Responsible Tourism

January 31, 2017September 18, 2017

How should the travel industry respond to Trump’s travel ban?

Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

The rules of engagement are being changed. According to established social media thinking, the lifespan of a tweet is 18 minutes. Yet one of the tweets currently getting the most ... Read more

January 31, 2017February 21, 2017

Disintermediation & Destination Management session review

Responsible Tourism, Video

World Travel Market, Travel Tech Theatre, Monday 7th November 2016 Panel member and CEO of Barcelona Tourism Board, Jordi William Carnes discusses why he attended WTM London and the key ... Read more

January 24, 2017September 18, 2017

Creating shared value for local communities – the Kerala Experience

Carbon & Water, Development, Responsible Tourism, Social Economy

In 2008 when the Second International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations was held in Kerala there was overt and mounting hostility to the tourism industry in some of the ... Read more

January 19, 2017September 18, 2017

Will South Africa eradicate irresponsible captive animal practices in 2017?

Development, Responsible Tourism

‘‘JHB airport to remove cub-petting images from its international arrivals corridor’ read the headline in South Africa’s Citizen newspaper on January 13th. I’ve started 2017 – the UN’s International Year ... Read more

January 18, 2017September 18, 2017

Going beyond trickledown

Development, Responsible Tourism, Social Economy

Responsible Tourism is about using tourism to make better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit. 2017 is the UN’s International Year of Sustainable ... Read more

January 4, 2017September 18, 2017

A New Year, anti-globalisation and tourism

Carbon & Water, Development, Responsible Tourism, Social Economy

2016 brought the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump to be the next President of the USA, the full impact of these momentous changes in the government agendas ... Read more

December 22, 2016September 18, 2017

Reality has to be on tourism’s bucket list for 2017

Development, Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

About six months ago my plans to write about a press trip to Jordan were disrupted by the Brexit vote, and I had to write about that instead. Today, my ... Read more

December 20, 2016September 18, 2017

Tourism at the End of the Earth….

Development, Responsible Tourism

Well almost. Thanks to the UK government’s Newton-Picarte science funding and the Economic and Social Research Council’s Impact Acceleration fund I was invited, through Bangor University, to Puerto Williams in ... Read more

December 13, 2016September 18, 2017

How to ensure your hotel isn’t used by traffickers… just got easier

Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

It would be safe to assume that most people working in hotels do not want their businesses used for human trafficking. And it would be just as likely that most ... Read more

December 13, 2016September 18, 2017

Cape Town hotel’s bucket brigade recycles water in the CBD

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Capetonians in the CBD may have noticed men and women watering plants on traffic islands with buckets. They are the staff members of the Townhouse Hotel on the corner of ... Read more

December 6, 2016September 18, 2017

The joy of travel – other peoples’ places

Development, Responsible Tourism

We travel to enjoy other peoples’ places, the brochures and websites show us images of their natural and cultural environment the buildings and cafes the landscapes and wildlife. Increasingly those ... Read more

November 29, 2016September 18, 2017

Why partnership has to be the buzzword for sustainable tourism in 2017

Development, Responsible Tourism

2016 has not been a year that many people will look back on that fondly. But as we begin to look forward to 2017, I’d suggest there are some less ... Read more

November 24, 2016September 18, 2017

Airbnb, disintermediation and communities

Development, Responsible Tourism, Social Economy

Airbnb is only one of many new distribution channels which are creating new opportunities for suppliers and consumers. Like previous disruptors it will probably face competition from other web based ... Read more

November 15, 2016September 18, 2017

8 Challenges for sustainable tourism posed at WTM London 2016

Development, Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

I spent the whole of World Travel Market sat in the lecture halls, listening to the women and men most committed to developing sustainable tourism discuss the greatest challenges as ... Read more

November 9, 2016September 18, 2017

WTM London 2016 10 years of Responsible Tourism

Development, Overtourism, Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director World Travel Market, toasted the ten years of Responsible Tourism at WTM and thanked all those who have become part of the WTM Responsible Tourism ... Read more

November 8, 2016September 18, 2017

Ten years of promoting responsible tourism at WTM

Carbon & Water, Development, Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

Today World Travel Market celebrates the 10th anniversary of World Responsible Tourism Day with a programme that assesses the past, present and future of efforts to make the industry more ... Read more

October 25, 2016September 18, 2017

Enhancing the Tourism Experience for Guests and Hosts

Development, Responsible Tourism

Responsible Tourism is about using tourism to make better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit. 2017 is the UN’s International Year of Sustainable ... Read more

October 18, 2016September 18, 2017

Last Chance Travel: What if the only truly sustainable form of tourism is less of it?

