From travellers to ambassadors of peace
With a mission to bring peace and sustainability, the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), believes in making each traveller an ambassador of peace. Their symposium next year will honour the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. IIPT’s objectives
IIPT’s mission is to bring a peaceful and sustainable world. It is founded on the belief that tourism, the world's largest industry, can be the harbinger of global understanding and peace through a sensitive people to people contact. The India chapter espouses this belief and will work towards fulfilling the dream of peace, harmony and cooperation in the region.
“Over 60 per cent of the population of India comprises people below the age of 35 and more than 50 per cent is below the age of 25. Given this demographic, the first priority is to engage with the youth since it is they who will determine the future,” says Ajay Prakash, Founding Director, IIPT India and Chief Executive, Nomad Travels.
IIPT has been promoting the cause of peace on the world stage for many years.
Given this demographic, the first priority is to engage with the youth since it is they who will determine the future
For their nature of efforts, goals need to be long term with a shorter term action plan. “The short term plan would be to try familiarising stakeholders around the world with various programmes and outreach efforts that IIPT is making. Another action plan item is the ongoing dialogue between Skal members in the travel and tourism industries of both India and Pakistan, hosted and encouraged by IIPT. The objective is to make a modest beginning of having each of the two governments consider the issuance of may be 5,000 purely tourist visas to each other’s nationals as the initial planting of a tree which could grow exceedingly large. This visa issuance would also build the much needed collaterals of peace between the two countries,” adds Mok Singh, President for 2012- 13 term, Skål International.
With the intent to harness the legacies of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. to build bridges of tourism, friendship and peace between
The short term plan would be to try familiarising int’l stakeholders with various programmes and IIPT’s outreach efforts
South Africa, India and the United States – and other regions of the world, IIPT is organising a world symposium honoring the legacies of these three champions of non- violent resistance.
“Two other things that the Mahatma focussed on were self sustainability and cleanliness. Both are immensely relevant to the development of tourism. If we clean up our country, we can get four times the number of inbound tourists. But the concept of self sustenance needs elucidation. All too often, we promote tourism without any thought to the ‘carrying capacity’ of a destination. Not only does this degrade the environment, but mass tourism also tends to destroy the indigenous culture, values, skills and practices. Gandhi emphasised the necessity of a balance between man and nature; ecological harmony and this balance is more important today than it was in his time,” says Prakash.
While the clear link between Mahatma Gandhi's teachings and IIPT are well defined, “Tourism has to have peace to flourish. At the same time, tourism can be a huge catalyst for peace. Mahatma Gandhi's message of non-violence and service, coupled with a focus on compromise and inclusive decision making, are at the heart of policies that lead to a growthoriented tourism environment,” adds Singh.
Tourism flourishes where ever there is peace and brings with it huge economic dividends. In environments where there is violence and the threat of war, tourism dies, he adds.