Responsibletravel.com

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Responsible Travel
Online travel agency and publisher
Industry Tourism
Founded2001 in Brighton, Sussex, England
Headquarters Brighton, England
Key people
 Justin Francis (British entrepreneur), Founder and CEO; Richard Skinner, Operations Director; Tim Williamson, Customer Director
ProductsResponsible holidays, travel guides and editorial
Website www.responsibletravel.com

Responsible Travel is an online travel agency offering over 6,000 responsible holidays from 400 holiday providers around the world. It is one of the world’s largest green travel companies and an ABTA member. [1] [2] It is also a travel publisher and has published over 650 destination guides as of March 2019.

Contents

The company sells holidays designed to maximise the benefit and minimise the harm involved in tourism [3] and was the first of its kind in the world. [4] Holidays are screened for their compliance with environmental, social and economic criteria with an emphasis on grassroot initiatives and local providers. [5] The company asks travellers to leave reviews, rating their holidays and the social and environmental credentials from 5 to 1.

Responsible Travel was founded in 2001 by Justin Francis Justin Francis (British entrepreneur) and Professor Harold Goodwin, Director at The International Centre for Responsible Tourism.

Justin Francis is an English activist and social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of responsibletravel.com, an activist travel company, selling holidays from around the world and publishing online travel guides and responsible tourism related content.

Dame Anita Roddick of The Body Shop was one of the first investors, [6] believing that: “Responsible travellers want experiences rather than packages, authenticity rather than superficial exoticism and holidays that put a little bit back into local communities and conservation. This is the future of tourism.” [7] The company introduces travellers directly to responsible travel and tourism options including accommodation owners and holiday providers.

Anita Roddick British business woman, founder of The Body Shop

Dame Anita Lucia Roddick, was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner, best known as the founder of The Body Shop, a cosmetics company producing and retailing natural beauty products that shaped ethical consumerism. The company was one of the first to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals and one of the first to promote fair trade with developing countries.

The Body Shop international cosmetics company

The Body Shop International Limited, trading as The Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care and perfume company that was founded in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick. It currently has a range of 1,000 products which it sells in over 3,049 owned and franchised stores internationally in 66 countries. The company is based in East Croydon and Littlehampton, West Sussex.

According to Simon Calder, Travel Editor at The Independent, “the ResponsibleTravel business model overturned conventional travel thinking. Instead of intervening between the travel enterprise and the tourist, as most agents do, Francis urges them to talk directly.” [3] The company has sold over $100 million worth of holidays. [8] In 2010 www.responsiblevacation.com was launched in the US. The company is based in Brighton, East Sussex UK. As of November 2018 there were 31 employees.

<i>The Independent</i> British online daily newspaper

The Independent is a British online newspaper. Established in 1986 as a politically independent national morning newspaper published in London, it was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev in 2010. The last printed edition of The Independent was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only its digital editions.

Brighton Town on south coast of England

Brighton is a seaside resort on the south coast of England that is part of the City of Brighton and Hove, located 47 miles (76 km) south of London.

East Sussex County of England

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent to the north and east, Surrey to the north west and West Sussex to the west, and to the south by the English Channel.

Responsible travel and tourism

Responsible Travel was the "first online guide to responsible international travel". [9] Responsible travel and tourism is about making better places for people to live in and to visit. One of the founding principles of Responsible Travel was to help create this new sector of the travel and tourism industry and to firmly root it in ethical values.

Activities

World Responsible Tourism Awards

In 2004, Justin Francis founded The Responsible Tourism Awards, which were organised by Responsible Travel and hosted by World Travel Market as part of World Responsible Tourism Day. Professor Harold Goodwin of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism is Chair of the Judges. The Awards aim to inspire change in the tourism industry by celebrating those organisations, destinations and individuals working innovatively with local cultures, communities and biodiversity - at the forefront of responsible tourism. [10]

Trip For A Trip

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. The company asks its customers to ‘opt in’ to the scheme to offer a child the opportunity to appreciate more deeply the value of their own wildlife, landscapes, history and culture. [11] [12] Actor and traveller Michael Palin said: “Trip For A Trip sounds an excellent idea. My appetite for travel began with day trips, so I know how much they can mean to a child. Good luck and thanks to all who can make this happen.”