Carbon & Water, Development, Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

Issues around Venice and the problems of what is fast becoming known as ‘overtourism‘ are being talked about a great deal these days. What I was unaware of until reading ... Read more

October 4, 2016September 18, 2017

Google Cardboard’s VR headset will change tourism forever. But will virtual reality make the industry more sustainable?

Carbon & Water, Disability, Responsible Tourism

In the last few days the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has launched in the UK, bringing virtual reality to the headlines once again; although at £549, it still is ... Read more

October 3, 2016September 18, 2017

How Gulf destinations are opening their doors to the world

Blog, Disability

The Gulf has already established a formidable reputation as one of the world’s most accessible regions – in fact, it’s the very foundation of its tourism success story. Dubai International ... Read more

September 27, 2016September 18, 2017

A new challenge “overtourism”

Carbon & Water, Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

A new challenge and a new word: “overtourism.” First used on twitter as #overtourism back in August 2012 it’s likely to become commonplace over the next few years. Its meaning ... Read more

September 20, 2016September 18, 2017

#TOURISMFORALL – Is your travel website reaching as many guests as possible?

Disability, Responsible Tourism

The theme for this year’s World Tourism Day, which happens a week today on September 27, is Tourism for All. In the promotional materials for its annual event, the UNWTO ... Read more

September 13, 2016September 18, 2017

It is a privilege to judge the Responsible Tourism Awards

Certification, Development, Responsible Tourism

Since 2004 when responsibletravel.com launch Responsible Tourism Awards I have been privileged to chair the judges for the Awards presented at WTM in London on World Responsible Tourism Day each ... Read more

September 6, 2016September 18, 2017

Tourism has to stop worrying about how to spin sustainability

Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

I am sitting inside a campervan, sheltering from the rain on day 12 of a road trip around England and Wales. I have stayed in 4 different camp sites, and ... Read more

August 30, 2016September 18, 2017

People and Gorillas at Bwindi

Development, Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

Looking out of the lodge window at Rushaga in southwest Uganda close on the border with Congo and Rwanda the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest home to the fabled mountain gorillas presents ... Read more

August 23, 2016September 18, 2017

Will the “Brexit Bounce” mean a living wage for London Hotel Workers?

Development, Responsible Tourism

“Post referendum weaker pound boosts UK inbound tourist spending” reads a headline on the homepage of Travel Weekly UK this week. “Massive Brexit boost to tourism in UK sees 3 ... Read more

August 16, 2016September 18, 2017

World’s Biggest Responsible Tourism Event

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Every year at WTM London we have about 2,000 participants across the various Responsible Tourism events, it is a big success but we want to reach still more people and ... Read more

August 15, 2016September 18, 2017

WRTD Spotlight on Rural Suite

Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? Since the beginning, our aim was the same: to create a singular type of accommodation focused on the “Inclusive Tourism”, not only ... Read more

August 15, 2016September 18, 2017

WRTD Spotlight on Footprint Vietnam Travel

Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? In 1999, the dream began, when Mr. Thanh and me, Son Dang, from Hanoi Open University (Faculty of Tourism), met and began ... Read more

August 12, 2016September 18, 2017

WRTD Spotlight on LooLa Adventure Resort

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? After finishing my Masters degree in mathematics in Holland in 1988, I went backpacking for a year in South East Asia. There ... Read more

August 9, 2016September 18, 2017

Why every tourism company should sign up to the World Community Grid

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

For many of us in the northern hemisphere, August is a month when our computers finally lie idle, emails get bounced back with out of office replies, and we spend ... Read more

August 9, 2016September 18, 2017

WRTD Spotlight on Naam Group

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? This business was contrived by its founder and Chairman Dr Ravi Ponniah who feels that Langkawi – although an island – is ... Read more

