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1. World Responsible Tourism Awards – one week to deadline August 6th
There are five categories and an overall winner. They are free to enter. The judges can only select from amongst those that enter.
To nominate or enter go to www.wtmresponsibletourism.com/en/about/responsible-tourism-awards/
2. African Responsible Tourism Awards
The African Responsible Tourism Awards presented each year at WTM Africa will open in September. This year's categories are Resource Management in Water or Waste, Sustainable Event, Habitat and/or Species Conservation, Community Benefit, Culture or Heritage Experience, Attraction, Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Global Goals Reporting. Register now to be emailed when the Awards open for entries.
3. September, Tourism & Managing Protected areas – register now.
With registrations from delegates from Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Israel and New Zealand as well as the UK, this small research-oriented conference bringing together those involved in managing tourism in national parks and protected areas, conservationists, tourism businesses, guides and researchers to discuss the management and conservation challenges and the research needs Loving them to death? Published in 1993. The report was a siren call for the dangers posed to wildlife and habitat in Europe’s national parks and protected areas. The challenges were great then, they are larger now: overtourism, plastic pollution, declining habitat quality, loss of species diversity, the growth of the cruise industry and the recreational use of sea and land. This free conference is an opportunity with other professionals to do some thinking and make some new connections – we need to up our game. There are still opportunities for speakers and posters. Details
4. Progress on Animal Welfare
Thomas Cook announced 18 months ago that they would ensure that the wildlife excursions they sell were consistent with their customers’ expectations of the company. From summer 2019 they will no longer sell any animal attractions that keep orcas in captivity. Thomas Cook explains their action: "We have also taken feedback from our customers, more than 90% of whom told us that it was important that their holiday company takes animal welfare seriously. That has led us to the decision we have taken today." more
Fair Trade Tourism South Africa has launched Captive Wildlife Guidelines to assist tour operators in their decision-making about which captive wildlife facilities to support and
which to avoid.
CABI has put some Open Resources online on Tourism and Animal Welfare Videos of presentations from the CABI LSBU RVC Tourism and Animal Welfare Symposium.
5. New UNWTO S-G on Sustainability
Zurab Pololikashvili took over as Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in January. He has spoken out strongly on the importance of sustainability. "While tourism brings socioeconomic development and inclusive growth to millions of people worldwide, its mismanaged expansion can put fragile environments at risk, deplete natural resources, and disrupt the social structures and cultural values of host communities – the very elements that tourism greatly depends on. Sustainability is, therefore, tourism's fundamental challenge and should be regarded as a comprehensive condition of the sector as a whole." Read more of Ethan Gelber's interview with Zurab Pololikashvili
6. Overtourism
In Ireland, overtourism is emerging as a political issue. Burren traffic is ‘making life hell’.
"Anti-tourist activists launched an offensive on the Spanish island of Majorca this weekend, daubing hotels in the capital, Palma, with slogans such as “tourism kills the city”, and holding a protest at the island’s international airport." more in The Telegraph and in The Sun "ANTI-tourism activists stormed an open-top bus in Barcelona today to protest against overcrowding in Spain's holiday hotspots."
In Cambodia, Sihanoukville, or Snooky, a port city on Cambodia’s coast popular with backpackers in the 1990s thanks to its long empty beaches and chilled-out vibe — a quirky alternative to the tourist haunts in neighbouring Thailand, is being described in Australia as "a big, unregulated, dusty construction site where concrete trucks tear down muddy potholer streets night and day." "GANGSTERS shooting up bars. Broken dusty streets. A casino on every corner. Unlimited booze, drugs and prostitution." More
Away from the travel pages, the issue of overtourism is regularly covered - and increasing attention is being focused on potential solutions. See for example Elle Hunt a commissioning and communities editor with Guardian Cities.
7. Balancing Purpose & Profit
Skift has produced a new report, sponsored by Intrepid, exploring why more travel brands are combining purpose- and profit-driven goals into their business strategies with examples of how successful companies, both inside and outside of the travel industry, have succeeded thanks to a purpose-driven approach.
8. Communicating Responsibility
Chris Warren's research shows that, contrary to popular belief, how much power, water and other resources guests consumed was not linked to their stay satisfaction. In fact, when accommodation operators engaged directly with their guests about resource conservation, they experienced resource and cost savings as well as positive guest feedback. My Green Butler
9. Preserving Traditional Winemaking
TUI is preserving traditional winemaking in La Geria on Lanzarote for future generations.
10. Film and Games
Outlook India Reports on Responsible Tourism
Better Tourism Africa
Responsible Traveller, South Africa
Encounter Africa
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Responsible Tourism News is a newsletter of record carrying the 10 most important Responsible Tourism stories of the month. 8,000 people subscribe to receive it every month. Please forward to those you think may be interested – you can subscribe using the box on the right. If you wish to contribute a story email harold@haroldgoodwin.info or post it on our RTNews Facebook page.
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Harold Goodwin’s Responsible Tourism Blog
Harold Goodwin blogs regularly on the WTM Responsible Tourism Blog
Twitter: @goodwinhj & @WTM_WRTD #responsibletourism
