ICTP: A new year and a time for reflection and consolidation
The International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP), released its reflection and consolidation for the upcoming 2014 New Travel and Tourism Year. The association currently includes more than 125 tourism boards from around the globe, major stakeholders and associations as their members.
We’ve spent the past 2 years shaping and building our model of a grassroots organization for destinations and their stakeholders committed to Green Growth and Quality. Destinations who see the need and benefits of progressively moving to a realistic sustainable future. Progressive, because green growth is a multi-decade journey which simply has to start now, as leadership policies and market behavior around the world trend in this direction and as investment flows to communities and companies with the right mind-set and execution framework. Realistic, because it requires a practical and dynamic approach, which takes account of hyper-connectivity, complex decision making and crisis management as the new norm. And which has the finance and human resource to deliver on the commitment.
ICTP stands for this kind of transformation – linking key growth/revenue benefits, with critical impact/cost components: reflecting social inclusion from the outset: addressing climate change creatively and articulating csr/impact investment criteria. We also stand for a strong promotion and marketing of this commitment.
Through our founding partners the E-turbo Group and greenearth.travel we are providing support in several ways. Building a framework to help ICTP members position in green growth transformation, low carbon climate response, and related marketing, promotion and investment. As well as open up a growing specialist advice through partnership organizations like China Business Network, Urban Green Energy, Solimar International, M&C Saatchi, Sustainable Travel International, GATE Global Impact Investment and the like. We are extending global traditional and social media outreach for our members’ green growth and quality initiatives, as well as linking them with marketing and promotion. Our presence at major events and trade shows helps amplify and showcase these activities, with a focus on carnivals and festivals, to help bring these core messages to larger audiences in an entertaining way.
In the next 2 years, in the run up to new UN Sustainable Development Goals, we plan to strengthen our support efforts around climate response, capacity building, competitiveness and investment. We will do it by engaging with partners for on line and on demand strategy sessions/workshops; visitor increase/management and connectivity initiatives: green growth investment roadmaps: and low carbon transformation programs. We will boost marketing, promotion and competitiveness support. Importantly we will strengthen capacity building with an emphasis on university on line distance learning and on demand training, working with George Washington U. (US), Hasselt U. (Belgium), Emirates Academy (UAE) and Victoria U (AUS). And we will strengthen our cause related links with partner organizations like IIPT, Airline Ambassadors, SKAL and Friends International.
Our world is becoming increasingly complex, with extreme weather, more security, pervasive economic crises and emerging water shortages filling our hyperconnected, social media driven information channels. Our sector will be challenged more and more, by low carbon and renewable energy driven regulations and taxes. But as we have been saying since ICTP was formed, it is also a future of great opportunity and incentive for smart destinations – new emerging market driven traveller flows; massive gulf led air connectivity increases; more job creating infrastructure and new investment for green growth from public sources for low carbon climate adaptation and private sourced impact investment.
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. For more information on ICTP go to www.ictp.travel
More information on ICTP : http://www.ictp.travel
