Delegates from more than 40 countries will be taking part in the 1st IIPT European Conference on Peace through Tourism being organized in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and hosted by Stenden University. The Conference, which is to be held in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 21-24 October 2008, is in support of the UN Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Delegates from Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and the Caribbean will come together for four days to share their experiences, knowledge, insights and visions on the conference theme:

Bridging the North-South Divide through
Sustainable Tourism Development

The exponential growth of international tourism arrivals from 25 million in 1950 to a projected 1 billion in 2010 is clearly one of the most remarkable economic and social phenomena of our time. An increasing proportion of these arrivals are in Developing Countries. Travel and tourism is currently the main source of foreign exchange for most developing countries and at US$ 200 billion annually is more than the total of foreign aid from all governments. Tourism appears to be one of the few economic sectors able to guide a number of developing countries to higher levels of prosperity and for some to leave behind their least developed country status.

The aim of the 1st IIPT European Conference is to build on this success, and to leverage current North â€" South, and South â€" South initiatives towards sustainable tourism development, poverty reduction, and societal betterment through greater collaboration among key stakeholders. This is the challenge to industry leaders and participants in the 1st IIPT European Conference.

The Conference is being organized in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization (UN WTO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and hosted by Stenden University . The Conference is in support of the UN Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The Opening Ceremony Keynote address will be delivered by Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica.

Valere Tjolle