We can’t keep reinventing the wheel, operating in silos, or treating efforts to act more sustainably as a marketing differentiator. We’re all in this together, and we ... Read more
As we move towards 2021, and begin to imagine what comes next, isn’t it time we prepared for an increasingly inevitable future, rather than build backwards to ... Read more
One of the recurring themes during the sessions for WTM Virtual and London Travel Week was the need for tourism to pay far greater attention to the ... Read more
Our industry thrives on the diversity of our world – we need to ensure that we ensure that we are diverse and inclusive, to build a better ... Read more
Sustainability and a spirit of openness will help drive the post-COVID recovery of not only the travel and tourism industry but also the wider global economy, according ... Read more
Reflecting on the two days of Responsible Tourism panels at WTM, London last week it is clear that there is increasing recognition of the role of government ... Read more
“It’s not about us if it’s without us,” said Keith Henry, President and CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, during a session that brought together commentators from ... Read more
WTM Virtual’s Responsible Tourism Programme on Tuesday November 10 started with the issue dominating everyone’s minds, Covid. Inge Huijbrechts, Global Senior Vice President Responsible Business and Safety ... Read more
The tourism sector, airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, governments and international organisations need to work in co-operation to take immediate action to rethink aviation in order to head ... Read more
Last Wednesday, we announced those we had commended and highly commended in this year’s World Responsible Tourism Awards, we wanted to recognise those who had shouldered responsibility ... Read more
Despite World Responsible Tourism Day being by necessity virtual in 2020, its speakers ensured it focussed on the key issues of our time for tourism, with the ... Read more
This year, the World Responsible Tourism Awards are dedicated to recognising those working across tourism who have done something extraordinary to address the many challenges of the ... Read more
Throughout two unique events, WTM Virtual and London Travel Week have gathered an unrivalled selection of voices to explore the way forward for responsible tourism. On November 4, London Travel Week ... Read more
The pandemic has caused WTM London to go virtual. WTM London this year is carbon neutral – well nearly. Our computers, networks and servers all use increasing ... Read more
At the heart of Responsible Tourism is the idea that tourism businesses look at the social, environmental and economic issues in the place or places that they ... Read more
If regenerative tourism is just another new buzzword repackaging the same old thing, it will also be devalued and then replaced in time. Yes it is about ... Read more
The COVID-19 crisis has created an opportunity to rethink tourism, a pause enabling us to reshape the sector and to do tourism better – if we want ... Read more
Tourism’ future won’t be saved by cleaner aviation fuels or speedier quarantine processes. These just improve the current model. They get us back to getting bigger again.
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While recognising that the pandemic is far from over and that many countries are experiencing a second wave, it is important to look beyond survival to recovery. ... Read more
Biodiversity loss and climate change are the twin existential challenges that we face as humanity. The responsible recovery of the travel and tourism sector after the ... Read more
So, at the end of Climate Week, on Friday’s for Future Global Day of Climate action, and with World Tourism Day at the weekend, here are my ... Read more
Neoliberalism is in retreat. In an increasingly protectionist world this affects tourism directly as travel across borders becomes less frictionless, decarbonisation becomes a political imperative and biodiversity ... Read more
Last week I learned that 2020 is the second hottest year on record, after 2016. (For the record, that makes it the second hottest year in the ... Read more
In the new normal, destinations should place sustainability at the core of their strategies as it is the main element that underpins their resilience and tackles impacts.
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At WTM Virtual in November we shall be addressing the core challenge that confronts our sector: How do we build back better after the damage done to ... Read more
As we imagine our new place in the world, how might such trends change the world? How should they influence our planning? Are we trying to build ... Read more
Cut emissions in half by 2030. This is what defines the future of tourism. Not what tourism looks like in 2020, but what it needs to look like in ten ... Read more
Aviation Week earlier this month concluded that “from 2030 onward to 2050, renewable hydrogen production technologies should reach maturity, the strategy says. Hydrogen and hydrogen-derived synthetic fuels ... Read more
COVID-19 is a global pandemic, but it is unevenly spread around the world. In some countries the worst has passed for now, in others the situation is ... Read more
The pandemic has hit tourism to Africa hard. The Gambia, in West Africa, has a population of just over 2 million, with many living in rural poverty.
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The global pandemic has revealed how important tourism is to so many developed and developing countries. COVID-19 has had very different impacts on guests and hosts.
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Learning to live with the threat of COVID-19 will take time. As this month’s Responsible Tourism News goes to press some states in the USA are halting ... Read more
Last week I was able to interview Derek, I began by asking him about how important tourism was to creating a more just and equal society post-apartheid.
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Now as our industry enters a different phase, where we are tentatively reopening again, it is good to see examples appearing of governments and private sector initiatives ... Read more
As many of you will already be aware, we opened entries for the World Responsible Tourism Awards a couple of weeks ago. The aim of this year’s ... Read more
For our industry, where much of the conversation of the last few years in tourism has focussed on the issue of over-tourism, this question is especially pertinent. ... Read more
In this year when the world faces a global pandemic, it seemed inappropriate to continue with the World Responsible Tourism Awards as usual.
