Geoffrey Lipman

Professor Geoffrey Lipman is Assistant Secretary-General of UNWTO. He is Chair of Green Globe 21 the sustainable tourism group & Green Global Village, its consultancy arm. He is President of the International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) – a platform connecting socially responsible tourism organizations and people. He is a Board Member of Armstrong Hospitality Group. He is Adjunct Professor at Griffith University, Gold Coast Australia. and is Senior Tourism Research Fellow at George Washington University USA

He was the first President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the global business leaders’ forum. Between 1990 and 1999, he shaped its agenda and the positioning of Travel and Tourism as the world’s largest industry, as well as its Millennium Vision for open markets, elimination of barriers and sustainable development.

Geoffrey Lipman spent 20 years with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), where he was Executive Director and Head of Government Affairs, later as Executive Director of IFAPA, a foundation representing passengers and as partner in Global Aviation Associates, a strategic airline consultancy specialising in government relations and competition matters.

He has written and lectured around the world on tourism strategy, sustainability and airline liberalization, co-authored books on opening up European Aviation and established a Think Tank on Free Trade in the Air. He was a member of two European Union High Level Commissions - on Airline Liberalization and on Tourism Employment - as well as a member of the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Development. He was a Member of the President of Zambia’s Business Advisory Council and the Ethiopia Think Tank. He has served as Tourism Envoy for the Administrator of the UNDP, the Commonwealth Business Council and the World Economic Forum.

During his travel and tourism career Geoffrey Lipman has:
• Made contributions to the airline industry liberalization in the North Atlantic/ European markets, testified before congressional and parliamentary committees in the US and Europe, helped draft the GATS Annex on Aviation Services and created the concept of “Essential Tourism Development Services” eventually adopted by the ICAO Council.
• Helped spearhead Industry thinking on Sustainable Development - attending both Earth Summits, led the industry delegation to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, initiated the first sectoral analysis of Agenda 21, created the GREEN GLOBE program and Mondial/Global Renewable Energy.
• Encouraged the widespread industry and government recognition of the economic significance of the tourism sector - overseeing pioneering private sector work on international statistical accounting systems, directing more than 20 studies of regional and national economies presenting results to Ministers, Heads of Government and media.
• Led tourism industry delegations to meet with the Foreign Minister of China, the US Secretary of Commerce, the UK Secretary of Culture and the President of the European Commission, etc.
• Chaired a SADC Leaders session with the cabinet of former Congo President Kabila, hosted a World Economic Forum session for President Arafat and Foreign Minister Peres, given annual National Economic Lectures in India and the Seychelles and chaired two post 9/11 recovery Think Tanks with KPMG as well as the 2004 and 2005 Commonwealth Tourism Forum. Conceived the UNWTO’s ST-EP program designed to apply Sustainable Tourism to the Elimination of Poverty – described by Koffi Annan as the tourism sector’s key contribution to the Millennium Development Goals
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