The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) will officially launch a series of “World Peace Tours”, at The Trade Show in Orlando, Florida, September 7-9, 2008.  This will be the first time that IIPT will have a booth at this major travel industry show, a direct result of the recent partnership agreement signed between the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and IIPT. The IIPT World Peace Tours are programs especially crafted to reinforce IIPT’s dedication to “making Travel and Tourism the world’s first Global Peace Industry” and promote the belief “that every traveler is potentially an ‘Ambassador for Peace’”.

Lou D’Amore, President and Founder, IIPT, said “IIPT has asked Donald King, who serves as IIPT Ambassador at Large, to develop and lead this ground-breaking World Peace Tours initiative. This is a very important aspect of IIPT’s mission because it provides a practical way in which we can enable both   travel agents and their clients to participate by becoming ‘Ambassadors of Peace.’”

King said,  “Our first World Peace Tours—to Oman and to Bhutan--proved successful in achieving the goals of IIPT, and we think The Trade Show will help us as we expand our tour offerings to seven new destinations in 2009.” He added that the IIPT Tours are all commissionable to travel agents. 

Star Callaway, from Charleston, South Carolina, a participant on the IIPT Muscat Festival Tour, said, "What was distinctive and most memorable about this tour was that the emphasis was clearly on providing us with the opportunity to engage with the local people and to learn about the Omani culture. I was amazed at the level of hospitality in Oman, from complete strangers. Everywhere we went the local people wanted to talk with us, and even invited us to their homes."

At the IIPT booth at The Trade Show, travel agents will learn how they can market these tours to their clients.  King says, “This will be an opportunity for agents to earn a commission and also help promote conscientious tourism.  We would like to enlist travel agents’ assistance as we continue our efforts to make travel and tourism the world’s first peace industry.” 

Eight tours for 2009 have currently been designated as “World Peace Tours”:

• Jordan
• Bhutan
• Algeria/Tunisia
• South Africa
• Arabian Peninsula
• Central America
• Armenia
• Iran