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Speakers Jeremy Smith is the editor of sustainable tourism news site Travindy.com. Author of recently published Transforming Travel – realising the potential of sustainable tourism (2018). As ... Read more
Speakers Samantha Adams is VP, Advertising Sales, Western Europe for BBC Global News, the international, commercial arm of the BBC. Prior to joining the BBC, she worked ... Read more
As we look at ways to achieve a sustainable future for tourism, we should ask what tourism can do to support a sustainable future. How can we ... Read more
Recent tourism initiatives and campaigns give me hope that the industry’s recovery can be marked by the same generosity and resilience that has been shown through the ... Read more
These are extraordinary times, a return to business as usual looks improbable. The IMF is predicting that the ‘Great Lockdown’ will result in the worst recession since ... Read more
When the post-mortems begin to be done on the different ways the pandemic was handled in different countries we shall learn a great deal about what works ... Read more
The World Health Organisation is providing data on the spread of the virus; national governments are determining their response. Governments around the world have acted to advise ... Read more
Coronavirus dominates the news, but one doesn’t have to look very far to see people making connections between the current emergency and sustainable tourism.
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I have explained why carbon offsetting is part of the problem, it is not part of the solution. Most carbon offsets do not deliver for the environment, ... Read more
As the sustainable travel sector continues to grow, more and more travellers are seeking out holiday experiences that align with their own values on sustainability. What’s more, ... Read more
Early this July, the Jazz Night Express will take a trainload of passengers from Rotterdam to Berlin. Along the way passengers will be able to enjoy live ... Read more
56 businesses and individuals working in tourism have joined Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency accepting that this “requires immediate and radical action by our governments, our industry ... Read more
My vegetarian wife says that when I met her 15 years ago I pretended to be a vegetarian to impress her. She says I was pretending, because ... Read more
I am writing this in Binsar, in the foothills of the Himalaya in Uttarakhand. I was Delhi for the presentation of the India Responsible Tourism Awards, I ... Read more
This New Years Eve, a group of friends and I were having dinner. At someone’s prompting, we all shared our five favourite moments of 2019. Two things ... Read more
There is little doubt that, assuming war does not break out, that climate change will be the dominant story of 2020. COP 25 was, to say the ... Read more
The major hotel brands no longer own many hotels, they operate them using a variety of agreements: managed, franchised, or licensed. Operation has been increasingly separated from ... Read more
Ever since these awards were first held back at WTM London in 2004 their purpose has been the same – to encourage change in the industry, to ... Read more
The 40th edition of WTM London began with a session exploring Decarbonising Travel and Tourism: Is the Industry Doing Enough? Speaking by video before the main panel, ... Read more
Don’t miss the World Responsible Tourism Awards 11:00 – 13:00 today in the Europe Inspiration Zone 11:00 – 11:15 Opening of WRTD Europe Inspiration Zone EU80 WTM World ... Read more
The Responsible Tourism Programme at WTM London began with a session asking Is Tourism a Strategy for Development? Cillian Murphy, destination consultant from Cillian Murphy Consulting, said ... Read more
WTM London is the largest Responsible Tourism event in the world. We focus on the solutions with a programme designed to help businesses and destinations thrive in ... Read more
We all know that the safety and security of tourists is vital for successful, resilient tourism but different countries and regions face varying challenges. For countries and ... Read more
A friend of mine called last week for holiday advice. It’s not the first time someone has done this, but it is the first time that a friend has done ... Read more
Each year at WTM London on World Responsible Tourism Day, the first Wednesday in November, we present Awards to those businesses, destinations and organisations which our panel ... Read more
As the UK’s Tourism Concern pointed out in a long-running campaign “We take our holidays in other peoples’ homes.” Way back in 1994 Colin Marshall, at the ... Read more
The Archers will be familiar to many UK readers of this post. It a radio soap with over 5 million listeners and a further million listening online. ... Read more
For a long time, those making a case for accessible tourism for people with disabilities have argued that there is a large market composed of those with ... Read more
This panel discusses the impact of attracting the sustainability-focused visitor, both locally and globally, through various sustainability, eco-tourism and biodiversity initiatives in the UAE. It will also ... Read more
The Western Cape government is to spend “millions” on making Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) safe for tourists and locals, says Economic Opportunities MEC, Alan Winde. He told Tourism Update on ... Read more
It’s becoming more and more important to think about the marks we leave on places when we travel. After all, we all want future generations to be ... Read more
This article covers all you need to know about travelling to Cape Town, including detailed safety tips and information on health and medical facilities. Safety Here are ... Read more
This year sees big developments in WTM’s Responsible Tourism programme, as it seeks to build on its ever-growing popularity and increase its profile amongst its mainstream audience. ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more
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 ... Read more