Global Summit on Peace Through Tourism

Announced at World Travel Market 

LONDON, EXCEL CENTRE - Nov. 11, 2002: Continuing to build a "Culture of Peace through Tourism" and harnessing the world's largest industry as a leading force for poverty reduction are the aims of the Second Global Summit on Peace Through Tourism to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, February 5-8, 2003. The formal announcement was made at a special presentation by the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) on Monday, November 11, Central Feature Area of World Travel Market, in London at ExCel, the prestigious new site of WTM. The Summit will honor the legacy  of the late U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold. 

Speakers at the Global Summit announcement were: Louis J. D'Amore, President & Founder, International Institute For Peace Through Tourism; Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President, World Travel & Tourism Council; H.E. Akel Biltaji, Chief Commissioner, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and, as Jordan's former Minister of Tourism & Antiquities, host of the First Global Summit, Amman, Jordan, November, 2000; Tom Nutley, Managing Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions (a Summit Sponsor); and Eddie Bergman, Co-Founder, Miracle Corners of the World, and Coordinator IIPT Student Chapter. As partners in peace and progress, the IIPT  supports the UN Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and will focus on developing a coordinated strategy for poverty reduction through tourism and continued initiatives in "Building a Culture of Peace through Tourism."

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEXT GLOBAL SUMMIT ON PEACE THROUGH TOURISM, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, FEBRUARY 5-8, 2003, ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR PEACE THROUGH TOURISM (IIPT) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WORLD TRAVEL & TOURISM COUNCIL (WTTC), WAS MADE ON OPENING DAY OF WORLD TRAVEL MARKET, NOVEMBER 11, 2002, EXCEL, LONDON. FROM LEFT: JEAN GABRIEL PERES, PRESIDENT & CEO, MOVENPICK HOTELS & RESORTS; JEAN-CLAUDE BAUMGARTEN, PRESIDENT, WTTC; H.E. AKEL BILTAJI, CHIEF COMMISSIONER, AQABA SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE AUTHORITY; LOUIS J. D'AMORE, PRESIDENT & FOUNDER, IIPT; FIONA JEFFERY, GROUP EXHIBTION DIRECTOR; AND TOM NUTLEY, REED TRAVEL EXHBIITIONS.
 

Summit Themes

Themes of the Summit will include: Strategies for Tourism Related Micro-Enterprise and SME Development in Least Developed Countries; Youth Travel for Peace and International Understanding; The Role of Sport in Peace and Development; Educating for a Culture of Peace through Tourism; Linkages of Tourism, the Arts, Culture, and Heritage in Building  a Culture of Peace; Tourism, Environment, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development; and Building Community through Community Tourism.

Time and Place for Lasting Peace and Poverty Initiatives

The Second Global Summit on Peace Through Tourism is scheduled for 5-8 February 2003, at the International Conference Centre (CICG), Geneva, Switzerland. From this historic setting, a  "Government - Industry - Donor, and NGO Round-Table" will feature leaders from these four key

sectors exchanging ideas, and reaching consensus, on a coordinated strategy for poverty reduction. Lou D'Amore, IIPT President, said, "This event  will help mobilize the world's largest industry in achieving the goals of the Summit.  It is in the Travel Industry's enlightened self interest to work towards the realization of a peaceful, and stable socio-political environment in which world travel and tourism can thrive."

 Nobel Peace Prize winners, international travel and tourism industry statesmen, and world leaders in the areas of culture and heritage, sport, environment, economic development, and inter-faith dialogue will be among the keynote speakers.

Summit Outcomes

Summit Outcomes will include a "21^st Century Agenda for Peace through Tourism;" a beginning government - industry - donor - NGO collaborative strategy for the role of tourism in poverty reduction; Youth Travel initiatives; Educational Initiatives; Travel & Tourism related micro-enterprise initiatives; pilot projects that empower local communities to achieve jobs with dignity and sustainable futures; and the dedication of a Dag Hammarskjold International Peace Park as a legacy of the Summit.

World Travel Market 2002 a Major Milestone on the

"Road to the Second Global Summit"

As the world's premier travel exhibition, the World Travel Market, London is the ideal location to focus attention on the Geneva Summit, as it represents the top echelons of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in one place, at one time, with one mind. On Tuesday, November 12, IIPT will hold a meeting of its "Coalition of Partners for Peace Through Tourism."  A series of IIPT workshops and smaller conferences are being held in further preparation for the Summit and coalition building in support of the goals of the Summit.

