responsibletravel.com

Responsible Travel
Online Travel Agency
Industry Tourism
Founded 2001 in Brighton, Sussex, England
Headquarters Brighton, England
Key people
 Justin Francis, Founder and Managing Director; Richard Skinner, Operations Director
Products Responsible holidays and accommodation
Website www.responsibletravel.com

Responsible Travel is an online travel agency offering over 5,000 responsible holidays from over 900 holiday providers around the world. It is one of the world’s largest green travel companies.[1] The company sells holidays designed to maximise the benefit and minimise the harm involved in tourism[2] and was the first of its kind in the world.[3] Holidays are screened for their compliance with environmental, social and economic criteria with an emphasis on grassroot initiatives and local providers.[4] 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 and Professor Harold Goodwin, Director at The International Centre for Responsible Tourism.

Anita Roddick of The Body Shop was one of the first investors,[5] 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.”[6] The company introduces travellers directly to responsible travel and tourism options including accommodation owners and holiday providers. There are several membership models for holiday companies, ranging from full service commission through to free listings for smaller scale responsible tourism businesses.

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.”[2] The company has sold over $100 million worth of holidays.[7] In 2010 www.responsiblevacation.com was launched in the US.[8] The company is based in Brighton, East Sussex UK. As of November 2016 there were 23 employees.

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 are 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.

Awards supporter, Michael Palin said: “Getting to know more about each other remains one of the most important hopes for the peaceful future of the planet. If we are really to understand each other better, then we need to be reminded to travel carefully and thoughtfully, listening to people along the way and respecting the world we are privileged to travel through. The Responsible Tourism Awards are one of the most important ways in which we can understand how to travel better.”[10] In 2013, the 10th anniversary year,[11] the Awards were renamed The World Responsible Tourism Awards to reflect the global reach of the scheme.

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. [12]

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.[13]

Orphanage volunteering

In July 2013, Responsible Travel temporarily suspended 10 trips that involved volunteering at orphanages around the world for ethical reasons.[14] 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.[15]

Carbon offsetting

In 2002 Responsible Travel became one of the first companies[16] to offer carbon offsets. In October 2009, Responsible Travel stopped offering carbon offsetting [17] claiming that people were using the offset as an excuse to pollute more.[18] 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.[19] The ‘Had Enough’ petition was launched after research showed widespread dissatisfaction with mass tourism among ordinary travellers.[20] A year later, all three had published their first Responsible Business policies.[21]

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. 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.
  3. ↑ "Your ticket to green tourism". The Argus. Brighton: Newsquest Media Group Limited. 24 April 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Greenwood, Susan (15 July 2011). "The best travel websites ever". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Roddick backs responsible travel". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. 6 April 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Responsible travel reveals plans to double holiday collection". TTG Digital. London: UBM Information Limited. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Europe's leading green travel site launches in the US" (Press release). Brighton: responsibletravel.com. 25 June 2010. 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. ↑ Starmer-Smith, Charles (18 April 2009). "Green Awards". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  11. ↑ Scott, Lisa (7 November 2013). "World Responsible Tourism Awards 2013: TUI Nederland declared winner". The Metro. London: Associated Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  12. ↑ Francis, Justin (18 August 2014). "Elephant tourism: why the call of the wild is too loud to ignore". The Independent. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ "Orphanage volunteering 'part of the problem'". The Daily Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ "ResponsibleTravel cancels carbon offset program". USA Today. Washington DC: Gannett Company. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  17. ↑ Taylor, Jerome (7 November 2009). "Ethical travel company drops carbon offsetting". The Independent. London: Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  18. ↑ Datar, Rajan (31 January 2010). "fast:track examines carbon offsetting". London. BBC News Channel. Retrieved 5 December 2013. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  19. ↑ "Big three urged to be green". Travel Trade Gazette. London: UBM Media. 5 November 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  20. ↑ Choat, Isabel (13 March 2004). "Package firms urged to be responsible". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  21. ↑ 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.

External links

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