Flight Centre is looking to capitalise on the trend to responsible
tourism with the acquisition of Canadian company GoVoluntouring, which
specialises in volunteer tourism. GoVoluntouring Founder & CEO Aaron
Smith says “The sheer breadth of distribution will make Flight Centre's
GoVoluntouring a massive change agent.”  Smith will remain as Business
Leader, based out of Flight Centre's Vancouver office. Source

Monaco adds Responsible Tourism read more

This is the next step of responsible tourism project called �Protection of the
forest and wildlife� implemented by GIZ Vietnam. This project encourages tourists come to Pu Hu. read more

The local tourism industry raked in about P1 billion during the festive season last year. Botswana

The Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Kitso Mokaila
revealed this during the World Wetlands Day (WWD) commemoration last
Thursday in Gaborone.

This year�s World Wetlands Day theme was, �Wetlands and Tourism a
Great Experience – Responsible Tourism Supports Wetland and People�.
Mokaila said the revenue earned through tourism last Christmas showed
that the industry was a force to reckon with as the government tries to
diversify the economy. Read more

Taleb Rifai UNWTO writes about RT
At the same time, one billion is a serious responsibility on the tourism
sector. Unplanned and poorly managed tourism development can cause
serious harm. We need to be capable of building a more responsible
tourism sector; one that protects our common heritage while making it
accessible to all and providing the means to preserve it. Read more

I have written before about the importance of the Responsible Tourism initiatives taking place in Kerala and the way that because RT has secured support from both the panchayat and businesses it is firmly established and secure when the state government changes. read more

Kerala is self-critical of its Responsible Tourism efforts. The government has included eight more tourist
centres under responsible tourism programme. The potential of Responsible Tourism was yet to be fully tapped in the state.
Anil Kumar, the Kerala Minister of Tourism, said that although the programme of Responsible Tourism
had been launched in Kovalam, Kumarakom, Wayanad and Thekkady
it was successful to a considerable extent only at Kumarakom.
read more

And Kerala is discussing the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to Responsible Tourism and learning from their experience. The success of the initiatives in Kumarakom which I have seen first hand over the last few days are being built on in Phase 2 of the Responsible Tourism programme: Let's Travel Together, Responsibly.

Last night the Hon. Minister for Tourism, Shri. A.P. Anil Kumar launched the second phase of the programme and honoured those panchayat leaders, local people and hotels who made the first phase a success.

The second phase involves extending the experimental work to other parts of Kerala, working to ensure that local people gain from tourism and have better livelihood opportunities as well as developing Responsible Tourism classification criteria and a new website: www.rtkerala.com

It was an honour to be present at the launch of the second phase and to be working the Kerala Department of Tourism, and the Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism Studies (KITTS) to research the impacts of the porgramme.
read more

I wrote back in December about Tourism Abusing Human Rights and in partiular about the tourists treat the indigenous Jarawa of India�s Andaman Islands.

On Saturday The Guardian reported that “Jarawa girls told to dance semi-naked for the camera as two videos offer fresh proof of official involvement in 'human safaris'”

“A three minutes and 19 seconds clip, shot on a mobile phone, shows
half-naked girls from the tribe dancing for a seated Indian police
officer. A second, shorter clip again focuses on a girl's nudity, while
men in military uniform mill around.

The new evidence comes as
authorities in Orissa state set an example to their counterparts in the
Andamans by moving swiftly to end human safaris to see the Bonda tribe,
another abuse revealed by an Observer investigation.

The
Indian government had ordered both sets of officials to take swift
action to investigate and prevent abuse. In an interview last week,
tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said exploitation by
outsiders had to be stopped.”

Read more

Today Survival International reports that MP Andrew George has tabled a Commons motion calling for an end to recently contacted Jarawa being treated like attractions in a �human safari park�.

MEP Sir Graham Watson, Chair of the
Parliament�s Delegation to India, has described the Jarawa�s
exploitation as a �disgrace�, and vowed to keep pursuing the issue with
Indian officials.

Survival�s Director Stephen Corry said, �This new video released by the Observer shows current
precautions by the Andaman authorities are not working. It�s time the
government got to the root of the problem, which is the road: it must be
closed.�

Survival International is calling  on the public to write emails through its website urging the Indian government to take immediate action to stop the human safaris.

Read more

Catherine Mack has been writing about “punters”.

�Responsible tourism? Ha! Does that mean not dropping your litter as
you walk through the rainforest?� was the scathing reaction of a friend
when I told her that I was taking on an Msc in Responsible Tourism Management
six years ago. I tried somewhat pathetically to defend my tiny corner.
Then, �I am so tired all of this f***king eco shit� one award winning
travel writer said loudly in my direction a few years later at the ABTA
convention, to a round of back patting and communal cackling from his
peers. By then, I had learned to smile politely and walk on. But oh, how
they laughed.

