Introducing ICRT global
ICRT global founder Emeritus Professor Harold Goodwin, Adama Bah, ICRT global director and Chair of the Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG), Debbie Hindle ICRT global chair and Martin Brackenbury ICRT global director.
Education, training, sharing knowledge and inspiring examples of responsible tourism from around the world will be the core work of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism global (ICRT global), a new not-for-profit which launched in October 2024.
ICRT global is on a mission to amplify the 2002 Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism and the 2022 Responsible Tourism Charter. It will do this by providing online training courses, bespoke training for organisations, and manuals and guidance to support Universities to create Responsible Tourism courses. It will also run events and lead the Responsible Tourism Awards with real world experience from winners then fed back into its training programmes.
ICRT global will act as a hub for the independent regional ICRTs around the world and as an open-source of knowledge for anyone looking for ways to make tourism better. Regional ICRTs already operate successfully in Southern and West Africa, the India sub-continent, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Each ICRT shares a common purpose in developing and promoting the concept of responsible tourism through advocacy, education, training and research particularly in the Global South.
Emeritus professor Harold Goodwin, managing director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership and founder of ICRT global and said: “Responsible tourism is what we do to make tourism more sustainable, in a way which benefits communities and destinations. It requires people working in tourism and hospitality to say what they are doing to make tourism better and to be transparent about what they achieve. But, to do that, they need to understand the issues and the possible levers for change. So, our mission is to spread the word about what can be achieved and we appreciate the backing of our founding partners easyJet Holidays to support the creation of our new courses.”
Matt Callaghan, chief operating officer easyJet Holidays said: “At easyJet holidays, we have an ambition to make more sustainable holidays mainstream, but we know this journey is complex and to succeed we need to learn from one another within the industry. That’s why we’re delighted to be a founding partner of ICRT global, supporting their goal to provide effective education on responsible tourism, available to all. I’m looking forward to seeing the success of ICRT global’s training and guidance work and it having a positive impact on destinations and their local communities.”
Chair of ICRT global, Debbie Hindle, confirmed that the non-profit will launch two online training courses focused on responsible tourism and managing overtourism. A third course on creating shared value will follow later in 2025.
“Our courses are designed to help people from any part of the tourism sector who want to understand the issues and opportunities for tourism to make a positive impact” she said. “This could be the head of a national park wanting to understand how to combine conservation and tourism, through to a city planner wanting to harness tourism for the benefit, rather than the detriment of their city. Our courses will be at postgraduate level but are accessible to anyone to attend.”
ICRT global is backed by a board and panel of special advisors including renowned industry professionals and academic experts. The board includes Adama Bah, chair of the Institute of Travel and Tourism of Gambia, Martin Brackenbury former travel and tourism director, professor of Nottingham University and advisor to the World Tourism Organisation, Manisha Pande, managing director of Village Ways in India and Caroline Warburton, formerly of Wild Scotland and the Scottish Tourism Alliance, and now at VisitScotland.
The eminent panel of special advisors for ICRT global include Julie Cheetham, chief operations officer, Travalyst, Dr Xavier Font, University of Surrey, Carol Hay, chief tourism officer McKenzie Gayle, Richard Hearn, founder of Inntravel and former chair of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), Sarah Habsburg-Lothringen, founder of Responsible Hospitality Training and Marketing sarahhabsburg.com, Dilys Roe, principal researcher and team leader (biodiversity), natural resources, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), sustainable use and livelihoods specialist group and John Swarbrooke author and former Professor of Tourism at the University of Plymouth.
ICRT global Professional Certificates in Responsible Tourism and Overtourism
ICRT global’s ten-week courses in responsible tourism and in managing overtourism are now available at £365 for early bookings. International Centre for Responsible Tourism global
The ten-week courses have both been constructed by Professor Emeritus Dr Harold Goodwin who pioneered Masters’ courses in responsible tourism management at Greenwich, Leeds Becket and Manchester Metropolitan Universities. Harold’s background is in adult and continuing education and post graduate studies.
“Our ICRT global courses are designed for changemakers who want to make tourism better for communities, their local economy and better for businesses,” said Harold Goodwin.
“Our responsible tourism course will look at how to create business advantages while developing sustainably. Our managing overtourism course will look at the many causes of overtourism, the range of solutions and the levers that can be used to manage them all. We define overtourism as the point at which hosts, guests, locals or visitors feel that there are too many visitors and that the quality of the life in the area, or the quality of the experience has deteriorated unacceptably.”
ICRT global courses start from £365 for a ten-week online course including the final professional certificate. The courses include videos of lectures, interviews and conversations, written course materials and links to further reading and resourcing. It is aimed at anyone in the travel and hospitality industry interested in making a difference, particularly middle and senior managers. It is at postgraduate level but those people taking the course don’t need a degree to take part.
Start dates for the first scheduled courses are:
Professional Certificate in Responsible Tourism – 30 January Professional Certificate in Responsible Tourism - ICRT GLOBAL
Professional Certificate in Managing Overtourism – 27 February Professional Certificate in Addressing Overtourism - ICRT GLOBAL
Professional Certificate in Responsible Tourism – 27 March
Professional Certificate in Managing Overtourism – 24 April
