About 10,000 people registered for April 15 virtual forum organized by the
World Travel & Tourism Council and Carnival Corporation,
with supporting sponsors Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and
the U.S. Travel Association
A recording of the event will be available April 22 at covidsciencesummit.com
LONDON, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 10,000
people from around the world signed up to participate in the 2021
Global Science Summit on COVID-19 on April 15 to hear
directly from eight renowned public health experts and scientists,
sharing their knowledge on the most up-to-date science amassed from
the past year of studying COVID-19. They also discussed how best to
address ongoing questions about the virus and best practices for
how society can safely resume travel and day-to-day activities
moving forward.
The free, open-to-the-public event was hosted by the World
Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global
travel and tourism private sector, and Carnival Corporation &
plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise
company. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and the U.S. Travel
Association were supporting sponsors of the event. The virtual
summit continued building on the science-based discussions from a
similar forum hosted by WTTC and Carnival Corporation in
July 2020, which focused on
evidence-based best practices for living safely in a world with
COVID-19. A recording of the event will be available April 22 at covidsciencesummit.com.
"We were delighted to once again host an open forum giving
people access to leading health experts and scientists who are at
the forefront of the research that is informing practical,
adaptable and science-based solutions for learning to live with the
virus," said Gloria Guevara, WTTC
President & CEO. "Our panelists shared their learnings from the
past year, including insights validating our belief that it will
require a coordinated and science-backed approach to reopen
international travel. As the world reopens, we must continue
prioritizing public health while restoring consumer confidence and
driving global economic recovery across every sector, including
Travel & Tourism."
Guevara added: "We are grateful to our esteemed panelists and
our WTTC members and viewers who joined us from around the globe.
We also appreciate our continued collaboration with Carnival
Corporation, and we thank our new supporting sponsors Hilton and
the U.S. Travel Association for helping us make this event
possible."
"We are grateful to the highly regarded experts who participated
in our Global Science Summit on COVID-19 — sharing with us what
they've learned at the frontlines of the COVID-19 battle," said
Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival
Corporation and a member of the WTTC Executive Committee and its
vice chair for North America.
"Their insights were incredibly helpful at a time when business and
governments are seeking to better understand COVID-19's impact on
society, and together, we can determine safe and workable
evidence-based practices for mitigating and living with the
virus."
Donald added: "Thanks to the WTTC, Hilton and the U.S. Trade
Association for their support of this summit."
The summit included straightforward, easy-to-understand and
fact-based discussions sharing the latest information related to
epidemiology, screening, testing and tracing, vaccines,
therapeutics, practical prevention, mitigation practices and
more.
A session on "The Science of COVID-19" focused on epidemiology,
transmission and testing, with featured speakers Dr. Steven Gordon, chairman of the Department of
Infectious Disease at Cleveland Clinic's Respiratory Institute, and
Dr. William Morice II, president of
the Mayo Clinic Laboratories and chair of the Department of
Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic.
The "Treatment and Prevention" session covered topics ranging
from masks and physical distancing, to isolation and quarantine, to
vaccines and therapeutics, and more. Speakers included: Dr.
Michael Diamond, the Herbert S.
Gasser Professor of Medicine at Washington
University; Dr. Stefano
Vella, adjunct professor of Global Health at the Catholic University of Rome and a member of the Program Committee of
Horizon Europe Health Cluster; and Dr. Emil
Christian Reisinger, director of the Department of Tropical
Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Department of Internal
Medicine at the University of Rostock.
The final session on "Life in a World with COVID-19" looked at
best practices for moving beyond the pandemic and featured Dr.
Clare Rock, associate professor of
medicine and associate hospital epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Dr.
Michael Z. Lin, associate professor
of neurobiology, bioengineering, and chemical and systems biology
at Stanford University; and Dr.
Jewel Mullen, associate dean for
health equity at the University of Texas at
Austin's Dell Medical School.
About WTTC
According to WTTC's 2021 Economic
Impact Report, during 2020, a year in which it was devastated by
the COVID-19 pandemic, Travel & Tourism made a 5.5%
contribution to global GDP and was responsible for 272 million
jobs.
According to WTTC's Social Impact Paper, which focuses
on the Travel & Tourism sector as a driver of social
impact, international travel and tourism, and particularly,
international spending, is vital to support job creation from
megacities to rural communities. According to the research, at the
global level, for every 34 international visitors to a destination,
one new job is created. In addition, this research found that for
every $1 generated in direct Travel
& Tourism GDP globally, more than $2 is generated indirectly. This means that more
than twice as much value is produced across the entire supply chain
thanks to Travel & Tourism.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is one of the world's largest leisure travel
companies with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise
lines sailing to all seven continents. With operations in
North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O
Cruises (Australia), Costa
Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Additional information can be found on www.carnivalcorp.com,
www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruises.com,
www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
About Hilton
Hilton is a leading global hospitality
company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands
comprising more than 6,400 properties and more than one million
rooms, in 119 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling
its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of
hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its
more than 100-year history. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for
more information, and connect with Hilton
on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
About U.S. Travel Association
U.S. Travel Association
is the national, non-profit organization representing all
components of the travel industry. In 2020, travel generated
$1.5 trillion in economic output and
supported 11 million jobs, a drastic decline from pre-pandemic
figures. U.S. Travel's mission is to increase travel to and within
the United States.
Visit ustravel.org for information and recovery-related
data.