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Responsible Tourism

Responsible tourismJames Kennell, University of Greenwich, UK

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“I am a traveller. You are a visitor. They are tourists” (Quoted by Phillips 1996: xi)

+“Responsible Tourism is in principle inherently optimistic: at its heart, an imperative to make tourism better” (Goodwin 2011: 1)

+ What is sustainable development?

‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’

(World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987)

+ Why should sustainable development be important to tourism?

‘Tourism’s interest in sustainable development is logical given this is one industry that sells the environment, both physical and human, as its product.’

(Murphy, 1998:173)

+ Sustainable tourism

‘...tourism which is economically viable but does not destroy the resources on which the future of tourism will depend, notably the physical environment and the social fabric of the host community.’

(Swarbrooke, 1999:13)

You can fit 50% of the world’s wealthiest people on this bus!

Sustainability has failed…

+Wheeler’s Critique of Sustainable Tourism

Tourism always involves exploitation

Tourism is a profit-seeking industry, not a do-gooder industry

[ST is] ‘a so-called solution that keeps everybody happy…it appeases the guilt of the ‘thinking’ tourist…the more discerning (and expensive) range of the market can be catered for by ‘legitimately opening up new areas of tourism…’ (1997:66-76)

+Butcher’s critique of Sustainable Tourism

RT stigmatises the ‘average tourist’ and ‘the carefree relaxation, adventure and hedonism’ of a holiday (2002: 59)

‘ethical tourism is a barely concealed slight on the “unethical” package holidaymaker”

+Responsible Tourism - Krippendorf Proposals for tourism development should be

‘infectious’

Codes and advice should not ‘degenerate into rules for regimentation and manipulation. They must make the experience of freedom possible.’

‘Every individual tourist builds up or destroys human values while travelling’

‘Orders and prohibitions will not do the job – because it is not a bad conscience that we need to make progress but positive experience, not the feeling of compulsion but that of responsibility’ (1987:108-110, 148)

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Sustainable Tourism

Responsible Tourism

1990s 2010s

Sustainable development

Government Regulation

Industry responsibility

Shared responsibilit

y

Consumer power

Behaviour change

State logic

Market logic

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