Milestone in Jordan: The First Global Summit, an outstanding success, was held in Amman, Jordan, November 8-11, 2000.  His Majesty King Abdullah II was Royal Patron of the Summit, and American Express the Title Sponsor.  Results included the Amman Declaration ratified by participants from some 60 countries including 23 CEO's of major travel companies and Members of the World Travel & Tourism Council, 16 Ministers of Tourism, and heads of more than 20 international travel and tourism associations.  The Amman Declaration has since been incorporated as an official UN document.

Milestone in South Africa: The first IIPT African Conference on Peace Through Tourism, organized in partnership with the Africa Travel Association (ATA) and the Mpumalanga Tourism Authority, in Nelspruit, South Africa, March 3-7, 2002, marked an historic beginning in developing

strategic approaches and partnerships for poverty reduction on this important continent and home to most of the world's 48 Least Developed Countries. Some 220 participants from 20 countries took part in the five-day conference.  So well received, Tanzania already announced that it will host the next IIPT African Conference on Peace Through Tourism in October, 2003.

Milestones in Coalition Building: Other results included the formation of a Coalition of Partners for World Peace through Tourism with more than 25 founding partners - each committed to a Millennium Project that contributes to the vision of "Tourism as a Global Peace Industry"; four international networks (Educators, Rural and Community-Based Tourism. Spirituality, and Indigenous Tourism); and the launch of a Global Peace Parks Project from Bethany Beyond the Jordan, site of Christ's baptism - on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, of the first year of the new Millennium

Official Airline, Hotel and Sponsors of the Summit

The official airline for the Summit is Swiss International Airline.  The Hotel Inter-Continental Hotel, Geneva, is the official hotel.  Major sponsors of the Summit are Six Continents Hotels,

Bermuda Department of Tourism, Aqaba Regional Economic Zone Authority, and Reed Travel Exhibitions.

About IIPT

The International Institute For Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives which contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, the preservation of heritage, and through these initiatives, helping to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world.

For more information on The Second Global Summit:

1^ST IIPT CARIBBEAN Community Tourism Conference

The 1^st IIPT Caribbean Community Tourism Conference will be held from December 6-10, 2002 at the Wyndham Rose Hall Resort, Montego Bay, Jamaica.  The Conference Theme is "Building Communities through Community Tourism." 

 Objectives of the conference are:

·       Raise awareness about community tourism and the potential it offers for meaningful community participation in the Caribbean

·       Establish guidelines and community standards

·       Nurture opportunities for networking and linking of communities with sources for resources and support

·       Explore mechanisms for financing community tourism products

Diana McIntyre Pike, President of the IIPT Caribbean Chapter is Chairman of the Conference.  The Conference will also provide access to international expertise, case study materials and models of best practice.

For further information and registration contact:

CARIBBEAN YOUTH TAKE SPOTLIGHT AT CTC-25

Fifteen young, bright and articulate students from CTO member states represented their

countries as "Ministers of Tourism" at the second Youth Congress at CTC-25. The Youth Congress is the Millennium Project of IIPT Coalition Partner, the Caribbean Tourism.  The Conference is organized by CTO, in collaboration with Travel and Leisure magazine. It is structured to mirror a CTO Board of Directors Meeting and the participants discuss topics that are pertinent to Caribbean tourism.

"The Youth Congress is a highly educational and exciting event for the students who get to discuss tourism issues with industry experts," stated Bonita Morgan, CTO's Director of Human Resource Development.  "They also get to experience hands on, how various sectors in the industry work." Their recommendations were shared with an audience of Ministers of Tourism and other senior tourism practitioners from the private and public sector who were in attendance at the event.

The Youth Congress aims to stimulate greater awareness and excitement about tourism among young people in the Caribbean by allowing them to research various facets of the tourism sector and share their ideas and visions with respect to the future directions for Caribbean tourism. This year the 14 to 17 year old "Ministers of Tourism" discussed Building a Culture of Peace Through Tourism, Developing a Quality Service Culture in the Caribbean and Improving Intra-Caribbean Travel to Reap Greater Benefits for Caribbean Countries.