International Institute for Peace through Tourism | Travel Promotes Peace
A shared meal, a word in someone else’s language, a smile at a border crossing: this is where peace through tourism begins. Travel can turn strangers into friends faster than almost anything else, but only when we travel with care.
These guidelines bring together lessons from the road, from busy city markets to remote mountain villages, for everyone who wants their journeys to leave people and places better than they found them. They put IIPT’s Credo of the Peaceful Traveler into everyday practice, wherever in the world you go.
Responsible travel has been at the heart of IIPT since 1986: the Institute drafted some of the world’s first codes of ethics and guidelines for sustainable tourism. Today we invite every traveller to become an Ambassador for Peace.
Ten Golden Rules for the Peace Traveller
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Travel curious, not certain.
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Learn to say hello, thank you and peace.
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Ask before you take a photograph.
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Dress and behave for the place.
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Spend where your money stays local.
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Take only photographs, leave only footprints.
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Listen more than you speak.
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Honour sacred places and places of sorrow.
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Never treat children or wildlife as attractions.
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Come home an Ambassador for Peace.
The Credo of the Peaceful Traveler in Practice
Each section below takes one commitment from IIPT’s Credo and turns it into practical guidelines for the road.
Before You Go“Journey with an open mind and gentle heart”
- Read about your destination’s history, including its painful chapters, and try a book or film by someone from there.
- Learn a few words of the local language. Hello, please, thank you, sorry and peace open more doors than any guidebook.
- Check your government’s travel advice, take out travel insurance and see a travel health clinic at least a month before you leave.
- Share your plans with someone at home, keep copies of your documents and save the local emergency number.
- Pack light and pack modest: a scarf and clothes that cover shoulders and knees will see you into most sacred places.
- Plan fewer places and longer stays. Slow travel makes time for unplanned conversations and leaves a lighter footprint.
Embracing Difference“Accept with grace and gratitude the diversity I encounter”
- Expect things to be done differently, and resist comparing everything with home. Different is not wrong; it is why you came.
- Be patient with time. In many cultures relationships come before schedules, and a late bus can be the start of a good conversation.
- Follow your host’s lead on greetings: a bow, a namaste, a handshake or a kiss on the cheek. Where men and women do not usually shake hands, wait for a hand to be offered.
- Try the food you are offered. If you cannot eat something for health or faith reasons, explain politely and thank your host for the thought.
- Keep a sense of humour about your own mistakes. Hosts forgive a slip of etiquette far sooner than arrogance.
Protecting Nature“Revere and protect the natural environment which sustains all life”
- Take only photographs and leave only footprints: carry your rubbish out and stay on marked trails.
- Carry a refillable bottle (a filter bottle where tap water is unsafe), a reusable bag and a cup, and refuse single-use plastic.
- Use water and energy sparingly, especially where they are scarce.
- Watch wildlife in the wild, from a respectful distance. If you can ride it, hug it or take a selfie with it, it is unlikely to be a responsible wildlife experience.
- Never buy souvenirs made from ivory, coral, turtle shell or other wildlife products. Many are illegal to trade or bring home.
- Take trains and buses instead of short flights where you can, and give something back, such as a beach clean-up or a tree-planting day.
Honouring Culture, Faith and Heritage“Appreciate all cultures I discover”
- Dress for sacred places: cover shoulders and knees, take off your shoes where others do and cover your head where it is expected.
- Learn the gestures that matter. In Thailand, for example, it is impolite to touch someone’s head or to point your feet at a person or a Buddha image.
- Respect holy days and times of prayer. During Ramadan, avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public in daylight where most people are fasting.
- Follow the photography rules in places of worship, museums and shrines, and never touch, climb or take pieces of monuments, ruins or rock art.
- Visit Indigenous lands with Indigenous-owned or approved guides and follow their protocols. Uluru in Australia was closed to climbers in 2019 at the wish of its Anangu Traditional Owners.
- Join festivals and ceremonies only when visitors are welcome, and treat them as living traditions, not performances.
Being a Good Guest“Respect and thank my hosts for their welcome”
- Ask before you photograph people, and accept “no” with a smile.
- Respect local laws, even ones you would not choose. Rules on alcohol, drugs, dress, drones and photographing official buildings can carry serious penalties.
- Learn the customs for tipping and bargaining. Tipping is not customary in Japan, while in other countries tips make up much of a worker’s income. Bargain with a smile and know when to stop: a small sum may mean far more to the seller than to you.
