Major Youth Tourism Conference WYSTC Heading to San Diego

The World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation – recognized as the authority on global youth and student travel– is coming soon to San Diego, CA for WYSTC, its annual global industry event. More than 700 delegates from 500 international organizations (80+ countries) from all sectors of the industry will be attending.

The World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) is the world’s largest global youth travel industry event with a 21-year tradition spanning 14 countries.  The conference has grown in line with the massive growth of the youth and student travel industry, a global market currently worth $173 billion.

“We are delighted to be heading to San Diego. The city is a top U.S. travel destination and gateway to international business, making it the perfect setting for our conference, the largest event for key stakeholders and organizations in the global youth travel industry.  At WYSTC, we are dedicated to providing our delegates with the opportunity to make connections, grow their businesses and advance our industry. It’s a not-to-be-missed event” says Espen Falkenhaug, Director General of WYSE Travel Confederation,

WYSTC provides attendees access to hundreds of organizations and the singular opportunity to learn from industry leaders, gain insight from niche sector meetings, build global partnerships and trade. This year’s program features a fantastic line up of speakers including Tony Espinoza, CEO of CouchSurfing, Robin Lerner, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and Taleb Rifai , Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which promotes youth travel to foster intercultural understanding.

WYSTC will also be holding its first-ever Student Day, one day of dedicated seminars  to encourage university students to explore  the industry and potential study or career paths abroad. The program includes a dedicated welcome, opening and keynote speaker session; and students can attend an Expert Panel with the trailblazers in Youth & Student Travel Tourism. More can be found here on the Student Day website.