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. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

Excerpts from the reflections by Timothy Marshall, Chairman, IIPT Board of Directors

As we end this year, I have been asked to share some reflections on my journey with our Brother Lou D’Amore. . . When launching IIPT, Brother Lou’s vision was and is to make the world’s largest industry, travel and tourism, the first global peace industry; with the belief that every traveler is potentially an ambassador for peace.

Lou D’Amore, left, and Timothy Marshall, right, with Tukwini Mandela

THE BEGINNING YEARS: LAUNCH OF SUMMITS, CONFERENCES AND CHAPTERS

As the creator and global leader of the ‘Peace Through Tourism’ movement, IIPT launched its first global conference on Sustainable Tourism Development in Vancouver in 1988. The theme was: “Tourism: A Vital Force for Peace”. Eight hundred persons from sixty-eight countries were in attendance; and Pope John Paul II and U.S. President Ronald Reagan were featured in video-taped messages. The Vancouver Conference first introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Tourism Development’ four years prior to the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Vancouver conference also introduced a new paradigm for a ‘Higher Purpose of Tourism’ which incorporated the Mission of IIPT. Today, we hear this concept espoused all over the globe. However, nearly 40 years ago when IIPT was founded, the industry’s focus was almost exclusively on economics and finance, and these concepts were very foreign.

Approximately 6 months after our first global conference, the first Caribbean conference on socially and environmentally responsible tourism was held in 1989 in the Bahamas. It featured Dr. D’Amore; along with Mr. Stanley Selingut, who established the first Caribbean eco-tourism resort based in St. John, U.S. Virgin Island; as well as representatives from Indonesia and the Pacific, who all gave case studies. This led to two subsequent conferences on eco-tourism in the Caribbean, and a major new focus on sustainable tourism by the Caribbean Tourism Organization . . .

Our first Global Summit was held in Amman, Jordan in 2000. King Abdullah II was our Royal Patron; and Mr. Harvey Golub, Chairman of American Express, and Chairman of WTTC, served as our first Summit Chair. I was asked to convene our first Coalition of Partners meeting which was attended by thirty-two organizations from around the world; each of whom committed to a Millennial Project. Many good initiatives came out of this, and it is our hope to resurrect this body with a new gathering of like-minded NGO’s and other organizations going forward.

Our first African Conference was held in Nelspruit, South Africa in 2002, eight years after Mr. Mandela became President. It included a host of Ministers of Tourism throughout the African continent. . .

PEACE WITH OUR CREATOR

IIPT has played a meaningful role in the spirituality and tourism sector— from a major conference at the site of St. Francis of Assisi’s home in Assisi, Italy… to sacred Himalaya travel and treks in Bhutan… to dedicating a global peace park at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, site of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River…to the dedication of a global peace park at the martyrs trail in Uganda, where record crowds flocked to Uganda for the 50th anniversary of the canonization of 32 Christian martyrs who were burned to death for their refusal to denounce Christianity. The Uganda Martyrs Trail was dedicated as a legacy of IIPT’s 4th African Conference and is an important tourist attraction. This event has also been designated as a national holiday in Uganda and has become a major event on the global catholic calendar.

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Through these and other initiatives, IIPT has been fortunate to have interfaith forums at our events around the world. These gatherings have facilitated interfaith and intercultural dialogues. At our second global conference in Montreal, eight different religions gathered at the top of Mount Royal overlooking the City of Montreal. That conference profoundly demonstrated that when we focus on the importance of love, mutual respect, and living in peace, it becomes clear that our similarities are much greater than our differences.

PEACE WITH EACH OTHER

. . . Over the years, we have assembled a wonderful network of industry strategic partner organizations like PATA and the Africa Travel Association who signed an historic MOU at our 2005 Summit in Thailand. This MOU promoted travel between the African and Asian continents. One of our closest partners, Skal International, has joined forces with us to establish peace cities and towns in wonderful places around the world. Under the principle of ‘healing wounds of conflict’, one of our Board members, Don King, led an IIPT initiative to support the Al-Awon Charity in Azraq, Jordan, which provides educational services for 160 Syrian refugee children who, along with their families, fled the conflict in Syria. This special IIPT project is one way that we try to bring our principles to life and make a tangible impact in the lives of people who are hurting.

The theme of our 25th Anniversary celebration at World Travel Market in London was “Building a Culture of Peace Through Tourism”. . . .

‘PEACE WITH NATURE AND THE EARTH’

This can be seen in almost everything we have done; but can most directly be seen through the dedication of over 450 global peace parks in Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This initiative was launched in Canada on its 125th Birthday with 350 peace parks across Canada. It has now spread to six of the seven continents around the world. In addition to Victoria Falls, a world heritage site and one of the seven wonders of the world located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, IIPT has dedicated a major global peace park at the renown Puer National Park in China, along with the dedication of a global town of peace in the Danzhai Wanda village of China, which is an international tourism destination dedicated to poverty reduction. . . .

One of our most impactful initiatives regarding peace with nature was the hosting of one of the world’s earliest global summits on Climate Change in Lusaka, Zambia in 2011. This Summit brought together some of the top thought leaders and practitioners from every major sector around the world and led to the adoption of the Lusaka Declaration which is housed at the United Nations.

THE BUILDING OF A WONDERFUL FAMILY

During the month of September 2023, I was pleased to Chair our Global Strategic Planning Retreat in New York where members of the IIPT Family gathered to begin the process of transitioning from Lou’s presidency to Ajay Prakash becoming the newly elected President of the Institute. The weekend began on Friday evening with food and drinks in a beautiful setting on the Hudson River as family members were welcomed to New York and celebrated being together once again. . . .

As I prepare to close these reflections, it seems appropriate to return to our beginning days where the ‘CREDO OF THE PEACEFUL TRAVELER’ became our anchor:

“GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL AND EXPERIENCE THE WORLD AND BECAUSE PEACE BEGINS WITH THE INDIVIDUAL, I AFFIRM MY PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMITMENT TO:
– JOURNEY WITH AN OPEN MIND AND HEART,
– ACCEPT WITH GRACE AND GRATITUDE THE DIVERSITY I ENCOUNTER,
– REVERE AND PROTECT THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT WHICH SUSTAINS ALL LIFE,
– APPRECIATE ALL CULTURES I DISCOVER,
– RESPECT AND THANK MY HOSTS FOR THEIR WELCOME,
– OFFER MY HAND IN FRIENDSHIP TO EVERYONE I MEET,
– SUPPORT TRAVEL SERVICES THAT SHARE THESE VIEWS AND ACT UPON THEM,
– AND BY MY SPIRIT, WORDS AND ACTIONS,
– ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO TRAVEL THE WORLD IN PEACE.”

(Editor’s note: Thank you to Bea Broda for sending us the IIPT End-of-year newsletter that contained this memoire)

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