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From 20th through 23rd September, Belgrade will play host to the 25th World Youth and Student Travel Conference – WYSTC – with the silver jubilee set to take place at the Crown Plaza hotel. The proliferation of young tourists affects the increasingly serious need to analyze their habits, desires, and trends, as well as to network and exchange experiences of the key factors in this sector of tourism.
The conference is organized by WYSE – The World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation, a global non-profit organization committed to the development and promotion of different opportunities for young travelers and students, as well as student organizations that support them.
The first conference was held in the long past 1992 in Brazil, and ever since then the conference has been changing its destination every year.
The Confederation counts more than 600 members from over 120 countries. The members of this global confederation include industry leaders such as tour operators, language schools, student insurance, hostels, search websites for travel arrangements and booking accommodation, transfer and transportation agencies, exchange programs, and the like.
Tourism organizations and other associations related to tourism are also members of this organization. WYSE’s members’ services are used by 30 million young travelers every year across the globe.
Year after year, the organization focuses its efforts toward improving the services offered by its members in order to propel the number of travelers. The organization keeps reshaping itself on daily basis to fit the habits, needs, and trends among young travelers, and so it shares its research and analyses with all its members in order for them to better their activities as best as they can.
WYSE is a partner to the United Nations Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as an important segment of the international youth exchange. In addition, the organization maintains consultative collaboration with UNESCO.
This year’s conference will bring together around 450 professionals from the tourism industry, coming from more than 100 countries. Its great importance is boosted also thank to the presence of more than 80 international buyers that will arrive in Belgrade looking to expand their operations and services, which represents an excellent opportunity for local organizations.
The event will consist of six segments, as follows: lectures, seminars, workshops, open travel market, networking events, and business meetings. More than 40 relevant experts have been invited to share their knowledge and experiences with the participants during lectures, seminars, and workshops.
Statistically speaking, out of the total number of international visitors of 1.2 billion in 2015, young tourists make up as many as 272 million, which further confirms the importance of youth tourism. As this type of tourism is seeing growth, it largely contributes to the development of other sectors such as economy, social and cultural development, destination development, and the like.
WYSE’s members’ services are used by 30 million young travelers every year across the globe.
The conference includes a local volunteering project, which is traditionally organized every year. This year’s project is organized in cooperation with the UNHCR office in Serbia, tied in with the issue of providing help to migrants. The volunteers will be tasked to assist in fitting out the shelters for migrants.
As a global leading conference of youth and students, WYSTC represents an important event for both Belgrade and Serbia. This gathering will greatly facilitate the development of inbound tourism in Serbia. WYSTC also presents an educational opportunity for many organizations that focus on the tourism business to acquire new knowledge and share experiences.
