International Coalition of Tourism Partners and World Tourism Forum Lucerne join forces

HAWAII, USA; BRUSSELS, Belgium; VICTORIA, Seychelles; BALI, Indonesia – The International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) and the World Tourism Forum Lucerne (WTFL) today agreed to collaborate to promote the Forum’s commitment to a sustainable travel and tourism future by creating a bridge between today’s leaders and the next generation.

WTFL is the leading platform for strategic thinking on future management of the sector and for developing the next generation of managers for the industry. Since 2009, it has been identifying innovative pathways to respond to the strategic challenges facing the travel and tourism industry. It is dedicated to learning from the successes of the past to better identify the skills and mind-set required for the leaders of tomorrow.

A major issue since its inception has been to promote sustainability – economic, social, and environmental – as a key element of management thinking and decision making. This is where it so clearly intersects with the core philosophy of ICTP to encourage green growth and quality across the travel and tourism value chain.

Martin Barth, the General Manager of WTFL, said: “We are pleased to add ICTP to our growing list of partners who share our vision of helping to mold a new generation of talent capable of responding dynamically to the challenges of a modern hyper-connected world. We are also keen to advance the green growth and quality dimension with ICTP linking with our own sustainability ethos.”

Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President of ICTP, who will chair a special Think Tank of industry leaders during the Forum added: “The great value of WTFL is its proven capacity to seamlessly mix top government and industry executives with academia and young talent in a relaxed, entertaining, yet productive way. We look forward to helping to extend its outreach with destinations and their stakeholders around the world.”

The third World Tourism Forum Lucerne will take place from April 17 to 19 with strategic focus on global shift, green growth, talents, and new marketing.

Keynote speakers will include Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UNWTO; Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Tourism, Republic of South Africa; Michael Frenzel, CEO, TUI and Chairman, WTTC; Christopher Rodrigues, Chairman, VisitBritain; Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman, Jumeirah Group; Reto Wittwer, President and CEO, Kempinski; Martin Craigs, CEO, PATA.

For information on attending WTFL 2013, please see www.wtflucerne.org

ABOUT ICTP

The International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) is a grassroots travel and tourism coalition of global destinations committed to quality service and green growth. ICTP engages communities and their stakeholders to share quality and green opportunities including tools and resources, access to funding, education, and marketing support. ICTP advocates sustainable aviation growth, streamlined travel formalities, fair coherent taxation, and investments for jobs. ICTP supports the UN Millennium Development Goals, the UN World Tourism Organization’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, and a range of programs that underpin them. ICTP has over 100 destination members, including: Anguilla; Aruba; Australia; Bangladesh; Belgium, Belize; Brazil; Canada; Caribbean; China; Croatia; Cyprus; Ecuador; Egypt; Falkland Islands; (The) Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Greece; Grenada; India; Indonesia; Iran; Italy; Jordan; Kenya; Korea (South); La Reunion (French Indian Ocean); Malawi; Malaysia; Mauritius; Mexico; Morocco; (The) Netherlands; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Northern Mariana Islands (USA Pacific Island Territory); Romania; Sultanate of Oman; Pakistan; Palestine; Philippines; Portugal; Rwanda; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Sri Lanka; St. Eustatius (Dutch Caribbean); St. Kitts; St. Lucia; Sudan; Swaziland; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Trinidad & Tobago; UAE; Uganda; USA; Yemen; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.

For more information, go to: www.tourismpartners.org .