PLANETA EVENT

What is Responsible Tourism?
by Ron Mader

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM FORUM

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

VIDEOS: YouTube

QUESTIONS

What is responsible travel?
What are the boundaries of responsible travel?
Should we develop codes of conduct for professional consultants, educators and media working in tourism?

DEFINING RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Google 'responsible tourism'
Newsgoogle 'responsible tourism'
Responsible Travel - Wikipedia

BACKGROUND

Responsible tourism is treating others the way they wish to be treated.

While tourism campaigns have long touted 'destinations' -- in fact we are simply entering a place that is someone else's home. Said Transitions Abroad founder Clay Hubbs in a 2004 interview: "The golden rule is more and more recognized as the first rule of travel and adventure travel and I'm told that group organizers are rewarded by their customers for observing it."

Perhaps responsible tourism goes a step further, to what is called the Platinum Rule - treating others the way they wish to be treated. The work ahead lies in connecting top-down and grassroots efforts. Responsible travel means extending solidarity over time. Efforts that lack continuity, even if developed with good intentions, can make situations worse.

TRENDS

We ask a lot of tourism these days ... that it be eco, that it be sustainable and that it be responsible. Global tourism has changed in the past decade. A growing number of travelers want their journeys to be less invasive and more beneficial to the local community. They want to better understand the culture of the places they visit.

Travelers and locals are seeking ways of building constituencies with the shared goal of making tourism more responsible.

Says noted author and activist Deborah McLaren: "An umbrella term that encompasses this new mindset and mode of travel is 'responsible tourism' which is based on ethics and human rights. It also means support for community-based travelers' programs -- homestays, guest cottages, ethno-museums, and educational programs that bring tourist dollars directly into communities."

BACKGROUND

Responsible tourism asks visitors to make choices about their vacations so that negative impacts are minimized. It is popularized by Transitions Abroad and defined in the 2002 Capetown Declaration:

• minimizes negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;
• generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities, improves working conditions and access to the industry;
• involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;
• makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world's diversity;
• provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;
• provides access for physically challenged people; and
• is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

The declaration concludes with a commitment 'to work with others to take responsibility for achieving the economic, social and environmental components of responsible and sustainable tourism.'

CONCLUSION

The work ahead lies in connecting top-down and grassroots efforts. Responsible travel means extending solidarity over time. Efforts that lack continuity, even if developed with good intentions, can make situations worse.

For a recommended overview, download the Responsible Tourism Handbook (PDF) published by Transitions Abroad.

What is the opposite of responsible tourism? How about irresponsible tourism?! There is even a web forum that discusses the troubling aspects in travel such as wildlife exploitation and irresponsible tour operators.

QUOTABLE

Irresponsible travel to me is where the focus is entirely on the visitor, to the neglect and detriment of the host and their community.
- Jane Crouch, Ecoclub Interview