So, six years later, with one Masters degree, a modest pile of
published work, three books, one app and an award, I am simply bemused
to see they are still laughing.  Just this week  on Twitter, in an
albeit humourous banter between fellow travel Tweeps, I posted something
about Responsible Tourism Week, an
online iniative happening 13-17 February 2012.  So why was I surprised
to see the ensuant piss taking? �Apparently it�s Responsible Tourism
Week soon. Personally I quite fancy an Irresponsible Tourism Week.
Anyone else?!� one travel writer teased. �Isn�t every week an
irresponsible tourism week?� another retorted. I retweeted and replied,
�Speak for yourselves�  *still smiling*

However,  what surprises me most is that six years later, after a
plethora of responsible tourism conferences, conventions and codes of
practice, so many travel writers, not just travellers, still think it is
amusing that our industry is �responsible�  for so much damage. As one
Tweep put it, the term responsible �feels at odd with fun�. They still
dismiss the responsible tourism movement as a bit of a whim, a green
geeksville. A posse of party poopers even. They still don�t get the fact
that the responsible tourism movement is about water inequity, human
rights abuses, irrational use of natural resources, waste, pollution,
commercialising culture, and so much more.  And why do they not know?
Because so many of the responsible tourism issues and destination
developments are debated in academic circles, at government or UN level
or around the board tables of small, committed tour operators and
agencies. And there is always one empty chair at these debates. That of
the media. There will always be travel writers for whom a commission
will come before a �cause�, of course, but there are so many who are
still just simply in the dark where responsible tourism, ecotourism,
green or sustainable tourism issues , call it what you will, are
concerned.

Read more

It is difficult for a consumer to know what the truth is about
the chocolate they eat.

When the consumer pays more for organic or fair-trade chocolate, of the premium often around a �1,  as little as 4
or 5 cents goes to the producer according to Chloe Doutre-Roussel author of The Chocolate Connoisseur

Child labour is still a major issue and the international protocol has a target of 70% reduction in the worst kinds of child labour by 2020.  But a boycott would make it worse.

Listen to the Food Programme on Radio 4   The Trouble with Chocolate

Pete Campbell has written on the Thomas Cook website about 5 Endangered Places to Visit Before They Disappear, it comes with a really useful Infographic, one I shall use in my teaching.

Pete Campbell demonstrates how much human activity is damaging our natural and cultural heritage and he has linked it to Davos and the World Economic Forum meeting about which there has been much critical comment in the British press, world leaders jetting around the world and indulging in luxury.

It is a clever piece – perhaps too clever. Out on twitter and in the blogosphere many are not realising that the piece it tongue in cheek and Thomas Cook is reaping a back lash – the point is being missed.

“From the impressive snow caps of Mount Kilimanjaro to the romantic city
of Venice, these are places under threat from changes in the
environment. So to tie in with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting which is currently being held in Davos, we have produced this exciting infographic which identifies our top 5 holiday destinations to visit before they�re gone.”

Take a look

Professor James Murray and Sir David King, the former British Government chief scientist conclude in today's Nature.
They present data which shows that the supply of oil has increased with demand but that since 2005 it has stagnated at around 75 million barrels a day, this stagnation has occurred despite an increase in the price of oil running at 15% per year.

Increased demand has resulted in higher prices, not more production. Production has become inelastic, unable to respond to rising demand and resulting in price instability but on an upward trajectory. Fuel price spikes contribute to economic crises. Murray and King conclude that the world will need an additional 64 million barrels a day by 2030 which is “very unlikely”.

Read more

Businesses which bring staff and children into close
proximity need to consider their child protection polices and their implementation

Today�s Daily Mail reports that a man who once worked on two of Cunard�s ships is being investigated by police over allegations that he indecently assaulted child passengers. It is claimed the crew member carried out the sexual assaults on Cunard�s flagship the Queen Mary 2 and its sister vessel Queen Elizabeth.

Detectives started the investigation after a tip-off thought to be from the parents of one of the children involved, all of whom live in the UK.

A Wiltshire Police spokeswoman said last night: �We can confirm we are investigating historical allegations of child abuse by an employee of Cunard cruise liners. Inquiries continue. The employee no longer works for the company.�

Cunard bosses, headed by the  company�s president and managing director Peter Shanks, have launched their own inquiry into the allegations, which officials said had �deeply shocked� them.

Company managers are understood to be reviewing Cunard�s strict vetting procedures, which are carried out on every applicant and include criminal-record checks.

Cunard refused to say what role the former cruise worker had carried out on its ships, but he is known to have been a low-ranking employee who had regular, close contact with passengers on board.

Read More in the Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090071/Queen-Elizabeth-QM2-cruises-Crewman-quizzed-child-abuse.html

In my post about 2012 a few days ago I pointed to the
decline in the value of the British � as an issue likely to impact on travel
and tourism this year.

Already TUI�s specialist brands, Exodus and Skibound, are
reported in today�s Independent  to be
imposing surcharges on school skinning trips as a result of significant cost
increases arising �aviation, transportation fuel and other costs.�

By the law the operator has to absorb the first 2% and if
the surcharge exceeds 10% the holidaymaker is entitled to cancel with a full
refund and there is a list on the ABTA website of approved surcharges.

At a time when consumers are reported by TUI, and others, to
favour all inclusives because the consumer knows what a holiday costs,
consumers now have surcharge s to worry about. Simon Calder  reports today, in the Independent , that Exodus has
retrospectively surcharged travellers booked on a trip imminently departing to
New Zealand �200. Obviously TUI had not adequately hedged on their pricing and
purchasing. 

