April 2011 Issue

LESS THAN A MONTH TO 5^TH IIPT AFRICAN CONFERENCE
Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change

Lusaka, Zambia, 15-20 May, 2011.

There is now less than one month to the 5^th IIPT African Conference which will bring together leading experts in tourism and climate change, Ministers of Tourism and the Environment, senior government officials, and executives from the diverse sectors of the industry; UN agencies, donor agencies, and NGOs; researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners; representatives of related sectors, including environment, culture, and sustainable economic development; and leading academics to share their knowledge, experience and research related to climate change response strategies, programs and actions in Africa and developing countries throughout the world.

“Climate change is the pre-eminent geopolitical and economic issue of the 21st century. It rewrites the global equation for development, peace, and prosperity.” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 2009 Summit on Climate Change

In announcing the conference last month, Zambia Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, Hon. Catherine  Namugala said, “The effects of climate change are exerting a heavy toll on the entire life chain. It is worth noting that climate change is a major threat to sustainable growth and development in Africa, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Impacts of climate change include among others, increased incidence of both drought and flooding, desertification, sea level rise, reduced freshwater availability, decreasing fish resources, cyclones, impacts on food security, all of which have an impact on tourism,” Minister Namugala said.

Conference Aim                                                                                      
The aim of the 5th IIPT African Conference is to showcase models of ‘best practice’ in mitigating and addressing the anticipated impacts of climate change to tourism in Africa and the developing world.

Conference Goals

1. Demonstrate the critical linkages of climate change to tourism and poverty reduction.
2. Identify factors and practices that contribute to “Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change to Tourism” while continuing to grow and nurture sustainable tourism development that lifts people out of poverty.
3. Promote Public- Private Sector – NGO – Civil Society partnerships and collaboration towards socially and environmentally responsible sustainable tourism development.
4. Continue “Building Bridges of Tourism, Friendship and Collaboration” among nations in Africa and other regions of the world in support of the UN Millennium Development Goals while recognizing that we are all custodians of our planet’s bountiful resources and majestic beauty.

Featured Speakers will include

Geoffrey Lipman Director, GreenEarth Travel

Zoltan Somogyi Executive Director, Member Relations UNWTO

Hon. Ezekiel M. Maige, Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism Tanzania

Ben Sherman, President, Western American Indian Chamber

Hon. Catherine Namugala, Minster of Tourism, Environment, and Natural Resources, Zambia

Hon. Eng. Walter Mzembi (MP), Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Zimbabwe

John Koldowski, Deputy CEO, PATA

Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Secretary, Tourism, Government of Andra Pradesh, India

To register, please click here.

Topics to be Addressed
• Climate Change: Policy and Planning to Practice
• The Central Role of Parks and Wilderness Areas
• Multimedia Approaches to Promote Public Awareness
• Sustainable Strategies and Practices from Diverse Regions
• Perspectives on Sustainable Destinations
• The Human and Cultural Dimensions of Climate Change
• Mitigating the Driving Factors of Climate Change
• Returns on Investment from Conservation Practices
• Strategies for Marketing and Tourism Investment
• Preserving Bio-diversity for Future Generations
• Forums for Responsible Travel and Tourism
• Traditional Approaches to Preserving Bio-diversity
• Establishing Guidelines and Business Strategies for Sustainable Tourism
• Coastal Tourism Strategies and Water Management

Timeliness and Importance of Conference
The year 2010 ranked as the warmest on record, together with 1998 and 2005. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998. Arctic sea-ice cover in December 2010 was the lowest on record. Last year also witnessed a large number of extreme weather events, including an extreme heat wave in Russia and devastating floods in Pakistan. This year has begun with extreme flooding in Sri Lanka, flash flooding near the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, and severe flooding in eastern Australia, expected to be the most costly natural disaster in Australia’s history.  

Background 

In 2007, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), jointly with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with the support of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Swiss Government, convened the Second International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism, in Davos, Switzerland, with the aim of responding to climate change imperatives in the tourism sector. The conference set out a range of specific policies and actions to be taken by all stakeholders in the tourism sector to immediately begin to establish and implement a long-range, carbon-neutral roadmap.

The 5th IIPT African Conference will seek to identify actual ‘on-the-ground’ progress since the 2007 Conference with case studies of ‘best practice’ from each of the developing regions of the world and from governments, destinations, industry sectors, NGOs, researchers and academics, and the media.