August 2, 2016September 18, 2017

The Olympics and Tourism

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

The 2016 Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday 6 August, they were in London in 2012 and they will be in Tokyo in 2020. For 2024 there were originally ... Read more

July 26, 2016September 18, 2017

In defence of the really wild and raucous holiday

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

“Campaigners seek to reintroduce Eurasian lynx into parts of Britain” ran a headline in the Guardian early this week. Amidst this season’s swelter of Brexit, terror and Trump, a story ... Read more

July 13, 2016October 4, 2016

How to reinvent your tourism sustainability strategy – At the beach

Responsible Tourism

This month sees the return of The Big Holiday Beach Clean, the central focus of ABTA’s annual “Make Holidays Greener” campaign, which lasts for the whole of July. I want ... Read more

July 8, 2016September 18, 2017

WRTD Spotlight on Verde Hotel

Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? Owner Mario Delicio spent a great deal of time travelling, staying in many hotels around the world. With an innate passion for ... Read more

July 8, 2016February 8, 2017

WRTD Spotlights on Sociedad Geográfica de las Indias

Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? In 2007 we missed a sustainable tourism business model, which procured benefit to all participants, a relationship win-win-win-win, etc. (travelers, travel agency, ... Read more

July 8, 2016September 18, 2017

WRTD Spotlight on Hopineo

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? We both are entrepreneurs. We both have been raised with an inspiration to do our part to build a better world, little ... Read more

July 5, 2016September 18, 2017

Communicating Responsible Tourism

Development, Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

At this year’s WTM in London we shall be looking back at 20 years of Responsible Tourism in South Africa and in the UK – critically assessing how much progress ... Read more

July 4, 2016October 4, 2016

WRTD Spotlight on Sumak Travel

Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1. What inspired you to create your business? Sumak Sustainable Travel is based on one optimistic assumption: that tourism can be a force for good. There are hundreds of thousands of ... Read more

June 28, 2016September 18, 2017

What is tourism’s role after Brexit?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

I had planned to write about something else today. I had planned to write about Jordan, a country I have recently visited, a country with one of the richest cultures ... Read more

June 24, 2016September 18, 2017

Foreign exchange and the resilience of tourism

Disability, Trends

by Jeanine Pires The years 2015 and now 2016 have been particularly difficult for Brazil and this has been reflected in both the economy of the continent and in various ... Read more

June 21, 2016September 18, 2017

Is Climate Change Currently a Benefit to Some Countries and Businesses?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

There are winners and losers but more losers than winners. Back in 2014 Iceland’s Prime Minister said that climate change would be good for Iceland, melted ice caps would, he ... Read more

June 14, 2016September 18, 2017

How to engage over 100,000 people in your responsible tourism campaign in under a month

Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing, Technology

A few months ago I was contacted by Anna Mckeon, the co-ordinator of the Better Volunteering Better Care initiative. She was seeking my advice on how to raise the profile ... Read more

June 8, 2016September 18, 2017

Zika, Strikes, Terrorism but Tourism Remains Remarkably Resilient

Development, Responsible Tourism

In the last few days the dependence of tourism on the wider economy and the disruption caused by conflicts within them has been highlighted. As 500,000 British holidaymakers headed for ... Read more

June 1, 2016September 18, 2017

The endless quest for authentic tourism is sowing the seeds of its own destruction

Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

Every week it seems, there are more stories about communities around the world banning or limiting tourism in order to protect that which they hold dear. Most recently, it has ... Read more

April 12, 2016September 18, 2017

Managing Risk – Paedophilia and Canned Lions

Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

The panel on business resilience at WTM Africa last week explored the range of issues from drought to reputational risk that can threaten a tourism business. Two films which I ... Read more

April 5, 2016September 18, 2017

Minu Pauline and the Public Fridge of Kochi

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Recently Minu Pauline, who runs a popular local restaurant called Pappadavada in the Keralan city of Kochi, had a brilliantly simple idea. She wanted to do something to help ... Read more

