India will host the 27th Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council (Photos: India Outbound)
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), a leading global tourism organisation, has announced that India will host the WTTC Global Summit in 2027, bringing the world’s leading travel and tourism CEOs and government leaders to New Delhi as the country’s tourism sector enters a new era of growth and global opportunity, supported by one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing domestic travel markets.
This was announced by Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, Chairman, WTTC, as the 26th Global Summit of WTTC comes to an end at Valletta in Malta. WTC says that as the sector’s most important global event, the WTTC Global Summit attracts the highest level of public and private sector participation from across the world. It says that India was selected following a highly competitive process involving 21 destinations that expressed interest in hosting the event.
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According to WTTC, the 2027 Summit will provide a global platform to showcase India’s extraordinary tourism offering, the strength of its domestic visitor economy, and its growing appeal to international travellers, while bringing together the public and private sectors to address the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of travel and tourism.
India was selected following a highly competitive process involving 21 destinations that expressed interest in hosting the event
The announcement comes during the WTTC Global Summit in Malta, where Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, Government of India, participated in discussions on the future of the sector and has been recognised with a WTTC Global Champion Award for his leadership and contribution to travel and tourism.
WTTC says that India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing Travel & Tourism economies. According to its latest Economic Impact Research, the sector contributed USD 263.6 billion to India’s economy in 2025, growing by 7.3 pc and supporting 46.2 million jobs, more than one in every 10 jobs in the country.
It adds that the momentum is expected to continue. WTTC forecasts that travel and tourism’s contribution to India’s economy will grow by 8.5 pc in 2026, reaching USD 286.1 billion, while supporting 48.1 million jobs. Over the next decade, the sector is projected to almost double in economic size, reaching USD 527 billion by 2036.
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India’s enormous domestic tourism market provides a powerful foundation for this growth. Domestic visitor spending reached USD 203 billion in 2025, accounting for 86 pc of total travel and tourism spending, while international visitor spending represents a significant opportunity for further expansion.
According to WTTC, India will move from being the world’s 10th-largest travel and tourism economy to fourth by 2036, underlining the scale of the opportunity ahead. International visitor spending is also forecast to grow significantly over the coming decade, highlighting the potential for India to capture a greater share of global tourism demand.
The country’s scale, diverse tourism offering and expanding infrastructure are creating opportunities across leisure, business travel, hospitality, aviation, technology, investment and destination development. The 2027 Summit will provide a unique opportunity for international businesses and investors to engage directly with India and explore partnerships across its rapidly developing tourism ecosystem.
“We are delighted to bring the world’s most important travel and tourism event to India in 2027, chosen from among 21 destinations. New Delhi will provide the perfect stage for global leaders to come together, drive collaboration, and continue shaping the future of the sector,” said Lefebvre d’Ovidio.
“India is a country with extraordinary tourism potential and a sector that is already delivering remarkable economic growth. Its scale, ambition and growing global connectivity make it a natural place to bring the world’s travel and tourism leaders together. This will be an opportunity to showcase the country to our global membership, strengthen public-private partnerships and look at how India can capture even more of the international demand that is driving the next chapter of global travel and tourism,” said Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC.
The decision to bring the Global Summit to India follows a period of significant expansion for the country’s travel and tourism sector and reflects WTTC’s commitment to bringing its flagship event to markets that are helping shape the future of the industry.
India has already demonstrated the strength of its domestic tourism market, while the next phase of growth will increasingly focus on expanding its international visitor economy. WTTC’s research highlights the opportunity to build on India’s strong domestic foundation and attract a greater share of international visitor spending.
“I thank WTTC leadership for the confidence placed in India. By entrusting us with the opportunity to host the WTTC Global Summit next year in 2027, we regard this not merely as a privilege but as a responsibility to welcome the world, strengthen global partnership and demonstrate the transformative potential of tourism,” said Shekhawat in his speech on the occasion.
Suman Billa
“We believe that the future of tourism must be built through genuine partnerships between government and industry. Combining public investment and enabling policies with private capital, innovation, technology and the creativity of our people. As we look towards 2027, India stands ready to welcome the global tourism community, not merely to showcase its extraordinary destinations, but to advance the shared vision of tourism that is inclusive, sustainable, innovative and accessible,’’ added Shekhawat.
“India will not merely host the world, we will seek to build bridges between nations, cultures, businesses and people. On behalf of the government and people of India, on behalf of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I invite you all to join us in this journey. We look forward to welcoming you to India in 2027 with our traditional marks, our extraordinary heritage and our commitment to shaping the next chapter of global tourism,” he said.
“What we want to do is to bring all the global leaders to India and to make India into a viable investment country. So the idea is that we will get all the states starting from now till next year. The idea is to have a very structured engagement on who you want to be, what kind of opportunities are there, and what kind of investments they can make, start the conversation early and then do whatever you need to do by way of investment, subsidies, ease of doing business. And finally so that when we have the summit, we should be able to sign up on investment decisions on that day. So the idea is that we need to get a large sum of investments by that time. I think for a conference in India, we are looking at at least 5,000 people,” said Suman Billa, Director General, Ministry of Tourism.