Official Airline and Hotel

South African Airways is the official carrier for the conference and the Hotel InterContinental Lusaka is the official hotel and conference venue. 

Conference Sponsors & Partners

Partners

Media Partners

Supporters

For more information and to register, please click here.

5th IIPT African Conference to Feature        
Traditional Leaders Forum

This first time forum of Traditional Leaders in Africa is being organized with the collaboration of the Zambia Ethno Tourism and Cultural Tourism Alliance (ZECUTA). Key speaker for the forum is His Royal Highness Senior Chief Mukuni of the Toka Leya people (tribe) who live a short distance from Victoria Falls - called locally the Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning "smoke that thunders."

Chief Mukuni has been a pioneer in the development of tourism that benefits the tribal peoples of Zambia.

The Forum will seek to foster increased indigenous tourism in Zambia and Africa – and build bridges of indigenous tourism, friendship and collaboration between Africa and other regions of the world

Traditional Leaders from throughout Africa, the developing world, and other countries are invited. Traditional associations and/or cultural associations will also be welcome to attend.

Traditional Leaders wishing to make a presentation, and others interested in learning more about this new Traditional Leaders Forum, are invited to contact President Mr. Joseph Zulu, Zambia Ethno Tourism and Cultural Tourism Alliance (ZECUTA) at Zecuta@yahoo.com.

LIUTEBM to Partner in Organization of      
Educators Forum

Livingstone International University of Tourism Excellence and Business Management is partnering with IIPT in the organization of the full day Educators Forum to be held as part of the 5th IIPT African Conference.  The Forum continues with IIPT’s tradition of bringing together educators from Africa and other regions of the world to share their ideas, research, and curricula on the Conference theme and to reach consensus on educational initiatives for collaboration. Dr. Patrick Kalifungwa, Vice Chancellor of LIETEBM will Moderate the Forum.

Educators are invited to submit abstracts of their proposed presentations to Dr. Ian Kelly, Coordinator of the IIPT International Educators Network: iankelly34@bigpond.com

Student/Youth Leadership Forum being organized by
Youth Welfare Foundation Zambia

The Zambia Children’s and Youth Welfare Foundation – with active Tourism Clubs in the Zambia schools, is partnering with IIPT in the organization of a full day Student/Youth Leadership Forum. The Forum will be held bringing together future leaders of the industry to share their ideas and vision for the future of sustainable tourism in Africa, and the theme of the Conference - and to propose initiatives to be taken by students and young leaders.

Students and young leaders are invited to submit brief summaries of their proposed presentations to Nishit Charadva, Coordinator, IIPT International Student/Youth Leadership Network: iiptyouth@gmail.com

Youth Forum at the 4th IIPT African Conference, Kampala, Uganda

Click here to register for the conference.

IIPT Scholarship Award

IIPT will provide a US$ 1,500 scholarship award to the inter-disciplinary team of 3 to 5 university students who write the best paper on the theme of the Conference. Students must be enrolled in an African university, or university in a developing country from another region of the world. Deadline for submissions is April 15. The winners will be announced on April 22. Interested students are invited to contact Dr. Ian Kelly for essay guidelines: iankelly34@bigpond.com
Late Prof. Stephen Banda, Hotel Tourism Training Inst.                 
Zambia receiving Scholarship Award on behalf of students 3^rd IIPT African Conference, Lusaka

Make A Difference During the
5^th IIPT African Conference

Did you know you can redeem your American Express and Capital One rewards points for a donation?  Your points can make a big difference towards supporting our 5th IIPT African Conference.  For every 1,000 points you redeem, IIPT will receive $5 - $10.   There are no fees involved to donate your points.   All proceeds will go towards IIPT's Just a Drop campaign to help build a well in this year's conference host country, Zambia.

Here's how it works:

To donate points from your credit card rewards program with American Express or Capital One:

• Go to the specific link below for your rewards program or call the number indicated to donate points to IIPT
• Select how many points you'd like to donate
• Donation will be processed by JustGive or Network for Good, depending on the rewards program
• IIPT will receive anywhere from $5-$10 / 1,000 points donated, depending on the rewards program, which will be donated towards ‘IIPT’s Just a Drop Campaign.’