Read more in the Independent

ABTA maintains a list of those currently surcharging

For the optimistic bit, the agenda for action, go to the end � it is in bold!

We can do something about our sustainability. 

It is a matter choice – our collective choice.

As Jared Diamond concluded in his study of how societies choose to fail or survive

… we are the cause of our environmental problems, we are the ones in control of them, and we can choose or not choose to stop causing them and start solving them. The future is up for grabs, lying in our hands … for the most part we “just” need the political will to apply solutions already available.” �

We need to demand more of our leaders.

2011 was another year of extreme weather in our climate and
for travel and tourism. We were reminded that we inhabit a planet subject to
extreme weather and geological events, each of which reminds us of our
vulnerability. 2011 saw earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunami. 2011 was a La Nina year, the cooling of tropical
sees in the Pacific had both a cooling effect on global temperatures and caused
disturbed weather patterns.

Globally, 2011 was the 11th  warmest year on record, despite the cooling
effect of La Nina � in the UK
2011 is overall the second warmest year on record. All of the UK's top seven
warmest years happened in the last decade, 2006 was the hottest.

In East Africa the worst drought in 60 years killed
thousands and left 12 million at risk of starvation. There were devastating
floods in Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil and Thailand. The damage
in Thailand alone was estimated at �29,000,000,000. The US was struck by 12
extreme weather disasters each of which caused damage in excess of $1,000,000,000�s.
Over 343 tornadoes struck the US in one four day period in April.

Climate change is only a part of the Perfect Storm which confronts us.

2011 was the year that the
world�s population passed 7bn, since I was born the world�s population has
increased from 2.6bn to 7bn.  

2011 also brought civil disorder with the Arab spring; riots
and strikes in Greece, Spain and France and riots in Britain produced adverse
travel advisories.

John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government warned
back in September 2009 that the world faced a Perfect Storm caused by
population growth, rising demand for food, energy, water and land and climate
change. And Britain is becoming relatively poorer as a consequence of unemployment,
austerity and the decline in the value of the pound against the Euro on January
1^st 2008 a pound was worth �1.36, on 31 December 2011 it was worth �1.16
� a decline of 14.7%. Since January 2005 the effective exchange rate index for
sterling has dropped from 100 to 81 in mid-December 2011. As the pound weakens inbound
and domestic tourism grows, outbound tourism is tougher, exacerbated by the
rise in Air Passenger Duty and the extension of the Emissions Trading Scheme to
Aviation. Although tourism to Greece may be boom if it leaves the Euro,
depending on what happens politically.

However, Titanic cruises have been selling well.

It was way back in 1972 that the first UN Conference on the
Human Environment took place, Maurice Strong the Secretary General of the
conference described it as �launching a new liberation movement to free men from
the threat of thraldom to environmental perils of their own making.� The
oxymoron of �sustainable development� is giving way to �green growth�. A new name for an aspiration that we consistently fail to achieve, many are not trying. We continue to lose
the battle, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

2012 and Rio+20 will provide an opportunity to take stock
and to look at how much progress has been made since the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable
Development and the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Whichever base line is chosen the
answer is  the same � not enough. As a species we are still in
denial.  We need to use Rio+20 to take stock
of what has been achieved by business, the UN agencies, NGOs and governments. We need to focus on our resilience in the face of the Perfect Storm.

We must remember Gramsci � pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will

So what are the
priorities for Responsible Tourism in 2011

1. Reduce negative impacts: we need to address the major issues,
   internationally and locally: greenhouse gas emissions, waste and water,
   although only where water is an issue, it is not everywhere.  
2. Increase positive impacts: using tourism to create sustainable
   livelihoods, creating wealth in the local economy matters.
3. Focus: all issues are local (except greenhouse gas emissions),
   people need to be challenged to respond, to do something about the issues which
   matter to them in their place, to act where they can make a difference.  
4. Hold to account those who merely use the language of
   Responsible Tourism  for
   irresponsible greenwashing.
5. Demand transparent reporting: we need to demand that
   businesses report openly what they are doing and how much they have
   achieved on the key issues greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water, where
   it is an issue, and local economic development and poverty reduction.We need to encourage travellers and holidaymakers to be rebellious and to demand to know what lies behind the claims.
6. Accept that regulation will be necessary to control the free loaders who otherwise destroy our environment and make it impossible to achieve sustainable  development or green growth.

I am particularly concerned about the evidence that the travel and tourism industry is,
in most cases unwittingly, contributing to internal child trafficking.
Unscrupulous orphanages are �recruiting� or purchasing children in order to
fill orphanages and to �earn� money from tourists.

The fact that those in the travel
industry, who market or facilitate these opportunities – whether
internationally or locally – may be unaware of the trafficking of children
which they are encouraging through the provision of tourists who make this
activity profitable for the orphan �owners� is not the point. Read more

There is a lot to do
in 2012, we have been making progress, we know a lot of the answers � the challenge
is to get people to take action.

� Diamond J (2005) Collapse Allen Lane pp.521-522