History
Responsible Travel was founded in 2000 by Justin Francis and Harold Goodwin. [5] Anita Roddick of The Body Shop was one of the first investors. [6]
In 2004, Justin Francis founded The Responsible Tourism Awards, which were organised by Responsible Travel until 2016 and hosted by World Travel Market as part of World Responsible Tourism Day. [7] [8]
In 2004 the company launched a campaign ‘Had Enough’ urging three of the UK's largest travel companies – Thomas Cook, Thomson and MyTravel, to implement responsible tourism policies. [9] A year later, all three had published their first Responsible Business policies. [10]
In October 2009, Responsible Travel stopped offering carbon offsets (which it offered since 2002) claiming that people were using the offset as an excuse to pollute more. [11] [12] [13]
In July 2013, Responsible Travel removed trips that involved volunteering at orphanages around the world for ethical reasons. [14] [15]
In 2014, the company removed elephant trekking and elephant performance trips from its collection. [16] [17]
In April 2014, the company launched a public petition to urge travel companies to stop selling tickets to establishments keeping cetaceans in captivity for public entertainment purposes. [18] [19] [20]
In November 2016, Responsible Travel began funding day trips for children around the world to visit a local tourist attraction that they may never had had the privilege of visiting before. [21] [22]
In April 2017, Responsible Travel stopped promoting holidays that included a visit to a zoo, describing them as "relics of the past". [23] The move was supported by The Born Free Foundation. [24]
In July 2020, Responsible Travel made a commitment to contribute to a nature positive world by 2030. [25]
In November 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, Responsible Travel founder Justin Francis, Liv Garfield and DEFRA, with the support of Accenture, launched the 'Nature Handbook for Business' - a practical resource for working towards a nature positive world aimed at five industry sectors, including tourism. [26]
In December 2024, Responsible Travel founder, Justin Francis, was awarded an OBE for services to nature and the environment. [27] [28]
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