EXPLORING ECOTOURISM

Ethical Travel

PLANETA FORUM

Do unto others as they would like to have you do unto them.
- Platinum Rule

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PHOTO GALLERY: etd

QUESTIONS

What are the boundaries of ethical travel?
What are the ethics of tourism boycotts?
Is it time to develop specialized codes of conduct for consultants, academics and media?
What are the ethics of academic research and publication?
What are the appropriate fees researchers and consultants should charge for work conducted to alleviate poverty? How should this work be funded?
What are the hallmarks of an event conducted in an ethical fashion?
What are the ethics of taking photos while traveling?
Is bargaining ethical?
What are the ethics of sexual tourism?

DIALOGUE

During the 2006 Ethical Travel Dialogue co-hosted by Planeta.com and Tourism Concern, participants engaged in a passionate discussion. Discussion ran the gamut of volunteer experiences gone awry to overpriced consulting. Discussions are underway to conduct a follow-up dialogue.

QUOTABLE

In four years, I've bid on dozens of RFPs, only to be short-listed on one, and to receive another (the majority of my work has come from personal contacts). I discussed this just last week with a fellow consultant, and she concurred that the majority (probably 85-90%) of all tourism bids are gained by huge consulting conglomerates. The problem is that if you do happen to get hired by these firms, you are paid peanuts (say $400 USD/day) for work that they turn in as their own, getting paid upwards of $2000-3000 USD/day for 'their' efforts. [Jeremy Garrett, Natour]

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CONCLUSION

If we wish ethical travel to succeed, we need to appeal to a broader base without weakening the core ideals. Marketing 'eco' trips to travelers plays a role, but we need to be more creative so that travelers and locals have better green options.