RTD7 - Barcelona, Catalunya

7th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations

We chose to host the 2013 conference in Barcelona not because it is the world’s most responsible destination, but rather because it is one of the world’s most successful destinations.  It is the tourist capital of Spain’s most heavily-visited territory – Catalunya receives 25 million tourist arrivals and has 7 million inhabitants.

Success, however, presents an extensive range of risks and management challenges for the mid- to long-term. Barcelona is a great place to debate how to ensure that the destination uses tourism rather than being used by it. How can Barcelona use tourism to make it a better place for people to live in and to visit?

The Catalonia 2020 Vision for Responsible Tourism: the Barcelona Declaration is referenced in current policy making in Barcelona

Conference Themes:

• Taking responsibility for the environmental impacts of tourism
• The role of governments in the planning and management of destinations
• Sense of place: local communities, responsibility and the visitor experience
• The extension of social participation in tourism: access to all
• The management of cruise tourism in the Mediterranean

Further Resources

• Read the Barcelona Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations here.
• Follow the RTD7 twitter feed here.
• Watch videos of presentations from the conference here.