The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has confirmed plans to close its long-standing London headquarters and relocate to mainland Europe, becoming the latest major global organisation to cite Brexit as a key reason for leaving Britain.
Founded in 1990, the WTTC represents leading figures from the global travel and tourism industry and collaborates with governments worldwide to promote the sector’s economic and social importance. Its decision to move marks the end of more than three decades of being based in the British capital.
According to reports, the Council is consulting its London staff regarding potential redundancies and considering new headquarters in Madrid or another European city such as Geneva or Milan. The move, it said, would allow for “lower operational costs and EU single market access.”
WTTC chairman Manfredi Lefebvre described Brexit as “one of the main factors” behind the decision. He said: “The benefits of a European head office include lower operational costs, EU single market access and recruitment flexibility of a multilingual talent pool.”
He added that “the high standard of research services our members, governments and the stakeholders around the world receive will continue to be at the forefront of our work and we are confident we will attract high-quality talent in the wider European market, for all of our services to members globally.”
The relocation makes the WTTC one of many international organisations and companies to move operations out of the UK following the 2016 Brexit referendum. In 2022, consultancy Ernst & Young (EY) reported that 44 percent of Britain’s largest financial services firms—97 out of 222—had announced plans to shift parts of their business or staff to the EU, nearly double the number from 2017.
Earlier studies also found that by 2019, one in three British businesses were exploring overseas moves due to post-Brexit trading and regulatory challenges.
Edwin Morgan, interim director general of the Institute of Directors, previously warned that “the UK’s hard-won reputation as a stable, predictable environment for enterprise is being chipped away.”
Dr Mike Galsworthy, chair of European Movement UK, said: “If they do undertake this move, then they can be added to a depressing list of HQs that have departed the UK for Europe over Brexit. Such as the European Medicines Agency, which was based in London with its over £300m taxable annual revenue, or the European Banking Authority, or the European headquarters of Sony and Panasonic, or the moves of Lloyds and Barclays over Brexit’s loss of passporting rights.”
The WTTC’s relocation will be seen as another symbolic blow to London’s standing as a global business hub, reinforcing fears that the long-term economic impact of Brexit continues to erode the UK’s international competitiveness.
