The IIPT First Global Conference, Tourism: A Vital Force for Peace, Vancouver 1988, with 800 delegates from 68 countries was a transformative event.
At a time that most tourism was ‘mass tourism’, the Conference first introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Tourism’ as well as a new paradigm for a “Higher Purpose” of tourism that gives emphasis to the key role of tourism in fostering travel and tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding; cooperation among nations; an improved quality of environment; cultural enhancement and the preservation of heritage; poverty reduction; reconciliation and healing wounds of conflicts; and through these initiatives, helping to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world.
IIPT has since organized some 20 international conferences and global summits in different regions of the world with a focus on actual case studies that demonstrate and promote these values of tourism.