FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 10, 2003                                                                                               

Contact: Karen Hoffman, Telephone: (212) 447-0027, Email: Bradfordmktg@aol.com

Partnership Announced: African Conference on Peace through Tourism

Washington DC - The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) announced that it will partner with the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) and Africa Travel Association (ATA) for the Second IIPT African Conference on Peace Through Tourism, to be held December 7-12, 2003 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The conference will be hosted by Tanzania's Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) and represents a continuation, on an expanding regional level, of the Second IIPT Global Summit on Peace Through Tourism held in Geneva, Switzerland this past February.  The theme of the conference is Community Tourism – Gateway to Poverty Reduction. 

CCA President Stephen Hayes attested to the importance of the conference, stating,  "Travel is an essential engine for African economic success, and - as IIPT and ATA recognize - for the promotion of global peace and understanding.  CCA is proud to partner with both organizations to further strengthen ties between the tourism industry and businesses invested in Africa."

IIPT President and Founder Lou D'Amore said, "The aim of the conference is to mobilize travel and tourism – the world’s largest industry – as a leading force for poverty reduction in Africa; and to develop partnerships, implementation strategies and action initiatives that will contribute towards this end.”  He also stated that “The Outcome of the Conference will be an ‘Action Agenda’ – a ‘21st Century Agenda for Peace through Tourism’ with a focus on implementation of strategic initiatives and pilot projects that empower local communities to achieve jobs with dignity and sustainable futures.”
                                                                                                                                                                     Founded in 1986, the IIPT is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, the preservation of heritage, and poverty reduction, and through these initiatives helps to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world.  IIPT is based on a vision of travel and tourism becoming the world’s first Global Peace Industry.  IIPT’s website is at www.iipt.org

The ATA is the international professional travel industry association for Africa. Headquartered in New York City, with chapters throughout the United States, Canada and Africa, ATA is a non-profit, non-political and educational organization established in 1975 to promote tourism to the continent of Africa.  ATA’s website is at www.africa-ata.org

CCA, established in 1993, is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of over 180 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. CCA's website is at africacncl.org.

For more information on the IIPT Second African Conference on Peace Through Tourism and to register, please visit www.iipt.org or call (802) 253-2658 or fax (802) 253-2645

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