Zoos

In April 2017 Responsible Travel stopped promoting holidays that included a visit to a zoo, describing them as “relics of the past”. [13] The move was supported by The Born Free Foundation and was praised by actress Joanna Lumley: "It only takes one to create a movement for change and it is fabulous to see a travel company being brave, sticking their heads above the parapet and saying that in 2017 keeping animals in captivity purely for our entertainment is just not acceptable. There are so many superb ways to learn about and appreciate animals in the wild; we should be encouraging people to get out into nature, not watching wildlife behind bars. I hope that more companies will follow this excellent example". [14]

Elephants and tourism

After consulting with local suppliers, NGOs and animal welfare experts, in 2014 Responsible Travel published a detailed guide on elephants in tourism, including the rights and wrongs of elephant trekking. The company also changed its own policy and removed elephant trekking and elephant performance trips from its collection. [15]

Whales and dolphins in captivity

In April 2014 the company launched a public petition to urge travel companies to stop selling tickets to establishments keeping whales and dolphins (collectively known as cetaceans) for public entertainment purposes. They also released a poll, along with The Born Free Foundation, demonstrating that 86% of the public no longer wished to see cetaceans in captivity. [16] On 29 July 2018, UK tour operator, Thomas Cook finally announced that they would stop selling trips to SeaWorld. [17]

Orphanage volunteering

In July 2013, Responsible Travel temporarily suspended 10 trips that involved volunteering at orphanages around the world for ethical reasons. [18] The company was concerned that well-intentioned volunteers were fuelling a demand for ‘fake orphans’ – and children were being separated from their families and communities as a result, causing long term psychological and emotional developmental problems.

After formulating a working group which included ECPAT, Save the Children, Friends International, People & Places, Professor Harold Goodwin and Daniela Papi, an international advocate for responsible volunteering, the company published new guidelines for partner organisations wishing to promote any trip that involved volunteering with vulnerable children. As a result, 43 trips were removed from the website in total. [19]

Carbon offsetting

In 2002 Responsible Travel became one of the first companies [20] to offer carbon offsets. In October 2009, Responsible Travel stopped offering carbon offsetting [21] claiming that people were using the offset as an excuse to pollute more. [22] Responsible Travel founder, Justin Francis told The New York Times that offsets had become a “magic pill, a kind of get-out-of-jail-free card,” distracting people from making more significant behavioral changes, like flying less. [1]

Had Enough

In 2004 the company launched a campaign urging three of the UK’s largest travel companies – Thomas Cook, Thomson and MyTravel, to implement responsible tourism policies. [23] The ‘Had Enough’ petition was launched after research showed widespread dissatisfaction with mass tourism among ordinary travellers. [24] A year later, all three had published their first Responsible Business policies. [25]

"Overtourism" concerns

In 2017 and 2018, several major news outlets published articles citing the problems caused by an excessive number of tourists in cities such as Venice, Barcelona, Cornwall in England, and Amsterdam. [26] [27] Reports in The Guardian have often quoted Justin Francis, one of the founders of Responsible Travel, who stated that steps must be taken to limit the number of visitors that are producing an "overtourism crisis", in addition to "managing tourism more responsibly". [28]

"Ultimately, residents must be prioritised over tourists for housing, infrastructure and access to services because they have a long-term stake in the city’s success", he said. Limits on the number of visitors during peak periods have already been set by cities such as London, New York, Reykjavik, Amsterdam and Paris. [29] Francis understands the rationale. "Some destinations may just have too many tourists" and that issue calls for strategies such as taxation, demarketing and limiting accommodation for tourists. [28] [30]

In July 2018, Responsible Travel released its first documentary film: Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism. [31] Presented by Justin Francis and directed by Beth Walker, the film documents the issue of overtourism from the perspective of local people in hotspots such as Venice and Barcelona, as well as further afield in places such as the Gili Islands.

Turtle hatcheries

In 2018 Responsible Travel was the first travel company to implement a policy on sea turtle hatcheries, following concerns about the conditions in some hatcheries. It published guidelines for volunteers and tourists wishing to visit one. [32]

Plastic-free travel

In May 2018 the company launched a ‘no single use plastic’ holiday section [33] and a plastic-free holiday guide.

Fake snow

In winter 2017, Responsible Travel stopped promoting holidays that take place in artificial snow environments due to concerns including: the amount of water needed to manufacture artificial snow, the noise from snow machines and the use of chemicals in snow production and their effects on wildlife. [34]

Related Research Articles

Tourism travel for recreational or leisure purposes

Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the traveller's country. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes".

