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Reports of the 8th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations are now available on line. Harold Goodwin's inaugural lecture was videoed as were all the session on the Friday and they are available to watch, many of the Power Point presentations and reports by TTG and Blue&Green are available at www.crtmmu.org/rtd8/
Details of the categories for the 2014 World Responsible Tourism Awards will be announced on May 7th when nominations open - full details will be on the Awards website - pay your part and make a nomination.
Volume 3 (1) contains papers on Factors for success and failure in donor funded tourism projects; questioning whether CBT is delivering the goods in the developing world; issues of environmental and social governance in investor relations; the reasons for the judges decisions in the 2013 World Responsible Tourism Awards; a content analysis of Australian and Costa Rican official tourism websites; the attitudes of Polish owner-managers towards environmental engagement; and en ecotourism case study from Kalimantan. Progress in Responsible Tourism is published open source and is free to download thanks to sponsorship by responsibletravel.com
WTM Responsible Tourism has set up a Facebook page for past, and present, WTM World Responsible Tourism Day Supporters to share the ways that they are highlighting the day, as well as their responsible tourism tips and best practices. We would love to hear from you all throughout the year and will be inviting you to join the group and share your experiences with us.
The idea of an all-inclusive holiday is still difficult for many to accept as Responsible Tourism. Perhaps this Brazilian example will cause people to think again. This all-inclusive holiday is just that – everyone is welcome, treated with respect and enabled to participate in an activity holiday at an all-inclusive resort. It is accessible tourism made inclusive for all. Families and friends can holiday together and share a host of activities – people of all abilities can play together. This is a resort that wears the all-inclusive badge with pride, where everyone is treated with respect and enabled to enjoy adventure activities. The elderly and infirm, children and paraplegics can ride white water, horses and zip wires together – all are included in these adventure activities. www.parquedossonhos.com.br
The 1st World Summit on Destinations for All in Montreal in October aims to take the current dialogue on accessible tourism to a new and exciting level. By bringing together key players in tourism, culture, and transportation, the Summit aims to identify and implement the necessary measures to establish international tourism that is inclusive and accessible. 15% of the world’s population live with a disability, and with a greater aging demographic, this number will only increase. It is time to think of tourism no longer solely as a luxury, but as a need shared by everyone.
The industry is starting to wake up to the fact that there is more to dolphin watching than dollar signs, and usually it is a good skipper at the helm that makes all the difference between a responsible trip and a totally irresponsible one. Read more
65% of the 80 cruise companies worldwide do not mention corporate social responsibility on their websites nor report elsewhere, and only 12 brands publish corporate social reports, belonging to only four companies: Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean International, TUI and Disney Cruises. The report analyses the industry’s lack of corporate social disclosure and ranks companies through analysis of their corporate social responsibility reports and websites to provide the first cruise sector sustainability-reporting index. More
"A new documentary called Bye Bye Barcelona, however, shows some long-term residents wondering aloud how much longer they can stay where they are. The problem? Tourism, specifically a local industry that has become so dominant it risks stifling ordinary, everyday life in the city's heart. Panning across street after street of pedestrian gridlock, fast food joints and souvenir shops, the film's record of locals shooed away by the constant visitor footfall offers a cautionary tale for any city that tourists love." Read more in Atlantic Cities Watch the video
Travel Weekly reported some of the comments made at the WTTC meeting this month:
Julian Caldecott, director of environmental services firm Creatura is reported to have complained of "the rapid unplanned development of destinations", of "investors cutting corners . . . [or] collaborating with organised crime, powerful individuals awarded construction contracts for developments without proper process" and "developments that ruin the landscape". Caldecott said: "The list continues : the suffocation of coral reefs, the crushing of aquifers, the run off of sewage into local water supplies. Good planning and good regulation is essential to tourism development."
