The new MOU links WTTC’s sector research with ICC’s network of more than 45 million businesses to address financing, regulation, digital access and mobility barriers facing smaller travel companies.
WTTC and ICC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding focused on strengthening the growth and competitiveness of small and medium-sized travel and tourism businesses worldwide.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- WTTC and ICC have signed an MOU focused on strengthening the competitiveness and representation of travel and tourism SMEs worldwide.
- The collaboration combines WTTC’s tourism research and industry expertise with ICC’s network of more than 45 million businesses in over 170 countries.
- Initial work will cover research, business engagement, policy development, knowledge sharing and connections to wider international business networks.
- The organisations plan to focus on regulatory, financial, digital and mobility barriers that can constrain smaller travel and tourism businesses.
(NEWS) LONDON, United Kingdom, 2026-Oct-02 — /Travel PR News/ — World Travel & Tourism Council and the International Chamber of Commerce have formalised a new global partnership aimed at giving small and medium-sized travel and tourism businesses greater access to research, business networks and policy discussions that can influence their operating environment.
The organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding announced on October 2, creating a framework for collaboration across research, business engagement, policy development and knowledge sharing. According to the official WTTC announcement, the partnership is designed to combine WTTC’s sector-specific expertise with ICC’s network of more than 45 million businesses in over 170 countries.
The agreement focuses on a part of the visitor economy that often operates with fewer resources than larger tourism groups. WTTC says small and medium-sized enterprises account for more than 85% of Travel & Tourism businesses globally, while contributing to employment, entrepreneurship, innovation and local economic activity.
Focus on the barriers smaller tourism businesses face
WTTC and ICC say the collaboration will examine practical constraints that can make it harder for smaller businesses to expand or compete internationally. Those include fragmented regulation, skills shortages, limited access to markets and finance, digital barriers, connectivity challenges, visa requirements and other forms of travel friction.
The organisations plan to share research and business intelligence, engage companies through ICC’s international network and convene public- and private-sector leaders. The resulting evidence is intended to inform policy recommendations while also giving participating businesses access to practical tools, insights and wider commercial connections.
Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of WTTC, said the partnership is intended to bring evidence from businesses more directly into conversations with governments and policymakers, with the aim of improving competitiveness and supporting investment and employment.
John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General of ICC, said strengthening the operating environment for smaller travel businesses has become especially important amid economic uncertainty, with the partnership designed to connect entrepreneurship and international business networks more closely.
Expanding WTTC’s SME agenda
The agreement also sits alongside WTTC’s Together in Travel initiative, which provides smaller travel and tourism businesses with industry insights, learning resources, networking opportunities and a collective platform. WTTC has set a long-term ambition of building a community of one million Travel & Tourism SMEs over five years, although the organisation has stressed that this target is separate from the commitments contained in the new WTTC–ICC MOU.
The timing also places the agreement immediately ahead of WTTC’s 2026 Global Summit in Malta. WTTC’s published summit programme includes a session on the power of Travel & Tourism SMEs and says the event will be used to accelerate Together in Travel.
For smaller tourism businesses, the practical significance of the partnership will depend on how the planned research, advocacy and business connections translate into easier access to finance, markets, technology and cross-border mobility. The MOU gives WTTC and ICC a formal structure for pursuing those issues together while linking the travel sector more closely with the wider international business community.
