IIPT Founder and President, Louis D’Amore stated:
“IIPT has recognized the instrumental role of women as global leaders from its very beginnings with its First Global Conference: Tourism – A Vital Force for Peace, Vancouver 1988.
That event featured H.E. Vigdis Finnbogadottir, then President of Iceland and the world’s first elected woman Head of State as Honorary Chairperson of IIPT’s First Global Conference.
President Vigdis gained world prominence as host of the 1986 Reykjavik Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev that made history as an attempt of the world’s leaders of nuclear powers nearly agreeing on complete elimination of nuclear weapons.”
D’Amore continued: “The IIPT Vancouver Conference first introduced the concept of Sustainable Tourism as well as a transformative new paradigm for a ‘Higher Purpose of Tourism.’ The recognition of woman leaders continued with IIPT’s Second Global Conference in Montreal: Building a Sustainable World through Tourism, with Queen Noor of Jordan as Honorary Chairperson. The Montreal Conference was the first international conference on sustainable tourism and instrumental in paving the way for the World Bank’s recognition of tourism as a key industry for poverty reduction and sustainable economic development in developing countries.”
