responsibletravel.com 7th birthday
By Harold Goodwin
6th April, 2008
When Justin Francis and I launched ResponsibleTravel.com back in 2001 there were only a handful of operators who had committed to the language of Responsible Tourism although later that year the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) committed their membership to the principles of Responsible Tourism.
The idea for ResponsibleTravel.com came from discussions about how to move the approach forward. There was increasing evidence that consumers were concerned about the impacts of their trips - we had been campaigning with VSO and the worldwise campaign had been successful in raising awareness of the impacts, positive and negative, of tourism in other peoples places. Companies like Tribes Travel and Exodus were adopting explicit responsible tourism policies and changing the way they did business - we realised that there was a need to establish this more responsible approach to travel as a sector capable of attracting the attention of consumers and the media.
The result was ResponsibleTravel.com a 21st century medieval fish street, an on-line market place where responsible tourism operators could come together to establish a market for Responsible Travel. It has evidently been successful and is now firmly established as a specialist on-line travel agency selling responsible holidays and campaigning for Responsible Travel.
Justin was a student on the MSc programme and ResponsibleTravel.com grew out of his dissertation - subsequently other MSc stduents have established national sites in Norway and Canada - the links are available at http://www.responsibletourismpartnership.org/RTWorld.html
Although I ceased to hold shares in the company some years ago I continue to watch the company's progress and wish it well in promoting the cause of Responsible Tourism over the next 7 years and beyond
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