International Institute for Peace through Tourism | Travel Promotes Peace
Welcome to the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT)
The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) was founded in 1986, the United Nations International Year of Peace, with a vision of travel and tourism becoming the world’s first global peace industry and the belief that every traveler is potentially an “Ambassador for Peace.”
For four decades, IIPT has brought together governments, industry leaders, educators, students and communities to show what tourism can achieve at its best: promoting international understanding, protecting the environment, honoring cultures and heritage, reducing poverty and helping to heal the wounds of conflict.
Our story
IIPT’s roots go back to the mid-1970s, when L.J. D’Amore and Associates was commissioned by the Government of Canada to conduct the world’s first comprehensive study on the future of tourism. By the early 1980s, its TOURSCAN research program was tracking a troubling global picture: environmental decline, a growing gap between rich and poor nations, Cold War tensions and rising terrorism. Founder Louis D’Amore began asking how tourism, set to become one of the world’s largest industries, could be a positive force for a better world.
As terrorism aimed at the travel industry peaked in 1985–86, industry leaders came to recognize a simple truth: without peace, there is no tourism. A 1986 TOURSCAN report on the impacts of terrorism on tourism led Canada’s public and private tourism sectors to back an international conference on tourism and peace, and IIPT was born.
From the start, IIPT has understood peace as more than the absence of war. Its concept of peace embraces peace within ourselves; peace with others, from our neighbors next door to our neighbors in the global village; collaboration among nations; peace with nature and our common home, planet Earth; peace with past generations, by honoring their cultures and heritage; peace with future generations, through sustainable lifestyles; and peace with our Creator, by living the universal principle of treating others as we would wish to be treated.
IIPT’s First Global Conference, “Tourism – A Vital Force for Peace,” held in Vancouver in 1988, brought together 800 delegates from 68 countries. It introduced the concept of sustainable tourism four years before the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, produced the Columbia Charter for socially and environmentally responsible tourism, and launched the global Peace through Tourism movement around a new idea: a “Higher Purpose of Tourism.”
Since then, IIPT has organized seventeen international conferences and summits, along with seminars and workshops in every region of the world. More than 6,000 people from some 140 countries have taken part, presenting over 1,200 case studies of success stories and best practice. IIPT developed the world’s first Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism, has dedicated Peace Parks across Canada and around the world, and honors leaders in the field through the International Peace through Tourism Awards.
The Amman Declaration, resulting from IIPT’s Global Summit in Amman, Jordan, in 2000, was adopted as an official document of the United Nations. Similarly, the Lusaka Declaration on Sustainable Tourism Development, Climate Change and Peace, resulting from the IIPT Fifth African Conference in 2011, was adopted by UNWTO and broadly circulated. The conference also resulted in a book, Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change to Tourism, and was instrumental in the UNWTO 20th General Assembly being co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The IIPT Global Symposium 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa, honored the legacies of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. IIPT has also held featured events each year since 1999 at World Travel Market, London, and for the past four years at ITB Berlin, along with several major Chapter conferences and events in the Caribbean, Australia, India, Jordan, Malaysia and Iran.
Guiding all of this is the IIPT Credo of the Peaceful Traveler, which invites every traveler to journey with an open mind and gentle heart, and to encourage others to travel the world in peace.
Our Mission and Vision
Our Mission
To foster travel and tourism initiatives that contribute to bringing about a peaceful and sustainable world.
Our Vision
Committed to making travel and tourism the world's largest 'Global Peace Industry' and inviting every traveller to become an 'Ambassador for Peace'.
Credo of the Peaceful Traveler
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 gentle 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
IIPT President Message
On World Tourism Year 2026, we reflect amid global turmoil—wars, conflicts, and the urgent threat of climate change. Tourism, at its heart, is about people: building bridges across race, religion, and nationality, fostering understanding where ignorance breeds fear, and opening dialogue where silence or violence might prevail. Beyond being an economic activity, tourism can promote peace by dissolving divisions, cultivating empathy, and highlighting our shared humanity. As one of the world’s largest industries, we carry the responsibility to nurture peace, protect our planet, and ensure sustainability for future generations. Guided by the Inuit saying, “You do not inherit the earth from your ancestors, you hold it in trust for your children”, let us pledge to use tourism as a force for resilience, hope, and a more peaceful world.
Ajay Prakash
Global President
International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT)