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- African Responsible Tourism Awards
The longlist for the African Responsible Tourism Awards to be presented at WTM Africa has just been published. There are over 60 long-listed tourism businesses, organisations and initiatives come from 13 countries – including nominees from Morocco, the Gambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Africa and many more. Those long listed are now being invited to complete a detailed questionnaire and nominate independent referees. Those that demonstrate the difference that they're taking responsibility makes and which can demonstrate their capacity to educate and inspire others to be more responsible will presented with their Awards at WTM Africa in Cape Town.
- Responsible Tourism & Seasonality – call for papers
During white nights – Finland is the land of the midnight sun – the 12th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations takes place in Jyvaskyla 9-10 June 2016. The conference organisers are calling for papers on all aspects of Responsible Tourism and the programme has been constructed with parallel sessions for academics and industry professionals around a series of keynote presentations from Professors Swarbrooke, Hall & Goodwin and from Finland Päivi Halinen, Terhi Hoo, Niina Pietikäinen, Matti Pollari and Kaarina Tervo-Kankare. Come to the conference and enjoy Finland’s northern beauty and experience the white nights. Conference website
- TUI pushes ahead taking responsibility for sustainability
Post-merger TUI are pushing ahead with their sustainability initiatives. The new TUI Group vision includes “…mindful of the importance of travel and tourism for many countries in the world and the people living there. We partner with these countries and help shape their future – in a committed and sustainable manner.” The 2015 TUI Group Annual Report and TUI Nederland have published their 2015 reports link
- Shameful suffering caused by irresponsible wildlife tourism
Research conducted by University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) for World Animal Protection found that three out of four wildlife tourist attractions involve some form of animal abuse or conservation concerns, and up to 550,000 wild animals are suffering in these venues. WAP estimates that ± 110 million people visit cruel wildlife tourist attractions each year, unaware of the animal abuse involved. more
- Value of big game hunting in Africa
The role of hunting in wildlife conservation in Africa is much debated and it will be discussed at WTYM Africa in April. A comprehensive study ordered by IUCN on big game hunting as a tool for conservation in Africa has been published.
- International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has declared 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development; recognizing “the importance of international tourism, … in fostering better understanding among peoples everywhere, in leading to a greater awareness of the rich heritage of various civilizations and in bringing about a better appreciation of the inherent values of different cultures, thereby contributing to the strengthening of peace in the world”. more Conservation Action Trust concludes that “Big game hunting in Africa is economically useless.. more
- Are backpackers going extinct?
Newly published research by Mark Hampton describes how the backpacker is now less of an independent traveller and is increasingly more like a conventional tourist. link
- Italy plans to limit visitor numbers to Cinque Terre in Liguria
5 million visited in 2015 arriving by car, coach and cruise ship, no longer a remote backward it is being damaged by tourism and so numbers will be capped and Cinque Terre closed when it reaches capacity. . more & more
- Research finds growing interest in Responsible Tourism
CREST has published a review of recent surveys showing continuing interest in responsible tourism among travellers, tourism companies, and destinations. link
- New ICRTs
New ICRTs have been established in Russia and Brazil links
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Responsible Tourism News is a newsletter of record carrying the 10 most important and interesting Responsible Tourism stories each the month. Please forward to those you think may be interested – you can subscribe here. If you wish to contribute a story email harold@haroldgoodwin.info or post it on our RTNews Facebook page.
Harold Goodwin’s Responsible Tourism Blog
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Twitter: @goodwinhj & @WTM_WRTD #responsibletourism