- Give and receive with care. In many countries that means using your right hand, or both hands.
- Keep noise down in homes, neighbourhoods and near places of worship, especially at night and at prayer times.
- Say thank you in the local language, and mean it.
Friendship Across Borders“Offer my hand in friendship to everyone I meet”
- Start conversations with what we share: family, food, music, sport and hopes for our children.
- Listen more than you speak. Ask questions, and let people tell their own stories in their own way.
- Avoid lecturing on politics or religion. You are a guest, there to understand rather than to persuade.
- Protect children. Don’t give money, sweets or gifts to children who beg; support a local school or community organisation instead. Never visit or volunteer at orphanages as a tourist: children are not tourist attractions.
- Share your time and skills rather than handouts, and volunteer only through programmes run by and for local people.
- Keep in touch with the friends you make. A message or a promised photo keeps the bridge open.
Spending for Peace“Support travel services that share these views and act upon them”
- Stay, eat and shop at locally owned places, so more of your money stays with local families.
- Hire local guides. They will show you more than any app, and their income supports the place you came to see.
- Buy crafts directly from the people who make them, and value the skill behind them.
- Choose operators that treat staff fairly, protect nature and respect local communities. Look for certification to standards recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
- Travel off-season and beyond the famous sights, so the benefits of tourism are shared and crowded places can breathe.
- Choose services that welcome everyone, whatever their gender, age, ability, faith or background, and avoid attractions that exploit people or animals, however popular they are.
Coming Home an Ambassador for Peace“By my spirit, words and actions, encourage others to travel the world in peace”
- Share stories that humanise. Talk about the people you met, not only the places you saw.
- Post with care. Show people with dignity, never post pictures of children without a parent’s consent, and think twice before geotagging fragile or sacred places.
- Challenge stereotypes when you hear them, including your own.
- Leave honest reviews, and name the guide, driver or host who made the difference.
- Welcome visitors to your own town the way you were welcomed abroad.
- Join the movement: become an IIPT member, join a chapter or visit an IIPT Peace Park.
Travelling Where Peace Is Still Being Built
Some of the most meaningful journeys lead to places marked by war, disaster or injustice. Visited with care, they honour those who suffered and support the people rebuilding their lives.
- At places of remembrance such as Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Kigali Genocide Memorial or Robben Island, speak quietly, dress modestly, follow the site’s photography rules and never pose for playful pictures.
- Follow official travel advice, travel with reputable local guides and respect checkpoints, curfews and photography bans.
- Hear more than one side. In divided places, history has many narrators; listen without taking sides.
- Let survivors decide what they share, and never press anyone to relive painful memories.
- Spend with locally owned businesses. In places recovering from conflict or disaster, visitors help rebuild livelihoods and confidence.
- Leave with a commitment: to remember, to tell others what you learned and to work for peace at home.
Before You Board: The Peace Traveller’s Checklist
- I have read about my destination’s history and culture.
- I can say hello, thank you and peace in the local language.
- I know the dress code for the places I plan to visit.
- I have checked travel advice, health requirements and my insurance.
- Someone at home has my plans, and I have copies of my documents.
- I have packed a refillable bottle and a reusable bag.
- I have booked at least one locally owned stay, guide or experience.
- I know the local customs for tipping and bargaining.
- I have looked for an IIPT Peace Park or City of Peace on my route.
- I am ready to listen more than I speak.
Learn to Say Peace
One word in someone’s own language can open a conversation. Here are a few to start with.
- PeaceEnglish
- PaixFrench
- PazSpanish, Portuguese
- FriedenGerman
- PaceItalian
- Mir мирSerbian, Russian
- Eirini ΕιρήνηGreek
- BarışTurkish
- Salaam سلامArabic
- Shalom שלוםHebrew
- Shanti शांतिHindi
- AmaniSwahili
- UkuthulaisiZulu
- DamaiMalay, Indonesian
- KapayapaanFilipino
- Hépíng 和平Mandarin Chinese
- Heiwa 平和Japanese
- Pyeonghwa 평화Korean
Take the Credo With You
“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...”
Every guideline on this page grows from one idea in IIPT’s Credo: peace begins with the individual. Read the full Credo, take a copy on your next journey and share it with the people you travel with.
These guidelines are general advice. Customs differ within countries as well as between them, so always check official travel advice and local laws for your destination.