CNBC, Nat Geo in Tie-Up with Travel & Tourism Council

LONDON: CNBC, National Geographic Channel and Sky News have been appointed as the official broadcast partners for the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) for the next three years.

The $5 million multiplatform global partnership will see the broadcasters provide commercial airtime, online marketing and direct engagement in a worldwide campaign to promote awareness of the economic and social importance of the travel and tourism industry. CNBC will air content across its global network that spans Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region to underscore the travel and tourism industry’s contribution to the global economy and promote WTTC’s Global Travel & Tourism Summit, taking place in Beijing May 25 to 27. The partnership also includes advertising in CNBC Business magazine and online at CNBC.com worldwide. There will also be a targeted email marketing campaign highlighting key WTTC initiatives and events. 

National Geographic channel will provide airtime to promote the Global Summit as well as WTTC’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. Ads will also air on Sky News in Europe and be streamed online on National Geographic Channel websites and on its dedicated Travel & Tourism portal. The channel will further be involved in the Global Travel & Tourism Summit, filming debates and networking events. It will also undertake an email marketing campaign to its Viewers Club database in the U.K. and Asia. 

“WTTC is extremely pleased to have both CNBC and National Geographic Channel as our broadcast partners,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, the president and CEO of WTTC. “The combined reach of both channels enables us to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism’s contribution to national economies around the world.”

Baumgarten added: “Together they’ll provide year-round exposure for WTTC and highly targeted marketing campaigns to their own audiences, which will drive discussion and debate to raise awareness of the importance of Travel & Tourism as one of the world’s largest industries, employing 220 million people and generating over 9.4 percent of global GDP.”

Paul Maraviglia, the VP of sales for EMEA at CNBC, commented: "We are delighted that the World Travel & Tourism Council has chosen a multiplatform, three-year partnership with CNBC. The Travel & Tourism industry is an important sector for us and we are eager to work with WTTC, not only to reinforce the important role that the industry plays in today’s economy, but also to help its members communicate their message to our influential senior business leader audience.”

Deborah Armstrong, the senior VP of sales and partnership marketing at National Geographic Channel and Sky News, said: “National Geographic Channel is delighted to be working with WTTC to build awareness of the importance of the travel industry. With global reach and local programming feeds, NGC provides a ‘window on our world’, inspiring, informing and engaging our viewers with the key challenges shaping our planet. Sky News, as Europe’s most-watched news channel, is dedicated to bringing viewers the news as it happens, anywhere around the world, and will provide WTTC with the opportunity to target its message to key influentials across the region.”