Open Letter sent to UK government ministers today. Consumers have demonstrated that they are willing to take responsibility. The British Government could provide international leadership, announce a new strategy to raise significant funds for adaptation and work through the International Civil Aviation Organisation to have a proposal on the table for Copenhagen.   more »

Today was the judging for the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards which will be announced at World Travel Market on ...   more »

Real Fod Real Ale celebrate and enjoy local distinctiveness   more »

This is a guide book which encourages you to actively enjoy other peoples’ places, their environments and cultures. It is a great place to look for new ideas and to think about how you travel.   more »

New Ethical Hotels Website Launched in Australia " quality isn’t just what you do. It’s how you do it."   more »

Dear GSTC Board Members,
We are committed to the development of responsible and sustainable tourism. We believe that tourists want ...   more »

People in the developing world are largely excluded from the benefits of aviation and yet suffer disproportionately from the negative effects of climate change that it helps to cause. The Humanitarian Foundation (see below) estimates that 300,000 people are killed by the effects of climate change every year, and the US now classes global warming as a public health hazard. Many airline companies and passengers make an effort to be responsible, but governments and airline regulators have ducked their responsibility for cutting the pollution caused by flying. A carbon tax on aircraft fuel would raise money that could be disbursed globally by the UN to help poor countries deal with the effects of climate change. Working on the principle of making polluters pay for the damage they cause, it would create incentives for airlines to cut carbon pollution. It would also create a level playing field between different forms of transport. This blog makes the case for a carbon tax, and outlines the facts and actions that will help passengers, governments and regulators take a responsible approach to aviation and climate change.   more »

This year I have had the pleasure of attending two graduation ceremonies for ICRT Masters graduates, one “robed” at Leeds Met the other as a guest at Greenwich. The ICRT and the Masters course moved form Greenwich to Leeds Met and we still have a few students completing their dissertations at Greenwich. You can see the photos Amongst this year’s Master graduates Katelijne Lenaerts has secured a post as project manager of a European Community tourism project in Suriname, Lucy McCombes is joing the ICRT as a Research Fellow, Linda Veråsdal is developing her responsible tourism business in Norway www.ansvarligturisme.org , Anna Waddilove is writing up her research as an occasional paper, Rebecca Leah Pelkonen is working in the industry in Canada but still finding time to be involved in organising the Together for Peace Leeds Summat www.t4p.org.uk/jointhesummat   more »

Our volunteers travel as paying guests who roll up their sleeves and muck in - paying guests because they pay their way. Too often when working abroad I have come across “volunteers” who make demands on community resources to enable then to do their volunteering. Our volunteers pay for their board and lodging, local transport, liaison with the project and full time support, and each of them makes a donation to the project they work on.   more »

The most responsible one-stop-shop for giving back to the destinations we have visited.   more »

Viral marketing works both ways! United Airlines has lost 10% of its share value $180m...... but is there more to it?    more »

The significance of the low carbon economy, the age of oil was never going to last for ever, the readjustment in the world’s economies will be painful - tourism cannot be isolated from those changes. But change brings new opportunities. Domestic tourism will grow; the slow movement and local distinctiveness create opportunities for new forms of tourism and new business opportunities – consider this year’s ground breaking VisitEngland Enjoy Every Minute promotion targeted locals and international and domestic tourists.   more »

It is a particular pleasure for me to welcome a former MSc in Responsible Tourism Management student to the ICRT as a colleague.   more »

If the 400+ hotels currently being encouraged by TUI to be certified through the Travelife Sustainability System are all successful then more than 50% of TUI holidaymakers travelling form the UK would be staying in more sustainable hotels – that is a measurable deliverable.   more »

It is time for a serious debate about the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria - is there evidence that certification is delivering sustainability?   more »

“Commercial aviation is the first global industry to commit to a carbon-neutral growth target by 2020”. Magic but who carries responsibility if the targets are missed?   more »

Today saw the release of a pastoral message for World Tourism Day published by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. World Tourism Day falls this year on 27 September and the theme of the English-language message is: "Tourism - celebrating diversity".   more »

Pause for a moment before you rejoice about a potential deal in Copenhagen and consider two very different approaches to cap and trade: 1) Cap and Trade a Daily Mail exposure of toxic carbon offsets. 2) Sandbag takes permits out of the system and scraps them - they are taken out of circulation and can not be traded   more »

One month ago today the Global Humanitarian Forum published the ‘Human Impact Report: Climate Change – The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis’ The report has received shamefully little attention.   more »

The purchasing of carbon offsets is a dangerous distraction, the purchase of medieval pardons, permits to continue to pollute, would not be accepted for asbestos, sulphides or chemical effluent. They should not be accepted for carbon pollution – a form of pollution which threatens far more disastrous consequence for our species and our environment. – offsetting has become the Trojan Hose of anti-pollution strategies for greenhouse gases.   more »

If mainstream search engines offer the choice a majority of consumers will choose a more responsible flight. Over the last few months 57% of users of the Carbon Friendly Flight Search have paid a premium, averaging 19%, over the cheapest flight offered by selecting to book the cheapest and greenest flight offered. Over 10,000 flight searches have been made on the site.   more »

Nominations for the 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards closed yesterday, just short of 600 nominations have been received...    more »

I have been wanting to visit CoaST for several years, their success has been extraordinary. This is a group of over 1000 members, tourism businesses and those in the supply chain. By collaborating together they have clout...    more »

Today, World Ocean Day, sees the premier in the UK of The End of the Line: Imagine a World without ...   more »

In the USA the Responsible Tourism Movement is being reduced to philanthropy – but on the contrary charitable giving is a tiny part of what is required for Responsible Tourism. The RT focus is much more on how the business does its business and the way the holidaymaker travels and spends their money.   more »

Overall passenger numbers are also dropping IATA reports that premium passenger numbers were down 19.2% globally in the year to March 2009, while the drop in economy was 8.2%   more »

Last year Explore won the Best Tour Operator category in the Responsible Tourism awards, now they have come 18th in ...   more »

Miriam Gayoso, one of our alumni, emailed me today with the news that the website for the Northern Circuit in ...   more »

As a consequence of the ban on public gatherings and the travel advisories against travel to Mexico we have no choice but to postpone the Third International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations.   more »

This is the best guide book to responsible travel to date, it draws on some of the best writing in The Guardian and elsewhere and brings together a real wealth of advice for the consumer about how to have a great holiday without damaging our world .   more »

Jafar made a trenchant critique of practice in tourism studies and the way in which tourism has confined itself to a silo, my word not his. He used the word inbreeding,   more »

In the recession the traditional package holiday is finding renewed favour as holidaymakers hedge against the risks of their holiday ...   more »