Mayor to open world peace conference
The mayor Mondli Gungubele will open the first International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) World Symposium in at Emperors Palace today (February 16).
The long historical symposium, which will end on Friday, will attract senior government officials and academics from around the world to discuss issues relating to sustainable and peaceful communities and nations through tourism, culture and sport.
In a press release received from the metro it states “the mayor is expected to address about of 450 delegates made up of 250 local stakeholders and 200 international delegates on the position of the city as Africa’s first aerotropolis and a preferred business destination.”
The IIPT is a non-profit and United Nations (UN) accredited non government organisation that was founded in 1986, the year of the UN International Year of Peace.
IIPT was formed in response to major global issues of the mid 1980s with a mission of mobilizing travel and tourism as the world’s first global peace industry that promotes and supports the belief that “every traveller is a potential ambassador for peace.”
Spokesman for the metro Themba Gadebe says since its launch in 1986, the IIPT has initiated the dedication of 450 peace parks throughout the world.
“It developed the world’s first code of ethics for sustainable tourism and has more than 600 case studies of “success stories” and models for “best practices”.
The city receives 18.2% international tourists out of 3.8-million tourists visiting Gauteng.
Gadebe says of the 18.2% international tourists visiting Ekurhuleni, 72% of them are business tourists therefore defining Ekurhuleni as a business tourists destinations.
