leaders now and in the future”, he said. In calling on world leaders to “prevent an overreaction from governments” he said the critical question is to understand “how can we keep our borders safe, while keeping those same borders open to business travellers and tourists?”

He reminded delegates of the impact of the US border tightening after the 11 September 2001 attacks, which led to a ‘lost decade’ of tourism income that cost the United States some $600 billion. WTTC advocates improving international intelligence and security agency cooperation, better use of technology, and better communication as ways of combatting the problem. Such action will take global agreements and a commitment to sharing data – something which can only happen with concerted international effort. “World leaders need to stand up together and to act now. And it is our role as Travel & Tourism leaders to make that happen”, he said. The economic contribution of Travel & Tourism is clear. Globally, the Travel & Tourism sector contributes $7.2 trillion annually, almost 10% of the world’s GDP, and supports one in eleven of all jobs on the planet, an exceptionally resilient performance despite many challenges. Scowsill also highlighted how the sector is force for good in the world: “Travel and Tourism brings people together. It puts a smile on people’s faces. It alleviates poverty. It provides employment across all levels of society, and in some of the most remote places on earth. It broadens horizons and breaks boundaries.”