Global travel group to quit London HQ due to Brexit

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has become the latest major international institution to announce plans to close its headquarters in the UK because of Brexit.

- DAVID MADDOX POLITICAL EDITOR

The group, which represents the global private sector in travel and tourism and has been based in the UK since it was founded, is set to relocate to mainland Europe to benefit from "lower operational costs and EU single market access", its chairman has said.

Manfredi Lefebvre added, "Brexit is one of the main factors in our decision to potentially move our headquarters beyond the UK. The benefits of a European head office include lower operational costs, EU single market access and recruitment flexibility of a multilingual talent pool.

"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."