Responsible Tourism

The ICRT provides Responsible Tourism research, training and consultancy

The Principle of Responsible Tourism

Responsible Tourism can simply be described as “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit” Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations (2002)

Tourism is a very board sector of commerce which involves the supply chain, the destination, the community and the visitor. Responsible Tourism is a campaign which is focusing on minimising the negative impacts and maximise the positive impacts from tourism. This requires responsible application of sustainable actions on known impacts.

Responsible Tourism is not an alternative form of tourism. The ethic of responsibility can be applied to all forms of tourism whether in the city, in rural or natural environments.

But this does not mean a single scheme. The world is a rich and diverse biosphere. The ethos of Responsible Tourism does not apply a “one size fits all” approach. Instead it crafts a strategy to reflect a locality’s diversity, to promote its richness, to conserve resources for the benefit of future generations and the ecology. It ensures the community maximises tourism’s economic benefits for the betterment of local business and residents. It seeks to empower the poor and build cultural pride. By so doing, Responsible Tourism creates an authentic experience which can deliver high customer satisfaction, a richer experience. For business, responsible actions can build trust in a tourism name, a core value of a brand.

Cape Town Declaration

Cape Town Declaration The Cape Town Conference was organised by the Responsible Tourism Partnership and Western Cape Tourism as a side event preceding the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. The Cape Town Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations was attended by 280 delegates from 20 countries. The conference grew out of …

IY 2017

International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 Imagine if we were able to live more sustainably because of innovative tourism experiences that enabled us to better appreciate the world we live in. This is the aim of the UN International Year 2017 of Sustainable Tourism for Development. It seeks to tackle the integrated challenges …

RT Australia

Australian Responsible Tourism – Consumer Initiatives There appears to be a positive trend in Australia by individual tourism businesses making strides to reduce their environmental impacts and engaging in positive social and economic initiatives. The Lismore Lantern Parade is an example of a successful community festival and is the award winning community project 2828 . The …