March 29, 2016April 26, 2022

2016 World Responsible Tourism Awards Launched Today

Development, Responsible Tourism

20 years ago South Africa became the first country in the world to adopt Responsible Tourism as a central part of its national tourism development strategy. And 10 years ago ... Read more

March 22, 2016September 18, 2017

Airbnb, Blockchain, and the tourism reputation economy

Development, Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

Three recent stories about Airbnb’s future growth hold considerable interest for anyone concerned about the impact of such technology upon tourism and how the industry might develop along more responsible ... Read more

March 15, 2016September 18, 2017

Sustainability and Fairy Tales – this is more serious than greenwashing

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

I have been reminded of the feel good 1969 tv musical Silver Skates – it popularised the story, first published in 1865 by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, about the ... Read more

March 8, 2016September 18, 2017

The woman who taught me the most about tourism – a story for International women’s day

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism, Women in Travel

Today, March 8th, is international Women’s Day. Almost eight years ago to the day I met the woman who did more to change the way I thought about tourism than ... Read more

March 1, 2016April 27, 2022

The future of elephants is in our hands

Development, Responsible Tourism

In 2013 the UN General Assembly decided to proclaim 3 March, the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), ... Read more

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016

Would you welcome tourists to your home?

Responsible Tourism

How would you feel if a group of young people appeared at your house and started taking photographs of you and your family? This is the challenge posed by a ... Read more

February 16, 2016September 18, 2017

The Law, Child Trafficking and Orphanages

Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

The tourism industry facilitates travel creating wonderful opportunities for people to experience other peoples’ places and their cultures. Most of those who travel will be wealthier than those they encounter ... Read more

February 9, 2016September 18, 2017

How to cope with too many tourists. How to avoid having too few.

Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

Antalya. Ljubljana. Luang Prabang. Aside from a certain assonance and preponderance of the letter L, there’s little to obviously connect these three cities. However, a look at their recent experiences ... Read more

February 2, 2016September 18, 2017

“Business as Usual” is going to get a lot more difficult for tourism – our world is hotting up

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Tourism is by its very nature a difficult business to be in. Accommodation and transport providers, tour operators and guides are all more dependent for their business and their livelihoods ... Read more

January 26, 2016September 18, 2017

Time to drop the Tiger Temple from the bucket list

Certification, Responsible Tourism

Thailand’s Tiger Temple is in the news again. A tourist filmed a keeper at the temple punching a tiger in the face. As is the way with these things, the ... Read more

January 19, 2016September 18, 2017

Responsibility and Disintermediation

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Two big and difficult words – what are the implications of disintermediation for responsible tourism? ABTA, the British travel trade association, endorses responsibility in two areas. One of the key ... Read more

January 12, 2016September 18, 2017

Travel Trends for 2016: this year it’s all about ‘authentic’ and ‘experiential’

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

I have spent the last two hours reading every article on ‘Travel Trends for 2016’ in a fruitless search for signs that responsible tourism is about to hit the big ... Read more

January 4, 2016September 18, 2017

Business as Usual and the need for Resilience

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

The last couple of months have seen dramatic weather events in all parts of the globe. Bush fires in Australia, flooding in India, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Honduras, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, ... Read more

December 15, 2015September 18, 2017

Why whales and dolphins might hold the secret to successful responsible tourism

Responsible Tourism

Whales and dolphins have been in the news a great deal this year. There was the exposé of and backlash at SeaWorld. And the incomprehension at the Japanese resumption of ... Read more

December 8, 2015September 18, 2017

A great man died ten days ago

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

I do not subscribe to the “great men or women” theory of history, but some people see the world differently, understand it differently ahead of the crowd. Generally, they are ... Read more

December 1, 2015September 18, 2017

Can we save the climate for the price of a croissant?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

This morning I asked my browser a simple question: “What costs $11?” I did this because a new study has just been released that claims that “the damaging effects of ... Read more

November 24, 2015September 18, 2017

Why the industry needs to withdraw from orphanage tourism

Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

Child protection is an issue which is not going to go away – the industry cannot turn a blind eye to it. The challenge for the industry is much broader ... Read more

November 17, 2015September 18, 2017

The biggest problem with ecotaxes is… they are called taxes

Carbon & Water, Development, Responsible Tourism

The Maldives began charging a so called ‘Green Tax’ at US$6 per tourist bed from the November 1. This followed on the heels of an announcement in September that the ... Read more