Tourism in Australia

Tourism in Australia is an important component of the Australian economy. In the financial year 2014/15, tourism represented 3.0% of Australia's GDP contributing A$47.5 billion to the national economy. Domestic tourism is a significant part of the tourism industry, representing 73% of the total direct tourism GDP.

Tourism in New Zealand

Tourism comprises an important sector of the New Zealand economy, directly contributing NZ$12.9 billion of the country's GDP in 2016, as well as supporting 188,000 full-time-equivalent jobs. The flow-on effects of tourism indirectly contribute a further 4.3% of GDP. Despite the country's geographical isolation, spending by international tourists accounted for 17.1% of New Zealand's export earnings. International and domestic tourism contributes, in total, NZ$34 billion to New Zealand's economy every year.

Tourism in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is the world's 6th biggest tourist destination, with over 40 million visiting in 2018. US$31.93 billion was spent in the UK by foreign tourists in 2017. VisitBritain data shows that the USA remains the most valuable inbound market, with American visitors spending £2.1 billion in 2010. Nevertheless, the number of travellers originating from Europe is much larger than those travelling from North America: 21.5 million compared to 3.5 million American/Canadian visitors.

Trailfinders is a travel company in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is the largest independently owned travel company in the United Kingdom, and has 31 travel centres in the UK and three in Ireland. The company "specialises in tailormade travel worldwide" including Australia, New Zealand, North & South America, Asia & Africa.

Tourism in China

Tourism in China is a significant industry. The rate of tourism has greatly expanded over the last few decades since the beginning of reform and opening. The emergence of a newly rich middle class and an easing of restrictions on movement by the Chinese authorities are both fueling this travel boom. China has become one of the world's most-watched and hottest inbound and outbound tourist markets. According to Xinhuanet, world is on the cusp of a sustained Chinese tourism boom.

Dubai National Air Transport Association, commonly known as dnata is an Emirati airport services provider which provides aircraft ground handling, cargo, travel, and flight catering services across five continents.

Tourism Concern is a non-governmental organisation with charitable status, based in the United Kingdom, advocating ethical tourism. Currently undergoing a closure process, it is still operating its website and working on disseminating its content. Its stated aims are 'to increase understanding of the impact of tourism on environments and host communities among governments, industry, civil society and tourists; and to promote tourism development that is sustainable, just and participatory, and which is founded on a respect for human rights'.

Workaway

Workaway is an international hospitality service that allows members to contact one another to organise homestays and cultural exchange. Volunteers or "Workawayers", are expected to contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for lodging and food, which is provided by their host.

Newmarket Holidays British tour operator based in Wallington, Surrey

Newmarket Holidays, part of The Newmarket Group, is a British tour operator based in Wallington, Surrey, providing escorted holidays, resort-based stays and event-based tours to destinations throughout the UK, in Europe and to worldwide destinations. The group employs 180 staff at its Surrey head office.

MakeMyTrip

MakeMyTrip Limited is an Indian online travel company founded in 2000. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, the company provides online travel services including flight tickets, domestic and international holiday packages, hotel reservations, and rail and bus tickets. As of 31 March 2018, they have 14 company-owned travel stores in 14 cities, over 30 franchisee-owned travel stores in 28 cities, and counters in four major airports in India. MakeMyTrip has offices in New York, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Bangkok, and Dubai.

Loco2 is an online booking service for train travel in the UK and Europe. It sells tickets, without booking fees, through its website and via its smartphone app which is available on iOS and Android platforms.

Tourism in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country by area and the largest landlocked country. Today, tourism is not a major component of the economy. As of 2014, tourism has accounted for 0.3% of Kazakhstan's GDP, but the government has plans to increase it to 3% by 2020. According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, travel and tourism industry GDP in Kazakhstan is $3.08 billion or 1.6 percent of total GDP. The WEF ranks Kazakhstan 81st in its 2017 report, which is four positions higher compared to the previous period. Kazakhstan received 6.5 million tourists in 2016.

ToursByLocals is a Canadian-based, international private tour provider. Headquartered in Vancouver, with offices in Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur and Glasgow, the company serves upwards of 400,000 clients a year, connecting them with over 2700 private tour guides in 159 countries.

Jet2holidays is a British package holiday provider. It was formed in 2007 as a subsidary company to Jet2.com, the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK. As of 2017, Jet2holidays is the second-largest tour operator in the United Kingdom.

Leisuretime is a travel agent and tour operator specialising in coach holidays, short breaks and cruises. The company’s head office is located in the centre of Cardiff, Wales.

