New global summit for cultural and heritage tourism set for September 23 in Spain

The Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain.

A new global summit that will tackle the major challenges and highlight opportunities in culture and heritage tourism is set to take place in Spain this year on 24 and 25 September.

The World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (WTACH) will present the Summit with the host organisation Visit Valencia, in the heart of Valencia, Spain – Europe’s Green Capital 2024.

The event will feature a list of respected high-level speakers from national government organisations, lending institutions, heritage organisations, tourism departments, local communities, academia, and private sector representatives who will convene for a day and a half in Valencia.

The summit will focus on creating viable businesses and building better livelihoods for people living in heritage communities connected to tourism, and to conserve and promote responsible tourism in the market around the world.   Key sessions include the case for investment in heritage destinations, balancing tourism growth with heritage conservation, the latest global trends in cultural and heritage in tourism, better capacity building, training and education. There will also be a session where anyone in the delegation can contribute. “We believe that focused efforts can improve the lives and well-being of local communities and custodians through better implementation of best practices,” CEO, WTACH, Nigel Fell, said.

Highlights of the international speaker lineup include BBC London’s Rajan Data, as the key moderator and global tourism destination specialist, Dawn Drew, who will MC the summit.

WTACH Chairman, Chris Flynn, said the Global Leadership Summit programme has been designed to attract representatives from governments, tourism boards, leading private sector decision-makers, tour operators, corporate sponsors, community representatives, NGOs, media and others. “With the summit theme ‘Celebrating our Past – Securing our Future,’ our programme encourages attendees to contribute to new directions, priorities and attitudes towards culture and heritage in tourism,” Flynn, said.  While the summit formally concludes on the evening of 25 September, there will be optional training on the morning of the 26th for culture and heritage tourism practitioners, spaces are limited to 25.

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