Responsible Tourism

As an advocate of Sustainable and Responsible Tourism I would like to put my thoughts on writing this blog.

Sixty years ago, the Tourism Industry thrust is to develop more tourist destinations, attractions, tourist activities and more tourist facilities to promote the Industry. The main drive is to let the Tourism Industry becomes global industry that provides income to more people at the same time to let tourist explore many places. Now, at present time the Tourism Industry is considered the world’s largest industry and it only connotes one thing – massive influx of tourist coming in to every destination.

Years ago a movement started amongst tourism businesses to ensure that tourism and tourists weren’t destroying the destinations that visitors came to see. They called it ecotourism, and its mantra was ‘Take only photographs, leave only footprints.’ Of course, the impacts that tourism creates locally do not just result from hotels and transportation – but from tourists themselves and how they act and behave. For this reason they decided that tourists had to somehow be part of the process of thinking about and feeding back on the impacts of their holidays. 

While marketing campaigns have long advertised 'destinations' -- travellers are simply entering a place that is someone else's home. So as a responsible tourist/traveller what can we contribute to lessen the negative impact of tourism in a collective destination. What can we do to help sustain/maintain the places we visited?

If those working in the tourist trade embrace the values we wish developed, then we can make a huge leap forward. The trick lies in listening to locals and visitors to create the opportunities that connect top-down and grassroots efforts. Travel agents, travel providers and travellers are the principal players.

Here's my thought: responsible tourism is treating others the way they wish to be treated. It is common sense and good manners. 

Simply put, Responsible tourism is tourism 'that creates better places for people to live in, and better places to visit'. That it should deliver ‘better places to live in and to visit’ – with the emphasis firstly on creating better places for local people, and secondly for tourists.

Responsible tourism is like sustainable tourism, however as often the word sustainability is often overused and not understood, responsible tourism has been adopted as a term used by industry. Responsible tourism is any form of tourism that can be consumed in a more responsible way. Meaning tourist is responsible for his actions.