SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) have launched a new tourism task force aimed at positioning tourism as a key engine of economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by strengthening ties between the public and private sectors.
The establishment of the task force was announced during the plenary meeting of the Americas Business Dialogue (ABD), a private sector-led initiative facilitated by the IDB that promotes high-level dialogue between governments and the private sector in the region to advance development-focused policies.
The IDB said that this strategic partnership with the WTTC outlines a roadmap to shape public policy recommendations, mobilize investment, and scale solutions that benefit communities and tourism destinations.
The tourism task force initially brings together 22 companies, including Marriott International, Copa Airlines, Grupo Aviatur, the leading hotels of the world, Anato Colombia, Carnival Cruise Line, COHEP, and Grupo PuntaCana, among others.
“This launch marks a milestone in integrating tourism into the productive agenda of the IDB and IDB Invest, recognizing its transformative potential for the region. In collaboration with our private sector partners and WTTC, we are working to deliver concrete results: more investment, jobs, and regional growth,” said Fabrizio Opertti, IDB’s manager for Sector of Productivity, Trade and Innovation.
WTTC vice president of policy, Christopher Imbsen, underscored the importance of travel and tourism as a growth driver in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The region has a generational opportunity to put Travel & Tourism at the center of their development agenda. With the ABD Task Force now in place, we can drive smarter investment, unlock growth, and deliver jobs and opportunity at scale,” said Imbsen.
According to WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Research (EIR), the tourism sector contributed US$714 billion to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 and generated over 28 million jobs.
The next stage for the task force will be the presentation of private sector-generated public policy proposals to regional leaders during the Summit of the Americas scheduled for December 3-4 this year in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