November 11, 2015September 18, 2017

Clarity and imagination required to reduce the tourism sector’s dependency on fossil fuels

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

The Sackur panel interview last week at World Travel Market faced up to the challenge confronting us as a species. Derek Hanekon, the South African Minister of Tourism, argued that ... Read more

November 2, 2015September 18, 2017

Why are so few in the Travel Industry planning a response to climate change?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

“Travellers and the tourism industry are at odds over what sustainability means, whose responsibility it is and how green they really are,” according to the World Travel Market 2015 Industry ... Read more

October 26, 2015September 18, 2017

Can you have too many tourists?

Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

Many in the industry would probably say no. We often describe ourselves as travellers and visitors, in the same way that people complain about traffic without recognising that they are ... Read more

October 22, 2015October 22, 2015

Innovator Spotlight: Interview with the 2014 World Responsible Tourism Awards Joint Overall Winner, South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance

Responsible Tourism, Responsible Tourism Spotlight

1 – What inspired you to create your business? The South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance (SAASA) became a seed of a thought during the late 60’s and early 70’s when ... Read more

October 20, 2015September 18, 2017

What responsible tourism marketing could learn from food communication

Food Tourism, Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

For anyone seeking to communicate the benefits of a responsibly run holiday to potential guests, a good place to look for inspiration is the local supermarket. or restaurant, market, or ... Read more

October 13, 2015May 2, 2022

Announcing the WTM Responsible Tourism programme: expect some lively debate

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Responsible Tourism is about businesses, destination managers and travellers taking responsibility for the impacts of tourism, minimising the negative ones and maximising the positive. This year’s Responsible Tourism programme at ... Read more

October 6, 2015September 18, 2017

Groundbreaking compassionate destination concept launched in Kerala

Development, Responsible Tourism

A new initiative has been launched in the city of Kozhikode in Kerala, which aims to ensure the city lives by the mantra of how responsible tourism should work in ... Read more

September 29, 2015September 18, 2017

How tourism can drive positive change for our planet and all people

Development, Responsible Tourism

The simplest definition of Responsible Tourism is that it is about using tourism to make better places to live in and better places to visit; in that order. At the ... Read more

September 22, 2015April 29, 2022

US snowsports sector shows tourism industry leadership on climate action

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Earlier this month, representatives of all sectors of the US snowsports industry sent a letter to the White House – calling for strong climate action in Paris. The Protect Our ... Read more

September 15, 2015September 18, 2017

Child protection is still an issue for tourism

Development, Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

In November 2014 ECPAT launched a new global Taskforce to tackle the rapid acceleration of sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism. Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, former UN Special ... Read more

September 8, 2015September 18, 2017

Inspiring ways tourism is helping refugees, and how it could do even more

Responsible Tourism

If you only read some of the more reactionary publications around, you might be mistaken for thinking that tourism’s response to the growing refugee crisis was mostly anger at having ... Read more

September 3, 2015September 18, 2017

Innovator Spotlight: making airport hotels sustainable at Hotel Verde

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism, Responsible Tourism Spotlight

Earlier this year, the South African Hotel Verde became the first hotel in the world to achieve double LEED platinum status. Far from being a remote ecolodge, however, Hotel Verde ... Read more

September 1, 2015September 18, 2017

Climate Change – the issue is hotting up

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

2015 already looks set to be the hottest year on record. It means the three warmest years since records began in 1880 – 2015, 2014 and 2010 – will all ... Read more

August 25, 2015September 18, 2017

Blue Planet Tourism – time for some fresh water thinking

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

That tourism uses a lot of water is hardly news. Daily fresh towels. Infinity swimming pools. Golf courses surrounded by desert. The endless irrigation of hotel grounds to keep them ... Read more

August 18, 2015August 18, 2015

Three different destinations techniques to encourage tourists to show respect

Responsible Tourism

Tourism can give rise to conflicts between local people whose home it is and groups of tourists who, despite being in the same place, sometimes have wildly different ideas about ... Read more

August 12, 2015September 18, 2017

The billion tourist question. Overshoot or Opportunity?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

This Thursday, August 13th, is Global Overshoot Day, which marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in ... Read more

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015

Finalists for 2015 World Responsible Tourism Awards Announced

Responsible Tourism

Today sees the publication of the finalists for the 2015 World Responsible Tourism Awards at WTM, the awards will be presented at World Travel Market London on World Responsible Tourism ... Read more

July 28, 2015September 18, 2017

How can cities meet the needs of locals and tourists?

