Responsible Tourism

 Responsible Tourism
The term responsible tourism (RT) refers to an attitude of respect to the places
and people which the traveler is in contact with during their stay in the
destination country. RT is a wide concept that includes environmental respect,
already defined by the sustainable tourism movement, and specially cultural
and social respect to the host people and societies.
RT underlines that it is important for industry and consumers to take
responsibility for their actions in tourism. The main objective here is to create
better places for hosts and visitors. The RT definition comes from the Cape
Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations, resolved in the Cape
Town Conference of the same name in 2002, which preceded the World
Summit
on
Sustainable
Development
(Earth
Summit
2002)
held
in
Johannesburg. The Cape Town Conference on Responsible Tourism in
Destinations was attended by 280 delegates from 20 countries.
According to The Cape Town Declaration, responsible tourism:
•
minimises negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;
•
generates greater economic benefits for local people and
enhances the well-being of host communities, improves working
conditions and access to the industry;
•
involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life
chances;
•
makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and
cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world's diversity;
•
provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more
meaningful connections with local people, and a greater
understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;
•
provides access for physically challenged people; and
•
is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and
hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.
These are the characteristics of responsible tourism. Its complete definition can
be found in the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations
document.