Ministers, ambassadors, EU officials and industry leaders met at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium on 9–10 November to set out how tourism can attract investment and stay secure.
The Global Tourism Forum (GTF) Annual Meeting 2026 closed in Brussels on 10 November after two days of debate on the two questions now shaping the sector: where tourism’s next wave of investment will come from, and how destinations can stay secure enough to attract it.
Organised by the World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI) at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the meeting brought together more than 70 speakers. They included serving and former tourism ministers, six ambassadors, senior European Commission officials and a Member of the European Parliament. Industry voices came from Google, Accor, TUI Group, Booking.com, IATA and Kempinski, among others. Delegates from more 60 countries attended to the event.
The programme opened on the evening of Sunday 8 November with an invitation-only welcome reception in the Gothic Hall of Brussels Town Hall, on the Grand-Place.
Day 1: Global leadership and investment
The opening ceremony on Monday 9 November, themed “Tourism in a New Global Era”, featured addresses by Bulut Bağcı, President of WTFI; Patrick Bontinck, Chief Executive Officer of visit.brussels; and Dr. István Ujhelyi, President of Capital European Affairs and Global Vice President of Hiseas International. The Brussels City Ballet followed with a performance.
A High-Level Leaders’ Dialogue, “From Capital to Confidence”, opened with a video message from Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN. It brought together H.E. Abulfas Garayev, former Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan; Hon. Najib Balala of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC); and Mariana Oleskiv, former Chairperson of Ukraine’s State Agency for Tourism Development.
Three keynotes set the tone for the day. Aileen Dalisay, Head of Product Partnerships EMEA at Google, spoke on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the traveller journey. Jean-Jacques Morin, Group Deputy CEO of Accor, addressed the balance between growth, responsibility and investment resilience. Maharaj Trilochan Das Ji reflected on tourism, trust and the communities that welcome visitors.
Six panel sessions followed the money from the global outlook down to project level:
- where international capital is moving next
- how destination masterplans become bankable, investment-ready projects
- hospitality investment and destination development
- blended finance and development capital
- connectivity as investment infrastructure
- green and climate-resilient tourism investment
Contributors included Horwath HTL, the European Travel Commission, HOTREC, the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO), the European Union Agency for Railways, TUI Group, Omio, ETOA and the European Commission’s DG MOVE and Olga Fleming, Chairwoman of the World Sustainable .
e day closed with a two-part Ministerial Dialogue. H.E. Simonida Kordić, Minister of Tourism of Montenegro and Chair of the UN Tourism Commission for Europe, joined H.E. Abulfas Garayev to discuss tourism leadership and policy, moderated by Nikolina Angelova, former Tourism Minister of Bulgaria.
In the second part, Hon. Susan Rodrigues, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of Guyana, and H.E. Fredson Victor Bravo Bacar, Mozambique’s Secretary of State for Tourism, examined investment, connectivity and economic transformation. It was moderated by Özgül Özkan Yavuz, Board Member of Turkish Airlines and former Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye.
That evening, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium hosted the World Tourism Awards and Gala Dinner, where this year’s winners were honoured in front of the meeting’s delegates.
The second day, Tuesday 10 November, turned to security under the opening theme “Security as the New Foundation of Tourism Competitiveness”. Silvia Michelini, Director for Borders, Migration and Security in Member States at the European Commission’s DG HOME, opened with a keynote on secure and seamless borders. Mona Bjorklund, Director of Policy Coordination at DG MOVE, delivered a keynote address later in the morning.
- Security as competitiveness, with Daniel Attard MEP, ECTAA and NECSTouR
- Cybersecurity in tourism and hospitality, with Booking.com and EU Travel Tech
- Event security, MICE and high-level delegations, with visit.brussels, the Joint Meetings Industry Council and the European Exhibition Industry Alliance
- Security, mobility and destination trust, with Kempinski Hotels and Panterra
In the High-Level Ambassadors’ Dialogue, moderated by Derya Soysal, the ambassadors of Malaysia, Bangladesh, South Africa, Ecuador and Myanmar discussed diplomacy, investment and secure tourism partnerships.
Nick Careen, Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security at IATA, opened the session on aviation, maritime and transport security. Bulut Bağcı joined CLIA Europe and Airlines for Europe on that panel. The final session, on climate security, health security and tourism resilience, was moderated by António Buscardini, CEO of TravelTomorrow. Speakers included Martin Barth, founder of World Tourism Forum Lucerne, and Victoria Petrova of DG MOVE.
The Brussels Agenda for Tourism Investment and Security
The meeting closed with the Brussels Agenda for Tourism Investment and Security, which draws together the conclusions of both days.
“Brussels put ministers, diplomats, European institutions, investors and operators in the same room, working on the same two questions. Capital follows confidence, and confidence depends on security. The Brussels Agenda turns that conversation into shared priorities, and we will carry it forward with our partners into 2027,” said Bulut Bağcı, President of the World Tourism Forum Institute.