Carbon & Water, Development, Responsible Tourism

Over the last few weeks there have been several stories in the press (including two on this blog) about issues to do with overcrowding at destinations and the hostility brewing ... Read more

July 21, 2015September 18, 2017

Will popular destinations like Barcelona or Venice be damaged by tourism?

Development, Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

There have been protests in a number of honeypot European cities in the last couple of years. In Venice there is an anti-cruise ship campaign, in Berlin the local government ... Read more

July 15, 2015September 18, 2017

Innovator Spotlight: Janine Duffy of Echidna Walkabout

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism, Responsible Tourism Spotlight

On 5 November 2014, Australian wildlife tour company Echidna Walkabout won Gold for Best for Wildlife Conservation in the World Responsible Tourism Awards at the World Travel Market in London. Jeremy ... Read more

July 13, 2015September 18, 2017

What happens when tourism reaches the limits to its growth?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

If you walk round Muswell Hill, the part of North London where I have lived for nearly 20 years, you’ll occasionally see a man lying on the pavement, fine paintbrush ... Read more

July 6, 2015September 18, 2017

How to balance tourists and locals? Lessons from my home town

Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

I live in Faversham in Kent, a working town at the end of the motorway, traffic speeds by to Canterbury with its cathedral and World Heritage sites; to Margate with ... Read more

June 29, 2015September 18, 2017

Why tourism industry should lead efforts for gay rights

Responsible Tourism

As any one who uses Facebook will know, many of your friends (and perhaps your own) profile photos took on a rainbow-coloured hue this weekend. People across the world clicked ... Read more

June 22, 2015September 18, 2017

Volunteering: “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”

Development, Responsible Tourism

The origin of this often quoted maxim dates back at least to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), who is credited with “Hell is full of good intentions or desires.” It ... Read more

June 18, 2015September 18, 2017

Why is tourism industry so quiet about climate change?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Last week 80 major British firms sent a letter to the prime minster calling for the UK to be at the forefront of actions to address climate change. Published in ... Read more

June 17, 2015September 18, 2017

Why is tourism industry so quiet about climate change?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Where is tourism industry’s voice when it comes to the business response to climate change? Is it positioning itself to lead, follow… or be dragged?

June 9, 2015September 18, 2017

How to stop tourism industry from inadvertently fuelling child abuse

Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

Child protection is an issue that is getting a lot of press coverage at the moment, and one the tourism industry ignores at its peril.

June 9, 2015September 18, 2017

How to stop tourism industry from inadvertently fuelling child abuse

Human Rights, Responsible Tourism

Last week was Child Protection Week in South Africa, but for the tourism industry child protection should be seen as a year-round issue. In just the last few weeks there ... Read more

June 1, 2015April 21, 2022

Five steps to a successful towel and linen reuse scheme

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Following several recent news stories about hotel approaches to towel and linen sustainability, here is a simple guide to getting it right. 1: USE THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MATERIALS ... Read more

June 1, 2015September 18, 2017

Five steps to a successful towel and linen reuse scheme

Blog, Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

Following several recent news stories about hotel approaches to towel and linen sustainability, here is a simple guide to getting it right.

May 26, 2015April 29, 2022

Biggest ever Longlist for World Responsible Tourism Awards announced

Responsible Tourism

Responsible Tourism and sustainable tourism are not the same thing. Sustainability is hard to define; it is an abstract idea of a better future for us, our children and our ... Read more

May 25, 2015June 22, 2017

Biggest ever Longlist for World Responsible Tourism Awards announced

Blog, Responsible Tourism

In this the 12th year of the Responsible Tourism Awards, 206 tourism businesses, organisations and initiatives from a record 69 countries have made the longlist.