Capital One Or call 1-888-284-7978

Donations by check or credit card are also welcome. Makes Checks payable Click here for more options

IIPT Partnership with Just a Drop Continues

Just a Drop was founded by Fiona Jeffery, now Chairman of World Travel Market, in 1998. Its aim is to deliver clean water to over 1.1 billion people worldwide who have no access near to their homes and reduce the instance of child death caused by polluted water in the world.

The Charity raises money and then builds wells, pumps and boreholes and carries out sanitation and health education programmes in some of the poorest countries in the world.

Since its founding in 1998, Just a Drop have undertaken over 65 water aid projects and helped over 1 million children and their families in 29 countries.

The long term strategy is to reduce child mortality caused by unsafe water; however, Just a Drop can only plan ongoing life-saving projects if they receive regular income to underpin one-off donations.

That’s why we are asking everyone to become a Just a Drop ‘Friend’ by donating a minimum
£2.00 a month. Over a year that adds up to providing a family with clean, safe water for life.

To watch Just a Drop videos and learn more about the people you are helping click here 

Join us on our World Peace Tours –
Where every traveler is an ‘Ambassador for Peace’

IIPT has recently launched a series of ‘World Peace Tours’ that have been crafted to reinforce IIPT’s dedication to “making Travel and Tourism the world’s first Global Peace Industry” and the belief “that every traveler is potentially an ‘Ambassador for Peace.’ The tours will introduce travelers to new cultures, new experiences, and new friendships while exemplifying IIPT’s ideals and values as expressed in the ‘IIPT Credo of the Peaceful Traveler.’ Each tour includes interactions with local persons to learn and share in their culture and traditions.

Travel Agents are welcome. All tours are commissionable. For more information please contact:
Louis D’Amore, Email: ljd@iipt.org or Don King, Email: travelking@swissmail.org

World Peace Tours:
An Unforgettable Journey to Tanzania
For many visitors, a safari to Africa is the trip of a lifetime but as with anything truly special it hinges on the connection you make, and with the people of Tanzania; that connection will remain in your memory forever. Their hospitality is bountiful and based on the concept that to experience peace you must extend peace to others. A thought that is evident as you travel throughout the countryside and further reinforced by the children’s smile. For more information please click here.

World Peace Tours:
Engage In the Ultimate African challenge For a Great Cause:
Mount Kilimanjaro 2011
With this grueling challenge not only are your efforts rewarded through the success of reaching the peak of the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, but your energy and dedication also helps the students of a local school situated in Tanzania’s Pare Mountains. The climb is a wonderful feat to check off the list of lifetime goals, but more importantly the aid the students receive provides them the true chance to change their entire lives. For more information please click here.

A  World Peace Tour and Festival in The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan
Bhutan, a Himalayan jewel, tucked among some of the world’s highest mountains. With a diverse, protected and astonishingly beautiful environment, where life revolves around the daily practice of kindness, compassion and peace.  At the heart of The World Peace Tour is an opportunity to spend time with Bhutanese students from Thimphu’s Voluntary Artists Studio  and together renovate an ancient chorten (Buddhist Stupa). Together we’ll contribute a lasting gift for Bhutanese people in the spirit of peace. For more information please click here.

WORLD PEACE TOUR IN MOROCCO
Come to feel the real taste of the perfect synthesis between art, nature, history and humanity. An authentic and enriching experience of the strong sense of culture and history of Morocco  encompassing its ancient Roman civilization, Imperial towns of the Middle Ages, and ancient villages far from the tourist roads with opportunities to interact with the local population. For more information please click here.

The Gulf Experience - Emirates and Oman
A World Peace Tour
This is the essential Arabian Gulf experience…combining two of the most spectacular cities of the modern world—Dubai and Abu Dhabi—along with the mystical timelessness of Oman.  Experience the courtesy and hospitality that has been a tradition for centuries in a perfect winter climate as you visit the world’s tallest building and tallest hotel, ancient castles and forts, and one of the world’s largest Mosques. For more information please click here.

Cruise 4 Haiti
Join us on this exciting cruise 7 night cruise docking in Philipsburg, St Maarten, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Labadee, Haiti. In Labadee, Haiti participants will join For Haiti with Love, in bringing food and medical goods for those in need as well as Christmas gifts for orphaned children affected by the earthquake and enjoy a festive barbecue on the beach. For more information please click here