Overtourism Excessive number of tourists

Overtourism refers to a situation in which conflicts arise between locals and visitors at tourism destinations. The term is relatively young and has only been used in on a regular basis since 2015. However, in a short span of time it has become the most commonly used expression to describe excessive impacts that are ascribed to tourism.

References

  1. 1 2 Rosenthal, Elisabeth (17 November 2009). "Paying More for Flights Eases Guilt, Not Emissions". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "ABTA Members". ABTA. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 Calder, Simon (6 April 2011). "Justin Francis: 'I want to be a challenger'". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Your ticket to green tourism". The Argus. Brighton: Newsquest Media Group Limited. 24 April 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Greenwood, Susan (15 July 2011). "The best travel websites ever". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Roddick backs responsible travel". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. 6 April 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Amodeo, Christian (December 2002). "New Horizons: Anita Roddick, Co-Founder of the Body Shop, Is an Outspoken and Active Supporter of Responsible-Travel and Sustainable-Tourism Initiatives". Geographical. London: The Royal Geographical Society. 74 (12). Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Responsible travel reveals plans to double holiday collection". TTG Digital. London: UBM Information Limited. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "Your ticket to green tourism". The Argus. Brighton: Newsquest Media Group Limited. 24 April 2001. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Francis, Justin. "World Responsible Tourism Awards 2015 - A way to bring tourism down to earth". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Siegle, Lucy. "The eco guide to responsible travel". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  12. ↑ Harrison, Kate (26 June 2017). "This Company Sold More Than $130 Million Of Vacations By Admitting Paradise Is A Lie". Forbes. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Pollock, Ian (3 April 2017). "Wildlife travel agent drops zoo trips". BBC News. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  14. ↑ Coldwell, Will (3 April 2017). "UK travel firm becomes the first to drop zoos". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  15. ↑ Francis, Justin (18 August 2014). "Elephant tourism: why the call of the wild is too loud to ignore". The Independent. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  16. ↑ Payne, Emily (25 May 2014). "Free Willy! Eighty-six per cent of tourists no longer want to watch killer whales and dolphins performing tricks in captivity". Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  17. ↑ Association, Press (29 July 2018). "Thomas Cook to end trips to parks with captive killer whales". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  18. ↑ "Orphanage volunteering 'part of the problem'". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  19. ↑ Francis, Justin (19 October 2013). "Something To Declare: Why it's vital that volunteering is done in the right way". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  20. ↑ "ResponsibleTravel cancels carbon offset program". USA Today. Washington DC: Gannett Company. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  21. ↑ Taylor, Jerome (7 November 2009). "Ethical travel company drops carbon offsetting". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  22. ↑ Datar, Rajan (31 January 2010). "fast:track examines carbon offsetting". Fast:Track. London. BBC News Channel. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  23. ↑ "Big three urged to be green". Travel Trade Gazette. London: UBM Media. 5 November 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  24. ↑ Choat, Isabel (13 March 2004). "Package firms urged to be responsible". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  25. ↑ Roddick, Anita (20 September 2005). "Your planet: Travel that doesn't cost the earth". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  26. ↑ "Paradise Lost - How Tourists Are Destroying the Places They Love". Der Spiegel . Berlin. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  27. ↑ "Dear dictionaries, this is why 'overtourism' should be your 2018 word of the year". The Telegraph . London. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  28. 1 2 Dogshun, Joe (7 March 2018). "Europe's beauty spots plot escape from the too-many-tourists trap". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  29. ↑ Hunt, Ellen (17 July 2018). "Residents in tourism hotspots have had enough. So what's the answer?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  30. ↑ Coldwell, Will (16 August 2018). "Wish you weren't here: how the tourist boom – and selfies – are threatening Britain's beauty spots". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  31. ↑ Martinko, Katherine (19 July 2018). "Crowded Out: An Overtourism Documentary (film review)". Narrative Content Group. USA. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  32. ↑ Taylor, Mia (21 March 2018). "Responsible Travel raises questions about turtle hatcheries". travAlliancemedia. USA. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  33. ↑ Carter, Jamie (13 June 2018). "Five ways to cut down on one-use plastics when travelling and reduce the mountains of trash". South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. Hong Kong. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  34. ↑ Simmons, Joanna (9 February 2018). "Why PyeongChang's use of fake snow for the Winter Olympics is a problem". Associated Newspapers Ltd. London. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
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