ICTP (International Council of Tourism Partners) is proud to announce that Mr.
Ray Bloom, IMEX Group Chairman, is the first person to be named to ICTP's “Industry Visionaries” roll. ICTP has long been a supporter of IMEX America, and equally important, has been a friend and admirer of Ray Bloom and what he has done for the meetings industry.

When Ray was about to launch EIBTM more than 20 years ago, he visited with ICTP President Geoffrey Lipman in Geneva and laid out his plans to create the biggest MICE event ever. He had no backers – just an embryonic plan and a vision. Mr. Lipman remembers listening to Ray, smiling, and thinking, “He's charming, but he's crazy!”

Over the years, Ray proved Geoffrey wrong on the second point, and he even asked Geoffrey to keynote his first exhibition. Over the years, Mr. Lipman has had that honor several times – each to a bigger, more committed audience.

Today Ray is on the verge of fulfilling his great vision for the third time, and in the process is playing an important role in advancing the travel industry on the world stage. He still remains the warm, personal, family-oriented man who has time for every exhibitor no matter whether they are big, small, or simply a start-up.

Ray's exhibitions are very important to ICPT, because they embody ICTP's driving principles – the search for quality, and recognition of the importance of the green agenda. The IMEX exhibitions also demonstrate the key contribution of the business travel sector to the broader visitor economy - a fact that is often lost in the word “tourism” and is frequently unrecognized by the policymakers who so strongly influence the collective destinies related to tourism.

Said ICTP President Geoffrey Lipman: “We are proud to make Ray Bloom the first name on ICTP's 'Industry Visionaries' roll. We salute him as a visionary, a creator, and above all, as someone who has remained a fundamentally decent person despite his great success.”

ABOUT ICTP

ICTP (International Council of Tourism Partners) is a force for socially-responsible and green travel and 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. The ICTP alliance is represented in Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA; Brussels, Belgium; Bali, Indonesia; and Victoria, Seychelles. ICTP alliance members will benefit from joint marketing and branding opportunities in primary and secondary markets, which are ideal for small- to medium-sized destinations that may not have the resources for developing and implementing projects independently. Members include countries, regions, and cities. Current member include current members include Seychelles, La Reunion, Johannesburg, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Oman, Grenada, Hawaii, Saipan.

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

Source: International Council of Tourism Partners
Autor: eTurboNews